Reality TV: Guilty Pleasure!

Survivor, The Bachelor, The Amazing Race, 19 Kids and Counting, Jon and Kate Plus 8, The Real World, Big Brother, Little People Big World, and so many more are just a few of the several reality TV shows that have been created and enjoyed by millions of people. Reality TV has become an American way of life and guilty pleasure. Watching other people's lives and how they live has become increasing popular. We are invited into people lives as we have never before and sometimes we are allowed to view their most private moments. What do we take from these programs? Why do we love them? What do we learn from them? Do we get to experience different ways of lives and cultures in a realistic way? Do these programs enrich our lives? What do you think?

Marlee Matlin, a very famous actress that just happens to be Deaf is promoting a reality TV show based on a Deaf family. Watch the clip provided and comment on what you think this program will provide to its viewers. Do you think it is a good idea? Why or why not? Will this educate people about being Deaf in a positive light? What is beneficial and what is harmful about this?

My Deaf Family Pilot

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-Gc85nQK8w

Sound and Fury

Here are some scenes from the documentary called, "Sound and Fury". This documentary was made in 2001. Comment on your thoughts and feeling in regards to what you see. I know that you do not get to see a lot but what you see in these scenes are powerful and will give you an overall idea of what this is about.

This is a very unique situation that left a family divided. Read on.

SOUND AND FURY documents one family's struggle over whether or not to provide two deaf children with cochlear implants, devices that can stimulate hearing. As the Artinians of Long Island, New York debate what is the right choice for the two deaf cousins, Heather, 6, and Peter, 1 1/2, viewers are introduced to one of the most controversial issues affecting the deaf community today. One brother is deaf and the other is hearing. Both brothers have deaf children. Heather is born into a strong deaf family (mom and dad are both Deaf). Peter is a twin, his brother is hearing. Although his father grew up with a Deaf brother and his mother grew up with Deaf parents, they have decided to get Peter a cochlear implant. The family is left confused, angry, and very divided. Heather wants an implant but her parents after looking into it, do not feel it is in the best interest of their family. The grandparents are very involved and the discussion becomes very heated, leaving the families torn apart.

Cochlear implants may provide easier access to the hearing world, but what do the devices mean for a person's sense of identity with deaf culture? Can durable bridges be built between the deaf and hearing worlds?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s80N4o4ctxw&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvvDf4RUtc8&feature=related

No blog this week

Hello Everyone,

There is no blog this week. Please just work on the take home exam that will be due next week Tuesday at the beginning of class. Be sure to PRINT a hard copy of your exam for me to turn in. NO LATE WORK will be accepted.

Good luck,

Monica

Alexander Graham Bell: American Hero or Deaf Boogie Man?

ONDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2010

Alexander Graham Bell: American Hero or Deaf Boogie Man?

Most of us know who Alexander Graham Bell as an incredible inventor but for Deaf people Bell is often seen as the Boogie man lurking in the corner desperately trying to destroy their lives. Read on.

Deaf Protestors at Alexander Graham Bell Convention

Friday July 27, 2007

Today (July 27) a small group of deaf protestors showed up at the site where the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing was holding its 2007 Summer Conference (July 27-28). Some of the protestors were confronted by hotel management staff, resulting in unpleasant moments. Protestors attempted to distribute flyers and engage convention attendees.

The protestors at the AG Bell conference are deaf people who have been hurt by the impact of oralism, or being denied sign language, on their lives. Some have been hurt academically. Others have been hurt socially. All are concerned with what they see as the growing popularity of baby sign language for hearing babies, while more deaf babies are being implanted and not exposed to sign language.

Deaf people are discussing the irony of encouraging hearing infants and toddlers to use sign language, while encouraging deaf babies through the auditory verbal method, to only use speech and sound. This irony was first exposed through Amy Cohen Effron's vlog, "The Greatest Irony," (Available with voice interpretation) and illustrated by a cartoon by deaf cartoonist Maureen Klusza.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Today's parents of implanted deaf babies are making choices. Some are choosing to raise their children totally orally, without sign language. Others are choosing to raise their children with both sign language and spoken communication.

It should not be a choice, say the protestors. Sign language is the deaf child's natural language. In at least one foreign country, sign language exposure for deaf babies is mandatory. The thinking goes, even if you can hear sound, you are still missing something. You are still deaf even with an implant or a hearing aid. You are especially deaf when the implant or hearing aid is not being used.

For many deaf people, particularly those who had grown up orally, sign language has been the key to several things: a social life. a better education. personal happiness. a sense of belonging.

