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From:
Valerie Sutton Date: Wed Apr 26, 2000 5:26 am Subject: Wonderful TV Program About Nicaragua ;-) | |
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SignWriting List April 25, 2000 Dear SignWriting List: I just watched the "60 Minutes II" segment on television, that aired nationally in the US. The 15 minute program was filmed in Nicaragua. They interviewed Judy Shepard-Kegl, and several Deaf Nicaraguans too. I thought it was an excellent program. Congratulations, Judy and James...it was really great! The signing was beautiful and dynamic. The children were wonderful. I became emotional, watching the segment about the 25-year old mother who was born-deaf, and because of her isolated circumstances, with no schooling, she still had no language as an adult. She seemed very intelligent though. There was something about her. There was a form of "body language"...a tilt of the head back and eyegaze and some cheek movement, that gave some important information. She knew she had no language, but she also knows she is intelligent. She was thinking deep thoughts, and she knew there was a barrier between her thoughts and all those people crowded around her. And she was highly skeptical that there was a way to break that barrier...at least that is what I felt from her...it was almost as if she thought the questions were a bit silly...and it was foolish for these "so-called experts" to try.... It was also very moving at the end when Judy discussed what could have happened to these children, if the children had never had a school, or a chance to communicate with other Deaf people. Judy discussed the isolation of deafness and how difficult it is....and the love and caring that she felt for the children was evident. I have never been to Nicaragua, but Judy and James and Darline Clark-Gunsauls have all told me stories about it. It was wonderful to really see living pictures of the children and to see some of their living quarters and their classrooms. I can now "imagine" their circumstances better, because of that TV show. As you know, although SignWriting is used in the schools there, there was no SignWriting on any blackboards in this film. In fact, if you look at the blackboards carefully, it looks like there was SignWriting written on the blackboards before the filming started, and then it was erased on purpose...I suspect the visual distraction was not what the camera men wanted for this short segment. That is OK...because they placed the focus on Judy and the children, and that is the way it should be. Maybe someday we can encourage them to do a second show, a "sequel" that focuses on SignWriting, which is another historic "first" the Kegl's have accomplished in Nicaragua....I hope they will include an interview with James, to discuss the long list of literature that has been translated into Nicaraguan Sign Language and then typed in SignWriting. And maybe interview some of the Deaf authors too...several of whom type SignWriting by computer. But that is for another day ;-) Today, I want to wish Judy and James congratulations again. You really have changed people's lives for the better.... Val ;-) PS. My mother and sister called from Florida to tell me they both watched the program and they thought it was excellent! PPS. Thanks to CBS posting two links to the SignWritingSite on their web page about the program, I have already received several email messages from people wanting information. Thank you, CBS, for the publicity! Here is the web page again: CBS Web Page About Nicaragua https://cbsnews.cbs.com/now/story/0,1597,188527-412,00.shtml |
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