Professional Hopes and Goals

My goal is to be able to promote signed language acquisition for all of the diverse families with deaf children. Pediatrics, the official publication of the American Academy of Pediatrics, has come out last July with the following edict about deaf children learning American Sign Language:

Children need to learn language. They must learn it from parents, teachers, and their community. The more languages they learn, the better these children will be able to communicate. All children would be better off if their parents all spoke 5 languages and taught all 5 to their children;…Deaf children of hearing (and nonsigning) parents are unique among all children in the world in that they cannot easily or naturally learn the language that their parents speak. Hearing (and nonsigning) parents of deaf children are unique in that they are asked to learn, at least in a rudimentary way, a new and foreign language to communicate with their children. Some parents eagerly and willingly take on this challenge; others do not or cannot. As pediatricians, we need to keep up-to-date on the latest research, translate that research into language that parents can understand, and help them make choices that are best for their child, their family, and themselves. There are no risks to learning sign language along with spoken language, but there are well-defined benefits. For parents and families who are willing and able, this approach seems to be clearly preferable to an approach that focuses solely on oral communication (Mellon, N. et al, 2015).

I have this goal and hope for equity for American Sign Language (ASL) so that deaf children will become more Kindergarten-ready because they have healthy language development.

Thank you to all of my Diversity colleagues for all of the robust conversations during our weekly Discussions. Especially because I do not have the experiences of a classroom, I have learned quite a lot from those of you who shared their classroom expertise. As with all my previous Walden classes, I shall miss interacting with you all.

References

Mellon, N., Niparko, J., Rathmann, C., Mathur, G., Humphries, T., Napoli, D. J., Handley, T., Scambler, S., Lantos, J. (July 2015). Should all deaf children learn sign language? Pediatrics, 136, 170-176.

Welcoming the Family from Slovakia

In an homage to my father’s heritage, I am choosing to welcome a family from Slovakia into my classroom. Here are some of the ways I would welcome the child and the family into the Kindergarten classroom. The classroom activities would depend on a number of factors such as the grade of the classroom and whether the new student is already speaking English. Additionally, it would also depend on whether I have local resources to tap into such as a community of speakers.

I would inform my class of the new student coming in on Monday. Then we would look at the map. We will look for their capital, Bratislava and mark it. I would also show pictures of some of the their known points of interest such as Bratislava Castle, HighTatras, and Michael’s Gate. We would keep the map up on the wall and create a welcoming sign. It would be put up next to the map.

If I could, I would have a translator come to the classroom to interpret for both our class and the family when we welcome the child and the family to the classroom. I would ask the family to introduce themselves in their native language and have the children introduce themselves as well. Then possibly, we would ask the parents to teach us how to pronounce the child’s first and last names.

We would have either one of the family members or a Slovakian community member talk about the history of Slovakia and use the welcoming map that we have on the wall.

We would then read a children’s book about Slovakia; possibly someone from the community of Slovakian speakers can read the book in Slovakia and then again in English. Slovakia: Picture Book is a great choice, and so is Ogistis ak souri li or Augustus and his Smile.

In consultation with the family, I would host a day when we would eat Slovakia food in the classroom. Although I know we eat stuffed cabbages, I would check with the family to make sure they still eat the same type of food as I did.

There is a list of folk festivals – usually during the summer months -- with dancing, local costumes, and food. I would consult with the family to see which folk festival or tradition that is important to them. Then invite them to host it for the class and if appropriate for the entire school body. I could ask the PTA to sponsor the event if it becomes a school-wide event.

Finally, even if the child has been welcomed into the classroom, I would periodically check in with the family to make sure they are adjusting to life in the United States and in the community where they live, whether there is anything they would like to know more about. Whether they think if their child is doing fine in the classroom. Whether there’s anything we could be doing more of for the child and the family.

The attention to the individual child benefits the child and the family by our communicating through our actions that the child is important and worth our taking actions to ensure that the child is adjusting and having her/his needs met.

“Why don’t you get a cochlear implant?” I get that more frequently of late because of media attention to the wonders of cochlear implantation. I get that from random people from a sales clerk to a restaurant waitress to well-meaning staff at the doctor’s office. In more cases than not, they think they are kind to let me know in case I might not know about it.

Such questions are a form of microaggression, more specifically, a microinsult that suggests that I as a deaf person is inferior in one way or another (Laureate Education, 2011). As Dr. Sun (Laureate Education, 2011) explains it, the question – in my perspective -- “saps the spiritual and psychological energies of the person especially because it is cumulative in nature.” However, in the perspective of the people asking me the question, they believe they are being friendly and admire me for what I have done.

The question is very insensitive and ignorant toward me and represents the ignorance of the person asking the question. They might believe one of those or all of those: that my ears need fixing; that my life is limiting; that my life will improve with restored hearing. Truth be told, my ears do not need fixing, my life feels privileged to me, and I have a great life as a Deaf person. That is not something that most people will believe or understand. I do not understand how they would think that a piece of technology would make me feel whole, as if I do not feel whole in my body. As I would always say, “I am perfect in my imperfection.”

I would politely and firmly respond, “no thank you.” I bet that they would consider my response offensive or rude. Thus, I feel invalidated.

If you look around, listen to radio or news, or read, you will notice that Deaf people are not their own spokespersons.  We are powerless to correct the constant barrage of misinformation about deaf people and their hearing “loss.” After detailing our hearing loss, they would proceed to outline medical solutions in which they have vested interests. It is an illusion that we must have hearing to accomplish in our lives. And more importantly, it is their internalized privilege to speak on our behalf.

Deaf people have to speak up more often to stop this microaggression of deaf people. Social media has been a boon to our effort to reclaim our signed languages and our lives.

