Chapter 36

"What do you call a deaf person who doesn't speak?" I thought this question was funny but a good question I guess. The book answers the question simply, you call them a Deaf person. You should not refer to them as mute or deaf-mute or deaf-and-dumb. It would be very insensitive to call them mute or deaf-and-dumb. It's rude to call people dumb anyway but to say someone is mute when they are Deaf is really not nice. 

All Deaf children will have some sort of speech coach and auditory training. I think it's okay that they get this training because it could help them in the long run. I don't think they should be forced into it but they should be shown the advantages and disadvantages. 

For Deaf people, it is hard to control the volume of their voice. Makes sense, they can't hear how loud or quiet they are. I'm sure they are able to hear the volume of a room, if it is very loud or very quiet but that doesn't mean they can hear their own voice.

This reminded me of a time I was in Florida with my family. My stepmom had on headphones and was listening to music. We asked her a question (had to shout because of the music) but when she started answering us back she was yelling! We all were like, "Betty, shhhh" and started laughing. She took off the headphones and was so confused as to why we shushed her. We then told her, just because you can't hear your voice over the music doesn't mean we can't either. Now looking back on this, I feel kind of bad that we did that because this is what Deaf people would experience all the time. Luckily, it was just us in the hotel at the time so our reactions didn't offend anyone. 

Chapter 35

"If you're deaf, how come you can talk?" This question was the focus of the chapter. The answer is that some Deaf people have good speech skills while others do not. Almost all Deaf people have normal vocal apparatus (p. 205).

Speaking for Deaf people can become a touchy subject. Here are some questions they ask themselves, "If we don't use our voices, do we give hearing people the wrong impression? If we do use our voices, are we oppressing other Deaf people? Whatever we do, are we encouraging labeling and stereotypes?" (p. 205). These are some pretty heavy questions and could be very difficult for Deaf people, especially Deaf children. I think it should be up to the person if they decide they want to speak or not. 

Some hearing people won't use their voices when they are in the company of Deaf friends or family members. I think this is a good practice to keep. It would be hard to keep your voice off at family events but if you are talking to only the person who is Deaf, maybe it would be best? It is respectful to try signing as best you can and to be understanding. I could understand why it wouldn't be very polite to speak and sign with a Deaf person. 

Chapter 34

I really liked the intro to this chapter. This man just got a job as manager of an office. He has a worker there who is Deaf so he took it upon himself to start taking ASL classes and to learn Sign. He said he felt it was important to communicate with this woman and was surprised by what he found out. He asks this question, "We do hear actual understandable words from her once in a while. Does this mean that at some time, someone has worked with her in speech? And is it wrong to want to hear her verbalize?" (p. 201).

I think I liked the intro so much because this man is trying to understand the Deaf culture more because of a single worker. He wants to communicate with her so, instead of asking her to talk, he is taking sign. I think this is awesome  of him. 

The book answers his question in saying that it is not wrong to want her to speak...its human nature (p. 202). I wasn't surprised when the book talks about how many Deaf people have had humiliation when they try to use their voice. You know why I wasn't surprised? Because after reading all these other chapters I don't think anything people do to/around Deaf people would be surprising. People can be very cruel. Parents should explain to their children and children should have a better understanding and compassion for other people. 

The book ends with saying that it would be alright to ask her about her experience with speaking but her actually speaking should be voluntary. 

Chapter 33

Speech pathologists and why Deaf people sometimes do not like them. 

Deaf people have had issues with Speech Pathologists for a long, long time. After reading the chapter about them hitting students who mispronounced words, I can understand where the problem would come from. The book talks about how its their job to help Deaf students become better with their speech so they are thrown into these classes to become better. 

These speech teachers are drilling their students to correctly pronounce words that they can't hear or can barely hear. It would be very frustrating to students because they may not get it right a lot of the time. The book also states that, "Most ASL-Deaf people are not opposed to speech training. Even Deaf parents of Deaf children believe in giving them practice in speech." (p. 196). I think it's important to read this part of the chapter or you could be really confused. Deaf people want speech teachers in their lives but I could understand where it would become agitating. 

I still hate that some teachers will do mean things to their clients when they would get a word wrong. I understand that time were different back then but come on. If you go into a field like that, you need to have patience and understanding, not be hateful. 

I can understand why some Deaf people would have their regards to Speech Pathologists because of the past but I'm glad that times have changed and they are SLOWLY getting better. 

Chapter 32

Chapter 32 is about lip-reading. I had been looking forward to reading this chapter for quite some time now. The chapter explains very well that lip-reading is something very few people are able to do. Words can be hard to make out when you lip-read. The book says this, "Can you read my lips? This is the one question all deaf people can undoubtedly speechread!" (p. 191). I understand why it would be the one thing all deaf people can do because I'm sure they get this question all the time. It is the first question some people probably ask them. The book mentions a few things that I would have never thought about when reading lips. 

30% of spoken words can be seen through the lips. 
Homophones? 
Facial Expression
Mouth movement 

Homophones are hard to explain to children when they can hear, see, and visualize the word. It would be difficult to understand the context of the homophone if you are lip reading and are only getting parts of the conversation. 

Facial expression is important in speech. It is extremely important in the Deaf culture so Deaf people want to look at your entire face, not zoom in on your mouth. If you are focusing your attention on the mouth and what you are lip reading, you are not able to get the full context of what they're saying.

Mouth movement is something everyone does differently. Some people move their mouth a lot when they talk, some barely at all. I could understand where some Deaf people would get tired of trying to understand you if they aren't used to the way your mouth moves. 

While reading this chapter a question popped up in my head. If some Deaf people have trouble with English sentence structure, wouldn't it make lip-reading even more difficult. Hearing people would speak in English sentence order. I feel like it would be hard to understand, even if you can lip-read. 

Chapter 31

There are again, many places to go to find more information. There is a place in Maryland, the people that asked this question wanted to know, that has a lot of information. The book said that Washington D.C. and Maryland are among the largest concentration of Deaf organizations. 

This chapter was short and to the point. There is a lot of information out there, you just have to dig for it. Look up places and go out searching. It is not all that difficult to find out about Deaf cultures. 

Quiz

This quiz wasn't that difficult since I read the chapters within a few days and did a lot of highlighting. I think I got more out of these chapters (with a few exceptions) because they were really fascinating. The chapters before were fun to read about as well. I really enjoy hearing about some things that I have questions about. Like with people sining and if you should tell Deaf people that you know how to sign. Or if ASL should be a foreign language. It was fun to read these chapters. 

Chapter 30

This chapter was like so many others that I've read. Where do you find the best information about deafness or being deaf? The best place to start is probably libraries or the internet. Most of the time the internet could point you in the direction to go if you want information close to home. The book mentions the book, Gallaudet Encyclopedia of Deaf People and Deafness. This could be in the local library and would have very nice materials in it. The book also tells a great source is to go to the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center.  This place is located at Gallaudet University. This may not be possible for some people if you do not live close to the area. You may think to go to the website and get information from it. This chapter gives you an address and phone number so you would be able to send a letter or call to get information from them. Another useful tool would be to apply for the catalogue from Gallaudet's Bison Bookstore (p. 183). 

It's amazing how much information is out there and how easily it could be accessed if people just did a little research. The internet is amazing and has so much information. It would not be difficult to find anything you'd like to know. I think that those places would be really fun to look through. Or to go to Gallaudet University and visit the place. I wonder what it would be like to go to the school. It just makes me curious to hear about it through a book. I don't know if this is rude to ask but I wonder if it's quiet on the university? I mean more than likely it wouldn't be as loud as WKU but I just wonder what it would be like. 

Chapter 29

When I read the title of this chapter I was a little surprised. I didn't know this was happening. I think its horrible that it is though. How are students supposed to get a proper education if residential schools for the deaf are being closed down? Throughout this chapter, it talked a lot about the parents of deaf children and how they feel. I think its more important to see how the children feel. Do they want to go to these schools? Would it benefit them? Of course, all parents want their children to be happy and healthy but sometimes things happen. It's part of life and parents need to do their best to help their child have a happy life. Being Deaf doesn't mean you can't be happy or have a full life. Giving them the best education and support would be the number one concern of parents, wouldn't it? 

Parents do want their children to come home from school and be close to home but if thats not a possibility then maybe those parents should attempt to do something about it. Sending their children to schools that are not equip to educate Deaf children would probably not be the best option. The only thing that should matter in this situation is the children and their needs. 

Chapter 28

I really had a hard time reading this chapter. I didn't understand what exactly they were trying to get at. I understand that literacy is a main part of our education and that Deaf people did not get the full experience. The book talked about Hartford Asylum and how it was for Deaf children and adults to get an education. The book went into details about how their school days went and how Thomas Hopkins Gallaudent and Laurent Clerc were part of the original faculty. It talked about handwriting and how it is considered to be an art...which I believe is still true in the classroom now. Teachers pry students to try to be neat but sloppy writing is not graded as an F or anything along those lines. At Hartford Asylum there was no speech therapists for people. I thought this was interesting because most of the time Deaf students will have to go to speech therapy. I don't know if Deaf people like to do this but it is part of the education. I think it would be really hard for the Deaf to be in speech therapy since they aren't able to hear or hear well. I think that Deaf students should get the same out of education that hearing people get. It would be more difficult for students to get the same education but you have to differentiate for these students and meet all their needs. We learn about this in all our classes, to make sure you are giving all students a proper education. I think that learning at least a little sign language will benefit me if I have a Deaf student. I hope  that they would feel a little more comfortable with me. I would really enjoy to learn the language and try to become fluent in it and maybe that will be possible. It would really benefit me as an future teacher and would, hopefully, be a benefit for my student. 

Chapter 27

I found this chapter kind of boring to read about. I liked learning about how some Deaf people like to watch TV that has interpreters. I didn't realize that some shows had that option. I could understand why some people would not like to watch TV with closed captioning. It would be boring to sit there and read the TV. I think it would be difficult in general to enjoy movies and things because you would have to read or watch someone sign to you. I don't know which would be better, real-time or offline. 

I thought it was awesome when I read that there are some movie theaters in cities that will have open-captioned. It would be so difficult to be Deaf because of these simple things we enjoy as hearing people. I love to go to the movies and I think it would be really hard to all the sudden to deaf. 

Chapter 26

Why don't some Deaf people like to read? 

I had an issue when I first read the title of this chapter. It made me mad because I felt this was stereotyping people. There are tons of hearing people that don't like to read! I understand that it could be more prominent in the Deaf culture but still! Some chapters start with really odd questions like this. It doesn't make any sense to ask some of these questions. Why do hearing people not like to read? Reading is one of my favorite things to do but I don't wonder why my roommate doesn't enjoy it. 

Based on the book it discusses ASL vs. English again. It would be difficult for someone that has no background in English to read English books! Another huge issue in this chapter was this statement, "it was not uncommon for therapists to strike young deaf children. Because they were misbehaving? No, because they mispronounced a word when they repeated it. A word they wouldn't even hear (p. 160)." WOW! That is insane. Being a future teacher and a normal human being I was shocked! I would be so pissed if someone hit my kid because they didn't pronounce a word right and they were Deaf. There are plenty of people that can't pronounce certain words...should I walk around with a stick and hit them? NO. Needless to say, I did not like that part of this chapter. 

Chapter 25

Why is English difficult for Deaf people? The book explains this very well I think. English is a language that you grow up hearing. It would be difficult to understand some things in English if you weren't able to hear it. We have a very confusing language. We have words that sound the same but mean different things. We also have words that are spelled the same but said differently depending on the context. We also have plurals, conjunctions, rules, contractions, etc. ASL does not have some of these things. If you are signing in ASL then the sentence structure is set up differently. If ASL is all you've known for your whole live, of course learning English would be difficult! 

The book talks about how it starts with the family. Teaching your children from an early age is what you want to do. They need to know and study the language from an early age so they understand it. It also says, "we should also be asking why so many hearing people, especially teachers and parents of deaf children, know nothing about ASL (p. 153)." I think this is a great statement. Deaf children should know about their language and culture. It will be important for them later in life. If you go through your whole life learning English based sign language, when you grow up it will be more difficult. Going to a college for the deaf, I'm sure all they do is sign in ASL. If you aren't exposed to ASL and you go to that college, you'll probably be behind. 

Chapter 24

This chapter discussed something that I found really interesting. I enjoyed learning whether or not Deaf people like that some hearing people are learning Sign Language. The book answers it this way, "it depends on what your motivation is in learning how to sign, your attitude, the context, who's teaching you, who's learning with you, and whom you're mingling with (p. 147)." I'd say that this is accurate in every language. It just depends why you want to learn the language. Some Deaf people want to protect the culture. 

I think it is your right to learn any language you want to learn and you should learn as many as you wish. People should not be able to tell you if that language is one you can't learn. It is difficult though because you have to make sure you learn the correct way. It is not enough to just go learn the language, in my opinion. You would have to learn the background of that culture as well. Sometimes it isn't appropriate to say certain things and other times it is. Sometimes one thing means something else depending on the context in which you say it. If you are learning another language, it is important to get more knowledge than just the language.

Chapter 23

"Where did you learn sign language?" This question is the topic of chapter 23. People say they get this question frequently when signing with Deaf people. They want to know why and if this is common for most people in the Deaf culture. The book answers yes, this is a very common question to ask hearing people if they know sign (p. 143). Most Deaf people are curious on how you learned sign language or why you learned it.

As the book says, "ASL is the language of Deaf people. It belongs to them, and they feel protective of it (p. 143)." At first I thought this statement was odd. I thought, its a language so it can't "belong" to anyone. The more I thought about it and read this chapter the more it made sense. I like that they feel protective over their language, they should. It is an vital part of who we are as humans...the ability to communicate with one another.

One reason some people are fluent in ASL is because they have parents, brothers, sisters, or other family members who are Deaf. I don't think its a bad thing that Deaf people are curious about where you learned sign. It would be like a person from another country learning English fluently; most people ask where they learned to speak so well. Or something along those lines. Everyone and every culture is curious about one another, especially if you know a lot about that persons background.

Chapter 22

This chapter is about whether or not it is considered bad manners to watch people sign when you can sign yourself. Someone asks whether they should tell the Deaf signers that they can also sign. The book answers this question as such: there are no private conversations in ASL when you are in public. Signing is in the open and everyone is able to see what they are saying...if they know the language.

The book goes into details about how students are able to have private conversations at colleges like Gallaudet. Students have to be creative about the way they hide their signs from other classmates. They use several different methods like holding a jacket over their hand, going behind the bushes, and have smaller signs for things so it is more difficult to make out (p. 140). I thought this was interesting because students have to be so sneaky when they want to have a private conversation. Personally, I would not like this at all. You would never be able to talk to a friend about something private if you were in public. Hearing people are fortunate to be able to whisper.

About having bad manners while watching a conversation. The book tells me that it is not bad manners to enter a conversation but it should not be taken lightly. If you do feel like starting a conversation be prepared to answer questions and to pay attention to their facial expressions. This will tell you if they are okay with you joining in on the conversation (p. 140). I also read about a namesign. I thought these sounded cool. I know that Deaf people have sign names but I didn't know that hearing people could have them as well. I know that some people have them but I figured you have to know ASL well to have a sign name. It was fun to learn about this.

Chapter 21

This chapter is about people approaching Deaf people using sign language. The book states that it would be best not to approach Deaf people and start signing with them when they are strangers. You wouldn't go up to a hearing person and start a conversation with them. Some Deaf people may welcome help and others may resent it. Basically it is the same with hearing people as well; some hearing people would accept help if they need it and others may not want help. Some like to figure things out for themselves. That is perfectly acceptable. 

