Miss-Delectable
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Deaf Teacher And Her Students Are Still Fighting For Her Job | Education | Change.org
No one knows the differences between deaf culture and hearing culture better than Jaye Brown. She experiences them every day - as an American Sign Language teacher, and as a deaf person herself. She's spent 12 and a half years teaching ASL at Redding, California's Shasta College, and has a loyal following of students that prove she's good at it.
Now, she's fighting for her job because a student complained about gestures she made. She and her students say that this is merely a cultural difference -- part of the "lost in translation" gap between deaf and hearing culture. But Shasta's administration continues to patronize and belittle the work of the students rallying around Brown, and Brown is still out of a job.
As Change.org reported earlier this month, Brown was dismissed by administrators who said someone had complained about a gesture she'd made. But in deaf culture, where gestures are used to describe people and/or body parts, something can look crude that is actually completely benign. Instead of acknowledging this, though, Shasta officials are refusing to talk about it, and hoping the issue goes away.
Take it from the expert: on the Facebook group Brown's students created to support her, she shared a letter she wrote to the administration. "Many believe American Sign Language is similar to English and 'normal' American culture," she wrote. "It is not. Students have difficulty learning to use their hands and expressions properly and have even more difficulty learning to read others' signs and expressions. There are definite cultural differences, such as the usage of gestures to identify people, more than signs... This can upset many students, so they are never told to voice these descriptions nor are they used in any tests or quizzes."
In this case, Brown and her students are saying, a student who was offended complained to the administration, and Brown was fired. This has created a huge rift on campus and within the popular American Sign Language program. And all because of a communication gap. How ironic, since Brown has dedicated her life to helping her students close that gap.
Beyond the Facebook group, Brown's loyal students are writing letters, meeting with administrators and asking supporters to sign the Change.org petition urging Shasta College to right this wrong. Brown is consulting with a lawyer. But instead of creating a dialogue on campus and using this as a teaching moment, Shasta's Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dr. William Cochran, has refused to look at the Change.org petition or talk about any cultural differences, Brown's student Nick Norman said. Norman and other students are continuing to meet with Cochran and other administrators. You can call Cochran's office at (530) 242-7524 to express your support for Brown, too.
Many of Brown's students say she's inspired them to become ASL teachers; still more say that she changed their whole perspective on how humans communicate. Now they're turning around and helping her. Tell Shasta College that sweeping this issue under the rug won't make it go away.
No one knows the differences between deaf culture and hearing culture better than Jaye Brown. She experiences them every day - as an American Sign Language teacher, and as a deaf person herself. She's spent 12 and a half years teaching ASL at Redding, California's Shasta College, and has a loyal following of students that prove she's good at it.
Now, she's fighting for her job because a student complained about gestures she made. She and her students say that this is merely a cultural difference -- part of the "lost in translation" gap between deaf and hearing culture. But Shasta's administration continues to patronize and belittle the work of the students rallying around Brown, and Brown is still out of a job.
As Change.org reported earlier this month, Brown was dismissed by administrators who said someone had complained about a gesture she'd made. But in deaf culture, where gestures are used to describe people and/or body parts, something can look crude that is actually completely benign. Instead of acknowledging this, though, Shasta officials are refusing to talk about it, and hoping the issue goes away.
Take it from the expert: on the Facebook group Brown's students created to support her, she shared a letter she wrote to the administration. "Many believe American Sign Language is similar to English and 'normal' American culture," she wrote. "It is not. Students have difficulty learning to use their hands and expressions properly and have even more difficulty learning to read others' signs and expressions. There are definite cultural differences, such as the usage of gestures to identify people, more than signs... This can upset many students, so they are never told to voice these descriptions nor are they used in any tests or quizzes."
In this case, Brown and her students are saying, a student who was offended complained to the administration, and Brown was fired. This has created a huge rift on campus and within the popular American Sign Language program. And all because of a communication gap. How ironic, since Brown has dedicated her life to helping her students close that gap.
Beyond the Facebook group, Brown's loyal students are writing letters, meeting with administrators and asking supporters to sign the Change.org petition urging Shasta College to right this wrong. Brown is consulting with a lawyer. But instead of creating a dialogue on campus and using this as a teaching moment, Shasta's Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dr. William Cochran, has refused to look at the Change.org petition or talk about any cultural differences, Brown's student Nick Norman said. Norman and other students are continuing to meet with Cochran and other administrators. You can call Cochran's office at (530) 242-7524 to express your support for Brown, too.
Many of Brown's students say she's inspired them to become ASL teachers; still more say that she changed their whole perspective on how humans communicate. Now they're turning around and helping her. Tell Shasta College that sweeping this issue under the rug won't make it go away.
