This just bit my butt. And the fact that the school responded by saying that a 3-4th grade reading level for deaf students is the national average so that should be good enough really irked me. Talk about setting the bar terribly low.
Yep, that REALLY stinks! Shouldn't the school hold to HIGHER levels than the supposed average?! "Oh well, we'll just graduate them, even if they're not ready, cuz that's the average." Bah! HUMBUG!!! I wonder how much the parents paid to send their son there?! Or is it publicly funded?
First of all, it IS a public school. Second, it is true that the average Deaf student reads at a 4th grade level. That's a fact of life. The average Deaf student DOES NOT speak English. As a result, it is extremely difficult for them to read English. Imagine how difficult it would be for you to read a language you've never heard spoken. The only "sign language" that follows proper English is Signed Exact English, and there's still LOTS of problems with that, which make it impractical for the Deaf to use. I don't know if the school followed the IEP or not. But the IEP process INVOLVES THE PARENTS. They are STRONGLY encouraged to attend a meeting, in which the IEP is discussed at length. The parents then sign it. The IEP contains a section on the student's CURRENT PERFORMANCE LEVEL. You state what the student is currently doing, then long term and specific behavioral objectives are established for the year. Reports are sent home regularly, letting the parent know just how far they have come to accomplishing these. The parent signs the IEP. All this is to show that it would be very difficult for the parent NOT to have an idea that their kid wasn't reading at a "normal" level. If they had a problem with their child's progress, they should have dealt with it before now. I think they thought the college would just let their handicapped kid slide through, which didn't happen, and now they wish to blame someone.
Jackie, Babyboy's mother wants him to learn and use SEE instead of ASL because of things she has heard about deaf student's English grades in school. The mother of a deaf young man in our town told her that her son scored bad in English because he couldn't write the way hearing people do because he makes his sentences in ASL. I hope I am making sense here but I think you will get what I mean. His written sentences were coming out like the way he signed. So he got bad grades in high school. So Babyboy's mother thinks we should be doing SEE. I never have felt like this is a good idea because I am afraid other deaf people won't understand him. I know we will if we learn the same way but I think he should be learning ASL so he will fit in with the deaf people he will meet in life. Am I worrying for nothing or what do you think? Sorry to pick your brain like this but I don't know who else to turn to. Thank you for any thoughts you may feel like sharing. I only want the best for our boy. Beth
My sign language teacher (ASL) was deaf and detested SEE. In ASL you sign phrases or thoughts. SEE involves signing much more. To the deaf forcing SEE is kind of like trying to take away their native language. Beth, I'd have Babyboy's mom talk to those in deaf education and the deaf community before she decides to push SEE. They can give her more insight as to what's best.
There really is a language issue that comes into play between people who sign ASL and those who sign SEE. And while I'm sure it takes more work on their part, I've known countless people in the deaf community who've managed to learn English (written) in addition to ASL. There are also a lot more (understatement) resources and teaching aids for those who sign ASL (and more interpreters).
Just out of curiousity, Amie, do you know if your Deaf friends learned written English primarily as an adult or a child? Pam, one of my ASL teachers was a Deaf man who taught at the Ohio School for the Deaf. He was very upset that the colleges were teaching Signed English in their education classes, rather than ASL. I tried (in vain) to explain to him that Signed English was EXCELLENT for non-verbal hearing students. But all he could see hearing people forcing Deaf into their mold.
I actually don't know. I was basing my previous post on the fact that they are capable of expressing themselves very well in written form. I communicate with them primarily online, so I see their writing on a daily basis. Of course, that will change in January when we start our Bible study. A couple of the moms want to teach us hearing folks more ASL in the process of a mom's Bible study.
We have another homeschool group that meets at the home of one of the deaf moms. She teaches the kids ASL while the other mother's talk HS shop. It was happening at the same time as the boys' art class, but last week was the last week for that. So starting in January we will be in regular attendance. Hopefully the boys and I can improve our ASL skills to hold a decent conversation.
Making a deaf person use SEE instead of ASL is like making a hearing person write a term paper with diagramed sentences only, and done on the fly. English as the hearing know it is not the language of the deaf who use ASL. The words are the same but the sentax and grammar are very different. Despite this I am a bit suprised that the average reading level is only 3-4th grade. Or maybe not. There are huge challanges to overcome in the schools for the deaf and blind. Quite often hearing imparment is not the only challange a student in such schools has. The are often other developmental issues, learning disability, handicaps, and other dianoses in a single student. It would seem that they are, as a result not able to simply "track" students with regard to reading skills and the better potential readers are held back as a result. This is likely a matter of low budgets resulting in low expectations. I am thinking about reading words without phonics, and without hearing them in my head. I can and actually do alot of reading without an audio in my head, but an unfamilar appearing word will be "sounded" in my head and often recognized audibly even if it was not visually. I am imagining tying to picture a hand sign as I see the word. :shock::shock::shock: This is food for thought. All of the sudden I have the since of a giant "memory" card game that has thousands of cards across by thousands down. Yikes.
Vantage, you are SO right!!! Except there are so many ASL signs that simply don't translate into English. Here's an example of a "literal" translation: Happen temperature plunge, will begin snow. In English that means, "If the temperature should plunge, we'll get snow." Another of my favorites was used by a 3YO when I student taught: Mommy, Daddy, ZOOM!!! car library. He was telling us that he had gone to the library the day before with his parents. Make a "gun" with your thumb and index finger, then add your middle finger. The other two fingers should be folded back. This sign can mean many different things. It is something you ride. It can be a bkie or a horse, for example, or a moterbike. If you want to tell a story, you have to identify what it is first by labeling. Then your other hand will actually "ride" it. Does it go straight or crooked? That's all portrayed by how your hand moves. Does it stop or fall over? Again, this is portrayed by how you move it. It's not something that you can translate literally into English.