When reading this chapter I read that some people will mock Deaf people when they are signing. I could not believe this when I read it. Wow! I understand small children being amused and interested in Deaf people because they likely aren't around signing often and they are curious. As you get older though you understand that some people are different and they use different ways to communicate. Parents should do a better job of educating their children on other cultures and other people in general. If you see your child looking interested maybe you should explain it to them? That was the most shocking part of the chapter for me. It was really hard to believe that some people can act this way. 

Chapter 20

This chapter is about foreign languages and how ASL is the 3rd most used language in the United States. The book starts by stating that ASL may not be the 3rd most used language in the States but that it is well used by many citizens (p. 131). Some people aren't sure whether to consider ASL a foreign language because it is used in the United States. The book contradicts this statement by saying that there are many languages used in the US that are considered foreign languages.

I believe that ASL should be considered a foreign language because it is different than the English. ASL is not signed the way we would speak English so not considering it a foreign language is silly. Spanish is spoken in the US by many individuals but it is still considered foreign. Personally if I can't understand what your saying I think its foreign. At least foreign to me. Its so hard to understand some people and then later you find out that they are just illiterate. I defiantly think that ASL is a foreign language. 

Chapter 19

Total Communication is described as, "a philosophy incorporating the appropriate aural, manual, and oral modes of communication in order to ensure effective communication with and among hearing-impaired persons (p.127)." Most people that would use the term are meaning the method of communication that is used by Deaf people. 

Schools were allowed to use ASL as much as they wanted before the late 19th century. When oralism happened the Deaf students were banned from doing any signing to one another in schools. When this happened several schools would not allow signing for many decades. The book explains that TC is a philosophy, not a communication skill. 

I thought this chapter was kind of complicated. I'm not sure exactly what it was all about but I found some parts interesting. I thought it was odd that students were not allowed to sign during school years ago. It would be their only way of communication and it was taken away from them. I think that was very unfair and am glad that it was revised. It was still really shocking that this happened to the Deaf culture. 

Chapter 18

Chapter 18 talks about the ways to know if someone is using ASL or signed English. Since being in ASL 1 I already kind of knew the answer to this question because of the sentence structure. I think the signs are normally the same but it is the way you would sign the sentences. So seeing two people sign to one another, you would have to know the signs and then see what sentence structure they were using. Are they putting the time and topic first? 

This chapter also talks about what a sign-language continuum was. The book describes it as, "a diagram representing the entire population of sign-language users (p. 123)." 

A I said in the last chapter, I feel that it would be easier for me to pick up the language if I were able to sign in English. I understand though, that this is not the way it is supposed to be done. It's easier when you think of Sign Language as being a totally different language but it's hard to do this when sometimes you could sign like you talk. Like "how are you?" is "HOW YOU" but  still it seems the same. I think that it is going to take practice to get used to ASL signing. 

Chapter 17

Pidgin English is, "a simplified form of speech, usually a mixture of two or more languages, that has a rudimentary grammar and vocabulary and is used for communication between groups speaking different languages (p. 119)." PSE is a blend of American Sign Language and English signs. It allows ASL signers and English speakers to communicate comfortably with one another. It  is a way of communication. It's important to remember that PSE is not the same as signed English. PSE has some English grammar but it is more ASL based. 

I thought this chapter was kind of confusing when reading it. It makes sense that these two things are different and I think the book is telling me that PSE is a mixture of ASL and English signing. So it has some ASL and some English based signs. I think if I were to choose I would prefer English signing because then the sentence structure would stay the same but I know thats not the correct way to do things. Also people that grew up Deaf would be confused while talking if you sign in English. Since I grew up speaking english it makes sense that I would prefer this way though. 

Chapter 16

This chapter was about home courses that you would be able to take for Basic Signing. The book answers this questions in several ways. You would be able to take a video course for signing but it would be a lot more difficult. You could get many signs wrong and you would have no one to practice with. The best way to learn sign is through ASL or going to a Deaf community and learning with them. Also, you aren't able to look through the videos before you purchase them and they are very expensive programs. You can look for different things in the area that you are in to find ways to learn sign language. 

