Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Semester coming to an end!

Kendall and I are in charge of the blog this week and we were reflecting on how next week will be our very last class. Since the class is coming to a close we were wondering, what was your biggest take away or what has surprised you throughout this class, and which guest speaker did you enjoy listening to the most?

23 comments:

  1. The biggest take away that I have gotten from this class is that we need to be accepting of whatever choices people make on how to deal with being deaf, how they will communicate, and where they will attend school. When I signed up for this class, I expected it to favor ALS point of view, much like what I was taught in ASL and what I heard EKU had a reputation of teaching. Therefore, I was surprised that we were encouraged to look at new points of view and see how all of them could be valid depending on the needs of the child. I enjoyed Jenna and Matt's talk the most because this was the first time that I had heard someone talk about being deaf who had chosen to be oral and was generally more comfortable speaking than signing.

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  2. I think my biggest take away from this class has been to keep an open mind. Everyone will have different opinions and everyone has been brought up differently. When working with these individuals, its best to keep a completely open mind. This is the first class I've had at EKU that explores all of these different opinions. I think we've all been very fortunate to hear from all of these different perspectives this semester.

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  3. Definitely the biggest thing I got out of this class was a new perspective on deafness. Coming into the class I was trying to decide if I wanted to be on the manual or oral side of the argument, if I was for or against cochlear implants, etc. I couldn't make a clear choice because I had heard great things about both sides, but I thought I had to choose one way or the other because the tension was so strong between sides. But this class has opened my eyes to the "grey area". I don't have to choose a side, I can be on the child's side. I can rely on the parents' knowledge of the child and trust the decisions that they have made and I don't have to have a cut-throat opinion about it. I am so glad that I can now embrace all methods and that I have the information to back up my new views.
    Also, Professor White was my favorite speaker. ;) Preach!

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  4. I definitely have a new perspective on deaf education and the challenges that both deaf students and the teachers of the deaf have to go through to receive a great education and give a great education. I loved all of the guest speakers. I think they were all so unique and offered a different perspective. Each guest speaker made choices that led them to where they are. They showed that there are many choices and not one is better than the other.

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  5. My biggest take away from this class, is all the different ways children learn to communicate. Often times in my ASL classes we are taught that ASL is the best or most effective way. My favorite speaker(s) were Matt and Jena because it was refreshing to see although they do not use the "native" deaf language they are still accepted by the deaf community. It was really interesting to see how they could communicate and excel without fitting the bill of standards my other classes are drilling into our brains. Another take away from this class was a better understanding of how English is many deaf individuals second language. Despite not being an education major I have still learned many things from this class that will be useful in my future.

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  7. I think the biggest thing that I took away from this class was many different perspectives on deafness. Being an interpreting major I spend a lot of time in the ASL department being taught by Deaf teachers who are all tend to share the same opinion and believe it is the best one. There is very little done in the department to cultivate student's own opinions. So I enjoyed that Professor White gave us ample opportunity to think of new ideas, listen to new perspectives, and form our own ideas and opinions about important issues. I feel that because of this class I am a more rounded individual in terms of knowledge about deafness. It is hard to pick a specific speaker because I loved all of them and what they had to offer. If I had to choose then I think I would choose Anita because she was so different from anyone I had ever met and she was not afraid to talk about her experiences and her opinions. Overall I think I learned a lot of important information that I can then apply to my work as an interpreter.

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  8. My major take away from the class is that there are so many different perspectives that EKU has failed to teach us in other classes surrounding TDHH, and that ASL is the only way to go. So it definitely opens my eyes to new perspectives.

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  9. I loved learning about the different perspectives of communicating when it comes to signing. It was interesting to see the different methods for the mode of communicating, which all were equally effective. I enjoyed listening to Matt and Jenna talk about their past experiences with schooling. They both learned in different settings, and communicated differently, yet both were effective.

