I have recently FINALLY started to read "The Mask of Benevolence" by Harlan Lane. Ha yes I should have read this a long time ago, I guess I'm just behind on that sort of thing, but I'm catching up now! :)
I am not finished reading yet. I started like 3 days ago and am about 3/4 done? I'm really was curious what your thoughts are about this book? It is obviously slightly out of date when it comes to the views of the Deaf community. I felt that Lane painted a picture of how all Deaf people did not want to have implants or aids, which is obviously not the case, but I am aware that the community has become much more accepting about implants in the last decade. Also, i felt as if he made it seem that unless the deaf child was raised using ASL, the child would not be successful. He kept saying that the lucky 10 percent of the deaf people who have a good education are the lucky ones who grew up using ASL. I don't know how accurate that is, but obviously he has much more data than I do! But I know that I have met some oral deaf people and they are intelligent and got through school rather well even though they were taught orally. Same with deaf kids who grew up using Signed English [like myself]. Then there are the native ASL signers that I have met who are extremely intelligent as well! I think what is the real issue here though, as Lane also mentioned in one way or another, is that a child obviously needs some sort of language at home before the child starts school. Any sort of language is better than none, right? Another issue is that obviously if the child was raised for its first 5 years in ASL, and then ends up at a school that only teaches orally or in Signed English [and whatever else], the child is basically screwed for the first couple years as they struggle to convert from ASL to Signed English or oralism [if they ever succeed, i would imagine it's easier to convert from ASL to Signed English, than it would be to convert from ASL to oralism], and that in turn interrupts the education part of school. I was lucky in my case because I grew up using Signed English and then went to school using an interpreter who used Signed English so i did not have any problems when it came to adjusting from home to school.
I do however support ASL to be taught in school [deaf schools and mainstream via ASL interpreters], and do actually wish I was raised using ASL, but I wasn't. That's life, i don't hold any hard feelings against my mom for choosing Signed English over ASL. She at least wanted me to have a language [which was English obviously], and worked very hard on that. I'm very thankful to my mom, and even more so when i realize that there are parents out there who do not make the effort to communicate with their child, and just let the child spend it's first 5 years mostly language-less until it's time for school and figure that the school for the deaf can deal with the child. When i think about this, i feel very incredibly lucky to have a parent who cared!!
Back to the book, i also felt as if Lane was saying that being mainstreamed did not help the deaf child at all, and that they would not be able to be successful. I disagreed as I am a product of mainstreaming. It has it win and lose situations.. I had access to really good education, but i did not have full access to socialization. Which is most important? It's a tough one really, because socialization is so important to a child, it teaches the child a lot of things that will stick with them as they grow up. I strongly feel that my social anxiety is something that came from being mainstreamed. Although, obviously a deaf child would generally fail while being mainstreamed if they did not at least have an interpreter [or note-writer, CART and whatever, although i prefer interpreters by far, kind of curious about CART, never used that before]. I just felt that it was not completely accurate to declare that mainstreaming a deaf child was a bad thing. Reading through this book, i kind of felt that he did not mention people who grew up the way I did, and just focused on black and white, the successful ones who were schooled via ASL, and the unsuccessful ones who were not schooled via ASL. Where is the gray area?
I'm not finished yet so, we shall see what else i read! Overall, i am enjoying the book, it has a lot of information that i did not know or gave too much thought on, it's definitely good food for the brain. But I have to say i disagree with some of the things he writes about.
It has been interesting reflecting on how the hearing society in general tries to 'fix' deaf people. He definitely provides A LOT of information on this and it is actually refreshing to realize that Lane is a hearing person and yet thinks like this. Obviously implants do not 'fix' deaf people, and one can still be culturally Deaf and wear implants. I kind of felt as if Lane was saying that deaf people who wear implants and so on are a product of the audists attempt to fix deaf people and... that gives me a bad taste in the mouth... Because obviously we can think for ourselves, if we choose to have an implant, it's generally not because we're doing what 'they' want us to do, we're doing it because we want to. It's 2006, we have access to the internet, we can do our own research, we can think for ourselves, and if I ever get an implant, it's only because i want a little assistant in this world I live in, not because i am resorting and submitting to the 'audists'. It is a different story though, of course, for parents who discover they have a deaf baby and do not get access to every point of view. It is unfair for the audiologist to only refer to cochlear implants instead of saying that well, here's your options: you can implant your child, or you can have the child wear aids, and also you should talk to the Deaf community and get their views on what they think would be the best for the child. It is extremely important to have access to every point of view, and it is obvious that parents generally do not receive that, unless they ask for it.
