Reflection On Signing Idol

Prior to reading these chapters I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I have never really been exposed to the Deaf- World. I have watched shows such as Switched at Birth, but I know that it doesn’t completely portray the real Deaf- Community. I was extremely interested in seeing their side of the story and gaining insight on the life they live. I decided to read chapters one, and two.

In the novel Seeing Voices (1989), Oliver Sacks digs into the exploration of American Sign Language and the culture of Deaf people. Sacks studies the complex ways and effect in which language is used to impact the cognitive part of the brain. The Deaf community is very different from the hearing impaired because the community has had its challenges, language, and history. Denied the opportunity to take in a language, a child will grow up uneducated with no means of understanding and in no way have the ability to communicate with another person. With that being said deaf people in past were not "dumb" or uneducated in fact it was never their fault they were like that, but it was because they never had the chance of being taught a language.

In 1988, students at Gallaudet University shut down the campus in protest, with one clear goal in mind: Deaf President Now. The school board had just selected their newest president- the seventh hearing president for a school almost entirely made up of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing students- and the people were pissed. Out of three candidates, the two Deaf men under consideration had been snubbed for yet another president who didn’t come from the culture the university represented, and even worse, didn’t use their language. Let that sink in for a moment.

Coming into the light consists of a Deaf person’s journey towards finding their Deaf identity. As we learned in class, some Deaf people struggle to find their identity due to not knowing the resources available to them or having bad experiences with hearing people. This causes them to have a little d but when they find who they truly are they develop a big D and embrace being Deaf. As for the visual scream, it is when someone makes a visual gesture that seems like they’re making a loud sound but there is no sound with it. This is often seen in silent films or done by Deaf performers to add emotion to their performances.

Going to the ASL event I was completely nervous and shocked that I was really about to talk to someone using sign language. This was simply mind boggling to me at the time. Once I was in the event I noticed that everyone were connected. It was simply magical to see how people connect because of being deaf. Never did I realized how powerful a language can bring people together.

I was surprised to see how quickly it caught on throughout schools across America. The notion that deaf people should learn to speech and lip read to be like everyone else seems unreal to me. Alexander Graham Bell’s belief that “a life without signing would be a better life” was surprising especially after learning his mother and wife were deaf (“History: Through Deaf Eyes”). Bell’s oral method, to

My first destination as an individual with a hearing loss was the Café. When the lady at the entrance took my ODU card and told me to have a nice day I realized right away that it was awkward to talk. When she gave my card back to me I said “thankyou”. When I said “thankyou” it felt like I couldn’t hear myself that well. So I wasn’t sure if I was talking really low or really high.

Growing up in a small-town I was literally in a culture bubble. There were almost no deaf people. I just never had the opportunity to converse with someone who is deaf. As I was reading this book I noticed my internal motivation for learning ASL was changing. I now want to learn as much ASL as I possibly can, so I can chat with those I come in contact with that are deaf or hard of hearing.

Mark was born in 1966 to two deaf parents. Although the circumstances and troubles his mother had during the process of his birth he was born healthy and hearing. Mark tells that his parents were forbidden from teaching him sign language. I cant image growing up with deaf parents and have little communication with them. Deaf or not parents should always be encouraging to their children to learn to speak with their children.

After this event I felt like I got a little taste of what Mark had experienced in the book Deaf Again, but the roles were switched I was hearing in an all deaf environment instead of being deaf in a hearing environment like mark was. Although this type of event could have scared me away from future deaf events it didn’t. The reason why I am looking forward to events like this in the future is because I’m going to persevere and improve so next time ill understand a little more and sooner or later ill understand everything that’s going on. Knowing how bad my ASL is makes me just want to get better. Therefore, there are many things I could improve onto make my future experiences better and I’m looking forward to the next

Across the world there are myriads of different cultures. The United States alone incorporates several different cultures, one of those being the American Deaf culture. Often the Deaf are not thought of as their own culture or community, but simply as a group of people who share a common trait. However, the Deaf community, typically made up of people who are hard of hearing or have total hearing loss, but also including friends and family who are hearing, have formed a culture through their shared language, experiences, and heritage. Members abide by cultural rules, and have their own ways of showing respect and disrespect, sometimes live within their own all-Deaf societies, and have their own social, athletic, and religious organizations.

Now, have many someone don’t know what is CPR, what is mean? CPR is very important to use in state of emergency. when you stay in state of emergency. what will you do? What thing you can do?

What was your experience and feelings about watching it?   Throughout the documentary film Through Deaf Eyes, I felt amazed by deaf culture. The deaf culture is a versatile, rich, and unique community that more people need to be aware of. When the film was covering the transition of ASL schools to oral only I mostly felt ashamed of my own culture.

Sometimes it makes me mad a little. One day I stopped thinking the negativity thoughts about being deaf and I started to talk to people like normal person with sign language and voice. The result is they understood and no awkward situation. It made me feel good about pushing myself to challenge the real world. The benefit is that a person would (hopefully) pull themselves up and understand they are powerful.

I watched Sound and Fury, a documentary that came out in 2000, centered on the complications of getting the Cochlear Implant, and how Deaf and hearing communities can differ upon the topic. Particularly within one family, brothers along with their wives and parents have a tough time deciding if their Deaf children should undergo such a procedure. They all travel to visit families that are hearing with children who aren’t learning ASL because they have the implant. They visit a Deaf family whose 10-year daughter is the only person in the family to get the implant. They also visit schools focusing on speech to help Deaf children who wear hearing aids and/or got the Cochlear Implant, and visit a Deaf community with a school focused on ASL.