James.Womack@f14.n300.z1.fidonet.org (James Womack) (05/14/91)
Index Number: 15597
[This is from the Silent Talk Conference]
I am pressed for time so my answer will not be as thorough as I'd like.
Many members of the Deaf Community are not teachers for several reasons.
One is that most are victims of the same educational system that did
not permit their full potential to develop due to "English-Speech"
emphasis philosophies. These Deaf people are products of that failed
system; hence, they lack the skills to proceed on to higher education
levels that would qualify them for degrees which in turn would qualify
them to work in the field of Deaf Education. Those daefies who are
in the field are exceptions to the rule. Think of it as a closed loop
system. Oddly enough, one of the repeated excuses of schools and programs
for not hiring Deaf people is that, "Well you are not qualified for
the position." Or, "Being deaf alone is not qualification enough."
What this approach does is lock out Deaf people and keep them
out. The very systems that failed to "qualify" the Deaf becoems the
system that prevents the very people inside who might well be able
to help break the closed loop.
Oh, I don't beat 'em. I tell it like I see it and some people just
insist on saying "ouch." Heralds are rarely welcome. Shoot, in theOld
Testament, they killed 'em. They did that too duringthe Civil Rights
struggles back in the 1960's. I figure I am probably in good company.
]:->
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