A venting...

shel90 said:
All the deaf families that I have met want their children to become proficient in English too. never met a deaf family who has said no to English.
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Nor have I. That is the very foundation of the bilingual/bicultural philosophy.
 
We definitely need more DEAF Teachers! Not many young deaf children are getting access to Deaf role models throughout their school years, which is really sad.

I am studying to become a Teacher of the Deaf, and I have been profoundly Deaf since birth. I am very adamant & proud about my deafness, and I won't let anything empower over me, myself and my deafness.

I learnt few weeks ago at a Deafhood presentation that Australia has NEVER had a Deaf principal - shows you how behind Australia is with Deaf education!
 
shezzbeav said:
We definitely need more DEAF Teachers! Not many young deaf children are getting access to Deaf role models throughout their school years, which is really sad.

I am studying to become a Teacher of the Deaf, and I have been profoundly Deaf since birth. I am very adamant & proud about my deafness, and I won't let anything empower over me, myself and my deafness.

I learnt few weeks ago at a Deafhood presentation that Australia has NEVER had a Deaf principal - shows you how behind Australia is with Deaf education!
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I agree with you completely!
 
shel90 said:
With the attitudes out there and even in some cases, people are demanding hearing teachers teach their children with CIs not the deaf teachers even if the languages being used are ASL and spoken English.

My question is...should deaf people now who are thinking about becoming teachers using ASL should even bother study for the field of Deaf education? Go thru 6 years of college only to find out that they cant teach deaf kids because of the demand for spoken language in the classroom?

What do u think? Shoud we just let hearing people take over Deaf ed again since it looks like it is leading towards that path with more and more children being implanted?

Should deaf people not run the risk of wasting their time and money going to college for a field that may discriminate against them in the future?

I am starting to feel a little bit of the discrimination ...not subtle but it is starting to happen.

Or just go for it and take the risks and prove these hearing people wrong?

The field of Deaf ed wasnt what I expected when I first applied ...all I wanted to teach all deaf children but only to end up battling the fight between ASL and Spoken English. That is not my passion..my passion is the children, not the political BS with the medical views.

It really brings me down sometimes cuz I feel like I am not good enough for deaf children anymore sometimes.
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Shel I truly DO understand your frustration.. but the answer isn't so simple. I would LOVE to have someone like you be my son's teacher- you seem really dedicated to your students and truly look out for their best interests, however, I would also want a hearing teacher who speaks to expose my child to spoken language as well. Kind of what I am getting at home, but in the school enviroment- the best of both worlds. Unfortunately, in the oral approach, there is no exposure to sign, and in the bi-bi enviroment, there is no exposure to spoken language. So it's as if you are damned if you do, damned if you don't. I see the value in both, signing and speaking and I would want my child exposed to both in the classroom. At this time, however, I can honestly say in my area, I am sticking with a mainstream program with hearing teachers. The other programs don't even hold a candle- sad, but true. Hey if you ever want to move up to New York, look me up. I've got a kid I would love for you to tutor!!!
 
doubletrouble said:
Shel I truly DO understand your frustration.. but the answer isn't so simple. I would LOVE to have someone like you be my son's teacher- you seem really dedicated to your students and truly look out for their best interests, however, I would also want a hearing teacher who speaks to expose my child to spoken language as well. Kind of what I am getting at home, but in the school enviroment- the best of both worlds. Unfortunately, in the oral approach, there is no exposure to sign, and in the bi-bi enviroment, there is no exposure to spoken language. So it's as if you are damned if you do, damned if you don't. I see the value in both, signing and speaking and I would want my child exposed to both in the classroom. At this time, however, I can honestly say in my area, I am sticking with a mainstream program with hearing teachers. The other programs don't even hold a candle- sad, but true. Hey if you ever want to move up to New York, look me up. I've got a kid I would love for you to tutor!!!
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We would all be lucky to have more educators like shel to teach our deaf children. What an advantage it would be!
 
