"In-between"

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It is apparent some people here hate Deaf schools. Leave them be. I noticed that none of them grew up deaf. Interesting.
 
NitroHonda said:
I call 'em mainstreaming rejects. I was one of them too as I entered TSD while in middle school. It's absolutely true. So many of those kids are mainstreaming failures and they are shipped to the Deaf school as a last resort... which ULTIMATELY hurts the numbers that TXgolfer looks for. Look at their ECE program before you guage their high school numbers. Indiana was a school that's not known for their quality of education but if you look at their ECE program... be prepared to be blown away. Honestly... it's unfair that the rejects drag our success stories down.
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I know..thats what most people do not understand no matter how many times it has been explained to them.

All they see is the numbers and cry "foul". How many of them have actually been inside a Deaf school? My guess would be 0.
 
shel90 said:
It is apparent some people here hate Deaf schools. Leave them be. I noticed that none of them grew up deaf. Interesting.
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I can't leave them be. If one sees the light... then I will have succeeded. I know for sure that the PIP and ECE programs at TSD have really jumped in numbers over the past 5 years. It's gotten big enough to where they have several classrooms for the fifth graders. When my son first started attending, there were about 60 kids in the elementary department. Now there's a tad over 150 (confirmed by elem Principal just a few mins ago). Parents are starting to wise up and not allow these "rejects" skew the numbers anymore. It's definitely good times now.
 
First off, I feel I should say that I did not mean for this to become a topic of massive debate. I asked for opinions/thoughts, true, but I think that people should be able to express a thought or opinion and that thought or opinion be allowed to stand on its own merrit. I am a smart person and as someone else noted, proactive :). I can follow internet links to read information and I can talk with people at agencies to find out what their agency or school could offer for my child (we will actually be visiting FSDB's open house next week and after that, if I like what I see, I will be scheduling an appt. to talk with someone at the school one-on-one). I appreciate everyone's views but I don't want people getting defensive or offensive just because others don't agree with their views. Everyone speaks from their own lense of experience, whether that be growing up dhh, becoming dhh later in life, parent of a dhh kid, or family member of dhh person, and all the other in-between spots that I might have missed. Some people's experiences with mainstream have been HORRIBLE- I get that. Some people's experience with deaf schools have been HORRIBLE too- I get that. Some people feel that children should be given ASL only for certain reasons while some people feel that they should be given oral only because we live in a predominately hearing world and they will need that when they grow up and try to interact with that world. Some people feel that they should have the best of both worlds- oral and ASL- so that they can eventually choose for themselves what feels right. I guess I am just asking for everyone to hold back the "knee-jerk" reactions and really think before you respond to someone. Think "am I responding because it is helpful for the OP to know this information or am I responding because I feel I need to defend myself/my point of view"- and if you think you are responding because you feel you need to defend yourself or your point of view, maybe don't respond right away, maybe give it some time and let the initial feeling of hurt/anger/frustration/irritation/etc. pass and you might realize that you really didn't need to respond to that feeling. Some of you might agree with me on this, some of you might still feel like it is worth "beating a dead horse" to try to get your specific view across. I am just asking that everyone try to take just one minute to REALLY understand where another person might be coming from- try to look through their rose or purple or grey or whatever colored lenses they might have on at this moment and see what they are seeing... And again- thank you all for your input, I really do appreciate your thoughts and the passion with which some of you speak :).
 
