Tuesday, May 3, 2016

This is it!

So here we are at the end of the semester! It's hard to believe that right? Over the semester we have had the chance to learn so many new, different, and exciting things form Cathy White. She has pushed us to truly challenge ourselves, and to step out side of our comfort zones. With that being said, finals are coming up and I know that everyone is probably just as nervous as I am. So Abigail and I thought it would be a good chance to reflect on the semester. What have you learned, what do you want to focus on for the final, and what are somethings we might need to discuss as a group? This is our last chance to go over these things and talk as a group, so lets see what we can learn before the final. Good luck next week to everyone and I hope you have a good week.

23 comments:

  1. Excellent idea, ladies! Any of the topics that we discussed the other night that folks may want additional clarity on - cognition, language development, approaches to teaching reading, instruction variables and factors, how/what/where to teach deaf students, early intervention, how deaf education has changed over time, who has played a significant role in deaf education, and WHAT ELSE?

    I would encourage you to use the blog this week to ask and answer each other's questions as suggested. This information can then be used as you take the Final next week.

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  2. I have really learned this semester about the value of not putting labels on someone and going into each situation with no bias. I saw first hand through guest speaker how dangerous labels and bias can be. I think that is the most important thing that I learned because I can use that in every aspect of my life not just when interacting with deaf people.

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  3. I have learned SO much this semester, but one thing I have struggled with understanding is the ideas of the Whorfian Hypothesis and Linguistic Relativity. I understand that these ideas consider that a person's language impacts their perceptions of the world. I thought I understood this, but I struggled with this question on the last exam. I followed with what were talking about in class, but I had difficultly connecting that with the connection this has to deaf children. Other than that concept, I really feel very comfortable with the rest of the topics we discussed in class. Again, I have really enjoyed this class, and I have learned so much more about my future career!

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    1. maybe I can help with your Whorfian question? The way i see it, different cultures have different languages. And each culture values certain things and they play a large role in their language. Like in the video, they talked about the group that has a ton of words for coconuts. So with their language, they're demonstrating that coconuts have a huge significance to them, whereas English speakers pretty much don't see coconuts as anything other than a fruit. When we look at it from an ASL perspective, one thing that jumps out at me is the lack of the verb "to be". In ASL, describing a state of being has a lesser cultural significance than it does in English. English has a million ways to describe your state of being. "You're BEING mean" "Leave her be" etc etc. So to wrap up, the language you learn is gonna play a huge role in how you're looking at the world. ASL speakers aren't looking at their states of being just like we aren't really looking at coconuts. The language you speak changes the way your brain sees the world, and the importance of certain things over other things. If an ASL speaker grew up speaking English, their perspective would change significantly, just because the words they have violable to them change. Does that help or is it too much info?

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    2. maybe I can help with your Whorfian question? The way i see it, different cultures have different languages. And each culture values certain things and they play a large role in their language. Like in the video, they talked about the group that has a ton of words for coconuts. So with their language, they're demonstrating that coconuts have a huge significance to them, whereas English speakers pretty much don't see coconuts as anything other than a fruit. When we look at it from an ASL perspective, one thing that jumps out at me is the lack of the verb "to be". In ASL, describing a state of being has a lesser cultural significance than it does in English. English has a million ways to describe your state of being. "You're BEING mean" "Leave her be" etc etc. So to wrap up, the language you learn is gonna play a huge role in how you're looking at the world. ASL speakers aren't looking at their states of being just like we aren't really looking at coconuts. The language you speak changes the way your brain sees the world, and the importance of certain things over other things. If an ASL speaker grew up speaking English, their perspective would change significantly, just because the words they have violable to them change. Does that help or is it too much info?

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    3. I'm sorry I'm just now seeing this, but that definitely is helpful. Putting it into content definitely makes things much more clear! Thanks so much!!

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  4. From this class alone I've learned so much and I've also been able to connect this class with a lot of other classes I've had, which is huge for me. One of the major things I've learned, is that you can not be an island, you need to talk to a variety of people and you need allies. Collaboration, with other people is huge and is required.

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  5. From this class alone I've learned so much and I've also been able to connect this class with a lot of other classes I've had, which is huge for me. One of the major things I've learned, is that you can not be an island, you need to talk to a variety of people and you need allies. Collaboration, with other people is huge and is required.

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  6. I learned so much from this class. I definitely have a different perspective of everything. I can officially say that I am going for the chocolate shake. Going in to this class I thought I knew everything and there was only going to be one side. Nope! I was very wrong. I loved that we got different perspective to connect it all to one. It really help me not to focus on just ASL. Thank you so much Cathy White.

