sorry, i had no clue where to put this, but i need advice please

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harper_x3

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okay, so my boyfriend (he has severe hearing loss & uses oralism) is taking a shakespeare course & for one of the assignments he has to memorize prospero's speech from the tempest & then present it to the class. he was told that he could write it down from memory instead of presenting it to the class, but he was encouraged to "take the challenge and present it in front of the whole class." he seemed okay about it at first, but then when he got home he seemed really upset. i've never been in this situation before & i don't know how to go about it...should i help him prepare for it? or should i encourage him to talk to his teacher about his options for the assignment? any advice would be great.
 
harper_x3 said:
okay, so my boyfriend (he has severe hearing loss & uses oralism) is taking a shakespeare course & for one of the assignments he has to memorize prospero's speech from the tempest & then present it to the class. he was told that he could write it down from memory instead of presenting it to the class, but he was encouraged to "take the challenge and present it in front of the whole class." he seemed okay about it at first, but then when he got home he seemed really upset. i've never been in this situation before & i don't know how to go about it...should i help him prepare for it? or should i encourage him to talk to his teacher about his options for the assignment? any advice would be great.
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He is an adult right? I think it would be better if he worked it out on his own.
 
I had studied Shakespeare with my special education English teacher from High School many years ago. It was a hard study but I liked the poetry and the plays. Memorizing the Tempest or whatever play or poetry he want to memorize has to do it on himself. He is not a baby. It is best not to help him unless he ask you for help if it is too hard for him to understand the words like meaning of the words but other than that he can handle by himself. You can not do his homework for him.

P.S. I hope he has Deaf programs like notetakers or CART if he is not signing ASL. If he sign ASL, he could get an interpreter to help him understand in the classroom. Just pass the word to your boyfriend and he will take it from there. He does not need your help. He will thank you. Good luck. :)
 
Does he have a deaf accent or something? Wear HAs? I'm not really getting why he would have an issue presenting the speech. I have severe, borderline profound loss, and I use oral communication as well the majority of the time. I have presented countless speeches and there's never been any problem. Is there a specific issue bothering him?
 
natty_4ever said:
Does he have a deaf accent or something? Wear HAs? I'm not really getting why he would have an issue presenting the speech. I have severe, borderline profound loss, and I use oral communication as well the majority of the time. I have presented countless speeches and there's never been any problem. Is there a specific issue bothering him?
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I have profound loss and someone described me as sounding like a preschooler. The voice is not at all the point here.

He has the option of written form. The advice we were giving is that she is diminishing him by treating him as if he can't do it himself.

And while I congratulate you on your oral success, it absolutely is not the point here.
 
Oh, I was just stating my similarity to his case, she said he has a severe loss and uses oralism as well. I thought I could share my experience with speeches since we had a similar situation. What I meant was, if it was his voice that's a problem, he could write, or if he was embarassed about his HAs or whatnot, I just wanted to know something more specific. That's all. :)
 
I never liked giving out speeches. Sometimes in the middle of the speech, I tell the teacher I can't go any further. The nervousness, the idea that I can't say things properly in front of hearing kids, and my poor sentence structures. I couldn't bear getting front of the kids and show them how badly I do.
 
I agree with Bott. Don't question his decision or his ability. Be supportive.
 
I can speak, but there is no way I would stand infront of a group and talk.
 
sallylou said:
I agree with Bott. Don't question his decision or his ability. Be supportive.
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sorry if my first post wasn't clear, but i'm not trying to question his decision or ability. i am asking how should i go about supporting him.
 
natty_4ever said:
Does he have a deaf accent or something? Wear HAs? I'm not really getting why he would have an issue presenting the speech. I have severe, borderline profound loss, and I use oral communication as well the majority of the time. I have presented countless speeches and there's never been any problem. Is there a specific issue bothering him?
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yes he has a deaf accent & yes he wears hearing aids. he said "i know the second i open my mouth people are going to stare at me like i'm from another planet."
 
