New Deaf Bilingual Coalition Formed
Deaf Bilingual Coalition was just created by an oral deaf person. This oral person is a cream of the crop deaf person that can speak like a hearing person. This oralist’s hearing level is 90db. He grew up in the hearing world and never had any deaf friends till he was 18 years old. This guy had no concept of what sign language was and never had a thought that he would ever used or learned sign language because his speaking ability was superb. Despite of his good lipreading skills, he still missed out in a lot conversation with hearing people. As a teenager hanging around with other hearing friends at night, sitting in the car and not able to read lips behind or in front of them because he couldn’t see the lips, did not make him feel isolated because he accepted it as it was part of life of who he was.
This oral person is me. My daily life is 80% oral communication in the society because I worked in a sporting goods store as a cashier, trolling motor technician, boat rigger, salesperson. One thing that I didn’t do was answering the phones. Being an oralist has a lot of advantage for me in many ways in the society but in comparison to other oralist, I am like Michael Jordon or Larry Bird in the basketball world. There are few elite oralist and some good oralist. But I know that there are many, many oralist are not that good. Why? I really don’t know.
Now many asked me why am I protesting AGBell’s ideology of having speech only communication training at early age for a child that is deaf. Even with hearing devices, it is still not easy to learn to talk for most deaf children. The stories you hear about a deaf child speaking good was the cream of the crop like myself.
When I was young, the oral school took me to downtown New Orleans every Friday and I was a celebrity around hearing people just talking to them. They were awed. But when my mother took me to a public school in the third grade, I became a nobody instantly.
Later in life as a grown man after learning ASL, I asked my mother, Why wasn’t I taught sign language?. She said that the oral school (one of AGBell’s chapter) told her not to let me learn sign language at all and not to have any deaf friends. That hit me very hard thinking, Why did AGBell do that? Later, I learned that many parents were told the same thing.
Just two months ago, I went to Bernard Bragg show and he was telling us that he and other people was working on having a TV program and naturally they would use sign language so that deaf children would be watching Bernard Bragg’s show. But they almost could not do it because AGBell went to the court to stop it. WHAT? The reason why AGBell did not want Bernard Bragg show on TV was that they did not want the oral deaf children across the country to see sign language on TV!!!! I was shocked that AGBell would do just a thing. That is a genocide character of AGBell organization.
I am not against speech training but can you grasp the concept that you cannot train speech to a young deaf child without a language? Some say that it has been done but it takes a very long time. I was still learning and taking private speech classes until I was about 13 or 14 years old. I learned ASL in three months!
AGBell can teach the deaf kids speech all they want but don’t hide ASL from the kids. Why is AGBell afraid of American Sign Language?
Before 1880 Milan, many deaf people had very good English language and if you don’t believe me, go look up history archives at some Deaf School and read their class meeting reports. Many newspapers were using deaf people to proofread news.
Then after 1880, oral programs took over, many deaf teachers lost their jobs because they could not teach speech. The deaf children started to lose their English skills and it is still going on today. Most of the deaf children of deaf parents have better English language than the deaf children of hearing parents. Why? Go and research on deaf children at the age of six, you will see that ASL deaf children learn better than oral deaf children. Why?
It is the lack of having cognitive language skills which the child must have before the age of six.
But still, I am not against speech and I think that we should have all deaf children to start having bilingual method, education, language, ASL/English(writing and reading). What is wrong with that? I am not taking away speech from deaf children but AGBell is taking away sign language(ASL) from deaf children. Why?
Yes, many of you are telling me to forget it because AGBell is tooooo big and impossible to have them accept ASl. But every problem got a solution, I will not be a quitter like some of you. Those deaf children need a language and speech is not a language but an accessory part of education.
I am a Bilingual advocator, not an ASL advocator. The whole society is asking all of us to be diverse in life.
I admit that I am harsh at times but I will not be like AGBell by going to the court and stop speech or oral method.
Peaceful Protest still stands for July 27th and 28th unless AGBell announce that they will go for bilingual method.
John F. Egbert
Hi John,
The T-shirts sound great. May I suggest some things to you:
T-shirts can say, “Support American Sign Language and Bilinguism” with the fingerspelling alphabet on the back. You can also pass out flyers with sign language, “why sign language is beautiful” and all that. Make it very positive so that people are receptive and more likely to go up to you and read flyers and look at your tshirts and perhaps agree with you. Instead of saying negative things about AGBell and Hitler. That will definitely scare parents away or even make them mad.
Its up to you, I am just suggesting it to you, you can see whatever fits the best. I just believe that if we use positive approach, we would achieve better results this way.
Good luck!!
Comment by deafdancinggal — July 6, 2007 @ 10:09 pm
Go peacefully with the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. inside you all -
Comment by cnkatz — July 6, 2007 @ 10:54 pm
I admire you and your cause. We need more of you. I am all for diversity and staunch support of bilingual.
AGB must know that we are no longer quiet about their methods with parents of deaf children. The world needs to know the truth.
