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From: "Laura Chenven" <lchenven@workingforamerica.org>
To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov>
Subject: [NIFL-POVRACELIT:243] deafness as culture: a question I need
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Every time someone gives Kate a considered and generous and well thought
out answer to her questions, she responds that she still doesn't
understand. She doesn't understand why people define themselves as they
do. She doesn't understand issues of identity. She doesn't understand
the way different kinds of people see the world. Isn't this exactly the
problem we have with teachers who don't "understand" the people they
teach and who have trouble appreciating "other" world views.
I think we need to get back to looking at how we as educators can help
people learn even when they may be very different than us. It is a
challenge. A humbling one because people who are "different" sometimes
challenge our very basic assumptions about ourselves and the way the
world is. But isn't this what is so exciting about being an educator.
We all have the privilege of learning each time we try to teach. We
have the privilege of developing relationships with a wide range of
people with a wide range of human experience.
I'd like to open up the question of class as a barrier as well. We deal
with this in a lot of union - based programs. We find that teachers,
often those from the community colleges begin teaching with the concept
that it is up to the student either "get it" or not. The union approach
is generally that it is up to the teacher to make sure everyone "gets
it". Some teachers have perpetual problems with workers "attitudes".
While others develop excellent relationships with these same students.
I think the "attitude" problem is often connected to a response to the
"attitude" of the teacher to class (and sometimes race).
Any comments.
Laura Chenven
Working for America Institute
>>> Kate@global2000.net 10/25/00 11:28PM >>>
I suppose that, somewhere at the root of my feeling bothered over the
"deafness as culture" position, there lies the fact that this position
puts
parents and children in different cultures, which seems unlike "culture"
as
we usually think of it.
E.g., consider other things that we think of as "culture":
we expect that people of Hispanic culture come from families of Hispanic
culture, and will in turn - if they start families - start families of
Hispanic culture ...
similarly for most of the entities that we think of as "culture." Most
of us
would find it very strange, at the least, to meet someone who said "I am
of
Hispanic culture, but my parents and grandparents, my brothers, my
sisters,
my cousins and my children and grandchildren are not: I am the only
person
in my family who belongs to my culture" ...
yet, if we consider deafness as a culture, then it seems we find exactly
this situation.
I don't know (and would like to know very much) how members of, say,
Hispanic culture (or other cultures with close family ties - especially
extended-family ties) respond when a Hispanic person born deaf decides
to
culturally class him/herself with other deaf people:
in other words, when such a person decides that s/he does not (and
never
did) belong to the same culture as the rest of his/her family.
Can anyone inform me on this matter?
Yours for better letters,
Kate Gladstone - Handwriting Repair
kate@global2000.net, kate@WriteMe.com
http://www.global2000.net/handwritingrepair
325 South Manning Boulevard
Albany, NY 12208-1731
518/482-6763
AND REMEMBER ...
you can order books through my site! (Amazon.com link - I
get a 5% - 15% commission on each book sold)
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