Well i would say that encouaging him is a good thing but also stand by him no matter witch way he desides to go with his asignment but try encouraging him he might suprise you and histeacher and good luck to him if he decides to present infront of his class and if not then atleast her considered the idea.
 
Oh, well then I would just tell him to choose whichever he feels more confident and comfortable with. It seems he would prefer writing it from what you've said, so that's a solution. If he feels more comfortable with that, he's more likely to do better than if he were nervous or what have you presenting a speech. The teacher may not have understood that he was not totally at home with the idea of a big speech.
 
I don't see what's to be upset about. He was simply "encouraged" to try a challenging approach, which is to say it out loud in front of the class or sign it in front of the class.

If he's offended by the part that the teacher even brought up the idea of him being allowed to write it down from memory, then he should be a bit open-minded for the teacher might have not had full understanding of his limitations due to his hearing loss and thought it was just an idea he could use (in accordance to necessary accommodations).

It's like me and my deaf friend being in line at a local Taco Bell. We could be signing the whole time in line, but when I approach the counter... the employee offers me a pen & paper. I can speak for myself. Does that give me reason to get all upset with that employee for making me feel inferior or making the wrong assumption? He saw me signing and saw that I wore hearing aids. So, he assumed I was deaf and offered a pen & paper so I could write down my order. No, I shouldn't. I can simply start talking and make my order, but give the paper & pen to my friend (who I know would use it). No harm done. He was simply trying to be accommodating. Nothing to be all upset over.

So, what is he really upset about?
 
Ask him if he would like you to help? He can tell you what is helpful. Maybe you could be his audience for practice? You can time the presentation for him. I'm sure that he would appreciate your offer. Don't be disappointed if he declines your help though. Trust that he knows what he needs. :wave:
 
VamPyroX said:
I don't see what's to be upset about. He was simply "encouraged" to try a challenging approach, which is to say it out loud in front of the class or sign it in front of the class.

If he's offended by the part that the teacher even brought up the idea of him being allowed to write it down from memory, then he should be a bit open-minded for the teacher might have not had full understanding of his limitations due to his hearing loss and thought it was just an idea he could use (in accordance to necessary accommodations).

It's like me and my deaf friend being in line at a local Taco Bell. We could be signing the whole time in line, but when I approach the counter... the employee offers me a pen & paper. I can speak for myself. Does that give me reason to get all upset with that employee for making me feel inferior or making the wrong assumption? He saw me signing and saw that I wore hearing aids. So, he assumed I was deaf and offered a pen & paper so I could write down my order. No, I shouldn't. I can simply start talking and make my order, but give the paper & pen to my friend (who I know would use it). No harm done. He was simply trying to be accommodating. Nothing to be all upset over.

So, what is he really upset about?
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I think Bott is saying that his girlfriend doesn't need to do anything other than support him. he can take care of the issue himself. It's kinda like your mom doing everything for you when you have a problem.

I don't think he was offended by the teacher.. I think he realize what it is like to speak in front of the class, that's all. Some deaf people can be very overly self -conscience about speaking. Me, I hate looking like a fool in front of hearing kids.
 
Lighthouse77 said:
I think Bott is saying that his girlfriend doesn't need to do anything other than support him. he can take care of the issue himself. It's kinda like your mom doing everything for you when you have a problem.

I don't think he was offended by the teacher.. I think he realize what it is like to speak in front of the class, that's all. Some deaf people can be very overly self -conscience about speaking. Me, I hate looking like a fool in front of hearing kids.
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Of course, she can be supportive.

It's often difficult to be supportive when you don't know what's going on. He's upset about it, but she doesn't know what he's upset about.

"Oh, my boyfriend was upset yesterday. But I gave him my support. Hope he does better."

"Really? That's kind of you. What was he upset about?"

"Oh, I dunno."

Kinda makes you look ignorant when you're being supportive for unknown reasons.

I'm not expecting the girlfriend to do something for him or help him. I'm not expecting anyone to help him. I'm just wondering about what part of the whole thing he's upset about. :dunno:
 
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