Once again, the deaf community is divided over an issue. Some, filled with pain and anger over their life experiences, support the protest. Others, also with pain and anger, may agree with what the protestors are saying but may not agree with the tactic of conducting a public protest. (Update: I personally do not agree with the tactic of conducting a protest. I understand the feelings of the protestors, but I do not support the tactic of protesting.)

The protestors are directing their anger at AG Bell, when oralism is actually the result of a combination of factors. It is the result of the combination of medical professionals, teachers of the deaf, and parents all wanting the deaf children to be "normal." The protestors are arguing that it is perfectly normal to be deaf and use sign language. Thanks to modern technology, a deaf child growing up today who communicates only through sign language can have just as good a life as a deaf child who grows up communicating only through voice.

Regardless of whether you support the protest or not, it is important to read the many blogs on this issue and try to understand the depths of the pain that deaf people feel over how they have been raised, and treated, by hearing people.

In my opinion, no deaf poem expresses the feeling of what it means to be deaf, and probably the feelings of the protestors and the bloggers who are writing about their growing up oral experiences, better than the classic poem "You Have to Be Deaf to Understand," written by Willard Madsen in 1971. This poem has been reprinted frequently on the internet. Here it is:

What is it like to "hear" a hand?
You have to be deaf to understand.

What is it like to be a small child,
In a school, in a room void of sound --
With a teacher who talks and talks and talks;
And then when she does come around to you,
She expects you to know what she's said?
You have to be deaf to understand.

Or the teacher thinks that to make you smart,
You must first learn how to talk with your voice;
So mumbo-jumbo with hands on your face
For hours and hours without patience or end,
Until out comes a faint resembling sound?
You have to be deaf to understand.

What is it like to be curious,
To thirst for knowledge you can call your own,
With an inner desire that's set on fire --
And you ask a brother, sister, or friend
Who looks in answer and says, "Never Mind"?
You have to be deaf to understand.

What it is like in a corner to stand,
Though there's nothing you've done really wrong,
Other than try to make use of your hands
To a silent peer to communicate
A thought that comes to your mind all at once?
You have to be deaf to understand.

What is it like to be shouted at
When one thinks that will help you to hear;
Or misunderstand the words of a friend
Who is trying to make a joke clear,
And you don't get the point because he's failed?
You have to be deaf to understand.

What is it like to be laughed in the face
When you try to repeat what is said;
Just to make sure that you've understood,
And you find that the words were misread --
And you want to cry out, "Please help me, friend"?
You have to be deaf to understand.

What is it like to have to depend
Upon one who can hear to phone a friend;
Or place a call to a business firm
And be forced to share what's personal, and,
Then find that your message wasn't made clear?
You have to be deaf to understand.

What is it like to be deaf and alone
In the company of those who can hear --
And you only guess as you go along,
For no one's there with a helping hand,
As you try to keep up with words and song?
You have to be deaf to understand.

What is it like on the road of life
To meet with a stranger who opens his mouth --
And speaks out a line at a rapid pace;
And you can't understand the look in his face
Because it is new and you're lost in the race?
You have to be deaf to understand.

What is it like to comprehend
Some nimble fingers that paint the scene,
And make you smile and feel serene,
With the "spoken word" of the moving hand
That makes you part of the word at large?
You have to be deaf to understand.

What is it like to "hear" a hand?
Yes, you have to be deaf to understand.

****

Blogs covering the AG Bell Protest, in order of appearance

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2008

FUTURE SHOCK: DEAF HOLOCAUST

Holocaust is a destruction of life and is known as a form of genocide. The elimination of deafness is a typical of holocaust. Deaf children locally and nationally (and internationally) are the victims of holocaust being done by the medical profession and the schools that promote cochlear implanting. The deaf children are becoming the vanishing breed and the deaf leaders are looking the other way. This is a holocaust being initiated by Dr. Alexander Graham Bell and this came a long way since his vision of eliminating the deaf from human race that started in 1880. Bell as well as other people throughout the history are considered perpetuators of crime against the deaf humanity.

The picture on the right is A.G. Bell being considered as the public enemy number one in the deaf community.

Creator of Deaf Holocaust

In 1883, Dr. Alexander Graham Bell presented a paper titled "Upon the Formation of a Deaf Variety of the Human Race" before the National Academy of Science in New Haven, Connecticut. He did not believe that deaf persons should be allowed to marry each other. He was totally against the idea of having deaf have intermarriages. He was worried about the type of race that the deaf had demonstrated in the early 19th century.

