Tuesday, 22 March 2016
Something to chew on:
SHOULD DEAF PEOPLE BE ALLOWED TO HAVE CHILDREN?
OLIVIA GINN
Contributing Writer
omginn@goshen.edu
Olivia Ginn, senior, believes that Deaf parents have everything to be succesful. Photo by Maria Bischoff
Olivia Ginn, senior, believes that Deaf parents have everything to be succesful.Photo by Maria Bischoff
During my sophomore year at Goshen, I took Race, Class, and Ethnic Relations, a class that invites students to think about the social world we live in and its inequalities. During one of our sessions, the topic of Deaf couples having children came up and a student said, “I don’t think that Deaf people should be able to have kids because they’re imposing deafness on them.”
Before I continue, I want to differentiate the terms deaf and Deaf as they have different meanings. With a lowercase “d”, deaf means to be without hearing. With an uppercase “d”, Deaf means to be without hearing as well as being a part of the Deaf Culture. Being Deaf is something that they are rightfully proud of as they have fought oppression and they have fought for their language and culture to be recognized as a legitimate one.
After declaring ASL-Interpreting as my second major and having just completed Deaf Culture, I was shocked by this statement. I was taught that Deaf people have the same right as anyone else to have children; having hearing children is a blessing, but having Deaf children is a special blessing.
Stories about this have made the news and many people are quick to provide their two cents. Hearing people, who know nothing about Deaf Culture, say that it’s ethically wrong to choose a fate for their children and that they is only predisposing them to a long life of disability and hardships. Many believe it to be a selfish act of the Deaf parents and call it a crime, disgusting, and child cruelty.
However they have one perspective that is blind to everything that Deaf Culture is and stands for. Deaf people are fully capable of accomplishing anything and adapting to anything. For example, a Deaf man just won America’s Next Top Model and will be competing in Dancing with the Stars! Many Deaf love being Deaf and, if given the choice of being born Deaf or hearing, would choose to be Deaf. They believe that if they were hearing, they would be a different person which is not synonymous with being a better person.
They argue that life is full of challenges and that being Deaf is one that has built character. They believe that this world is meant to be inhabited by diverse people, whether by sexuality, skin color, religion, culture, or gender. Discrimination against such groups is ethically wrong, so why is audism, or discrimination against the Deaf, acceptable?
Like any other couples, they want to raise their children in the best way possible, and in their experience, the best way is a Deaf one.
The Deaf community is a minority group that is surrounded by a hearing world. For example, Deaf people cannot watch most YouTube videos because they lack captions. Historically, because they cannot hear, the government, institutions, and family and friends have been trying to integrate them into the hearing world by way of oralism which is speech therapy and lip reading. However, Deaf people don’t want it. They love their culture, community, and language and they wouldn’t have it any other way.
Deaf babies are human beings and their differences should not be considered a loss, but a gain. The Deaf see themselves a part of a strong and powerful cultural group. Their history and language is one to be proud of and they wish to pass that, and all of the previously mentioned benefits, to their children.
In closing, I offer a bit of advice on the topic. If in the future you have the chance to weigh in on this topic, remember that Deaf parents have everything they need to be successful. Naturally, not all Deaf people have an education and a mansion, but not all hearing people do either. Empower them to make their own decisions instead of imposing your hearing opinions onto them.
As Audre Lorde said, “It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.” Moving forward, I encourage everyone to celebrate the differences we are surrounded by.
SHOULD DEAF PEOPLE BE ALLOWED TO HAVE CHILDREN?
OLIVIA GINN
Contributing Writer
omginn@goshen.edu
Olivia Ginn, senior, believes that Deaf parents have everything to be succesful. Photo by Maria Bischoff
Olivia Ginn, senior, believes that Deaf parents have everything to be succesful.Photo by Maria Bischoff
During my sophomore year at Goshen, I took Race, Class, and Ethnic Relations, a class that invites students to think about the social world we live in and its inequalities. During one of our sessions, the topic of Deaf couples having children came up and a student said, “I don’t think that Deaf people should be able to have kids because they’re imposing deafness on them.”