This chapter was similar to another that I have read about. It was about the different ways to learn sign language. I still believe that the best way would be to just be involved in an entire community of Deaf people. There would be no other way for you to communicate besides learning the language. If you wanted to talk to someone you would have to figure out how to communicate what you needed. 

Chapter Quiz

I did okay on the quiz. I got two wrong out of the 10. I liked the quiz because it gave you the answers at the end and you didn't have to search for them. Also, it was interesting to read because I already know about some of the things it talked about. There isn't really anything left to say about it besides the fact that I thought it was a little difficult but that's because some of the stuff I read a while back and didn't remember the correct answers.

Chapter 15

I really enjoyed this chapter! It is about everyone learning sign. It also discusses the most important things that people should know when it comes to signing. The book says, "we believe that all children should learn how to fingerspell, at the very least, while they're preschoolers or in the first grade." I really thought this was excellent advice. If students learn at a young age it will stick with them better. Fingerspelling can come in very handy when you are in a pinch. If you meet a Deaf person and you know how to fingerspell it is much better than nothing else. They would be able to communicate somewhat with you. 

The book gives the scenario of being in a sound proof room and someone is on the other side. You would be able to communicate with that person by fingerspelling. Also, if you are underwater and you need to tell someone something. I really really liked reading through this chapter. I think it is important that children and adults at least know fingerspelling. You never know when you or someone you love could become deaf.

Chapter 14

Fingerspelling is mostly involving your kinetic-visual skills. These are important to have when trying to fingerspell quick and to read fingerspelling. The chapter wants to know how you can become a better fingerspeller, something I need help with too! It talks about having a friend practice with you and to make sure you are motivated to do it. To become better, it is important to practice as much as you can. It is also important to know how to form the words correctly. The book says that its okay to make mistakes as long as you learn from them and try to get better. Ideas to get better; tell friends stories, read in sign, make it part of the everyday conversations you have with you friends.

This chapter was not that exciting for me. I know that fingerspelling is something that holds me up sometimes and I need to get better at it. I also know that practicing makes perfect. It is difficult to practice reading fingerspelling when I know few people that even know how to make the words, let alone can do it fast! I don't have any friends that could quiz me on fingerspelling. I guess it is something that will come with time but it is still really difficult to read unless I know the topic before hand.

Chapter 13

Chapter 13 was mainly about the ILY sign. It starts by saying that some people have noticed that Deaf friends respond negativity to this sign and they wondered why. The book begins with the orientation of this sign. It was a known sign for a long long time, since 1905. Many people don't recall seeing the sign frequently until the 50s, 60s, and 70s. It became a huge sign when Jimmy Carter signed it to Deaf people on Inauguration Day. Since Jimmy Carter did this, the ILY sign has become a national thing. People sign it all the time to one another. Some Deaf people dont mind the ILY sign, others are tired of seeing it. Another thing the book said was, "Do it wrong and you usually end up with the sign for "bullshit" - not the sort of thing you'd want to wave at a stranger." I thought this was pretty funny because it would be so embarrassing if you did sign that to a stranger.

I enjoyed reading this chapter because it explained this sign and where it came from. It also explained why some Deaf people dont like seeing this sign. In the chapter there was a section about Sesame Street and the little girl saw Deaf people on the side of the road signing ILY so someone would stop and help them. I thought it was really cute that the little girl knew they needed help and had her dad stop for them. It may have not been the smartest thing because of strangers but it was sweet.

Chapter 12

Chapter 12 is about wanting to learn bigger signs. It starts off with a post from a girl named, Tammy Kirk. She wants to learn how to sign because of a show she was watching. Tammy Kirk wants to learn bigger signs so if she sees Deaf people she will be able to communicate with them (p. 97). 

