Check out the book "Deaf in America, Voices from a Culture." Meet the deadlines below by READING and posting to the blog. For each blog post please include 2 quotes and a page number. Read what others have said. Your entry in that blog shows me you read that chapter. BONUS: Comment / Post to 7 of the 8!
This chapter was very unique. I think of "Mr. Holland's Opus" and the scene where they discover that their son is Deaf. From a hearing perspective, we are part of the majority in America and we look upon a small sect of people that use their hands for communication. From a Deaf perspective, all they know is their little world of ASL and when they learn that they are not like the majority, they seeing a world much bigger than their own. Using Sam's story as an example, he says that "they were playing in her home, when suddenly her mother walked up to them and animatedly began to move her mouth. As If by magic, the girl picked up a dollhouse and moved it to another place (15). I'm sure that, as a hearing person, if I went to my friend's house when I was young and their mom started signing to them and they understood it, I would be weirded out. It is interesting to see it from the other side. Interesting to think that, for Deafies, "learning to be Deaf" means learning that they are not the majority and that there is a whole world outside of their little, ASL-using bubble. "The child uses DEAF to mean 'us,' but he meets others for whome "deaf" means 'them, not like us'" (17). For a child, it is always devastating to not be included. For Deaf kids, it must be even worse knowing they can't do much to be a part of the mainstream culture. I can't imagine what it's like to learn that Deaf is a small part of a MUCH bigger world.
ReplyDeleteI really liked this chapter because it explains how children think that what happens in their family is what every family does and is like. For example, my mom taught my sister some baby sign language when she was a baby so I picked up on it also and when my mom would put me on the bus she would sign I love you and I would sign it back. I thought every family would do that so I was confused when I didn't see anyone else sign to their parents. Children are only aware of what goes on within their family."Children are astute observers of the world-they are often "wrong" for the most interesting reasons and "right" for reasons we never expect" (13). Children are not always capable of using the same terminology as adults yet we expect them to understand. I can't imagine being a Deaf child and having that barrier between me and the other children. Children think that kids not exactly like them are "weird" "Hearing people were curious and strange but mostly were part of the background" (16). Deaf children must feel like it is them against the world but hopefully with more people learning ASL Deaf and hearing children will not be on opposite sides.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this chapter a lot more than the introduction. I found the personal stories of both Deaf children and CODAs to be quite interesting. The story of Vicki and Helen (Vicki believed one of her friends was Deaf solely based on the fact that he could) was one that I connected to. In AP Psychology last year we learned about all of the different stages of childhood development. I cannot recall the name of the stage, but there was a stage where children begin to build their worldview and have simplistic strategies for coming to conclusions. This stage seems to be where Vicki was at the time of the story. I find myself wanting to hear the stories of Deaf children at ALL different stages of development. I was struck by the cultural differences when the book stated, "...she had learned that, in the world of her parents and their friends, when one wishes to say something of note about someone, terms like 'Deaf,' and 'Hearing' are obligatory" (13). I remember learning in my first couple of years as a Hearing ASL student that I needed to state whether I was Hearing or Deaf right off the bat. Reading the aforementioned passage provided me with a genuinely interesting point-of-view shift. Later in the chapter, the authors discuss how the Deaf can easily detect differences in signage between those with sign as a first language and those with sign as a second language. I know with English as my first language, I am able to easily identify if it is not another person's first language. Weirdly enough, I never considered that Deaf individuals can tell if ASL is or is not someone's first language. I think it would be interesting to hear what the biggest differences are. The story of Sam Supalla was really fascinating to me. Sam grew up thinking his next door neighbor was stupid and odd when she could not understand basic signing. I loved hearing his perspective since as a hearing child I know I always thought that it was weird when someone did not use spoken English. After reading the Sam Supalla story my mind was opened to the alternative perspective. I continue to find it awful that signing is not allowed in some schools. As it states, "...be forbidden to use signed language in the presence of teachers" (17). It is my opinion that children should be allowed to sign, ESPECIALLY at school-which is supposedly a supportive and nurturing environment. How can a child feel nurtured if they are banned from communicating? As the chapter continued, I read stories of children first learning that they were Deaf in a largely Hearing world. I found myself hoping that these children would not begin to see "different" as a bad thing. Without difference and diversity, the world would be a very boring and monotonous place. The segment from "Third Eye" made me sad. The fact that parents are sometimes forced to drop their children off at these schools because they are unable to handle a Deaf child is a very depressing reality. I wish there were more resources in communities so that having a Deaf child at home could be a solid possibility for these families. When the book spoke about the differentiating worldviews of Deaf children and CODAs it reminded me how much of an influence someone's upbringing has on their opinions. I was confused by the story of Joe (a CODA in Indiana). Did his parents not tell him he was hearing? That seems like a very confusing experience for a young child. I am excited to read more of this book, and hopefully experience more perspective flips.