JadeSkye said:
First off, I feel I should say that I did not mean for this to become a topic of massive debate. I asked for opinions/thoughts, true, but I think that people should be able to express a thought or opinion and that thought or opinion be allowed to stand on its own merrit. I am a smart person and as someone else noted, proactive :). I can follow internet links to read information and I can talk with people at agencies to find out what their agency or school could offer for my child (we will actually be visiting FSDB's open house next week and after that, if I like what I see, I will be scheduling an appt. to talk with someone at the school one-on-one). I appreciate everyone's views but I don't want people getting defensive or offensive just because others don't agree with their views. Everyone speaks from their own lense of experience, whether that be growing up dhh, becoming dhh later in life, parent of a dhh kid, or family member of dhh person, and all the other in-between spots that I might have missed. Some people's experiences with mainstream have been HORRIBLE- I get that. Some people's experience with deaf schools have been HORRIBLE too- I get that. Some people feel that children should be given ASL only for certain reasons while some people feel that they should be given oral only because we live in a predominately hearing world and they will need that when they grow up and try to interact with that world. Some people feel that they should have the best of both worlds- oral and ASL- so that they can eventually choose for themselves what feels right. I guess I am just asking for everyone to hold back the "knee-jerk" reactions and really think before you respond to someone. Think "am I responding because it is helpful for the OP to know this information or am I responding because I feel I need to defend myself/my point of view"- and if you think you are responding because you feel you need to defend yourself or your point of view, maybe don't respond right away, maybe give it some time and let the initial feeling of hurt/anger/frustration/irritation/etc. pass and you might realize that you really didn't need to respond to that feeling. Some of you might agree with me on this, some of you might still feel like it is worth "beating a dead horse" to try to get your specific view across. I am just asking that everyone try to take just one minute to REALLY understand where another person might be coming from- try to look through their rose or purple or grey or whatever colored lenses they might have on at this moment and see what they are seeing... And again- thank you all for your input, I really do appreciate your thoughts and the passion with which some of you speak :).
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Just a point of clarification... NOT ONE PERSON advocated an ASL only approach. Bilingual/bicultural. Only certain oralists have taken a hard line on oralism. Also, I think a lot of oral folks here have definitely advocated
the use of sign language. I don't think that's the topic at hand. Just the quality of education offered.

Best wishes to your family on your journey however y'all decide to go about it. It's going to be a heck of a ride no matter what.
 
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JadeSkye said:
I'm actually glad you guys brought up how hard it is to deal with sound without your hearing aids. I just posted in the parents section asking for ideas on how to help her deal with sounds when out in public. It seems that since she has been exhibiting signs of not being able to hear well it has been so much harder to take her out in public. She inevitably gets cranky or screeches because she wants something or just plain doesn't "listen" (she was never like this before- she was always just content to sit in the cart and talk with us and so forth, which I guess she really can't do now). Do you have any ideas on how I can make things easier/smoother for EVERYONE involved when taking her out in public? Is there anything I can do for her to make being in public less stressful?
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Hearing aids can be overstimulating at times. She is not used to all the sounds and noise when out in public. It is overwhelming. Even as an adult I come home from work and out goes my HAs.

Edited... Without hearing aids she seems to be a normal frusterated two year old that has a difficult time expressing her wants and needs. It perhaps is more difficult since communication is limited for her as of now. I went to a public school and mainstreamed with hearing children until I decided to attend to FSDB. I continued speech therapy and Mainstreamed to St Aug High School. Loved it there.
 
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shel90 said:
It is apparent some people here hate Deaf schools. Leave them be. I noticed that none of them grew up deaf. Interesting.
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I haven't seen anyone indicate that they "hate deaf schools."
 
shel90 said:
I know..thats what most people do not understand no matter how many times it has been explained to them.

All they see is the numbers and cry "foul". How many of them have actually been inside a Deaf school? My guess would be 0.
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I have. More than one actually. Academics should certainly be a consideration, after all the whole point of school is education.
 
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sarcasticly " I just love how people call the rejects"
In saying that. I was not a reject. I made excellent grades in mainstreamed schools. Had friends. I chose to goto a Deaf school to explore and be with people like me.
 
Babyblue said:
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sarcasticly " I just love how people call the rejects"
In saying that. I was not a reject. I made excellent grades in mainstreamed schools. Had friends. I chose to goto a Deaf school to explore and be with people like me.
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Same here but I had a few "behavioral" problems as I fought back all the time. You failed to see the motive but I will apologize for lumping you in with them. My intent was not to offend but to educate. If you honestly think about it... could it be possible to consider wanting to be with "people like you" is akin to rejection by your local peers.
 
