THE TRUTH
ANOTHER TRUE STORY
Throughout my school life, I have been plucked out of many lessons about 2 or 3 times a week to be trooped off to a local University where they teach students to become teachers of the Deaf.
To their eyes, I was a 'model' pupil, easy target for student teachers to try their skills in teaching me to speak good with that bulky headphones over my ears, using feather prompting me to say my p's, s's, k's, m's, n's etc properly. Oh the look of these student teachers' faces when they thought how well they have done on me and patting my head etc! But with bulky heavy headphones, comes along with sore red swollen ears! Thank you so much!
As years go by, oralist teachers for ever strummed into me on how well I speak and lipread and on how good I will be for society. Me, as a naïve Deafie, nodding my head away feeling clever.
Clever, my word! Real world soon hit me and I realised before it became too late. I was travelling to Portsmouth to meet my fiance by train. I had to change trains from Euston to Waterloo with heavy suitcase. I summoned the help of a porter to carry my suitcase - by the way it was 1966 then! When I uttered the word, Waterloo, which I thought pretty easy to say it with no p's, s's k's etc. The porter did not understand me straight away but off he went carrying my suitcase. He then turned and asked me if I was a French so I said no. We carried on, when he turned and asked me if I was a German so again I said no.
I thought strange, why does he keep asking me if I was foreign so I told him that I am Deaf which he remarked ah that's why!
I did not know what he mean. So when I went home and asked my mum why did he think I was foreign with the questions like that. She told me that I have a Deaf voice - different from hearing people's voice.
From that day on, I realised my true Deaf identity and began to tell people that oralist teachers have brainwashed me in saying I have a good speech to meet society's expectations - that was rubbish and a very BIG lie! Thank goodness I was able to realised my Deaf identity and be proud of it rather than becoming oralist freak!
Brenda Hamlin