I support implanting deaf babies by the way, if the parents want to do that, go for it. I am unsure if I would do that to my deaf child if i had one... BUT what i do not support, is raising an implanted baby with no sign language [ASL, BSL whatever your country's sign language is] at all. They say that it would 'stunt' the baby's progress, but I don't buy that. Look at all these hearing babies who learn 'baby signs' before they speak. They have no problems learning how to speak like a month or two after signing. My sister learned Signed English before she started to speak, and signing obviously did not interrupt her education and speech. Also i feel that it is very important for the implanted baby to have access to every form of communication: speech AND signing, it will only benefit the baby to have both, also to be FLUENT in sign language as well. That way the child gets to be a part of both worlds. That's the biggest injustice that is done to implanted children as far as I am concerned is that if the child does not successfully master the spoken language, the child will always feel somehow left out in one way or another, and would obviously not be able to be a part of the Deaf community either as the child does not know sign language at all and is in fact told to NOT learn how to sign. That is the injustice, it's not the cochlear implant itself, it's raising the implanted baby with no sign language or knowledge of and involvement in Deaf culture. If the implanted child has access to both spoken and signed language, i think the child will only benefit from that, the child would have access to both worlds.
Anyway, i got off track a bit there heh. I'll save the rest of my comments on this book for next time. I definitely could cover more topics, but this post is getting long enough!
I'm wondering what your views are on this book? Ramble away, feel free to disagree with what i wrote as well. I welcome all points of view. Let's be respectful of each other though okay?
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Questions about what Deaf Culture Promotes
It's no surprise that a lot of the people from the outside view the Deaf community as a community that wants to isolate themselves from the "outside world aka hearing world". Also some believe that the Deaf community in general are anti hearing aids and anti cochlear implants. They believe that Deaf culture promotes that type of thinking.
I really disagreed with that opinion. One, no matter how culturally Deaf you may be, you can never "escape" the hearing world. It is everywhere we look. The grocery store. The bus driver. The workplace. Our families. Our friends. I do not support the idea of rejecting hearing people from my circle. Some may prefer to hang out with Deaf people more, and that is simply because it requires much less effort and i can't blame them. With a non-signing hearing person, we have to stop and write [unless we're oral of course], while that is fun and all, it's not the same as to just turn to a signing person and sign away, laugh at the same time and so on. Imagine, if you were surrounded by people who could not speak and you had to write to them all the time, you would feel a sense of comfort and relief when you find someone that can speak and hear just like you because you can just relax and converse effortlessly.
The concept that we are trying to isolate ourselves from the hearing world is just downright ludicrous, because it is impossible. Period. A deaf community is a community where D/deaf people seek others who can communicate the way they do. It's natural to have an urge to find someone who talks in the language that you do. If we are isolating ourselves from the "outside world" simply because we seek others who sign. Then according to that theory, every single other community out there is rejecting the outside community. The GLBT community rejects the straight community and so on. Is that true? No. But yes some GLBT people do prefer to only hang out with other GLBT people because there's a mutual understanding, just like how some D/deaf people prefer to only hang out with other D/deaf people. But is that how the majority acts and thinks? No.
The concept that the majority of the D/deaf community are anti-hearing aids and anti-cochlear implants is also incorrect if you ask me. Most of the deaf people [deaf and Deaf] I have know through-out my life have worn hearing aids. The Deaf girl who taught me ASL and was one of the most culturally Deaf person I have known as a child, wore her hearing aids ALL the time, she adored her aids while I barely wore mine. The Deaf woman who re-introduced me to the deaf world and opened my path toward Deaf culture and the Deaf identity, has a cochlear implant. When i went to Burnaby South, which is a public school with a program for the deaf, where you have the choice of studying some subjects in a hearing class or in a deaf class. There was about 50 deaf students, and most of them wore hearing aids. Then back at the dorm where there were kids from kindergarten up to last year of high school, most wore hearing aids. There were a few who had implants but back then it was not that common yet. Now there's MUCH more D/deaf people who have cochlear implants.
YES there are indeed some people who are anti-aids or anti-cochlear implants. But the reality is that the ones who wear them or are at least accepting of others who wear them, outnumbers the ones who don't. Just like how in pretty much every other culture or community out there. Also the good thing is that a lot of people have been trying to open the elitists eyes up by using the term Deafhood. To show them that by pointing at each other and saying you're not culturally Deaf, or you are a traitor to the community by wearing aids, we are just dragging each other down [or pushing them down while we climb upwards] and painting a bad picture of the community. These people are doing damage to the community's reputation without even realizing it. The term Deafhood and promoting awareness of the term 'crab theory', more of these people are starting to realize their errors. That's a great thing! Hopefully within time there will be less people who are like that.