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    1. You are welcome. I always find it so interesting when students are willing to say or admit, "I thought I knew everything..." I taught K & 1st graders at KSD a couple of hours a couple of days last week. In that short time I learned new things about kids, teaching and learning! I am concluding my 29th year this year and am excited to say that I do NOT know everything and there is so much more I can learn to effectively help kids learn.

      I'm excited about the next four days of teaching these adorable kids! I just wish we were still in class so I could share their work and my learning with you all!

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  7. I learned so much from this class. I definitely have a different perspective of everything. I can officially say that I am going for the chocolate shake. Going in to this class I thought I knew everything and there was only going to be one side. Nope! I was very wrong. I loved that we got different perspective to connect it all to one. It really help me not to focus on just ASL. Thank you so much Cathy White.

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  9. I really have learned more in this class than i ever expected to. From this class, i have learned to keep a totally open mind. I have learned to be courteous of other's decisions and to share mine in a respectful manor. I started this course on one side, and i end in the middle.

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  10. Going into this class, I didn't really know much about the deaf community or what life was like for those who were deaf. This class has really opened my eyes to a lot of topics and issues that I did not even know existed! The most important take away from this class for me is how we should respect people's choices, even if it is not something that we would choose for ourselves or our loved ones. Every person is different, and we all need to be accepting of that. It it or job to accept people's choices and then work from there to make sure that they succeed. In order to do this, we must have high expectations for the people that we work with. I learned just how important it is to push students and set high standards so they can improve and grow. This has been a really eye opening and interesting class, and I am so glad that I had the chance to take it!

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  11. I think I have learned a lot from this class from maybe to try a strawberry milkshake to the different options of communication and to keep my students tool belt stocked. I think that we should know that we need to respect everyone, not saying we are disrespectful people, but there are instances we will encounter that will require extra care in knowing that this isn't our life it is theirs and their childs.

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    1. I love it! Yes keep a fully stocked tool belt with a variety of different interventions to help out students in any possible way. I recently tried a birthday cake milkshake and surprisingly may new my new favorite flavor.

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  12. From this class I have learned to have a more open mind. I have learned some baseline reasonings behind peoples choices and that has helped me to be more accepting of different modes of communication and how they are effective to certain individuals. Though I may not agree with some people this class has taught me ways to respect others people choices more than before because I have a better understanding of where they are coming from. Not that I think I was a disrespectful person before, I always try to at least agree to disagree, but I believe this class has helped me to grow to be a better individual.

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  13. In this class this semester, I have learned to be open-minded and see different perspectives from different students and guest speakers with this class. I have really thought this class would be easy because I thought that this would be one-sided ASL. I was totally wrong all the way because different students with DHH has different hearing losses, ways of learning, and their own way of perceiving information directed to them. It has been difficult for me being bias because I always speak what I think and not joining the other side of the argument. I have really enjoyed this class and learn more new information in this class and I will continue to learn more in the future in my work force.

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  14. As I sat in this class this semester, I have learned so many new things. I was going into my DHH Education major only thinking that I need ASL and I was wrong. I have learned so many ways to communicate and teach the younger generation. I also learned to always be respective of another person's decision on how they live their life. I tried a variety of shakes and I am still trying to pick the best one for me

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  15. I learned that it is important to understand that deaf people communicate is various ways. There is not a right or wrong way for them to communicate effectively. I have loved listening the guest speakers and how they over came their challenges. It was easier for me to understand the topics better and truly understand that the topics are issues. The topics are something deaf people deal with and we have to know how to help them along the way no matter what field we are entering.

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  16. I have learned sooooo much in this class. Before this semester, I was completely clueless about the deaf community, the options, and how diverse everyone is. I didn't know that cochlear implants was such a hot topic, how many different forms of communication there were, the different educational options, etc. I really knew nothing coming in. I was a blank slate, which I think was a good thing because I was not biased on any of the topics. I'm glad I started out not knowing instead of coming into the class with my own ideas because this way, I was able to hear all the options and not shut them down if I didn't agree. I had such an open mind this semester. I really have enjoyed this class and feel more aware about these important topics. My favorite part of the class were the the different class speakers. I loved hearing from each of them and how different and diverse their experiences had been. There really are so many different flavors of milkshakes and there is no right or wrong. It's whatever works best for the individual, and you can't really argue with that.

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  17. I've honestly learned so much from this class. When we first started I barely knew anything my only experience was having ASL 101 and 102. This class taught me all the different views the Deaf community has and seeing all the different methods and ways of communicating amazed me. The biggest thing I have taken away is that everyone and every situation is different from another.

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  18. I have learned so much this semester this class has really opened my eyes to some of the biases I have developed over the years and I have tried to work on stepping away from them and embracing many different flavors of milkshake.

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