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From:
Ted Hart Date: Tue Dec 14, 1999 10:32 pm Subject: Re: Future of Deaf Education | |
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>Hi Ted, and welcome to the SignWriting List. Feel free to introduce your >work to us... > >I remember you wrote to me, and I believe you told me that you are the only >Deaf student in your university Deaf-Education program...is that right? > >I bet that gives you a unique perspective...what do you think of >SignWriting in regards to the future of Deaf Education? > >Val ;-) I'm just a college student who happens to be deaf and believe that there needs to be a great improvement in deaf schools. I'm technically not the only deaf student here..I'm the only one in the Deaf Education major though. There's a deaf/blind student that's majoring in the journalism field...I do have a problem understanding her becuase due to her limited vision field she signs very limited to her vision (I don't know why that should be but...) and she signs very English...some of those signs aren't used those days so I have a hard time still with that and I'm due to take an Signed Exact English course in the fall. I'm dreading that because I know I'm not gonna like learning it! But in a way, I still have to because it's a course requirement..I got waived on a few others after I put up a big ruckus and was referred to the bigwigs. Had a meeting with them and was told that I was the first deaf person to have the courage to come and have a meeting. Accordingly to my deaf professor...there's been only maybe..15 deaf students but only two graduated. The deaf students didn't know that they were waived from taking the exit tests which are an requirement in order to graduate...it's allowed in Texas so I don't know about other states. Apparently I'm the first one who asked and found out the info. Alot of the course cirrculum is outdated...alot of requirements to take Signed Exact English courses and Audiological courses which I find terribly irrevelant to teaching deaf students. Right now, they're working on revamping the cirrculum in order to make it more flexible. I'm replacing the courses that I requested not to take with courses in Special Education because there are more deaf students with multiple disablities nowdays compared to deaf students born deaf or whatnot. I've been invited to attend group meetings to help develop the new cirrculum...former students who have graduated from Stephen F. Austin State University (www.sfasu.edu) have been asked to participate as well. I find it ironic that this is the only program in Texas which promotes total ASL communication with a few SEE courses thrown in. We have the largest number of Deaf Education graduates compared to other universities and colleges in Texas who promote SEE systems which is outdated. They keep saying that SEE is still revelant because it teaches students to write good English. I feel that the major reason I have such a good command of English is because I started school when I was a baby..before I started crawling as a matter of fact. I do agree that SFA students should take, at least, one audiological course as an introductory course but the teacher who teaches those courses tend to go in too deep. Basically in other words, the speech therapy major and Deaf education majors are virtually the same! So it's been changed although I highly doubt that they will drop the audiological courses or make it a different type of course because alot of professors are very unflexible in their ways of thinking. Other than that, this university is great and friendly with a small population of students which is good. Ted Hart p.s. SFA is in Nacogdoches, Texas (East Texas) |
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