I want to ask you, readers, to comment to my entry.
Do you wear aids or implants?
Are you accepting of others who wear aids and implants?
Do you think one can be culturally Deaf and yet wear aids or implants?
Do you think that Deaf culture promotes isolation and anti-hearing/aids/implants?
Do you think that the anti-hearing/aids/implants Deaf people outnumbers the accepting Deaf people in the community?
Please share your opinions. I will forward them to the people I have been talking to on this topic. Thank you!
I really disagreed with that opinion. One, no matter how culturally Deaf you may be, you can never "escape" the hearing world. It is everywhere we look. The grocery store. The bus driver. The workplace. Our families. Our friends. I do not support the idea of rejecting hearing people from my circle. Some may prefer to hang out with Deaf people more, and that is simply because it requires much less effort and i can't blame them. With a non-signing hearing person, we have to stop and write [unless we're oral of course], while that is fun and all, it's not the same as to just turn to a signing person and sign away, laugh at the same time and so on. Imagine, if you were surrounded by people who could not speak and you had to write to them all the time, you would feel a sense of comfort and relief when you find someone that can speak and hear just like you because you can just relax and converse effortlessly.
The concept that we are trying to isolate ourselves from the hearing world is just downright ludicrous, because it is impossible. Period. A deaf community is a community where D/deaf people seek others who can communicate the way they do. It's natural to have an urge to find someone who talks in the language that you do. If we are isolating ourselves from the "outside world" simply because we seek others who sign. Then according to that theory, every single other community out there is rejecting the outside community. The GLBT community rejects the straight community and so on. Is that true? No. But yes some GLBT people do prefer to only hang out with other GLBT people because there's a mutual understanding, just like how some D/deaf people prefer to only hang out with other D/deaf people. But is that how the majority acts and thinks? No.
The concept that the majority of the D/deaf community are anti-hearing aids and anti-cochlear implants is also incorrect if you ask me. Most of the deaf people [deaf and Deaf] I have know through-out my life have worn hearing aids. The Deaf girl who taught me ASL and was one of the most culturally Deaf person I have known as a child, wore her hearing aids ALL the time, she adored her aids while I barely wore mine. The Deaf woman who re-introduced me to the deaf world and opened my path toward Deaf culture and the Deaf identity, has a cochlear implant. When i went to Burnaby South, which is a public school with a program for the deaf, where you have the choice of studying some subjects in a hearing class or in a deaf class. There was about 50 deaf students, and most of them wore hearing aids. Then back at the dorm where there were kids from kindergarten up to last year of high school, most wore hearing aids. There were a few who had implants but back then it was not that common yet. Now there's MUCH more D/deaf people who have cochlear implants.
YES there are indeed some people who are anti-aids or anti-cochlear implants. But the reality is that the ones who wear them or are at least accepting of others who wear them, outnumbers the ones who don't. Just like how in pretty much every other culture or community out there. Also the good thing is that a lot of people have been trying to open the elitists eyes up by using the term Deafhood. To show them that by pointing at each other and saying you're not culturally Deaf, or you are a traitor to the community by wearing aids, we are just dragging each other down [or pushing them down while we climb upwards] and painting a bad picture of the community. These people are doing damage to the community's reputation without even realizing it. The term Deafhood and promoting awareness of the term 'crab theory', more of these people are starting to realize their errors. That's a great thing! Hopefully within time there will be less people who are like that.
I want to ask you, readers, to comment to my entry.
Do you wear aids or implants?
Are you accepting of others who wear aids and implants?
Do you think one can be culturally Deaf and yet wear aids or implants?
Do you think that Deaf culture promotes isolation and anti-hearing/aids/implants?
Do you think that the anti-hearing/aids/implants Deaf people outnumbers the accepting Deaf people in the community?
Please share your opinions. I will forward them to the people I have been talking to on this topic. Thank you!
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
My Perfect World
You know what would this world a much nicer place for me? Sure peace would be wonderful. No more poverty would be fantastic. The whole money system disappearing [think Star Trek - money does not exist!]. All forms of 'ism [racism, sexism, audism, etc] disappearing as nobody practises it anymore... All that would make a beautiful world. But it still wouldn't be perfect.
What would complete it, is if everybody signed. If everybody in Canada/USA signed in ASL. If everybody in France signed in LSF. If everybody in the UK signed in BSL. I don't mean that speech should be removed, no... but it would be so.. mindblowing amazing if everybody understood and could sign in their country's sign language. Deaf people could do so much more in this world if everybody understood sign language. We could become actors and actresses just as easily as hearing people. We could become tv reporters. We could be policemen. We could be doctors. We could be vets. We could do literally anything in this world [not to say we cannot, it is simply harder for us to do so as the majority cannot understand us in our language, and do not want to learn to understand in most situations].
