By: William G. Vicars, Ed.D.
Question:
From: Elizabeth ███ <██████@ ███ . edu>
Subject: Advice for future educators
I hope you are well. I would like to start by saying thank you for all the lessons you've taught me over the years through Lifeprint; from my time as a high schooler taking ASL as a language, to brushing up on my skills since.
I am an Agricultural Education major at ███████████████████College in ████████. I am doing a short presentation in one of my classes on teaching deaf students. I hoped you may have some advice to share with my peers and me. Most of us will be going into AgEd positions in public middle & high schools having no experience working with deaf people and no understanding of deaf culture.
What should we know to make us better able to serve
our students, especially those who are deaf?
Response:
Elizabeth,
1. Deaf people are not homogenous. Any advice I or anyone else gives you
about "Deaf people" is a generalization and may or may not apply to the Deaf
person in front of you.
2. Knowing some amount of sign language doesn't replace the need for a
qualified, vetted, experienced interpreter. If you are teaching a Deaf
student and you are not a credentialed Educator of the Deaf and/or have
demonstrable proof (such as being a certified interpreter for the Deaf) then
you would be wise to make sure that you have a certified or otherwise vetted
/ qualified interpreter in your classroom. In the United States this is
more than a good or wise idea it is a legal necessity based on various laws
(including the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Rehabilitation Act
of 1973 -- section 504).
3. Having an ASL interpreter in the classroom doesn't insure successful
communication if the Deaf student isn't fluent in ASL or if the lesson
material is not suitable for the student's current knowledge, skills, and
abilities.
4. What Hearing people think is the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) is
often quite different from what Deaf people think is the LRE. Sticking a
Deaf student in the midst of Hearing students is often more restrictive than
placing the Deaf student at a Deaf School where the student will be
surrounded with others who communicate via the same modality (eyes and
hands).
The topic you have asked about is a multiple book-length topic for which it
would (and does) require several semesters to minimally cover so I'll leave
you with this tidbit and encourage you to continue your studies and get
involved with the Deaf community to the extent that your time, energy, and
opportunities allow:
5. What is accepted or even celebrated today may very-well be different in
the not-too-distant future. Deaf culture, just like every other living
culture, evolves.
Notes:
Notes: