Brief Summary Of The Film 'Through Deaf Eyes'

The Social Construction of Deafness

After watching “Through Deaf Eyes” and reading the article The Social Construction of Difference and the Quest for Educational Equality, it opened my mind to many different opinions, informed me of the history behind Sign Language, and explained how it evolved.

I learned a lot of critical information from “Through Deaf Eyes”. I think it is essential that all educators of the Deaf and hard of hearing watch and understand this documentary. “Through Deaf Eyes” shows how many Deaf people felt and how they were oppressed at one point in history. My favorite part is at the beginning of the video when I King Jordan speaks about Deafness. He explains how he asked hearing people what they think it would be like

to be Deaf. He states that hearing people tend to answer with responses of what they couldn't do if they were Deaf. As a working Sign Language interpreter, I get questions about Deafness all the time. People assume that Deaf people are limited in what they can do. I always explain that people who are Deaf are the same as hearing people except they can not hear.
The education information from the movie was very upsetting to me. I listened to many Deaf people explain how they could not communicate in their own language. If teachers saw them signing they would be punished. I could not imagine growing up and not being able to communicate in the language I feel most comfortable using. Later on in the documentary, a few Deaf people explained that when schools for the Deaf were established they felt more comfortable attending school because they shared the same communication and experiences with their peers.
As a future educator, I view Deafness as a difference.

If a Deaf student is matched with an interpreter and overcomes the language barrier, they can succeed at anything. Harvey (2013) states, “The Deaf Community believes that, rather than having a disability, its members are merely "different."”. I tend to associate people with how the view themselves. If Deaf people do not view themselves as having a disability, why should hearing people categorize them into that belonging. According to Harvey (2013) “Rather than finding this difference to be a negative factor, Deaf Culture aggressively asserts that the Deaf may be different but they are equal”. People who are Deaf do not view Deafness as a negative thing nor do they feel bad for themselves. Deaf people enjoy being Deaf and are part of a small knit community. Most Deaf people that I have encountered would not want to be hearing. In “Through Deaf Eyes”, Marlee Matlin declares that she is a proud person who happens to be deaf. She does not want to change that. It is not her dream to wake up and be hearing. She is happy with who she is.

While reading The Social Construction of Difference and the Quest for Educational Equality I was surprised by some of the information. According to Banks (1987), “Before the Civil Rights Movement, many students with disabilities were isolated in special schools and classes, stigmatized, viewed as the other, and sometimes denied the opportunity to attend their local public school”. This sentence

from the article is saddening to me and I am so pleased that times are always changing and in this case, it is for the better.
Later in the same paragraph Jones (1998) states “Advocates for students with disabilities reasoned that if segregating students on the basis of race was unconstitutional, segregating students with disabilities could also be challenged”. This sentence puts a lot into perspective. If people were unhappy with segregation of races, why should students with disabilities be segregated. I personally do not feel students with disabilities should be isolated from other students. I believe it is important that students with disabilities get the education they deserve with the appropriate accommodations. Students with disabilities need interaction and socialization. Every student should have the same opportunities and experiences.
I enjoyed reading The Social Construction of Difference and the Quest for Educational Equality and watching “Through Deaf Eyes”. I gained a lot of knowledge through both resources and plan to put this information into perceptive when I become an educator.