Deaf Studies at MSSD

Lisa C. Jacobs, Jennifer T. McMillan, and Janet S. Weinstock
(Abridged Version for Proceedings)

From days of antiquity to modern times, Deaf people have existed and coped with a pressing human need to think and communicate. Over time, Deaf people have developed sign languages and have lived lives as self-sustaining and productive people.

Nevertheless, Deaf people have been misunderstood, viewed as defective, and pitied for living in a world of silence. We also have experienced frustration, discrimination, and struggle and continue to experience these to the extent that our linguistic, educational, and cultural needs are neither recognized nor understood. (Corson, 1991, p. 2)

In most social groups, membership is a result of being born into a particular family. The Deaf community represents a unique situation in that, at most, 10 percent of all Deaf children have parents who are themselves Deaf. Other Deaf children are socialized into the Deaf community outside of the home and at different periods in their lives. (Padden & Markowicz, 1978, p. 67)

For the overwhelming majority of Deaf children, self-perception, self-esteem, and social identity are not shared with their parents. Even though they may be unfamiliar with the culture of the Deaf community, they may have already absorbed Deaf experiences as a result of cultural conflicts with the majority who are hearing. In an effort to be enculturated, Deaf children shift their focus in order to absorb aspects of Deaf culture from their peers. For example, if they attend residential schools, such as the Model Secondary School for the Deaf (MSSD), their peers are over 300 other Deaf high school students from around the country. Residential schools like MSSD also employ Deaf adults who serve as role models for the students. Other Deaf youth are enculturated through interaction with Deaf adults later in life at Deaf clubs and social gatherings hosted for Deaf people by Deaf people.

The MSSD Communications Department recognizes that before Deaf students learn to deal with people from diverse cultures, they need to understand their own. We recognize the need for Deaf students to develop their own identity and self-esteem first. For these reasons, the department offers the following Deaf Studies courses which are taught for 50 minutes daily for one semester.

• Beginning Sign Language is an introductory American Sign Language course for new students with minimal or no sign language skills. The textbook used is Signing Naturally (1988) developed by the faculty of Vista College, Berkeley, Calif.

• Introduction to Communication introduces students to the medical and cultural views of Deaf people. Units taught are: Interpersonal Communication, Deaf Empowerment, and Science Technology.

• History of Deaf People first introduces students to attitudes toward Deaf people from prehistoric ages to the present. The course also traces the history of education of Deaf people. In addition, students study the history of Deaf people in art, sports, entertainment, business, political and social organizations, and special events.

• ASL and Deaf Culture begins with the students’ self-analysis of being Deaf in today’s society, which leads to understanding of the pathological and cultural views. The concept of community and culture leads them to analyze and discuss the existence of the Deaf Community and Deaf Culture. The importance of the preservation of ASL and Deaf Culture is included. It also introduces students to the grammar, semantics, and history of ASL. The course also assists Deaf students to analyze ASL and prove that it is a language of its own. Also included is the study of bilingualism and multi-cultural issues.

Teachers of Deaf Studies at MSSD incorporate the Whole Language (WL) philosophy embraced by the Pre-College community. WL is neither a methodology, nor an approach. It is a philosophy of learning and teaching based on a number of fundamental beliefs: Learning … is social, requires risk-taking and experimentation, involves constructing meaning and relating new information to prior knowledge, occurs when learners are actively involved, occurs when learners have real purposes, occurs when learners make choices and share in decision-making, and uses language, mathematics, art, music, drama, and other communication systems as vehicles for exploration.

In using the Whole Language approach, a variety of strategies have proved to be effective. They are:

• anticipation guide: a pre-reading strategy where students vote if they agree or disagree on up to 10 related debatable statements. The value in anticipation guide is the discussion, which motivates the students to read the text to see who was right.

• k-w-l: a strategy for active reading of expository texts. Students list what they know on a topic, what they want to know, and then, after reading, what they have learned.

• literature circle: a guided reading strategy where students take turns leading a discussion on something that a group of students has read.