The book suggests places to go to get help to learn sign language. "The local public library," is the best place to start, the book says. The library could point you in the right direction if they have the materials or they will usually be able to tell you where to go. They may know about sign-language classes, Deaf clubs, and different organizations (p. 97).  

The book also suggests going on the internet because it may possibly be a good resource. You can get CDS, DVDs, that could help you learn sign language. After the book suggests places to go, it discusses the bigger signs ordeal. It says to remember the space where your hands should be while signing. The top of the head to waist and from shoulder to shoulder. This is the normal space for signing. Also, signers stand further apart than most people to give one another room for signing (p. 98).

I found this chapter slightly boring. It was nice to know where to go to find things to learn sign language but I've already known about these resources. It was no big surprise that the best place to go would be the library or internet. I did think the section on why Deaf people stand further apart was interesting. 

Chapter 11

Chapter 11 talks about different signs for Korean, Chinese, and Japanese that have been created. I thought it was interesting when the book talked about male and female signs. It was kind of weird to think about the fact that old-fashioned ways of signing are still around; in the male and female aspect. I guess that it would be silly to switch up the vocabulary of sign language just because the world is different now. It says how the signs for "gabby" and "gossipy" are made in the "feminine zone" and the signs for "intelligent," "brilliant," and "genius" are in the "male zone (p. 93)."

The book gets into talking about the signs for different ethnicity of people. It says how some African American Deaf people will prefer the old ways to sign black. Some Deaf people don't realize that the signs they make for other cultures could be offensive now. There are new ways to sign these different people and some cultures have their own signs for themselves. The book states that it would be good to listen to these people and their signs (p. 94). "Sign language can change to modern needs (p.95)."

While reading this chapter I didn't think too much into these different ways to sign. I was really interested in the male and female zones and that type of thing. I guess I should be more interested in the African American, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean culture of signs but it didn't spark my interest. I took a women studies class a few semesters ago here at WKU and I know my teacher would be very interested in the different female and male signing zones. Honestly, she would probably be pretty ticked off about the "brilliant" and "genius" thing. Since I took a women studies class I thought this section of the chapter was fun to read about. I was surprised but then again I shouldn't have been since most of these signs were made long ago.

Chapter 10

Wow! I was so surprised to read that ASL has accents. After reading it made more sense but is still really fascinating. The book says that all people sign differently and they have their own unique styles of communicating. I learned that in the United States ASL is quite alike in all parts. It is easy to understand one another in almost all parts of the US. I also learned that Deaf people will tease one another about their accents. Deaf people would be able to tell if you are a hearing signer or if you are not. 
I really enjoyed reading this chapter. It was really fun to read about signing and how they can have accents. 

Chapter 9

This chapter was about jokes and how jokes are so different in ASL and English. The book says that real deaf humor is visually based and that you would really have to have a strong background in ASL to find the humor funny. The book talks about different jokes that kids will do to one another and it would make no sense to a hearing person. It speaks about ASL humor as playful and very exaggerated. 

Chapter 8

Deaf children should have the same education as hearing children. The same, as in, an education to fit their individual needs. All students learn differently and they all need special attention. Teachers should accommodate all the needs of their students inside their classroom. If a teacher has a student who is deaf in their class they should be ready to help them in any way they can. 

I was very surprised when I read that signing was not allowed inside classrooms years ago. One way for deaf people to communicate is through signing and taking that away from them is really insane. I can't believe that happened. It was also really interesting to read about the best ways to learn the language. The book says the best way to learn ASL would be to go into a deaf community and be totally involved in the language. It makes sense that being completely emerged in the language would be the best way to learn though. You would not have any other form of communication so you would be forced, in a sense, to learn the language. 

Chapter 7

I was really surprised to find that ASL has no written form. It makes sense that it wouldn't but it was still surprising. I have looked through a book that shows signs and it was really difficult to understand. I had a hard time figuring out which direction my hand was supposed to be going. I know that glossing is one way to write in ASL. The book talks about this woman named, Valerie Sutton, and her bilingual newspaper that uses ASL-based pictographic code. This would be really fun to take a look at and see if I could read it!

