Miss-Delectable
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Levelling a silent playing field
As part of her English literature classes, Rosalind Ho has to watch old films. But lack of subtitles and poor sound quality make it hard for Ho, who has severe hearing loss, to know what's going on.
To get through her classes at the University of B.C., Ho has to use cochlear implants and a frequency modulated system, which allows her professors to speak into a microphone and transmit their voices into her hearing aids.
Even then, she needs the help of at least three people -- an interpreter, a captioner and a note taker -- to assist if she misses things.
"A teacher would say we need to know the material [from the movie], but it's an older movie without any closed captioning," Ho told the International Congress on the Education of the Deaf on Sunday.
"I had a sign language interpreter, but he had trouble hearing the sounds, which meant I had trouble getting information."
Ho's comments about the learning barriers she has faced were made at a Vancouver conference where educators and researchers from around the world discussed challenges facing people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Speaking with Ho were David McGregor and Kelsie Grazier, both from Vancouver.
Grazier is hard of hearing. Like Ho, she also required a FM system and the help of a note taker when she studied at Langara College. But unlike at UBC, the note takers at Langara are unpaid and do not always show up for class or write detailed notes, Grazier said.
"It's very tiring to write out the notes, lip-read the professor, and search around the classroom for a student who had said a comment and the professor said, 'Yes, that's a very important point,'" said Grazier. "By the time you've located the person, it's too late. They've already said it and moved on to the next thing."
Growing up, Grazier, 21, went to school with hearing students. Her experience has been positive for the most part, but she has encountered teachers and classmates who did not accommodate her disability.
"In Grade 2, my teacher wouldn't wear the FM system because it didn't go with her outfit," she said. "In college, it's even more difficult because you're left to your own devices, and the support isn't always there."
McGregor, who prefers to sign even though he can speak English, was bullied in elementary and high school.
"I wore two hearing aids, and they would pull it off," he said with the help of an interpreter. "[Deaf students] would get at me for being so oral, like, 'What's wrong with you, why do you speak sometimes?' It was tough, and I got in a few fights because of it."
McGregor, who studies business, said he does not always have access to an interpreter at Kwantlen University. Often, he would have to approach his professors after class to clarify lecture material.
"It's very frustrating and I feel like a fool," he said.
To level the playing field for deaf students, Ho, Grazier and McGregor said they would like to see standardized access to paid note takers, interpreters, captioners and TVs at all postsecondary institutions in B.C.
"I'm a student, I have a right to education, I'm in this regular classroom, so I should have the same education and information as everyone else," said Ho.
"People need glasses to see, and people hard of hearing need hearing aids to hear," said Grazier. "It's just something you need to survive."
As part of her English literature classes, Rosalind Ho has to watch old films. But lack of subtitles and poor sound quality make it hard for Ho, who has severe hearing loss, to know what's going on.
To get through her classes at the University of B.C., Ho has to use cochlear implants and a frequency modulated system, which allows her professors to speak into a microphone and transmit their voices into her hearing aids.
Even then, she needs the help of at least three people -- an interpreter, a captioner and a note taker -- to assist if she misses things.
"A teacher would say we need to know the material [from the movie], but it's an older movie without any closed captioning," Ho told the International Congress on the Education of the Deaf on Sunday.
"I had a sign language interpreter, but he had trouble hearing the sounds, which meant I had trouble getting information."
Ho's comments about the learning barriers she has faced were made at a Vancouver conference where educators and researchers from around the world discussed challenges facing people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Speaking with Ho were David McGregor and Kelsie Grazier, both from Vancouver.
Grazier is hard of hearing. Like Ho, she also required a FM system and the help of a note taker when she studied at Langara College. But unlike at UBC, the note takers at Langara are unpaid and do not always show up for class or write detailed notes, Grazier said.
"It's very tiring to write out the notes, lip-read the professor, and search around the classroom for a student who had said a comment and the professor said, 'Yes, that's a very important point,'" said Grazier. "By the time you've located the person, it's too late. They've already said it and moved on to the next thing."
Growing up, Grazier, 21, went to school with hearing students. Her experience has been positive for the most part, but she has encountered teachers and classmates who did not accommodate her disability.
"In Grade 2, my teacher wouldn't wear the FM system because it didn't go with her outfit," she said. "In college, it's even more difficult because you're left to your own devices, and the support isn't always there."
McGregor, who prefers to sign even though he can speak English, was bullied in elementary and high school.
"I wore two hearing aids, and they would pull it off," he said with the help of an interpreter. "[Deaf students] would get at me for being so oral, like, 'What's wrong with you, why do you speak sometimes?' It was tough, and I got in a few fights because of it."
McGregor, who studies business, said he does not always have access to an interpreter at Kwantlen University. Often, he would have to approach his professors after class to clarify lecture material.
"It's very frustrating and I feel like a fool," he said.
To level the playing field for deaf students, Ho, Grazier and McGregor said they would like to see standardized access to paid note takers, interpreters, captioners and TVs at all postsecondary institutions in B.C.
"I'm a student, I have a right to education, I'm in this regular classroom, so I should have the same education and information as everyone else," said Ho.
"People need glasses to see, and people hard of hearing need hearing aids to hear," said Grazier. "It's just something you need to survive."