Thanks to Laurent Clerc for the advancement of deaf human race. We were coming out of oppression into indepedence. With the use of sign language, we were capable and functioning citizens.

Bell noted that man was able to modify breeds of animals by careful selection. He wanted to apply the same procedure to genetics. It is a new kind of genocide where he wanted to eliminate deaf from the race.

Bell used oral philosophy as a hidden agenda to accomplish his plan to eliminate the deaf from the face of the earth. He did not approve of the educational system where the deaf work with the deaf in education settings. He succeeded in getting the infamous Milan 1880 mandate that stopped the use of sign language in classrooms. He did not approve of the deaf socializing among themselves, having reunions, having social gatherings, forming their own clubs and associations, publishing their own newspapers, holding religious worships, and having state and national conventions as further encouraging social intercourse among them. Such association, Bell believed, restricted deaf persons' selection of partners and friends. Bell thought about enacting a law banning such intermarriages. It backfired on him.

He saw forbidding congenitally deaf persons from marrying each other as one way to check the "evil" although he admitted that "proving that a person had been born "deaf" would probably make the law inoperative."

To Bell - the ideal condition is to have only one deaf child in a school with hearing children. Bell opposed the employment of deaf teachers and considered them "another element favorable to the formation of a deaf race therefore to be avoided."

Bell had trouble getting support from the deaf as one noted educator of the deaf opposed him. Dr. Phillips G. Gillet, superintendent of the Illinois School for the Deaf studied 1,886 students and alumni of the school and found no justification for Dr. Bell's position.

George W. Veditz, a deaf teacher, called Alexander Graham Bell the American most feared by the deaf people saying, "he comes in the guise of a friend, and is therefore, the most to be feared enemy of the American deaf, past and present."

Albert Ballin, teacher and Bell had differing views on deaf education. Both did oppose residential schools for deaf children.

Bell wanted complete oralism while Ballin preferred sign language and fingerspelling.

Dr. Bell - A Negative Thinker

Dr. Bell had been harping about the dangers of the formation of a deaf race and the relationships among groups. He said that the segration of deaf-mutes, the use of the sign language and the employment of deaf teachers produce an environment that is unfavorable to the cultivation of articulation and speech-reading and that sometimes cause the disuse of speech.

Fast-foward to present day (2008), some hearing people have continued to carry on this hidden agenda of carrying on Dr. Bell's beliefs by maintaining oral schools for the deaf and some programs geared for elimination of deafness.

The schools that advocate oralism have succeeded in "brainwashing"the communities that the schools are located in to believe their success stories in using oral methods that only last a short time for the duration of education at specific schools. They are taking advantage of parents who are confused and hurt by the shock of having deaf children in their families. They work hard on educating the communities about their so-called programs and they have succeeded in "pulling wool over their eyes" (making money) They claim that those things work.

VEDITZ RIDICULED BELL AS ONE OF THE PHAROAHS

In the early 1900's, George Veditz expressed concern that, "A new race of pharoahs that knew not Joseph" are taking over the land and many of our American schools. They do not understand signs for they cannot sign. They proclaim that signs are worthless and of no help to the deaf. Enemies of sign language - they are enemies of the true welfare of the deaf.

Methods used to ban the use of sign language in classrooms were barbarian and that was the result of the problems throughout the 20th and 21st century. In order to concentrate on speech methods and oral methods, the teachers would resort to do these following things. They asked for cooperation of parents. They refused to hire deaf teachers, even their own products. Deaf children were told that using sign language was bad and degrading. They were told that it would prevent them from growing up "normal" and that they would not be able to live in a hearing world if they relied on sign language.

Suppression methods were used in forcing the deaf children to sit on their hands, put the hands in desk out of sight, slapping the child's mouth with a chalky eraser, tie the child's hands behind the back and used rulers to slam on the palms, they even used soap to put in mouths of any stubborn deaf child, they even put hands under scalding hot water, they even force the child to disrobe and also many other barbarian acts against poor deaf children. It will take entire length of column to describe the horrors. It is being described in the upcoming film, "THE BLUE RIBBON STORIES" to be out by Fall 2009.

DEAF HOLOCAUST - A debate to start with...

You can realize what that word means. It is often scary to think how hearing people remain hell-bent on eliminating the deaf from the human race by any methods imaginable in their quest for pathological actions. Deaf people has been around for thousands of years and the society continues to think otherwise.

We, the Deaf Advocates, leaders, friends, relatives, lovers, families, etc do not see the need for elimination of deaf. The hearing people continue to be so pathological in that sense they are hurting and tampering on our rights in life.