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NitroHonda said:
Babyblue said:
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sarcasticly " I just love how people call the rejects"
In saying that. I was not a reject. I made excellent grades in mainstreamed schools. Had friends. I chose to goto a Deaf school to explore and be with people like me.
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Same here but I had a few "behavioral" problems as I fought back all the time. You failed to see the motive but I will apologize for lumping you in with them. My intent was not to offend but to educate. If you honestly think about it... could it be possible to consider wanting to be with "people like you" is akin to rejection by your local peers.
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No. I wanted to be with people like me and to be with other Deaf people that understands. To be honest with you I was rejected by my deaf peers when I first started FSD. Because I did not know ASL at the time and was insulted by having the index finger on the forehead. It took a long time for them to accept me for who I am.
 
Babyblue said:
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To be honest with you I was rejected by my deaf peers when I first started FSD. Because I did not know ASL at the time and was insulted by having the index finger on the forehead. It took a long time for them to accept me for who I am.
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I know. It's definitely a very real issue.
 
TXgolfer said:
A lack of "love" does not equal "hate."

What you see are people who are neutral.
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I'm neutral. Just because I'm not beating the drumbeat for ASL only doesn't mean I don't see the necessity of it for language aquisition. I know very well that if a child doesn't have the exposure of a 1st language, they will undoubtedly be delayed in aquiring ANY language. However, I also see the value in having speech also. I value both, and, I have seen children thrive with both.
 
TXgolfer said:
A lack of "love" does not equal "hate."

What you see are people who are neutral.
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Doesnt convince me. I know the history of this forum and some of the people. I am not stupid.
 
shel90 said:
Doesnt convince me. I know the history of this forum and some of the people. I am not stupid.
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Not to be rude, but it may be your perception of others rather than reality. Stands to reason that as an employee of a deaf school you might harbor some bias on this issue and take any lack of support for that institution as hate. But that is not the case. I am pretty certain that those who agree with me on this topic just want the best for each child regardless of which school provides that. Ultimately it is the parent's decision.
 
TXgolfer said:
Not to be rude, but it may be your perception of others rather than reality. Stands to reason that as an employee of a deaf school you might harbor some bias on this issue and take any lack of support for that institution as hate. But that is not the case. I am pretty certain that those who agree with me on this topic just want the best for each child regardless of which school provides that. Ultimately it is the parent's decision.
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I think it's more of that people are making decisions based on things that they do not understand. It's getting better though. Folks are turning around and moving near their schools like we did. Our elementary numbers tripled over the course of about five years. Tripled! People are understanding better and actually GIVING IT A TRY.

No doubt everybody wants the best for their child. Nobody has indicated otherwise. It's a collective effort.
 
NitroHonda said:
I think it's more of that people are making decisions based on things that they do not understand. It's getting better though. Folks are turning around and moving near their schools like we did. Our elementary numbers tripled over the course of about five years. Tripled! People are understanding better and actually GIVING IT A TRY.

No doubt everybody wants the best for their child. Nobody has indicated otherwise. It's a collective effort.
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That is awesome. I have heard that it is a wonderful school. I am all for good schools!
 
Oceanbreeze said:
No, Dear. Where it REALLY counts.... IN REAL LIFE.

As for academics, it matters! If you can't get a decent education, you can't get a JOB. That goes for any student, D/hh OR NOT. Sounds like you don't give a crap if a kid is prepared for the real world or not. Low wage jobs don't cut it
SSI doesn't cut it.
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WHAT THE FUCK? Sorry dear but I do care. Deaf Schools DO have the SAME curriculm as is offered in the hearing schools. Even the mentally disabled kids do get functional academics at least. Functional academics = at least 3rd/fourth grade level. It's not a HIGH level, no. But it's at least basic literacy. You do know that's its not that unusual for kids with low incidence disabilities to experience falling through the cracks in *gasp* THE FABLED mainstream?!?!?!?! I know a lot of deaf kids who graduated PUBLIC SCHOOL who can't even write a coherent sentance! Besides, there are PLENTY of hearing (and non disabled people) who attend regular schools who can't even read or write a coherent sentence. If public schools can't educate hearing kids, then how can they educate deaf kids? It's been shown time and time again. The reason why Deaf Schools have such a crappy reputuation, isn't b/c they offer second grade level curriculm...but b/c a lot of the students are transfers from the mainstream. There ARE quite a few Deaf school kids who are on par with hearing kids.....quite a few of the larger Deaf Schools have sent kids to competive colleges like Princeton, University of Maryland, the Texas Schools and so on.
 
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