Not so Puzzling: My Hearing School Days

deafbajagal said:
I'm sorry you endured that. What pisses me off is that kids are still going through what we did.
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I imagine it's even worse because kids are for more aggressive than they were when I was young.

Thank you for writing that. It was beautiful and heartfelt. I related to 'questions, questions,' so much! I've always describe myself as a 'Why' person. You put into words what I mean by that.

Also, when you wrote 'Voice' I completely understand what you mean. When I say I found my 'Voice' I'm not talking speech either.

And if one more person says to me, "Nevermind," I'm going to hit them! :giggle:
 
It is beautiful! Ah! Daydream was a major part of my daily activities and still it is. And books! This is the only source that I could depend on. *sigh* What bother me is it will again in full circle once i will again mainstreamed in university.
 
One deaf friend from work told me that she was very unhappy with her mainstream school. She didn't understand the interpreter who signed too fast since her teacher talked too fast. She didn't learn much and didn't have a good social life there. I asked her why she didn't go to a deaf school. She said her parents won't send her there because they wanted to see her at home everyday.

My wife went to a special program for the Deaf at public HS with only 8 deaf students. She didn't like it and wished that she went to a deaf school so she'd meet alot of deaf students socially there. The same reason above why her parents didn't send her there.

Some hearing parents don't feel comfortable sending their deaf kids to a deaf school where they stay for 5 days a week so they send their kids to a mainstream school nearby instead. That's fucked up.
 
rebeccalj said:
I imagine it's even worse because kids are for more aggressive than they were when I was young.

Thank you for writing that. It was beautiful and heartfelt. I related to 'questions, questions,' so much! I've always describe myself as a 'Why' person. You put into words what I mean by that.

Also, when you wrote 'Voice' I completely understand what you mean. When I say I found my 'Voice' I'm not talking speech either.

And if one more person says to me, "Nevermind," I'm going to hit them! :giggle:
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The Neverminds get a good lecture from me...I totally agree. LOL
 
sarahkhan said:
It is beautiful! Ah! Daydream was a major part of my daily activities and still it is. And books! This is the only source that I could depend on. *sigh* What bother me is it will again in full circle once i will again mainstreamed in university.
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My university experiences were more positive than in high school, and hopefully it will be.the same for you. I wish you the best in your endeavors.
 
CrazyPaul said:
One deaf friend from work told me that she was very unhappy with her mainstream school. She didn't understand the interpreter who signed too fast since her teacher talked too fast. She didn't learn much and didn't have a good social life there. I asked her why she didn't go to a deaf school. She said her parents won't send her there because they wanted to see her at home everyday.



My wife went to a special program for the Deaf at public HS with only 8 deaf students. She didn't like it and wished that she went to a deaf school so she'd meet alot of deaf students socially there. The same reason above why her parents didn't send her there.

Some hearing parents don't feel comfortable sending their deaf kids to a deaf school where they stay for 5 days a week so they send their kids to a mainstream school nearby instead. That's fucked up.
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It does seem that the location of the deaf school is one of the most common reasons parents won't send their kids there. I admire parents who are willing to pull up their roots and move close enough to the schools. I understand some families simply can't. In that case, make sure the child is getting full access to language both at home and school. If the parents are not going to take the time to communicate fully, then the kid is better off in the dorm. What many of us endured in the mainstreamed environment was neglect, abuse on many levels. I've been through a lot of shit in my life...rape, cancer, etc...but when I look back, my years of mainstreamed education did the most damage to me psychologically. I'm still trying to deal with the anger and resentment. When parents in this forum are so sure that their kids are doing well, I often wonder...because everyone called me the poster child of successful mainstreaming with no accommodations. I played that role beautifully because I wanted to meet their expectations.
 
deafbajagal said:
It does seem that the location of the deaf school is one of the most common reasons parents won't send their kids there. I admire parents who are willing to pull up their roots and move close enough to the schools. I understand some families simply can't. In that case, make sure the child is getting full access to language both at home and school. If the parents are not going to take the time to communicate fully, then the kid is better off in the dorm. What many of us endured in the mainstreamed environment was neglect, abuse on many levels. I've been through a lot of shit in my life...rape, cancer, etc...but when I look back, my years of mainstreamed education did the most damage to me psychologically. I'm still trying to deal with the anger and resentment. When parents in this forum are so sure that their kids are doing well, I often wonder...because everyone called me the poster child of successful mainstreaming with no accommodations. I played that role beautifully because I wanted to meet their expectations.
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*nods* Yes exactly. And the thing is.......I don't think any of us are arguing for little kids living in the dorms. Little kids need to be with their parents and attend day programs until they are old enough for dorming it. By little kids I mean 10 and under....(and I think there might be some wiggle room with 8 and 9 year olds) I do however think that the dorms are unfairly demonized.
People who are anti dorm seem to demonize them as some sort of Willowbrook setup. In reality, a really good residental program can be like summer camp or a vibrant healthy community. I do think that there were a lot of problems back in the old days before insistutional reform. But still....I think there is a time and a place for dorms. Heck, I think that one way to promote Deaf Schools might be to create and advertise a program especially for middle and high school kids who are struggling in the mainstream.
Middle and high school kids are generally old enough to live at school. HELLO.....Hearing kids are sent to boarding prep schools! I really think that a LOT of parents and experts who push inclusion and mainstreaming have totally and completly forgotten how bad middle and high school is for kids.
 