It is time to STAND UP and say, "Enough is enough!"

**adapted for today's blog from Jan/Feb 1996 - St. Louis DEAF ADVOCATE - FUTURE SHOCK: DEAF HOLOCAUST - Paul Kiel's editorial, Deaf Heritage by Jack Gannon and other notes from the old file of Jan/Feb 1996.

post comments, thoughts, questions, and feelings. Please ask each other questions and create a discussion.

Deaf and Hearing Marriages

We have been discussing American Culture and Deaf Culture in our class these past two weeks. Now that we have a better idea of the culture, lets take the opportunity to think about when people from these cultures marry. 90% of these relationships will end in divorce! This is an amazingly high number.

Information taken from:

http://www.zak.co.il/d/deaf-info/old/marriage

Introduction

The biggest difficulty, which most deaf people face in life, is socializing with hearing people. Nevertheless, several deaf people socialize with hearing people. Some of them even marry hearing people.
Deaf-hearing marriages have their own special challenges. The best analogies from outside the Deaf world are:

Marriages of people from different religious and/or cultural backgrounds.
Marriages between an able-bodied person and a disabled person.
Related links:

Deaf-Hearing Relationship - a blog by an hearing woman, who is married to a deaf man.
Hearing centered vs. Deaf centered marriages

(Contributed by Holly Geeslin at 30 Mar 1995.)
We have seen two kinds of deaf-hearing mixed marriages:

Hearing centered
The Hearing centered marriages have the following characteristics:
Hearing spouse answers the phone 100% of the time.
H is responsible for ordering food at restaurants.
H does all or most the planning and interacting in situations like - buying a house, fixing the car, getting a new hot water heater, etc.
H socializes frequently with hearing/non-signing friends.
H goes with D to their doctors appointments to interpret.
H doesn't feel comfortable with Deaf friends.
H often doesn't Sign well ("still learning").
H is primary language model for hearing (and sometimes DEAF) children.
Deaf spouse says things like (well, s/he isn't really ready to be around my friends, you know, still learning Sign.......it's a pain sometimes, but SO much easier for my (hearing) family......S/he couldn't come, s/he is home taking care of the kids.....etc).
D doesn't challenge or get involved in family decisions often.
D is passive when at home
D uses spoken English or simcom with H cause "it's so much easier for him/her."
D feels hearing people are the best language role models for children.
D has not yet been empowered.
Deaf centered
In Deaf centered marriages:
D/H both have Deaf friends and socialize mostly with them.
Sign is used at home when no one else is around.
D orders for self and sometimes for spouse, too in restaurants.
D does the "yelling" at the mechanic, doctor, or whoever provided poor service, when necessary.
D equally shares in family decision making or is primary decision maker.
D is a language role model for Deaf and Hearing children.
H doesn't "do for" spouse.
H is comfortable with both cultures.
H can understand Sign well enough to follow a group of Signers.
Disclaimers:

All of this is off the top of my head and very unorganized and I'm sure worthy of great revisions, but I think you can get my idea. My point is, in my experience hearing centered marriages are the ones which often fail or are unhappy.
The above categories are ONLY talking about SIGNING Deaf people. I haven't any idea how Oral deaf and hearing people get along in marriage.
Hints for Successful D/H Marriage

(Contributed by Holly Geeslin at 30 Mar 1995.)
Try to have Deaf-centered rather than Hearing-centered marriage (see the section about Hearing centered vs. Deaf centered marriages).
How your family communicates when children are born seems to be the maker or breaker.
Also, both partners ability to respect and learn from the others culture and language.
Should the Hearing Spouse help the Deaf Spouse in D/H Marriage?

(Contributed by Omer Zak.)
There is a couple of a Deaf man and CODA woman who works as Sign Language interpreter. They have a policy whereby the wife does not interpret for her husband. They say that she is his wife rather than his interpreter.

On the other hand, there is a couple of a very successful oral deaf man and hearing woman. The man says that he'd not marry a deaf woman. According to him, an hearing woman adds a very useful capability which facilitates several aspects of life. This is analogous to marrying someone with an occupation with high earnings potential.

(Contributed by Robert Rourke at 3 Oct 1995.)

As a matter of fact, I did not even think about the additional dimension of deaf/hearing relationships at all before my current 6-year relationship with a hearing lover, even long before my first two previous relationships with hearing people. Their (hearing's) personalities, ablities to understand, willingnesses, patiences, charmings, intellectuals and/or others are the more compelling reasons for me than their ability to help me in daily life.

