Celticty

There are many different thoughts on how a Deaf child should be taught. Either they should be taught how to speak in order to fit in to a hearing world or else they should be taught ASL because it is easier for them to learn and communicate. I wanted to ask everyone on here how they feel about the matter. It would be great to find out in order to learn and grow as a hearing person and have the knowledge that I will gain here in order to help better educate the rest of the hearing people, to help cut out stereotypes.

Deafness

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jillio

It doesn't have to be an either/or proposition. Teach both. Preferably in a Bi-Bi atmosphere.

Bottesini

I was taught oral. Mainstream in the dark ages. I speak. Few understand. I don't fit in. I think I am an anti oral oralist?

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shel90

BiBi

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~Shel~

"A child educated only at school is an uneducated child." -George Santayana

jenni-m

Indeed. Speech is useful. ASL is also useful. If it is possible to learn both, then I think that is great. We just need to get rid of the stigmas against people who are not able to speak or understand speech...

I personally am fine with not being able to speak English, since I can't understand it, I can't learn to speak it very well. I can say a few small words, but to me they are 'mechanical sounds' that I incidentally learned to make, (the proper mouth position and how much air to push through, how it feels in my throat and mouth, etc.) They probably sound nothing like 'normal' speech, but I know they are 'passable' because most of the time they work.... the only problem I have with it would be problems that other people create.

Celticty

Do you know if it is hard to find schools that teach Bi Bi? I don't have any children yet but this is information that is always handy to have.

Celticty

I really hope that all of the stigmas can be removed from society. But that would be very hard to do because there are alot of stubborn people out there. That is why I am trying to learn as much as I can and help remove alot of them.

pek1

Have you tried this one, Celticty? DeafWeb Washington: CSCDHH GA Newsletter - June 1996

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Pete

Above Him there is no other . . . John 14:6.

Celticty

, I am going to have to save that. Just one more thing to add to my knowledge banks in my head.

Jolie77

Mod's Note:

Moving this thread to it's proper location (Deaf Education Forum)

jillio

Yes, it is, because Bi-Bi is a concept just beginning to take hold. But there are good programs out there.

Jolie77

IMO, Bilingual-Bicultural Education (known as Bi-Bi) is the way to go because the more chances the deaf children have, the more better they will be able to learn and to process informations to be able to excel theirselves.

If they want to speak and to sign at the same time, that is fine too. It helps them get through in the between of both worlds. It may make things easier on them but that isn't always the case for every child.

NorCal20

thats right what they said. *shrug*

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I play USSSA, not ASA!


Rest in Peace, Mrs.C.Yoshitake. You'll be always wonderful teacher. i will sorely miss you and my heart goes to your family. We will meet again.

deafbajagal

Don't look at the methods. Look at the child. What does THE CHILD need? There you will find your answer of what method to use.

The needs of each child is unique. What works for one child may not work for another.

shel90

How do we really know? It looked like the oral only approach worked for me. I passed my classes and got into a major university didn't I? What was seriously overlooked was my socio-emotional needs and usually that aspects is badly ignored. As long as the child is passing the classes and developing literacy skills, all is well, right?

Just playing Devil's advocate...smile,.

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~Shel~

"A child educated only at school is an uneducated child." -George Santayana

deafbajagal

We know base on assessments, assessments, assessments. And when we talk about the child, we should look at the whole child - not just the academics. Same here- I had a 4.0 when I dropped out of high school. Academically I did great- but I was lost. The school failed to meet ALL of my needs.

Aren't you supposed to be getting ready for a hot date right now? LOL. Typical teacher. That's why we're twins!

Celticty

This makes sense, thank you. Any tips on being able to tell on the emotional? Everyone is helping me to understand this more. Honestly this is one thing I have thought about alot and you are all helping me. I appreciate it. Keep the information flowing.

mandy

Just got home from my SASL class (South African Sign Language), in our lesson we were having a debate about Sign/ English (or other language, remember we have 11 official languages here and each group is fighting for education in their mother tongue)/TC - which I think is the equivilent of your Bi-Bi. TC stands for total communication, and most of our Deaf teachers are totally against it. Their position is that Deaf students should be taught by Deaf teachers and in SASL, not by hearing people - even if they ase fluent in SASL.

I must admit that TC for me is as difficult as trying to speak English and French at the same time, but maybe that's just me!

What do you think?

Celticty

I would think it would be as hard. But anything is possible. I just want to make sure that I will make the right decisions or help those people make the right decisions.

mandy

Good point.
We also have situation here that Sign is seen as inferior because it is not spoken - left over influence of Dutch/British who, historically, disapproved of Sign. Unlike ex-Belgian/French colonies where Sign was "tolerated", if not universally accepted. There is a possibility that Sign will be accepted as our 12th official language, and be included in our constitution - which obviously has huge implications for the education department.
So SASL is not just about a practical way of getting through daily life, it is also a political stance in much the same way that Gay pride was a stance in your country.
In this situation I feel like a fortune-teller looking into a crystal ball and guessing which route might be the best for most people in the immediate future.
Thanks for reply!

Celticty

They already started on the steps here on it being another language because I am getting a Foreign language credit. So steps are being made.

mandy

WOW! Good for you! I am also studying Linguistics and the department won't accept Sign as my alternate language of choice - Yet!

Celticty

Well that is the key word right there "Yet" Because I believe they will one day.

deafbajagal

In the United States, we have Total Communication as well as BI-BI - both are different. Total Communication means that the teacher uses all kinds of ways to communicate with the child (American Sign Language, English-based sign language (which reflects the spoken language), pictures, with and without voicing; Sim-Com (signing and speaking at the same time); gestures; writing, etc.). Bi-Bi means that the teacher uses two different languages in the classroom: American Sign Language and English (sign language, voice or without voice, and written). My personal opinion as a Deaf teacher of the Deaf - TC is not very effective because it can be confusing for the students and there is not really one strong consistent communication method for the students. They also really don't get a strong foundation in at least one language. As for the comment about deaf teachers as oppose to hearing teachers - some people feel the same way (I don't). Some deaf people feel that having a NATIVE language user teaching the children the language serves them best.

deafbajagal

I'm curious - when you say 11 other official languages in South Africa - did you mean sign languages or spoken languages?

deafbajagal