First and foremost, my dream and career goals have always been centered on being an ally to the Deaf community since I began learning sign language almost a decade ago. My college career has focused on ASL, Deaf culture, the Deaf community and their history. I feel at home and at ease in this space. My goal for this program is to gain new skills as a teacher while continuing to learn from the vibrant Deaf community of America. Even though a majority of my work experience from the last five years is in early childhood education, I only recently (within the year) decided to pursue a teaching credential. I love my job as a D/HH para educator but I want to take on a larger role in these kids lives. It is my opinion that Deaf education is misunderstood …show more content…
by most school systems and its roots are based on audist ideals. I want to be an advocate of change and learn to teach students in a bilingual environment where I can support my students independence and help them receive the best education they possibly can. My experience working with Deaf people and the Deaf community started nearly 8 years ago. My ASL classes with my teacher Shandy Pendley was my first introduction into the world of Deaf culture. When I decided I wanted to continue learning and being involved in the Deaf community as a career, she introduced me to vital members of the community including Tina Cook who was the head of the NorCal Services for The Deaf and Hard of Hearing in the Shasta county division. I was able to find more information about how to be involved through volunteer opportunities, Deaf social events and local classes outside of the college. I was also able to meet people from different social backgrounds and see what the process was in their line of work. This included social work, education, and interpreting. After almost two years in Redding, CA, I made the move to San Diego. It was in San Diego that I began to notice the differences in regional Deaf communities and be exposed to broader and more diverse groups of people. I began where I left off. I enrolled in the next level of ASL classes at Mesa College and continued for the next two years until I was ready to transfer to CSU Northridge to pursue my BA in Deaf Studies. In that time, I was able to build relationships and gain experience by getting a volunteer position at Deaf Community Services of San Diego. I worked at the front desk ten hours a week and was given other opportunities to be connected with the Deaf community by volunteering at parties, local social events and festivals. I was also able to expand my social circle in other areas of activism by being secretary for the college’s MeCha club and vice president for the Women’s Empowerment Group. The move to Northridge was my biggest immersion into Deaf culture since I began my education in American Sign Language.
The CSUN campus was amazing. I was able to expand my knowledge of topics that interested me like Deaf literature, Deaf history, ASL linguistics, etc. In addition, I was offered positive Deaf spaces, I was able to meet new and diverse people (teachers, students and other faculty) and I could attend fantastic workshops with speakers that talked about unique subjects such as international sign language, the Deaf Art Movement and the Deaf community in Europe during WWII. Aside from the Deaf Studies program, I was allowed to explore other areas that have always interested me and added to my education. This was becoming a part of the Jewish Studies program. That experience resulted in a scholarship, an internship at a Jewish Community preschool and a trip to Poland. What made CSUN unique was not only the opportunities it gave me as a student but that the Deaf Studies program focused on education in culture. This meant explaining and exploring intersectionality between communities, understanding privilege and how people can identify themselves in this world. I can’t imagine receiving these experiences anywhere …show more content…
else. Before graduating in 2015, I searched and applied to different job opportunities.