“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”
~Mahatma Gandhi
Comment by LS — July 7, 2007 @ 2:55 am
To deafdancinggal,
That is a very good idea!!
Thank you very much.
John
P.S. Any good ideas or support from any of you will be much appreciated!
Comment by John Egbert — July 7, 2007 @ 4:18 am
Perhaps do the sitting around and getting on platform during sessions or presentations that support speech only concept so that way the message will be clear.
Comment by Anne Marie — July 7, 2007 @ 9:20 am
Anne Marie,
Yes, that is a good idea but I think that the fee to get in the conference for AGBell non-member is $445, member is $295.
And yes, I am thinking about becoming a member of AGBell and see if they let me have an opinion at those events.
John
Comment by John Egbert — July 7, 2007 @ 9:27 am
If some attendants at the AGBAD Conference asks you a question, please gently remind them that throdugh the study conducted by the National Institute of Health, doctors are encouraging HEARING parents to learn sign language to expose it to their HEARING babies. Why not the same exposure to deaf babies.
Bonne chance
Comment by Jean Boutcher — July 7, 2007 @ 11:37 pm
A small request although it can be a bit inconvenient…do vlog with ASL translation of this message. Ill do same for Shanes blog and others discussing this important action idea.
Comment by ella — July 8, 2007 @ 10:36 am
I am in the same shoes as you are. Grew up oral and whenever I showed an interest in sign language, I was told that I was too smart for it and didnt need it. Now, I learned ASL and realized how much I missed out growing up due to my inabilty to read lips in every situation. It made me mad that I was denied sign language.
I am interested in joining the protest so pls email me on more information on what can I do.
Thanks!
Comment by shelly M. — July 8, 2007 @ 10:57 am
A big YES to vlog. Way to go!
Comment by VLOG — July 8, 2007 @ 4:20 pm
Thank you for being courageous enough to tell the truth! As the hearing parent of a deaf son who I raised bilingually despite the oralists telling me how much harm I was doing to him, I applaud you!
Comment by Jill Thomspon — July 17, 2007 @ 7:33 pm
You are so right..even my mom who graduated from High School in 1945 had excellent english and she was profoundly deaf. I’ve always wondered why did the Deaf’s English go down rather than up? You hit it on the nail.
Comment by C — July 27, 2007 @ 3:47 pm
Well, it is very new form of Deaf Bilingual Coalition, I have not seen any big controverisal issue through the intellectual debates or building up issues that would support the arguement. I think it is too early or too immature to stand up against AGBELL organization instead of building up the strenght position involving with political but I do not see that much strenght instead of making a finger point at AG Bell, I respect those people express their opinions about AG BELl, but look at your DBC does not have strenth fountain basis to build stronger organziation. I am not sure about DBC’s credibility, They need the goal, purpose, money, get to know what is that for! Nobody who is well known people speak out through DBC? I think it is too early to say at that point! DBC is needed to clarify their position!
Comment by Deaf Socrate's Trail — July 28, 2007 @ 9:37 pm
Great stuff, great info. I’m hearing, learning ASL and all this AG Bell evil is new to me. Thanks for sharing. How can I join DBC?
Comment by Dan Gerics — July 30, 2007 @ 7:34 am
HI IM ORAL DEAF PERSON LIKE YOU BECAUSE I BECAME DEAF AT AGE 13 I WAS IN HEARING SCHOOL
TILL AGE 23 I LEARN SIGN LANGUAJE TILL 22
I WAS TEACHING DEAF CHILDREN I AND AGREE WITH YOU THEY NEED TO LEARN SING LANGUAGE AND BECOME BILINGUAL
SO THEY CAN BE SUCCESFULL IN A HEARING WORLD AND NOT FEEL REJECT FOR THE DEAF CULTURE LIKE HAPPEN TO ME
I WANT TO WRITE A BOOK ABOUT HOW IMPORTANT IS FOR DEAF CHILDRENS LEARN SING LANGUAGE AND ALSO LEARN THEIRS HEARINGS PARENTS LANGUAGE WHAT MUST BE THEIR SECOND LANGUAJE FOR THEM.
Comment by LORENA SALGADO — August 15, 2007 @ 7:39 am
I started to write you before, but it probably didn’t get sent. Please E-mail, I would love to share my experinces with you as they are very much alike.
Comment by Dennis Mazzei — August 15, 2007 @ 2:37 pm
Oh my god. Thank you so much for sharing with us in our deaf community. I am familiar about A.G. Bell, he is so evil and I never like him! I made a film that talk negatively about A.G. Bell and I’d love to share my film with you. I have not upload my film in the website, but I will leave my film link here when I look up this blog again.
Yes, it’s time to Protest A.G. Bell and we should collect all evidences in archives and many things to share the nation to see how deaf people suffering in our world.
It’s time to step up and fight!
Comment by Martha Anger — October 1, 2007 @ 8:41 am
See a short video of the Milpitas Deaf Bilingual Coalition Rally at the Alexander Graham Bell conference.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDeARF6lSX8
Hope you like it!
- Linda
Comment by Linda Slovick — April 15, 2008 @ 1:22 pm