• literature/communication journal: this allows the students and their teachers to carry on a written conversation on a variety of topics. They have been shown to promote thinking and fluency in the written English of Deaf teenagers.

• matrix: a strategy to chart important points being discussed.

• webbing: a method for visually representing the association of words.

Over the years, Deaf Studies teachers have shared strategies that have been found to be very effective in developing, teaching, and expanding Deaf Studies courses. To capture students’ interests effectively, Deaf Studies teachers offer a wide range of projects from which students may choose. Examples are: creating and paraphrasing quotes and comic strips; researching and presenting information; analyzing, critiquing, and creating Deaf art work; making a video; developing brochures, pamphlets, and handbooks; designing buttons and t-shirts; interviewing Deaf heroes and heroines; writing Deaf myths, short stories, and poems; signing ASL poetry; telling Deaf jokes; writing journals; designing greeting cards; reviewing television programs and movies; and responding to articles and advice columns. This is completely student-centered for students take control of their own learning by selecting projects to work on.

In order to ensure a successful Whole Language experience, Deaf Studies teachers need to use a variety of strategies and projects inside and outside the classroom. This means an abundance of materials needs to be available for use at any time by both students and teachers. We offer strategies in collecting materials for use in Deaf Studies classes. Deaf Studies teachers should send letters asking for donations of materials, set up Deaf Culture mini-library and resource rooms, collect a variety of materials such as cartoons, quotes, jokes, bookmarks, artwork, poems, hearing aid brochures and assistive device catalogues and filing them in a filing cabinet.

Deaf Studies is a necessity for today’s Deaf students. They need to learn about and be proud of their own language, culture, and heritage. Teachers of Deaf Studies need to channel inspiration to their students through love of ASL and written English. In Deaf Studies classes, students develop pride in their culture and its heroes as they learn about their rights as Deaf citizens. Deaf students need to recognize that they live in one world together.

Students of Deaf Studies learn to stand up for their rights as Deaf consumers. They learn to register their use of ASL in a variety of situations through presenting in front of the class, participating in discussions, and working together on individual and group projects. In Deaf Studies classes, students learn the art of public speaking. They learn to express themselves with their own ideas and feelings as Deaf individuals. In order to gain the respect of others, students stick together and help each other develop positive self-esteem as Deaf individuals. Teachers of Deaf Studies help channel this inspiration by becoming positive role models for these students. The results are astounding.

About the Presenters

Lisa C. Jacobs, born Deaf to a Deaf family, graduated from the California School for the Deaf, Berkeley. She received her B.A. in English from Gallaudet University and an M.A. in deaf education from Western Maryland College. She is currently an instructor in the Department of Communication and Developmental Studies in the School of Preparatory Studies at the Northwest Campus of Gallaudet University.

Jennifer T. McMillan, communications teacher at the Model Secondary School for the Deaf, is a graduate of the North Carolina School for the Deaf at Morganton. After completing her B.A. at Gallaudet University, she continued her studies and received her M.A. in deaf education. She is married to a Deaf man and has three Deaf sons.

Janet S. Weinstock, born Deaf to a Deaf family, earned her M.A. in education of the hearing impaired from Gallaudet University. After nine years of teaching in the English department at the Model Secondary School for the Deaf (MSSD), she now teaches various Deaf Studies courses in the Communication Department at MSSD. She is assisting in the development of a new course, “Introduction to ASL Structure and Deaf Culture” and is expanding the current course, “History of Deaf People.” She is actively sought as a speaker on ASL and English, Deaf Culture, Deaf Studies, and Deaf Awareness.

References

Corson, H. (1991, March). Deaf studies: A framework for learning and teaching. Keynote address at the Deaf Studies for Educators Conference, Dallas, TX.

Padden, C., & Markowicz, H. (1978). Learning to be deaf: Conflicts between hearing and deaf cultures. The Quarterly Newsletter of the Laboratory of Comparative Human Cognition, 4(4), 67–72.

Smith, C., Lentz, E. M., & Mikos, K. (1988). Signing naturally: Functional notional approach, level 1. Berkeley, CA: DawnSignPress.