ReplyDeleteOne thing u really loved from this chapter is that is gave different stories about the Deaf CULTURE and community, yet none of them were even close to being identical. This really emphasized that not only is there no one way to be Deaf,there's no one way to be human! We are not made to be cookie cutters, and that's not just OK, it's wonderful and important! I love that the authors focus on the fact that,despite these differences, we as humans can connect with one another by connections in our culture and community: "what unites their cases is the fact that each has gained access to a certain cultural history, the culture of Deaf people in America" (25). I also thought it was so interesting to think about how children learn and develop in the environments they live in. The authors write, "these stories by adults about their childhood memories reveal a rare perspective in the question of how the world comes to man what it does" (23). Thinking back on my own childhood, the development of language was entirely dictated by the people I heard and interacted with. As a child, you literally start with no president for anything you ar learning, and I found it so interesting that the stories told involved people who didn't know there was a difference between them and anyone else, whether the be Deaf or hearing. I think this goes to show just how important it is that we learn about other cultures and people and understand why they are who they are. Most hearing people get too caught up in their own lives to really reach out to anyone and really understand who they are, but mutual care and genuine kindness are what really makes a difference in this world.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry for the spelling mistakes! I did this on my tablet and forgot to proof read!
DeleteI also really enjoyed this chapter. I think it was quite insightful into the minds of adult Deaf people looking back at their childhood. I think it's important to understand that while the experiences of the deaf children growing up in a hearing home differ quite a bit from the experiences of deaf children in a Deaf home, there are also differences within each of those "categories." I really liked the explanation given by the authors that said this, "Joe should retrieve a fork that has fallen to the floor because eating utensils that disappear from the table should be placed back on the table; the fact that they make a sound when they fall is incidental. In Jim's hearing family, forks that fall to the floor and make a sharp noise upon contact require a look in the direction of the noise, followed by retrieval of the fork," (25). This was quite interesting to me because it was something I had never thought of before. It had never occurred to me that a deaf child would not know they were deaf. It's also interesting that in Jim's case, his own family could not even recognize that he was deaf. I also think that the "coping" mechanisms that children use are very interesting. Jim thought that everyone was lipreading because that's what he was doing. Others think that everyone signs because them and their family do and they've never been exposed to anything else. Another thing that answered a curiosity that I had was when the authors wrote, "We might imagine a moment when the child is startled by a loud noise, looks at his family, and is puzzled by their lack of response. But the child does not yet have a basis for being 'puzzled'. He does not have an alternative explanation," (23). This helped me to understand what a deaf child might truly be going through. This chapter was very insightful.
ReplyDeleteThis chapter gave many different accounts of Deaf children's childhoods and their experiences growing up. In some cases, this means children discovering that there are hearing people in the world, because they had grown up in a Deaf family surrounded by Deaf people. One person had "not yet understood that the outside world considers him and his family to have an 'affliction'"(16). This idea is interesting to me because I can see in this explanation a reflection of other instances of people growing up surrounded by their culture, and not really knowing how others view them. The other case of Deaf children growing up is growing up in hearing families. In many cases, "being able or unable to hear does not emerge as significant in itself; instead it takes on significance in the context of other sets of meaning to which the child has been exposed"(22). This exposes the idea that children who do not have any obvious clues that they are different will not come to that conclusion immediately. This chapter helps provide a perspective on what being a Deaf child would be like.