Oh wow! I almost forgot all about this thread! LOL!

Thanks everyone for the vote of confidence! :hug:
 
Shel, We definitely need more like you! As opposed to Samantha's teacher who told us she (Samantha) does not legally qualify for modified grading scale because she has no medical diagnosis! ( We only agreed to it so the teacher would be able to spend one on one time with her, not for the grades) If being deaf is not a medical diagnosis, what the heck is it?! If not for the fact it is my child we are discussing, this would be hilarious!!
 
samanthasmom said:
Shel, We definitely need more like you! As opposed to Samantha's teacher who told us she (Samantha) does not legally qualify for modified grading scale because she has no medical diagnosis! ( We only agreed to it so the teacher would be able to spend one on one time with her, not for the grades) If being deaf is not a medical diagnosis, what the heck is it?! If not for the fact it is my child we are discussing, this would be hilarious!!
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Get ready. You will hear some absurd comments in your battle to get servieces for your child! Been there, done that! Just try to retain your sense of humor through it all.
 
samanthasmom said:
Sad, no?
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No doubt! I actually had a teacher say, when my son was in the first grade, that he didn't need a terp in class at that age. When the material got harder around the 4th or 5th grade, then we could discuss it!:roll:

I just looked at her and said, "And you actually have a teaching certificate. Did you take the test yourself?"
 
Wish I would have read this before I PMd you...Feel free to post that here, I don't know how to..goes right along with what you just said!
 
Per samanthasmom's request, here is the PM that we shared.

Originally Posted by samanthasmom
How about this one..progress report just came home, still doing the number grading scale. 1-3. Her "grade for literacy/reading - 1. Does not meet expectations for second grade. (We expected that) Her "grade" for Social Studies - 3. Meets expectations for second grade. Now to whom does that make sense?! I'm not questioning the literacy, I know where she is (have her privately tested at least twice a year). Cannot quite understand how she can grasp SS without literacy. Am I crazy?

No, you aren't crazy at all. If her reading comprehension is at a one, then any subject that requires reading comprehension will be a one or lower! I don't know how they justify some of these responses. I was not very popular with the school system, because I continually challenged crap like that.
 
samanthasmom said:
I have never been the most popular mom. Me thinks it is getting ready to get worse!
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I will be here to help you get through it. Like you, it was always more important to me to make sure my son's needs were met than whether his teacher or principal thought I was a nice mommy!:giggle:
 
shezzbeav said:
We definitely need more DEAF Teachers! Not many young deaf children are getting access to Deaf role models throughout their school years, which is really sad.

I am studying to become a Teacher of the Deaf, and I have been profoundly Deaf since birth. I am very adamant & proud about my deafness, and I won't let anything empower over me, myself and my deafness.

I learnt few weeks ago at a Deafhood presentation that Australia has NEVER had a Deaf principal - shows you how behind Australia is with Deaf education!
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First of all, that's great you're studying to be a teacher of the deaf. Methinks you'll do a good job.

By the way, my former school have had two deaf principals. One was the founder of the school until hearies took over and demoted him. Very nice, huh? Other was a female who got the job few years ago, but later on quit.
 
samanthasmom said:
I have never been the most popular mom. Me thinks it is getting ready to get worse!
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Well, sometimes one have to go thru the worst to get what their kid needs. Your child will thank you for all the hard yakka you've put into creating a correct education, and eventually give them the means to develop a future for themself.

My mother told me she've had to fight with Dept of Education to get what I need and overode their plans for me. I can assure she wasn't a popular parent at my school because she was quite outspoken on my behalf, hehe. But then she was in the minority of parents, at school, who'd advocate for their child.

Now I'm thankful she cared so much to see that I get what I needed.

By the way, you're lucky to have Jillio in your corner. Now the educators won't know what've hit them when you stand up to them and be very demanding on your kid's behalf. Good luck. :)
 
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