(Contributed by Susan A. Pollack at 10 Oct 1995. She is a deaf woman married to an hearing man.)

On occasion, I have him make a phone call or do something inanely "hearing" for me, but that's not why I married him. The fact that he can hear doesn't add any real useful aspect to my marriage (and I'm not putting him down -- he knows this) because I'm an independent person and married him for the person he IS, not for his ears. I don't like to take advantage of the fact that he CAN hear because when I'm in a situation where he's not there to fill me in on what's going on, I can get even more lost because I'm not paying close enough attention to the situation or the people around me; I may end up expecting someone else to fill me in when they don't even know that they should.

The best thing my husband can do for me is tell me what someone said on TV when the captions are garbled or when they're not there at all. But that's not always a big deal either because I read the newspaper and talk about TV programs the next day with my coworkers.

If a person suggests that deaf people should marry someone who's hearing only because the hearing spouse can help out the deaf spouse all the time, he/she implies that the deaf person will (or even should) become dependent on the hearing person. What kind of life is that? I personally don't ever want to reach the stage where I have to ask my husband to be my interpreter everywhere I go -- what would I do if he left me? In some cases, it's good to depend on and get help from your spouse. But in the big scheme of things, it's better to depend on yourself.

QUESTION:

How can these couples meet half way. How can these couples remain happily married? Since we live in a hearing world, do you think that the hearing spouse has some responsibility to be sure that their Deaf spouse has all the same opportunities that they do?

Keep in mind this is your safe place to discuss the topics presented to you. Also, your questions and comments are welcomed!

How does American Culture and Deaf Culture Differ?

Do Americans Share a Common Culture? 

By:
Professor Gregory Jay

What common beliefs, values, and cultural practices make up the culture shared by most 
people in the United States? The term “multiculturalism” suggests that people in the U.S. 
belong to many different cultures rather than all belonging to a single “American” culture? Isthis true? Or is there a common culture shared by most Americans? How would we define and describe this common culture? Below I have attempted to identify and describe some key 
elements of a common American 
culture. They include: 

Individualism 
Capitalism 
Modernism 
Religiosity 
Secularism 

Create 2 questions for each other in regards to the American Culture. Select 2 or more questions and answer them.


BE SURE TO WATCH THESE VIDEOS AND COMMENT ON THEM AS WELL.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg87sSaTZSc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdfOMthpuWs

Deaf Expressions

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da4ICWLPJpE&feature=related

What does this clip mean to you?

Deaf Myths

COMMON MYTHS ABOUT DEAFNESS
Myths about what it means to be Deaf persist everywhere. The facts behind these myths are clarified below. Check your level of awareness...

Myth: Deaf people cannot use the telephone.
Some hard-of-hearing people have enough residual hearing to talk on the phone. Deaf persons use a device call a TTY and the Washington State Relay System.

Myth: Deaf people are mute.
It is incorrect to assume this. Some may choose not to use their voices if they think they will be difficult to understand or have inappropriate pitch or volume. In any case, terms like "deaf and dumb" or "deaf-mute" are outdated and considered offensive today.

Myth: Unusual sounding speech means the person is mentally retarded.
Speech development depends greatly on one's ability to hear him or herself talk. For the deaf person, the foundation for learning speech which hearing people take for granted is not there. The situation has nothing to do with intelligence.

Information taken from:http://www.hsdc.org/News/Community/myths.htm


Myth: Deaf people can read lips.
Lip-reading is a skill that some deaf or hard-of-hearing people have; others do not. Even with the best lip-readers, it is important to remember that only about 25% of speech is visible on the lips. Some words look almost exactly the same - for instance, the words "paddle" and "battle."

Myth: Hearing aids completely correct hearing loss.
Hearing aids are assistive devices which improve hearing for some individuals. Hearing aids do not "correct" hearing. A hearing aid may enable a person to hear someone's voice, even though she or he may not be able to understand distinct words. Just because someone wears a hearing aid does not mean the person hears normally.

Myth: Deaf people are not very bright or educated because they have not learned to talk or do not use proper English grammar.
The primary language, or first language, of the Deaf Community is American Sign Language; English is a second language. Most deaf and hard-of-hearing people learn English usage and have speech training, but naturally enough they may find it easier to use their primary language most of the time.

Myth: Deaf people lead totally different lives from other people.
Deaf people are set apart by only one thing. As I. King Jordan, President of Gallaudet University has said, "Deaf people can do anything except hear."

Myth: ASL is English signed on the hands.

Search for Deaf Myths and discuss them with your classmates. Discuss what the myth is and why it is a myth.