James.Womack@f14.n300.z1.fidonet.org (James Womack) (11/19/90)
Index Number: 11828 [This is from the Silent Talk Conference] Ann, Now let's move on to Total Communication. Total communication is a philosophy and not a method. You can't teach Total Communication to preschoolers as you suggest. The concept behind total communication is that an educator uses the communication method best suited for the child to foster that child's learning. If a kid came to you knowing only how to read and write, had no signing ability , lipreading ability, that is what you used. If the kid was primarily a lipreader that is what you used. Total Communication by virtue of what it truly is unworkable. If we had the resources and teachers to go one on one with each kid to meet their needs, fine. We don't. We dump them all in one classroom. Consequently, it is physically impossible for a teacher to teach all the kids together by using total communication. Each kid's needs are different. You can group them together according to communication needs, but they may be so dissimilar in academic level that you would be hindering the process of some, overwhelming others etc. Their social maturity or the presence of other factors would also make lumping them together purely according to communication needs prohibitive, yet this is what happens if you insist on a total communication approach as defined by your apparent suggestion. -- Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!300!14!James.Womack Internet: James.Womack@f14.n300.z1.fidonet.org
James.Womack@f14.n300.z1.fidonet.org (James Womack) (11/19/90)
Index Number: 11831 [This is from the Silent Talk Conference] Don't blame ASL for deaf failure. If it is so faulty, why do deaf people cling to it so tenaciously? Why doe sit refuse to go away? Why has 200 years of suppression failed to dislodge it? Because it is our cultural medium, just as any language is the cultural medium of any people. No people give up this core identity glue willingly. You'd have to kill each and everyone of them to terminate it. When bilingual education should have been taught, it wasn't. Rather English was crammed down the throat by means of the eyes. Well, 200 years of failure shows it does not work. Now what? More of the same under a different name? ASL has historically been denied entrance into the classroom. Whatever you do, do not blatantly blame ASL for deaf education's failure. Why? Because in all honesty, ASL had nothing to do with it. It was not permitted to. -- Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!300!14!James.Womack Internet: James.Womack@f14.n300.z1.fidonet.org
Vixen@f11.n203.z1.fidonet.org (Vixen) (11/20/90)
Index Number: 11887 [This is from the Silent Talk Conference] Hi James, I must tell you that I thought you presented your positions regarding ASL, deaf Culture and communication in an intelligent and clear fashion. I have followed this thread most closely and with great interest. For myself, I do believe in Total Communications methods, but as some already know, I am a strong advocate of ASL. My caveat on Total Communication is that it should be something that is optional and available for those who can benefit by it. I don't believe it should be forced. When I began learning ASL, I was also taught a little bit about its history as well as deaf culture and things relevant. My instructors felt that it was important that I know more than just the language. I was taught much of what you have spoken of here. That many hearing educators and systems tried to suppress ASL for any number of reasons, including labeling it an inferrior form of communication. I also learned that many hearing persons or institutions expected the deaf person/ student/ child to do things "the hearing way" or as you have said, without the use of ASL. I have even seen some of this attitude in my own life experiences. When a hearing person/system wants to put the deaf individual in the position of finding a means of communication more easily understandable by the hearing person/system. I realize that there are more hearing people than deaf, but somehow, I have always been annoyed by this. I was also taught to respect this wonderful language and that as you have pointed out, is so much a part of being deaf for so many and that much of the deaf community will and does cling tenaciously to ASL. You commented that a "Deafie" might think of Annie as a deaf person with a hearing mind. I wonder, if people like some of my (hearing) ASL instructors are "Hearing with the ability to think as a deafie!" (To all reasonable limits of course.) For me, a sign system that is based on standard english might be easier to learn and I might be able to string my signs together easier and quicker, because proper ASL syntax has never come easily to me. Still, I prefer the language as it is. I think Total Communication is fine once the deaf child/student/person has a basic visual language to communicate with. I thought you raised a lot of good points concerning this. Keepin' the faith! . Vixen -- Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!203!11!Vixen Internet: Vixen@f11.n203.z1.fidonet.org
Ann.Parsons@f207.n260.z1.fidonet.org (Ann Parsons) (11/28/90)
Index Number: 12001 [This is from the Silent Talk Conference] Hi there, I am learning so, so much! Thanks for all the knowledge. I think that what I remember the most is the attitude of the hearing community toward ASL in the past. It reminds me vividly of the book by Kkewellen, How Green Was My Valley. It's a book about Wales and in it there's a scene of a little girl, about six. She is standing by a fence in a playground and she's crying. The reason she's crying is that her teacher has punished her. Around her neck is a rope. attached to the rope is a heavy board which hangs in front of her knees. On the board is written in big black letters "I MUST NOT SPEAK WELSH IN SCHOOL" I wish everybody unlimited and freely chosen communication methods! Take care, see you on-line. Ann P. -- Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!260!207!Ann.Parsons Internet: Ann.Parsons@f207.n260.z1.fidonet.org
James.Womack@f14.n300.z1.fidonet.org (James Womack) (11/28/90)
Index Number: 12009 [This is from the Silent Talk Conference] That Welsch girl you referred to sums up whathas gone on withthe deaf for two centuries in America. -- Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!300!14!James.Womack Internet: James.Womack@f14.n300.z1.fidonet.org