Madison High in tourney for hearing-disabled
By Helen Gao
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
February 14, 2006
They may not be able to blurt out answers in rapid-fire succession at academic competitions, but Abiel Georgeo, his brother, Samuel, and their schoolmates Thy Pham and Adrian Rivera – all deaf or hard of hearing – have the smarts.
SEAN M. HAFFEY / Union-Tribune
Ken Schwartz coached Madison High School team members headed to this week's Academic Bowl playoff for deaf and hard-of-hearing students in Jackson, Miss. The team's foursome is among 550 hearing-impaired students at the Clairemont school.
These four Madison High School students will show them off in a regional competition of the Gallaudet University Academic Bowl for the hearing-impaired this week in Jackson, Miss.
First-and second-place teams from five regions will square off in the April finals at Gallaudet in Washington, D.C., the only liberal arts university in the world dedicated to the deaf and hard of hearing.
The Madison team – the only one from the county – will compete against 15 others from the Southeast and Washington state.
The Academic Bowl is the only nationwide competition of its kind for the hearing-disabled. Questions are projected onto a screen instead of being read aloud by the game host; answers have to be written down with the correct spelling.
Madison High has been participating in the bowl off and on since 2000. It's back this year because of student interest.
The Clairemont school attracts deaf and hard-of-hearing students from around the county. It's the only high school in the San Diego Unified School District, which has 550 hearing-impaired students, that offers classes with instructors trained to teach the deaf. Madison also offers American Sign Language classes to all.
For the Madison team, the Academic Bowl is not just a game, it's a rare opportunity to meet deaf students from all over the country. Romances and friendships have blossomed at the competition. Among the events at the Southeast regional is a dance with music loud enough for some students to either hear it or feel the vibrations.
“They meet somebody, they become good friends and sometimes go to college together. There are constantly lots and lots of relationships that are forged,” said Chachie Joseph, who coordinates the Southeast event.
For months, Madison students have been studying and raising money to pay for the trip.
The Academic Bowl quizzes students in nine categories, including history, science, popular culture and deaf studies.
The bowl has grown annually since it was launched by Gallaudet in 1997, from 12 teams and 60 students to 75 teams and 346 students last year. Now, there are teams on waiting lists. Up to 16 teams participate in each regional competition. Madison was shifted to the Southeast regional because the Western bracket had too many teams. The competitions pit students from schools that exclusively serve the deaf against those from mainstream schools such as Madison.
“I want to see how my skills compare against other deaf students in the country,” said Samuel Georgeo, a senior.
Most Madison team members are either born deaf or lose their hearing because of early childhood illness. Born in Sudan, Samuel and Abiel lost their hearing as infants after they were stricken by malaria.
Samuel wants to become a veterinarian and establish his own practice. Abiel, a junior, has not decided on a career but plans to attend Mesa College and later the National Technical Institute for the Deaf in New York.
Adrian Rivera, also a junior, wants to attend a college for the deaf, probably Gallaudet, and has dreams of becoming a photographer or teacher. Thy Pham, another junior, aspires to become a chef and study at Mesa College.
Members of the Madison team have known one another for years, tracing their acquaintance back to Lafayette Elementary School.
To join the Madison team, students were interviewed and wrote an essay. They are expected to put in extra hours studying after school.
The deaf community is close-knit, but students use many different modes of communication. Some read lips; some use signed English, which mirrors spoken English with a sign executed for every word; some use American Sign Language, which relies on energetic gestures and body movements to convey information conceptually; some use pidgin sign language, a mixture of the two.
At Academic Bowl competitions, interpreters are provided to bridge the gap between different modes of communication.
At Madison and throughout the country, deaf students are encouraged to learn American Sign Language. Because some general education students also take the course, it facilitates communication between the hearing-impaired and the hearing world.
Madison High Principal Virginia Eves said the deaf and hard-of-hearing students are well-integrated into the school. “They have full access to everything we offer,” she said.
Adrian, for example, played on the football team last season, and Samuel has been mainstreamed since fifth grade.
“A lot people do look down on deaf people, but I know we can do anything we want to do,” Adrian said.