I focused on education because that is where I felt most qualified and because I enjoyed the idea of working with young children everyday. I was able to find employment in the Mountain Empire Unified School District working as a D/HH teacher’s aid and I work there to this day. Recently, I applied into the San Diego Mesa College Interpreting program. I started out with two classes and decided to see how the semester would go and if I would want to continue or pursue my masters in Deaf Education. Both career options were important to me but as a working single mother, I believed that the best option for me would present itself later on. I enjoyed being back in school and what the courses had to offer but was frustrated with the structure of the program. I felt that with the many things going on in my life, that it was not the path I wanted to take at the time. Becoming a teacher and furthering my career as an educator seemed more appealing and more rewarding to me. In time, the choice was clear. I wanted to become a
teacher. Even though I have not continued the Interpreter program at Mesa, I considered my time there valuable and it has allowed me to be immersed again in the SoCal Deaf community. I am able to volunteer more of my time to annual Deaf community festivals, regularly attend Deaf coffee events to keep in touch with other members of the community and I recently attended a volunteer trip to a Deaf residential school located in Mexico. Being a part of these events and feeling like an ally really affirmed that this is the environment and community I want to continue to be a part of. I would like to be accepted into the UC program for bilingual/ASL education because it focuses on exactly the type of material I want to pursue as an educator. Because a special education credential focused in Deaf education is far and few in the state of California as well as the rest of the country, I considered myself lucky that such a valued and influential program is coincidentally in the same place that I call my home. I don’t regret my time at CSUN but the distance between Northridge and San Diego was difficult. My family (including my daughter) and close friends all reside in San Diego. Being in a program in San Diego would allow me to stay with my family and continue my work in the Deaf community and the San Diego school system that I have built a relationship upon the last two years. I believe in all my heart that this program was designed for me and will help me achieve the goals I have for myself and my family.
Kimmy Bachmann A Journey into the Deaf-World Chapter 1 The narrator begins this chapter by introducing himself as well as his colleagues and co-authors. Ben Bahan, the narrator, is a deaf man from New Jersey whom was raised by deaf parents and a hearing sister. After spending an immense amount of time studying American Sign Language (ASL) he moved on to now become an assistant professor at Gallaudet University in the Deaf studies Department. His colleague Harlan Lane, a hearing man, is a specialist in the psychology of language and having many titles is a key aspect of this book as he believes, as does most of the Deaf-World, that they are a minority language and takes up their point of view to the hearing world.
I realize that it is ironic that I, of all people, am taking classes in American Sign Language and am a CSD major. Devoting my future to working with people who have communication and hearing disorders is more than likely going to present a unique challenge to myself due to my low vision, but I have
Throughout the course of the semester, I have gained a new understanding and respect of Deaf culture and the many aspects it encompasses. The information supplied in class through discussion, movies, and guest lecturers since the previous reflection have aided in the enhancement of my knowledge of Deaf culture and nicely wrapped up all of the information provided throughout the semester.
I attended the BOCES Program for the Hearing Impaired for eleven years. I initially liked BOCES but later grew to dislike this program. The teachers often made me feel incapable of doing what the "normal kids" were doing. I wanted to do more challenging things! I remember that one time I asked one of my teachers if I could take a Spanish class. Her reply was "NO!". She didn't think I could handle it because I had a hearing loss. I was persistent and took the class anyway. I did very well. I proved her wrong. But above all, I proved to myself that if I wanted something enough, I could do it. It was a great feeling!
Throughout high school and during my undergraduate studies, education was never a top priority for me. Only during the past two years, in the "real world", have I realized the importance of education. I look back at those years and wish I had done more and realized all the potential I had in my hands and not wasted so much time. During my undergraduate career my social activities consumed my life. My friends were not motivated to do well in school so I followed their lead. My grades were low, and I did not even care. After I graduated in 1997 with a Psychology B.A. and lost touch with my old friends and old ways, I have realized that I should have spent more time doing some soul searching and thinking what it was that I wanted to do with my life. I liked Psychology but what I really wanted to do was work with children more closely. I had spent my junior and senior years involved in internships at Head Start and at a High School in a Program for teenaged mothers. I loved my work there. At Head Start I was a Teacher Aid for the pre-school, teaching the children to read, numbers etc. And at the High School I counseled the teenaged mothers, took care of their kids while they went to school and after the school day I tutored them with their homework. After being out of school for a while, I started to miss that. The feeling that I was teaching something those kids, the feeling that I was making a difference. I was determined to find a job in education, with my background in Psychology, how hard could it be? I found work at a residential school for runaways and abused teenaged females. It was great! I was ready to go, I was going to change the world and change those girls lives. What I didn't realize is that will alone does not make me a teacher and that I needed training, a lot of training. I made a lot of mistakes in that job. I got discouraged and decided to forget about working with children, forget teaching and do something else that paid more. So, I got a job as a Secretary, I did that for about two years. Teaching, working with children was always on my mind.
“Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see” – Mark Twain.
...old, Johnson. (2004). U.S. Deaf Education Teacher Preparation Programs: A Look at the Present and a Vision for the Future. American Annals of Deaf, 149, 75-91.
From antiquity, being deaf was looked upon as an undesirable and a culture which was disconnected with the rest of mainstream society. Often members of the community found themselves ostracized by members of other cultures, who viewed them with suspicion, and were thought to be possessed, or in communion, with undesirable “spirits”, particularly during the advent of the Christianity that was in practice during the Middle Ages. During this period, before the advent of Gutenberg’s metal, movable type printing press, the populace was mostly illiterate and religious texts and spiritual obligations/instructions were verbally transmitted to the people by the literate clerics of the day. Thus, the deaf were believed to have no access to “Fides ex auditu,” which was the primary way, and often thought to be the only way; one could reach spiritual fulfillment and salvation. (Lane, 1984)
This past month, I’ve attended my first two deaf events. In the beginning I was a little uncomfortable, with my limited ASL knowledge. I enjoyed being amongst so many who knew how to sign. I also enjoyed watching the interpreter during the church service. In my observations, I learned a great deal of deaf culture.
The disparity between the Deaf and hearing is based around ableism, or a newer notion, Audism. Audism is the notion that those that can hear are superior. (Oberholtzer, 2009) Like most that are viewed as inferior, the Deaf are often looked at as lesser compared to those of the hearing community and labeled as disabled, even if they themselves do not view their deafness as a disability. Many of Deaf community members are able to hear and speak well enough to communicate with hearing people but still chose to identify with the Deaf community rather than in the hearing world. (Harlan, 1996) One’s involvement does not center around their hearing
Do you feel like there is a disconnect between both Deaf world and hearing world? (Briefly Explain)
Two years ago, I embarked on a journey that would teach me more than I had ever imagined. As a recent college graduate, I was thrilled to finally begin my teaching career in a field I have always held close to my heart. My first two years as a special education teacher presented countless challenges, however, it also brought me great fulfillment and deepened my passion for teaching students with special needs. The experiences I have had both before and after this pivotal point in my life have undoubtedly influenced my desire to further my career in the field of special education.
Deaf Culture is often misunderstood because the hearing world thinks of deafness as a handicap. The Deaf are not given enough credit for their disabilities even though they are unable to hear. Being misunderstood is the biggest reason why they are not accepted in the world of hearing. The learning process for them may be slower and more difficult to learn, but they are still very bright individuals. The problem at hand is the controversy of trying to “fix” the Deaf when they may or may not want to be “fixed”. The hearing world should give Deaf people a chance to show their true talents and abilities of intelligence before rushing to assumptions, such as hearing aids will fix all Deaf people, because Deaf are dumb, have social problems, and
The Deaf event I attended was the DEAFestival. This festival took place at the Los Angeles City Hall on October 3rd at 12:00pm. I specifically attended this event because I felt I would be much more comfortable at a larger gathering with more space and people rather than a small one such as Starbucks. Since the festival was greatly occupied I had more time to observe, take everything in slowly, and prepare myself. To say the least, I was extremely nervous. In fact, I don’t remember the last time I was genuinely that apprehensive. The cause of my anxiety was I because didn’t want to embarrass myself and I especially didn’t want to offend anyone. There were so many things going through my head. I stood to the side and repeated everything I knew about Deaf culture and American Sign Language in my head. Nonetheless, after several conversations with deaf individuals I felt marvelous. It wasn’t nearly as bad as I anticipated. The people I had the privilege of communicating with were very
Imagine seeing people speaking, moving their mouths and not being able to hear anything. Welcome to the world of deafness. The journey for someone who is deaf can be challenging, but those challenges can be overcome with perseverance. Today I am going to share with you the story of my journey with deafness and see that if I am my disability. It is an experience that has shaped my life through body, mind, and spiritual matter.