The ROPES OF WRATH

Sweetmind

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http://www.deafeducation.org/stories/ropeswrath.html


Saturday, June 24, 2006
STORIES

THE TRUTH

THE ROPES OF WRATH
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The Ropes of Wrath I attended a PHU Primary school in London between 1969-1975. The unit followed a strict oralist policy, as I was to discover to my cost! The one abiding memory I have is being tied up to a chair - the crime? To use my hands in an unacceptable way i.e. gestures in trying to communicate with my playmates in the playground. I remember vividly being frogmarched to my classroom and being plonked on my chair. The 'punishment ropes' were swiftly taken out of the drawer and tied around me, with my hands behind my back - effectively tying me to my chair. I was to remain tied up for the rest of the afternoon until school finished. I was only 7 years old, for Christ sakes! Unfortunately in those days, it was seen as the proper and correct way of discouraging sign language in the classroom/playground. I hope the teacher who inflicted the punishment on me is proud of herself and is serving hard labour in a penal prison with her mouth taped up! Sweet justice eh!

Kathy Liddy

:ty:
Sweetmind
 
Sweetmind said:

Eh, I was tied up to a chair when I was in Kindergarten and even had my fingers taped together. I had previously gone to a local school for the deaf in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but it closed down and my mom did not want to send me out of town to the state school for the deaf (I wanted to stay home too) but after one year she found out about the chair and had enough and sent me to the school for the deaf for a year so I could get ahead in education. I did come back, though, to another local public school with a better DHH program. I had gone mainstream for most of the time and did well after that.

I am an advocate of total communication, but I would say that tying a kid to a chair and preventing him/her from signing is wrong.

Just my two cents.
 
It is so dead wrong of them to do that to a child!!

I used to work at a small deaf school as a teacher's aide at the same time a new teacher was hired. This teacher was so against signing and he would slap on the kids' hands and forced them to put their hands underneath them while they were sitting down. His wife would come by sometimes to help her husband out and she would rub a wet soap on the kids' mouths for not speaking well. I told him that they shouldn't do these kind of things to the kids and he then said he is the teacher so he knows what he is doing. I couldn't take it anymore with their meaness to the kids so I decided to quit.
 
Yeah Ive been tortured whenever I "gestured" with my hands.

For example, if I try to get my friend's attention, I would wave at her or if we were playing "ambulance" with our flying fingertips, I would be sent to the office and sit in a corner for hours and hours.

My brother had it worse - my brother was sent to office nearly on a daily basis or spanked often.

I have long forgiven that school but my brother still has a deep scar in his heart.

(What was even worse is that the director of that school had Deaf parents who signed...yet the director refused to let any of us sign. He knew ASL himself! :ugh2: That made all of us really angry with double standards he created at that school)
 
gnulinuxman said:
Oh, but hearing parents don't believe any of this.

Oh, my mother believed it. She had no idea and I did not know how to communicate this to my mother, but several of my classmates who witnessed what the teachers did to me told their mothers and their mothers called my mother and told her all about it. She was :mad: and :pissed: big time!

If she had known they were going to do that to me, she would have never sent me to that school at all! So, after the year was up, she transferred me to another school.

My mother was VERY protective of me, I was Momma's girl!
 
Actually did you know that Tucker Maxon (oral school in Oregon) has a policy where kids can't tap each other on their shoulders to get their attention? :mad:
 
I get so ANGRY when I read things like this! The oralists tried to tell me to ignore my son's gestures, to force him to speak. They told me, "He won't learn to speak if you let him sign. He must learn to speak to fit into the world." Told them kiss my arse! Ignore him--that is punishment for try to communicate! Wrong, wrong, wrong! You people have no heart!

When I see others do this to other deaf children, makes me so mad I want to SCREAM!
 
gnulinuxman said:
Oh, but hearing parents don't believe any of this.


