When I think of deaf education and general education I think of Residential schools/LRE's and mainstream schooling.  I think that some deaf students can thrive in either.  Just because you have a student who is deaf, does not mean you should automatically send them to a residential school.  However, they might not do well in mainstream schooling either because they may not understand certain concepts as quickly as hearing kids can and they may fall behind.  I ultimately think it depends on the parents to do what is best for their child.

Its easy to think that Deaf individuals may not be as smart but really they are possibly more.

If someone was looking at someone who is Deaf it may be easy to think that they may not be as intellectual as hearing people or as smart as them. When you actually look at everything they actually may just have more knowledge than hearing people, we only use English to communicate when they have ASL as their main source of communication but then also have to learn for the most part the entire English language as well. Although it may be tougher for them to learn the information if the teacher is hearing and are learning through an interpreter. Some of the information may get jumbled together and hard to understand. But looking at everything we have learned and from the panel it may be harder for them to learn and understand or figure out which school is better for them, but when they find which works better for them they can be just like hearing people and do everything that we can do just with out hearing.

When I think of Deaf edducation and general education...

 

I think of how over the past 40 years the most profound influence on deaf education is general education. The merge of deaf education with general education led to education for all children from the 1975 act. I think there have been many changes in todays society with new technology to improve both types of education. Overall I think of how without both of these education wouldn’t be the same as it is today.

 

Its easy to think.. but when you look at the facts

Its easy to think that all parents with deaf children would know ASL, but when you look at the facts such as the panel talked about not all parents choose to learn ASL, and some try but don't pick it up as easily or get as fluent. Some parents just find other ways to communicate but can put a barrier and a distance in between the parent and child as we watched in videos during this class as well.

When I think of Deaf education and general education I think...

that they can be one in the same. I think that it is important for Deaf students to have the knowledge that general education provides because it gives background knowledge that will be useful later in their life. However, I think that Deaf history, sign language, etc. could be incorporated into general education so that they still have that knowledge as well.

Panel Discussion

We will have with us hearing parents of a Deaf adult, parents (one Deaf, one hearing) of a Deaf adult and 2 Deaf adults with us (parents of 2 hearing twins 23 months old.)  We have now studied and discussed about the need for early intervention, preschool, many of the things families face when learning their child is deaf and raising the child.  In the upcoming weeks we are going to diving into the education system and specifics on how to educate students who are d/Deaf and hard of hearing.  What questions do you have for parents as well as individuals who are Deaf regarding their experiences?  

Curious

One of the purposes of the blog is to provide students an opportunity to reflect on a previous class topic and/or content and discuss their ideas outside of class time.  "In class" time would be devoted to the current topic.

I'm curious as to what students believe would be a good reason to give credit to posts that are submitted during class time that are about a previous topic.  Is this rewarding inattention during class? 

Promoting Positive Relationships

What two steps do you believe are most important for a family to focus on addressing in order to address potential barriers that may exist and ensure the healthy development of their child who is deaf or hard of hearing?  

Stressful Periods for Family

 Do you recall any stress in your family during adolescence, making decisions about educational choices or transitioning to adulthood?  How do you think this is different for families who have children who are deaf or hard of hearing?

Family Interactions

What had the greatest influence on the ways that your family interacted and relationships developed?  How do you think this would have been the same or different if you had a sibling who was deaf or hard of hearing? 

Federal Laws

What is the reauthorized version of PL 94-142?  What is one way you believe it specifically benefits families who have children who are deaf or hard of hearing?

Hybrid Classes for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing

How could an online component or virtual tools enhance learning for students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing in a face to face classroom?

Hybrid Class - Virtual Connection

Throughout your day you use technology in a variety of ways.  Monday night's class we used SKYPE to allow students who chose to do so, to connect to class virtually.  In the comments section discuss how this format influenced the learning opportunity for students.  What are the advantages and disadvantages?

Alice Cogswell & Chuck Baird

You may have to open this from YouTube with this link  https://youtu.be/w4KM7zT4m3Y

Andrew Foster & Charles Michael d L' Eppe

Horace Mann & CJ Jones

Edward Minor Gallaudet & Marlee Matlin

Helen Keller & Geronimo Cardano

What new information did you learn in this video created by Kristen & Kaylee?

Hello all.

My name is Patience Taylor.  My husband and I have been married for 17 years going on 18.  We have two wonderful sons who are both now in high school, one is a Senior and the other a Freshman.  As I have mentioned in class my youngest suffered from mild to moderate hearing loss on and off from the age of 6 months to 4 years and had 4 separate sets of tubes inserted during this time due to chronic ear infections that antibiotics were struggling to clear. This resulted in a severe speech delay for him.  His SLP from the age of 2 helped us teach him signs to help communicate his needs until he was able to verbally express them.  This made a huge difference in our lives, but my connection to ASL and Deaf individuals goes even farther back.  During high school and even before I have had Deaf friends, but I have unfortunately lost contact with them over the years. One friend in particular was a friend even before Kindergarten.  My mom used to be his parents insurance sales person and each month when she would collect their payments I got to go with her.  Joe was deaf since birth and did not speak much if any.  That never stopped us from being friends.  We seemed to be able to communicate without the use of words and it left a lasting impression on me.  Especially when he showed me his new white turkeys on one particular visit.  To a 5 year old a full grown turkey can be intimidating to down right frightening.  As he led me to their pen he seemed to pick up on the fact I was very scared and he patiently waited for me to enter at my own pace.  His patience was amazing.  One day I hope to reconnect with him and my other friend from school.  My decision to become a teacher was a later in life realization.  I had never truly considered that I would be capable until I entered into college after getting laid off from a job I had had for 6 and half years.  I changed my major and when I told my youngest son I was going to school to be a special education teacher he hugged me tight and started immediately asking for me to teach his class.  I knew at that point I had made the right choice.  As for the picture I chose, this statement is one near and dear to my heart.  A person without imperfections is a person without personality.  It is all the rough edges and sharp corners that make us who we are.  

Hey guys!

My name is Brooke Shirley and I'm from Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. I'm a Public Relations major with a minor in sign language. I've grown up around sign language with a family friend who is like a grandmother to me. She began teaching me sign language when I was 13 years old and that's kind of where my love for the language began. The picture below is me signing at Epcot to a Disney song while on a trip with my high schools advanced chorus during my senior year. Well that is just a little sign language background of mine and I can't wait to get to know everyone! Have a great semester!