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

When I experience microaggressions, I normally try to move on beyond the microaggressive actions. So for this week assignment to describe at least one example of a microaggression that I detected this week, I was hoping I could report that I did not experience nor observe any microaggressions this week, but, sadly, I experienced it today, the day before this blog is due to be posted.

In our Week 4 video transcript, Dr. Derald Wing Sue focused on a discussion about verbal microaggressions. So I wondered whether microaggressions could be nonverbal and googled the question. Much to my delight, in a Psychology Today article, the very same Dr. Sue (2010) wrote:

Microaggressions are the everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs, or insults, whether intentional or unintentional, which communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative messages to target persons based solely upon their marginalized group membership. In many cases, these hidden messages may invalidate the group identity or experiential reality of target persons, demean them on a personal or group level, communicate they are lesser human beings, suggest they do not belong with the majority group, threaten and intimidate, or relegate them to inferior status and treatment (¶2).

The subtle act of microaggression made me feel inferior within the university department I work in. I was in an elevator with my supervisor and a colleague who both were engaged in a conversation in sign language with me. On the next floor, a departmental co-worker stepped in and started talking with my supervisor and colleague with her back to me. She exchanged pleasantries with them before walking away. Both my supervisor and my colleague are two of my dearest friends and are always sensitive to my communication needs. They would not know what just transpired unless I mentioned to them. I chose not to because we were on our way to lunch to wish my colleague good wishes as she’s moving to a new job at a new university.

Normally but not always, I am used to such microaggressions from strangers; but this time, it hurts because that co-worker usually makes me feel like I am a monster when I approach her in her office. I have not given her any reason to feel this way about me. This makes me look for ways to avoid all encounters with her. Ford (2009) talked about strategies he would employ to “simply stay sane in the face of disconnection from a mainstream academic culture.”

It is kind of ironic because our university is concerned about diversity and all types of “-isms,” and here we have a staffer treating me that way within our department. Other employees have accommodated me in my way of communicating through paper/pen and/or emails. Ford (2009) suggested that “institutions of higher education…should make a more concerted effort in considering the challenges faced by students with disabilities in the same ways that efforts have been made to include Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and American Indians” (¶6).

References

Sue, D. W. (November 17, 2010). Microaggressions: More than just race. Psychology Today. Retrieved from: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/microaggressions-in-everyday-life/201011/microaggressions-more-just-race

Ford, A. R. (2009). It's not just about racism, but ableism. Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, 26(4), 16.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

I had the privilege of attending a Deaf Women United conference this weekend in Northern California. They are celebrating their 30^th anniversary, and how fitting it is that their main topic has been social justice and all of the journeys we take to get from where we are privileged to a place where we understand and respect other people’s cultures and social identities. I have learned a few new things, and am reminded of other things I learned before and forgot.

As I expected, their answers to diversity were more robust than their ideas about culture. They were more knowledgeable and engaged with the topic of diversity. Mostly, we talked about our own social identities, and how some of our “privileges” are both privilege and oppressive.

Most of the responses I got were about the surface cultures that we all are familiar with and learned in our class the past couple of weeks. It includes the languages we speak, the clothes, and values & traditions. However, one of the workshop presenters I asked said how her three social identities often conflict with each other.  She is a Black Deaf Woman. She has three “cultures” where she had to navigate the conflicts between Black/White, Deaf/Hearing, and Woman/Male. She was an angry person who has learned to love people and work through their differences. I learned so much from watching her present her three identities and how she has come to a point where she is embracing each of the three identities she has. She illuminated what Ngo (2008) discussed and suggested, “Rather than whole, seamless, or naturally occurring, culture and identity are the result of differentiation in social relations…they emerge within the play of specific modalities of power, and thus are more the product of the marking of difference and exclusion, than they are the sign of an identical, naturally-constituted unity” (p.6).

We had a discussion where we identified our privilege and our oppression. A few of us talked about how being smart or intelligent is both a privilege and oppressive. It is good to know how other women also share my thoughts. We talked about how some people are just so smart they cannot handle it. Frequently, people do not understand what smart people are talking about and look at them with askance.

Ultimately, the only way we all can understand each other, and start to respect each other is to have a continuing dialogue where we talk through our differences or disagreements. As my Foundations to Early Childhood Education said, it is the responsibility of the education professionals to find out more about each of the child.

Ngo, B. (2008). Beyond "culture clash": Understanding of immigrant experiences. Theory into Practice, 47(1), 4–11.

My Family Culture

Now, if I were to take three small items, I would not know what. Honestly, I have thought hard about what three items I would take with me. I have asked my husband and my son, and they did not know either. I do not know what artifacts in our house represent our family culture. I know what I want to take for my own sanity.

First is all blankets I have in the house because I am always cold!

Second is my laptop that has all of my ideas, thoughts, and papers I wrote.

I cannot think of a third item that I would have to take with me.

If I had to choose just one item to keep, I would keep my laptop because, with it, I can entertain myself with captioned movies, write blogs, use it to communicate with others, and look at family photos.

The only insight I can share is that I have never been materialistic although I appreciate fine things. After a devastating home fire in 2006, we are less attached to our stuff. After we recovered from the loss and rebuilding of our home, we now belong to a very special club – those who lost their homes to fires and rebuilt them.

If you live in Southern California as I do, you are always prepared for wildfires every year. There’s a culture associated with preparing for the wildfires. First, you watch for warnings to evacuate the area. Sometimes, you would be asked to evacuate your home. When and if you have time, you take only the 3Ps – people, pets, and photos. That’s what we all think when preparing to evacuate.

There are not very many items I would take with me other than the three Ps, and, after this exercise, my laptop! That does sound very privileged, and I know my family is.