Dixie said:
That was good!

Sometimes I wonder what it would have happened if I had just simply gotten up out of class and walked out of school? I remember being so bullied, picked on, and lonely that I begged my parents to transfer me to another school. Maybe if I had just walked out that it would have sent the message through loud and clear that I would rather not go to school at all than to have to go to that school.

I remember by grade 9 I was seriously considering just dropping out because things had gotten so bad.
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I was writing a letter to my best friend and telling her about how bad school was for me. I told her that sometimes I still wish I had gotten the nerve to run away from this hellhole. My parents are still SO clueless about the hell I went through. An obscence letter being sent to me (and the school was all ...oh whatever....boys will be boys :roll:), tacks being put on my chair, being tormented and teased and thought of as mentally handicapped b/c of the way I speak, having my bike stolen just b/c it was mine, being told I sucked when I was doing NOTHING more then walking down the street. I wish so badly I had run away or known about deaf school.......high school was a living hell.
 
deafbajagal said:
My university experiences were more positive than in high school, and hopefully it will be.the same for you. I wish you the best in your endeavors.
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You were mainstream in university too? Hopefully my university life come off better than my previous schoool or college life.
deafbajagal said:
It does seem that the location of the deaf school is one of the most common reasons parents won't send their kids there. I admire parents who are willing to pull up their roots and move close enough to the schools. I understand some families simply can't. In that case, make sure the child is getting full access to language both at home and school. If the parents are not going to take the time to communicate fully, then the kid is better off in the dorm. What many of us endured in the mainstreamed environment was neglect, abuse on many levels. I've been through a lot of shit in my life...rape, cancer, etc...but when I look back, my years of mainstreamed education did the most damage to me psychologically. I'm still trying to deal with the anger and resentment. When parents in this forum are so sure that their kids are doing well, I often wonder...because everyone called me the poster child of successful mainstreaming with no accommodations. I played that role beautifully because I wanted to meet their expectations.
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I agree. Since moving to another country would probably made financial issue or my dad would have to get green card and so on....but what annoyed me that, they dont want to send me alone to abroad because they think I cannot survive alone because I am deaf:squint:. They even went far such that my they put my brother in the same class as me after O level "( MY FATHER..."Oh, isnt that a good? you both will pass the exam together and can go abroad together and he can help you in communication with people" like I am some retard that need constant eye :S Why parents think that being a deaf does not mean I am weak that I need some one to accompany me:shock:).

Yes, in my case too, mainstreaming high school caused me greater damaged to me than other dangerous thing. I was almost gang raped when I was still in grade 6(that was a horrible experience) and I did not mention it to my parents and not even to anyone. I had hard time dealing with my trauma. But the level of horrible experience in mainstreaming life is nothing comparable. The main reason that I overcome that trauma for that incident is probably thank to my endurance in school life. MY pain in my lonesome experience was far greater than trauma, that I managed to overcome that incident.
 
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I'm sorry you went through that experience. I know what you mean, as I was assaulted abd nearly killed...it was a horrific experience, but being mainstreamed had more of a negative impact on me. I so hope you're able to share your experiences with someone you can confide in...the more you speak out, the better. Are you able to interact with other deaf people your age near where you live?
 
I do have to say that I think a lot of the initial reports of "OMG oral deaf kids are doing SO much better then in the past!" are by parents who buy into that whole inclusion crap as "OMG my kid is going to be all "healthy and normal" Like they think that their kids are doing SO well socially when in fact it's just normal superfical kid interaction. It's the same reaction that parents of kids in inclusion get.....and it's well known that elementary school interaction isn't really predictive of what comes next. I also think a lot of the kids whose parents think they're doing well are in actuallity parotting what their mommys think.......
 
Books were and are still my lifeline it seems.

DBG - I meant to says earlier that this was a beautiful story.
 
deafdyke said:
I do have to say that I think a lot of the initial reports of "OMG oral deaf kids are doing SO much better then in the past!" are by parents who buy into that whole inclusion crap as "OMG my kid is going to be all "healthy and normal" Like they think that their kids are doing SO well socially when in fact it's just normal superfical kid interaction. It's the same reaction that parents of kids in inclusion get.....and it's well known that elementary school interaction isn't really predictive of what comes next. I also think a lot of the kids whose parents think they're doing well are in actuallity parotting what their mommys think.......
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Yes! And inclusion, if you are quiet and really pay attention, you see that the 'normal' kids talk about the 'other group' in "pull-out" (ESE) ... you could be leaving for classes you were ahead in or behind in...
 
FireTiger said:
Yes! And inclusion, if you are quiet and really pay attention, you see that the 'normal' kids talk about the 'other group' in "pull-out" (ESE) ... you could be leaving for classes you were ahead in or behind in...
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I KNOW!!!!!! The fact of the matter is that inclusion just is utter bullshit. It's like trickle down educational theroy.
 
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