It's nice to think that we can do anything except hear [that statement is silly anyway because most deaf people still can hear a bit, it's rare when i meet a deaf person who cannot hear one single thing no matter how loud it is] ... but due to how much speech rules Earth... It is a struggle for Deaf people to aspire to be something like a doctor. Or a policeman. Or a teacher [other than teaching the Deaf or teaching ASL].. and so on. We try and some of us DO make it and it's a very proud moment... and I hope every one of us will keep trying even though many people will tell us it cannot be done.
In my perfect world, everybody would sign... but i know at this point, that is an impossible dream. Will it ever become reality? Definitely not in my lifetime.. or the next generation, or the one after that. Maybe in the Star Trek generation [lol] people will sign.
One thing that really upsets me, is that fad where parents teach their hearing baby how to sign 'milk' and so on, and then as soon as they start speaking, they drop the sign language. WHY?!?! Why do you do that? I am literally begging you, please, KEEP TEACHING YOUR CHILDREN HOW TO SIGN! Who cares if you don't have a d/Deaf person in your life.. your child may someday. By teaching your child and promoting ASL, you are making this world just a wee bit easier for us. Imagine, if every parent did not drop sign language as soon as their child hits one year old, and kept signing instead. This new generation of children would be able to speak AND sign. That would be one step closer to my dream coming true. You may call me delusional. Idealistic. Hopelessly hopeful... but can you blame me? Can you imagine the sadness and frustration i experience every time i see a baby learn how to say milk and then forget it in a year. Why? Oh no point.. No d/Deaf person in the family or circle of friends, or I just wanted to see if the baby could sign before he/she could speak and well he/she is speaking now so what's the point? ARGH!
So if you have a child, or plan on raising a child in the future... I beg you, teach them how to sign, AND KEEP AT IT. Even if you do not plan on having a child, go take an ASL course yourselves, learn it. Sign. Keep it up... and do not forget what you learned! Please.
Unite - Unity
What would complete it, is if everybody signed. If everybody in Canada/USA signed in ASL. If everybody in France signed in LSF. If everybody in the UK signed in BSL. I don't mean that speech should be removed, no... but it would be so.. mindblowing amazing if everybody understood and could sign in their country's sign language. Deaf people could do so much more in this world if everybody understood sign language. We could become actors and actresses just as easily as hearing people. We could become tv reporters. We could be policemen. We could be doctors. We could be vets. We could do literally anything in this world [not to say we cannot, it is simply harder for us to do so as the majority cannot understand us in our language, and do not want to learn to understand in most situations].
It's nice to think that we can do anything except hear [that statement is silly anyway because most deaf people still can hear a bit, it's rare when i meet a deaf person who cannot hear one single thing no matter how loud it is] ... but due to how much speech rules Earth... It is a struggle for Deaf people to aspire to be something like a doctor. Or a policeman. Or a teacher [other than teaching the Deaf or teaching ASL].. and so on. We try and some of us DO make it and it's a very proud moment... and I hope every one of us will keep trying even though many people will tell us it cannot be done.
In my perfect world, everybody would sign... but i know at this point, that is an impossible dream. Will it ever become reality? Definitely not in my lifetime.. or the next generation, or the one after that. Maybe in the Star Trek generation [lol] people will sign.
One thing that really upsets me, is that fad where parents teach their hearing baby how to sign 'milk' and so on, and then as soon as they start speaking, they drop the sign language. WHY?!?! Why do you do that? I am literally begging you, please, KEEP TEACHING YOUR CHILDREN HOW TO SIGN! Who cares if you don't have a d/Deaf person in your life.. your child may someday. By teaching your child and promoting ASL, you are making this world just a wee bit easier for us. Imagine, if every parent did not drop sign language as soon as their child hits one year old, and kept signing instead. This new generation of children would be able to speak AND sign. That would be one step closer to my dream coming true. You may call me delusional. Idealistic. Hopelessly hopeful... but can you blame me? Can you imagine the sadness and frustration i experience every time i see a baby learn how to say milk and then forget it in a year. Why? Oh no point.. No d/Deaf person in the family or circle of friends, or I just wanted to see if the baby could sign before he/she could speak and well he/she is speaking now so what's the point? ARGH!
So if you have a child, or plan on raising a child in the future... I beg you, teach them how to sign, AND KEEP AT IT. Even if you do not plan on having a child, go take an ASL course yourselves, learn it. Sign. Keep it up... and do not forget what you learned! Please.
Unite - Unity
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
