Asl teaching: on behalf of the Deaf community

Frisky Feline

Frisky Feline

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I know it's old video. but I see some hearing teachers continue to teach ASL classes in high school. My niece asked me to show her my own signs. Some of them are not the same. Obviously her teacher is hearing. SHe said yes and can tell that I am more natural than Her teacher. I do wish thAt her teacher is Deaf instead .

http://youtu.be/O31GCVhNUYI
 
i got some old vids some done by deaf,others hearing you can tell the difference..i use some different signs which are classed as non PC and not to be used
 
Frisky Feline said:
I know it's old video. but I see some hearing teachers continue to teach ASL classes in high school. My niece asked me to show her my own signs. Some of them are not the same. Obviously her teacher is hearing. SHe said yes and can tell that I am more natural than Her teacher. I do wish thAt her teacher is Deaf instead .

http://youtu.be/O31GCVhNUYI
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Wouldn't you rather a hearing teacher than none at all?
 
Deaf teachers are capable of teaching kids. Keep that in mind. Thank you. I understand you do look down at Deaf teachers like one member here in forum.
 
Frisky Feline said:
Deaf teachers are capable of teaching kids. Keep that in mind. Thank you. I understand you do look down at Deaf teachers like one member here in forum.
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I said NOTHING about that. Here is another way of saying what I am trying to. If there is no deaf teacher available, wouldn't you rather have a hearing teacher than no one teaching ASL at all?
 
If the class is open to hearing children, there probably are not enough deaf let alone Deaf for all the classes you would need.

What's the size of a graduating class from Gallaudet? While there are other colleges that have deaf study majors, I'm guessing it is no where near that size?
 
My roommate had a deaf ASL teacher who learned sign in college.....My other roommate (native Deaf ASL user) and I (not native, not Deaf, but I've been using ASL consistently for years now) are trying to break the bad habits she developed in those classes.....

I'm all for native ASL users teaching ASL, preferably Deaf native ASL users. All of my teachers so far have been Deaf native users, and I can FEEL the benefits when I'm signing and chatting with friends.
 
I have no argument with the idea of it being the best. But, my point (that I have stated several different ways in this thread) is wouldn't you rather have someone learn from a hearing teacher than NOT learn at all? I would like to hear from some of the rest of you besides Frisky who seems to want to keep those of us with no access to a Deaf instructor from learning it at all!
 
Jane B. said:
I have no argument with the idea of it being the best. But, my point (that I have stated several different ways in this thread) is wouldn't you rather have someone learn from a hearing teacher than NOT learn at all? I would like to hear from some of the rest of you besides Frisky who seems to want to keep those of us with no access to a Deaf instructor from learning it at all!
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Just for the sake of argument, if you are going to use ASL, you need to be in an area with a deaf community.

If there is a deaf community, there are deaf teachers.

If you are serious about wanting to be an ASLer, you would likely relocate.

Even if you don't have that available in your community, you can commute to a bigger town with a Deaf teacher to study ASL.
 
Jane B. said:
I have no argument with the idea of it being the best. But, my point (that I have stated several different ways in this thread) is wouldn't you rather have someone learn from a hearing teacher than NOT learn at all? I would like to hear from some of the rest of you besides Frisky who seems to want to keep those of us with no access to a Deaf instructor from learning it at all!
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Ok, my opinion (remember, I'm not Deaf) is that it's best to learn from a native user, period. If a hearing teacher is proficient (read: incredibly, preferably natively, fluent) and there is literally no Deaf teacher willing or able to take the position, then it'll do in a pinch. Depending on the teacher, though, they may have ways of doing things that will only ingrain bad habits. Some may sign SEE, some may sign ASL signs in English word order, and some may use excessive mouthing/fingerspelling.

It looks like you're asking from the perspective of a student looking for ASL instruction. My opinion is that, basically, if the person is completely fluent and has a good understanding of Deaf Culture, are certified, and they conduct their classes in a way similar to a Deaf individual, then it will do. However, with the incredible amount of ASL instruction and resources available on the internet, I think that seeking out a Deaf teacher who is able to do private classes or willing to instruct over Skype or ooVoo, is not only better for the student, it also directly benefits the Deaf Community.

I believe Frisky is on about moving ASL instruction from a hearing-dominated field to a purely Deaf field. I'm all for that. I believe that a school should only hire Deaf instructors, who use ASL natively.
 
Jane B. said:
I have no argument with the idea of it being the best. But, my point (that I have stated several different ways in this thread) is wouldn't you rather have someone learn from a hearing teacher than NOT learn at all? I would like to hear from some of the rest of you besides Frisky who seems to want to keep those of us with no access to a Deaf instructor from learning it at all!
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No. I'd rather learn from a native signer (Deaf, CODA, etc) than a hearing person. Put it another way, I'd rather learn the language right than incorrectly from someone who is teaching their second language.

All my teachers were Deaf (except for one CODA in ASL 1) and it makes a HUGE difference.
 
I know many hearing ASL teachers would kindly ask me to repeat what I just said. My ASL is too fast for them, and I was surprised to know that these people are ASL teachers at some local community colleges. I feel sorry for those students.
 
I have run across a couple of really bad Deaf ASL teachers but it wasn't because they were not fluent; it was just because they don't know how to teach.....
 
Tousi said:
I have run across a couple of really bad Deaf ASL teachers but it wasn't because they were not fluent; it was just because they don't know how to teach.....
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That's the problem as well. I would say there is no such perfect teacher. All I want community college, high school, and universities do a better screening protocol before hiring to become full time ASL teacher. Some DEAF people feel that hearing people with ASL knowledge are "stealing" Deaf jobs as ASL teacher since hearing people are able to find a job easier than Deaf person.
 
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