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  10. I loved learning about the different perspectives of communicating when it comes to signing. It was interesting to see the different methods for the mode of communicating, which all were equally effective. I enjoyed listening to Matt and Jenna talk about their past experiences with schooling. They both learned in different settings, and communicated differently, yet both were effective.

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  12. This semester has defiantly been a crazy one but over all I learned to not judge people based on what I think I know. Just because I was raised on a certain point of view does not give me the right to say that it's the only point of view that is acceptable. It is the bias and judgmental things in this world that has created a scary place to raise our children. I feel like it is our responsibility as the future of this world to eliminate the bias and show people that we can change the way of thinking that has been in place for so many years.

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  13. I liked this class a lot, and I felt like it was a class I didn't really have to memorize information so much as actually learn. This class made me learn from other perspectives, and really put myself in the shoes of a student, an educator, and all those involved in the process of educating the deaf. I feel like this class was very beneficial to myself and those who are going into the (general) education field as well as the deaf and hard of hearing education field. The best take away from this class is learning to try to understand the struggles of others. And I think the best visit to our class would have to be from Matt and Jenna. I think they were the best visit in my perspective because it was a side-by-side comparison of education and upbringings, but they shared similar views. It just shows how different everyone is, and there is no "right" or "wrong" way to be deaf.

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  14. I learned a lot throughout this class. I really enjoyed hearing Matt and Jenna's speech. They were both very similar but the way they grew up was a bit different. Learning about all the different school options for the deaf and hard of hearing was one of the highlights of this semester. Hearing different perspectives on language was very interesting as well. There is no "correct" way to be Deaf. Everyone is different and everyone should have an open mind.

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  15. This class has taught me that as educators or other professionals it is our job to support the child and family in their choices. Although we may have our own opinions, it is not our place to force those on others. There is no guide on "How to be Deaf" so everyone has a right to do it their own way.

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  16. Anita was my favorite because she really opened up my eyes. I like her toolbox idea. You should have little bit of everything to help you out along the way. Also putting our biases aside. I would've never thought to do that. So now i know.

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  17. Anita was my favorite because she really opened up my eyes. I like her toolbox idea. You should have little bit of everything to help you out along the way. Also putting our biases aside. I would've never thought to do that. So now i know.

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    Replies
    1. I have to say the comments that I have heard about Anita and her story really bums me out that I had pink eye and missed it! I have absolutely loved not only listening to all of your guys comments when I see you but also reading all the comments. So glad you guys had an opportunity to listen to her!

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  18. Anita was definitely my favorite as well. I loved everything she had to say and everything, but honestly it was just refreshing to hear from someone who understood my life experiences and had more wisdom to share about them.

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  19. I really liked when Jena and Matt came in and talked to us I really enjoyed seeing two different perspectives (: I cant believe that this year has come to an end! I think my favorite part of the year was when we all went to KSD and I got to experience what a Deaf school looked like which to my surprise reminded me of just like any other school, it wasn't what I expected at all!

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  20. My biggest takeaway in this class this semester was trying a new flavor of milkshake whether it was vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, butterfingers, banana, Oreo, and etc. In this class, it taught me to be an open-minded teacher of the DHH. Cathy White! I have adored you as a great, yet talented professor and how you use real-world examples such as great speakers inside our class on Monday nights this semester. Honestly, you remind me of an old regular Baptist preacher and preaching the good ways of teaching the DHH students inside the school. One thing that reminds me of this class right now is to have HIGHER EXPECTATIONS when teaching DHH students.

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  21. the guest speaker that I enjoyed listening to the most was Jenna and Matt. They were so honest and real. They didn't hold back and would answer any questions that we had. They were a great example of how families lived that were but of hearing and that are deaf. They gave their first hand perspective and that was very insightful.

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  22. I really enjoyed listening to Anita. She really helped me understand all the different things that occur and go on when a Deaf child is going through school and life in general. I loved how honest she was and how open she was. It was very helpful.

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