Huh? Where do you get such statement from? My parents DID believe me. I dont appreciate your sweeping statements. If you make a such sweeping statement, at least back it up with evidence. :ugh2:
 
deafdyke said:
Actually did you know that Tucker Maxon (oral school in Oregon) has a policy where kids can't tap each other on their shoulders to get their attention? :mad:


Yes I know that too well - because I am a Tucker Maxon alumni.
 
deafdyke said:
Actually did you know that Tucker Maxon (oral school in Oregon) has a policy where kids can't tap each other on their shoulders to get their attention? :mad:
Really?? Jeez!! That is so heartless of that school to have that kind of policy :(
 
ButterflyGirl said:
Really?? Jeez!! That is so heartless of that school to have that kind of policy :(

Yeah you could say that - my childhood friend (we were in same class all these years at Tucker Maxon) calls out to me all the time because we were trained to call out to each other in our early years. Many times she would call out my name to get my attention and of course I didnt hear her - and she would say didnt you hear me? Guess old habits are hard to get rid of. :whistle:
 
Gemtum, I know........it's so retarded!! Even hearies do that! Although it IS kind of funny. For most of the kids I grew up with, it was second nature to know to get my attention in different ways. However, when I went to college, I had to teach everyone to do that since they weren't used to interacting with a dhh kid.
"He won't learn to speak if you let him sign. He must learn to speak to fit into the world."
FUCK OFF oralists! Hearing and speaking is a GREAT tool, and it allows SOME access to the hearing world for dhh kids, but very few dhh kids fit 100% into the hearing world. The abilty to speak isn't some magic bullet. Even many kids who are oral sucesses or superstars have significent difficulties with social-emotional development. Stop promoting it as a magic bullet, and maybe then a lot of oral bashing among dhh people will stop! If they promoted it more as a tool, then I would not bash them!
 
deafdyke said:
Gemtum, I know........it's so retarded!! Even hearies do that! Although it IS kind of funny. For most of the kids I grew up with, it was second nature to know to get my attention in different ways. However, when I went to college, I had to teach everyone to do that since they weren't used to interacting with a dhh kid.

FUCK OFF oralists! Hearing and speaking is a GREAT tool, and it allows SOME access to the hearing world for dhh kids, but very few dhh kids fit 100% into the hearing world. The abilty to speak isn't some magic bullet. Even many kids who are oral sucesses or superstars have significent difficulties with social-emotional development. Stop promoting it as a magic bullet, and maybe then a lot of oral bashing among dhh people will stop! If they promoted it more as a tool, then I would not bash them!

That's exactly why I told the to kisss my a** and did what my heart told me was right.
 
Many very good comments, I want to say thank to you for telling the truth that I was hoping for. So I dont have to say my own words. Let people see the truth. I am so greatful to have that url for you to read from a d/Deaf person.

No more secretive or lies about us d/Deaf people 's true inner soul and true experiences by audist attitude people.

Thats why there is always ignorance and arrogance running through their blood. Of course,they are nowhere near as fully openminded as they claimed to be.

It s way too much overgeneralization of culturally egocentric hearing version. You were influeneced by audism that we need to stop. We all have a serious problem with ADA and our Deaf children that put them isolated or being separated from us Deaf people/Deaf community that seems it goes back to old days.

They shouldnt be left out and treated like failures due to no communication. That isnt fair! Also some d/Deaf children dont want to lipread because of the struggle no matter if they have devices...their choice...no more controlling! Deaf children have the right to use their hands and no one can stop them.

Thank you for your courage to say it aloud. ;)

Have a wonderful day! ;)
Sweetmind
 
Gemtun said:
Yeah you could say that - my childhood friend (we were in same class all these years at Tucker Maxon) calls out to me all the time because we were trained to call out to each other in our early years. Many times she would call out my name to get my attention and of course I didnt hear her - and she would say didnt you hear me? Guess old habits are hard to get rid of. :whistle:
I used to be in an oral school too and our teachers would tell us to call out each other's names. Whenever I didn't hear my name being called out my teacher would scold on me for not hearing it :ugh:
While I was in this school for my first five years of schooling I never knew at all that sign language even existed.
 
ButterflyGirl said:
I used to be in an oral school too and our teachers would tell us to call out each other's names. Whenever I didn't hear my name being called out my teacher would scold on me for not hearing it :ugh:
While I was in this school for my first five years of schooling I never knew at all that sign language even existed.
I didnt know that ASL existed until I was a senior in high school.

For my friend who keeps calling out my name, I always tell her to shut up and just tap me on my shoulder or wave in front of my eyes if need my attention ;)

But of course, I have embraced and love ASL now :)
 
i never in oral school whew
always in deaf programs in hearing schools where ALL deaf kids signs that it

but it is SO sad to hear all the awful things they did to kids GRR honest i will be pissed off
 
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