Chapter 6

Grammar and syntax is very difficult for me. I am trying to get it figured out but I think I'm going to need to practice a little more. I think that this grammar and its form looks like Spanish and other languages like that. I took one year of Spanish in high school because I had to and I was horrible. I could never figure out the sentence structures. In ASL it is a little easier, I think because the sentences have hand motions. I am a more visual learner so looking at someone and watching what they are doing makes more sense to me.

I hope that the more I practice and watch the more I will learn. My dad teaches English at my high school and he has helped me a little with the sentence structure. I've asked him about the topic of the sentence and which should come first but I think it's difficult to ask for advice from someone that doesn't know ASL. I just need to practice :)

Chapter 5

I think it makes sense that British Sign Language and American Sign Language are different because we may speak the same language but we do have different words for things. We are a different culture in America than they. It would be understandable that they have a different form of sign. BSL and ASL were formed in different areas of the world. All the deaf people in the world didn't get together and make up sign language, just like we all didn't create one language. 

At this point in time I don't think I would be interested in learning a different sign language. I really just want to figure out American Sign Language first and then we'll see where it goes. It would be cool to know the differences between a few signs but I really need to focus on one at a time. 

I think that the British press still uses that phrase because no one has stopped them yet. It is going to take a lot of work to stop this press from using those kinds of terms and hopefully one day they will stop. The book said that ASL and the American Sign community is working to help deaf people in those countries which is great. I think America is more advanced in those types of situations. American has had so many different cultures so we are more sensitive of those around us...slightly. It is really hard to say exactly why America may be more accepting but it may possibly be because the deaf community have pushed harder for their rights. 

Chapter 4

Abbe de L'Eppe and Abbe Roch Ambroise Cucurran Sicard helped teach people who were deaf. He was the first person to actually go into the deaf community and learn its language. He founded the first school for the deaf in Paris. It was the very first public school for the deaf. 

This is amazing. I was so impressed when I read this chapter about these people. I understand that it had to start somewhere but to actually learn about who started public schools and everything is really neat. I was wondering though if those schools were still around today. Or if they have changed them so that deaf and speaking people were able to attend. 

Chapter 3

If I were Deaf and someone confused me with a Blind person I think I would be upset about it. I would hopefully understand that some people don't understand the difference but there is a noticeable difference. It is important not to clump people together and to be open-minded of all people. If you don't know I think it would be better to just ask instead of assuming.

I think being born Deaf or Blind would be a very difficult challenge. It would change you and your family's life. Being Deaf or Blind takes, I'm sure, a great deal of patience and understanding. It would be hard to communicate with other people and a constant struggle.

Chapter 2

Before taking this course, I believed that it was an overall language. I had not thought about the fact that other countries would have different signs for things. I also thought that sign language was just like english. I didn't realize that you would have to put the sentences in different orders. Sign language is a totally different language and it's really interesting to learn about all the differences there are. When I heard that we would have to change the sentence structures I became very nervous. I thought this was going to be very very challenging since I had such a difficult time with it in Spanish. I realized that after doing a few sentences that it will be challenging but it will all come together. I just have to practice :)

Chapter 1

I knew that ASL meant American Sign Language before coming into the class. That's about all I knew though. I didn't understand that ASL was an entire culture outside of the one that I knew. I have never really had an opinion about ASL but I certainly do now. It sounds like a very exciting and fun environment with great people. 

I think I would understand what that person is trying to say. Language can be viewed as "animal-like" to others, I believe. Facial expression says a lot in all cultures. You can understand someone without having to speak their language because facial expressions don't change that greatly. 

I can't wait to learn more about ASL and all the different ways to communicate with others. I will be able to use it when I am in class as well as outside of class. Since I plan to be a Elementary teacher, I know this will come in handy at some point in my life. I would love to be able to know another language and discuss this language with my classrooms in the future. 

I think I'll enjoy reading the rest of these chapters as the school year goes on. It seems like a very interesting book and a great way to learn about ASL!