ReplyDeleteThis chapter discussed a lot of specific experiences in multiple children’s lives in their relationship as a deaf child growing up in a hearing world, or a hearing children growing up in a Deaf family. One commonality among all these children is that they were unaware of the differences between themselves and their family or peers until they grew old enough to recognize and understand the differences between communication among deaf and communication among hearing. I found it very interesting that these children could spend many years of their life and not even be aware that they were either deaf or hearing. One child, Joe, who was hearing but grew up in a Deaf family, said he “never knew I was hearing until I was six. I never suspected in any way that I was different from my parents and siblings” (22). When I first read this, I was shocked. How could someone possibly grow up and not be aware that they were hearing? The book provided the explanation: “a spoon falls and makes a sound as it hits the floor. Someone picks it up, not simply because it made a young but because it slipped from view” (22). As many events have an auditory reaction, these events often also have a nonauditory action. If Joe were to see his parents react to an event, he would naturally assume that they were reacting to the auditory noise of the occurrence, for that is what he is reacting to, and not realize that his parents were in fact reacting to the nonauditory cues of said event. Nonetheless, it’s still fascinating to me that a person can grow up and not be aware of the difference between them and those they are surrounded by.
ReplyDeleteThis chapter discussed a lot of specific experiences in multiple children’s lives in their relationship as a deaf child growing up in a hearing world, or a hearing children growing up in a Deaf family. One commonality among all these children is that they were unaware of the differences between themselves and their family or peers until they grew old enough to recognize and understand the differences between communication among deaf and communication among hearing. I found it very interesting that these children could spend many years of their life and not even be aware that they were either deaf or hearing. One child, Joe, who was hearing but grew up in a Deaf family, said he “never knew I was hearing until I was six. I never suspected in any way that I was different from my parents and siblings” (22). When I first read this, I was shocked. How could someone possibly grow up and not be aware that they were hearing? The book provided the explanation: “a spoon falls and makes a sound as it hits the floor. Someone picks it up, not simply because it made a young but because it slipped from view” (22). As many events have an auditory reaction, these events often also have a nonauditory action. If Joe were to see his parents react to an event, he would naturally assume that they were reacting to the auditory noise of the occurrence, for that is what he is reacting to, and not realize that his parents were in fact reacting to the nonauditory cues of said event. Nonetheless, it’s still fascinating to me that a person can grow up and not be aware of the difference between them and those they are surrounded by.
ReplyDeleteI grew up hearing, so of course, anything other than "being hearing" was different to me. It's interesting to see the "deaf perspective" and how different it was to grow up deaf versus hearing. I thought the quote, "he remembered thinking how curious the girl next door was, and if she was HEARING, how curious HEARING people were" (16), was intriguing because it's the opposite of what I grew up with. For me, hearing was the norm. So to think that someone grew up thinking that being hearing was so different, is a whole different story for me. There's a quote that goes "you don't know a person until you walk a mile in their shoes." I think this quote applies to the deaf versus hearing situation. All these kids grew up not knowing there was a difference in being deaf or hearing. Some didn't even know the other existed until they entered school. It blows my mind that we can be in our own little bubble and not know what others are going through until we go through them. And in some cases like this, we may not be able to experience it for ourselves but still have to understand and acknowledge it. "It was at that point I felt changed, and when I thought about how I was changed, my thought was: 'I'm the only one like this'" (20). It's not comfortable thinking that you're the odd one out, that everyone is the same and you are different. I specifically chose this quote because my first quote showed the curiosity in the child as he found out his friend was hearing. He thought that she was different. However, it this quote, he pick out himself and said that he was different. This shows how different opinions can be even when you're on the same side. To conclude, you never really know how anyone feels unless you are them. Opinions come flying into our heads as we see fit but we need to stop and think for awhile. Whether people perceive themselves as different, or others as different, theres a commonality in everyone. We are all people and no matter how we grow up or what we believe is the norm, there is so much more to learn from others.