Before I continue, I want to differentiate the terms deaf and Deaf as they have different meanings. With a lowercase “d”, deaf means to be without hearing. With an uppercase “d”, Deaf means to be without hearing as well as being a part of the Deaf Culture. Being Deaf is something that they are rightfully proud of as they have fought oppression and they have fought for their language and culture to be recognized as a legitimate one.
After declaring ASL-Interpreting as my second major and having just completed Deaf Culture, I was shocked by this statement. I was taught that Deaf people have the same right as anyone else to have children; having hearing children is a blessing, but having Deaf children is a special blessing.
Stories about this have made the news and many people are quick to provide their two cents. Hearing people, who know nothing about Deaf Culture, say that it’s ethically wrong to choose a fate for their children and that they is only predisposing them to a long life of disability and hardships. Many believe it to be a selfish act of the Deaf parents and call it a crime, disgusting, and child cruelty.
However they have one perspective that is blind to everything that Deaf Culture is and stands for. Deaf people are fully capable of accomplishing anything and adapting to anything. For example, a Deaf man just won America’s Next Top Model and will be competing in Dancing with the Stars! Many Deaf love being Deaf and, if given the choice of being born Deaf or hearing, would choose to be Deaf. They believe that if they were hearing, they would be a different person which is not synonymous with being a better person.
They argue that life is full of challenges and that being Deaf is one that has built character. They believe that this world is meant to be inhabited by diverse people, whether by sexuality, skin color, religion, culture, or gender. Discrimination against such groups is ethically wrong, so why is audism, or discrimination against the Deaf, acceptable?
Like any other couples, they want to raise their children in the best way possible, and in their experience, the best way is a Deaf one.
The Deaf community is a minority group that is surrounded by a hearing world. For example, Deaf people cannot watch most YouTube videos because they lack captions. Historically, because they cannot hear, the government, institutions, and family and friends have been trying to integrate them into the hearing world by way of oralism which is speech therapy and lip reading. However, Deaf people don’t want it. They love their culture, community, and language and they wouldn’t have it any other way.
Deaf babies are human beings and their differences should not be considered a loss, but a gain. The Deaf see themselves a part of a strong and powerful cultural group. Their history and language is one to be proud of and they wish to pass that, and all of the previously mentioned benefits, to their children.
In closing, I offer a bit of advice on the topic. If in the future you have the chance to weigh in on this topic, remember that Deaf parents have everything they need to be successful. Naturally, not all Deaf people have an education and a mansion, but not all hearing people do either. Empower them to make their own decisions instead of imposing your hearing opinions onto them.
As Audre Lorde said, “It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.” Moving forward, I encourage everyone to celebrate the differences we are surrounded by.
Saturday, 19 March 2016
VERY INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT SIGN LANGUAGE
1. One sign in sign language can have multiple meanings.
2. Sign languages have their own grammar and syntax.
3. People acquire sign language in the same way they acquire spoken languages.
4. Sign Language is the third most widely used language in the world, after English and Spanish.
5. There are hundreds of sign language dialects in use around the world. Each culture has developed its own form of sign language to be compatible with the language spoken in that country.
6. Different countries have different sign languages. Nigerian Sign Language also has regional and dialectal differences depending on age, gender, culture, and more. There are thousands of different sign languages, approximately 6,000.
7. Many deaf or hard of hearing people communicate by using Sign Language, it can be American Sign Language (ASL), Nigerian Sign Language (NSL) or British Sign Language (BSL). Sign language combines hand signs, gestures, and facial expressions to create words and sentences. Not all Sign Language users are deaf or hard of hearing. Some are family members, friends, or teachers of people with hearing impairments.
8. Deaf or hard of hearing people have been using signed languages for a very long time. In the 18th century in France, some people did not think children with hearing impairments should go to school. They thought that since they could not speak or hear, they would be unable to learn. A deaf man named Pierre Desloges believed these people were wrong. He wrote a book that described the signed language used by people with hearing impairments in Paris. This book helped to change the minds of many people. Soon there were schools in France for children with hearing impairments before schools for Deaf people spread across the world.
Let us know if you are interested to learn sign language, we would refer you to sign language tutors, so that when you learn sign language, you would be able to communicate with your loved ones around the world.
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