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ReplyDeleteThis chapter was very interesting to me for it brought up a topic I had never really thought about until now. It talked a little bit about how deaf children view hearing. I never really thought about how like a hearing child can be oblivious to deaf, a deaf child can be oblivious to hearing. If nobody is teaching them about it, they aren't going to learn about it. I think the quote, "They were playing in her home, when suddenly her mother walked up to them and animatedly moved her mouth. As if by magic, the little girl picked up a dollhouse and moved it to another place. Sam was mystified and went home to ask his mother what kind of affliction the girl next door had. His mother explained that she was HEARING and because of this did not know how to SIGN; instead she and her mother TALK, they move their mouths to communicate with each other" (15) really gives a good perspective on the deaf child side. Just like anything else in the world, a child has to be taught what something is before they can understand why it is. The rest of the chapter had many similar stories but also had different perspectives to them. A boy named Howard discussed how he grew up knowing what Deaf meant as in it was his life, not his condition, "The child uses DEAF to mean 'us,' but he meets others for whom 'deaf' means 'them, not like us'. He thinks Deaf means 'friends who behave as expected,' but to others it means 'a remarkable condition'"(17). That was another great example of how deaf children do not know anything else. Then they go out into the world and discover that being deaf isn't all their is. People can hear, and some people that can hear view those who cannot hear as different, instead of the other way around like the children see. I was very interested to read about the child perspective because we had not touched it in class. The real life stories made it interesting and easy to understand.
ReplyDeleteThis chapter was a good way to see different perspective on things. It's especially interesting to see the perspective children view things. The topic of Deaf and Hearing is one that is difficult for many to understand, especially children. They say what they hear or grow up around so perspective is always different. A quote I found that fit well was, "We can see children learning about the minds of others in the stories Deaf adults tell about their childhood." This all goes back to the point that perspective at a young age is based off what you are taught and experience. (16) In Tony's case, he felt like he was different for being Deaf. "For Tony, being deaf meant being set apart from his family and friends; he was 'deaf' and had had an 'illness'". (20) It's sad to think that this was the case for many Deaf children, feeling excluded for the slightest difference. Children only seem to be aware and learn from what they are around, so it's only reasonable that everyone will have different perspectives on many topics. This chapter was very interesting and being able to hear all these different stories was very knowledgeable.
ReplyDeleteThis chapter was very interesting. It showed stories of Deaf children and children of Deaf adults, discovering the world around them was much bigger than they had thought. The chapter being titled "Learning to be Deaf" brought a whole new perspective to the meaning of that phrase. Growing up hearing in a hearing family, I had never met someone whose main means of communication was sign language. Becoming an ASL student sophomore year was when I began “learning to be Deaf,” meaning I was learning the language, culture, history, and community that surrounds Deaf people. That is what learning to be Deaf meant to me, but to Deaf children and children of Deaf adults learning to be Deaf is learning to adapt to the hearing world around them. I never thought that someone learned to be Deaf because I never thought that I learned to be hearing, but I did. The only difference between learning to be Deaf and learning to be hearing is that the world we live in is hearing, so being hearing you are immersed into a world that speaks your language, while when learning to be Deaf, you must learn both the Deaf and hearing cultures to be able to communicate and know of the much bigger world around you. In Sam’s case, he experienced exposure and understanding of the outside hearing world with his neighbor. When he realized that she was hearing, “"They were playing in her home, when suddenly her mother walked up to them and animatedly began to move her mouth. As If by magic, the girl picked up a dollhouse and moved it to another place (15). Here he realized that not all people communicate in the way that he and his family did. Sam struggled to see “that these others might define him and his family by some characteristic they lack [because] to him…it is his neighbors who lack the ability to communicate” (16). It’s a confusing thing for any child to understand that not all people are just like you and your family. This chapter was able to open my eyes and bring a new perspective of what “learning to be Deaf” means.
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