05.03.01 – Back to the Deaf Child
48th clip. Title: Back to the Deaf Child. 6:31 minutes long. Total: 4:29:32 hours.
This clip is posted with gratitude to my soul brother, eLiot Helman, who was my first “Aaron” voicing the myth for me in 1994 at Ohlone College in Fremont, CA. We first met at Gallaudet in 1981 when we performed together as Herald (me in ASL, him in spoken English) in the play, “Marat/Sade”. We have remained close friends through all the highs and lows in our lives. Every time Eliot and I get together, he is always all “eyes” for juicy tidbits of the myth’s new development. Because of the above and his true friendship, I post this clip with deep gratitude to him. He is the one of the handful few who are riding on the wings of VisMa with me.
eL, we keep our chins up, our hands rooted inside VisMa, and enjoy the various breezes in life up there -
And now, everybody, enjoy the next clip about the time VisMa returned to the Deaf Child in order to bring her/him west to Siepee. Click away . . .
Click here for YouTube if above is undownloadable, too slow to download, or wanting a full screen. Thank you.
Myth Commentary: This clip does not have direct historical background except for modeling after a classic situation where the countless of parents realized that it was their mistake enrolling their deaf child(ren) in an oral school and deciding that a school using sign language was the better option. There were some, maybe few, deaf students who succeed in a strictly oral only upbringing. My gut instinct is, based on my 25+ years in the field of deaf education, my research in deaf history, and interacting with many different kinds of deaf adults, that a large, anywhere between 70 to 90, percent of deaf people reared in oral environment turned to sign language at different points of their lives. It is possible to gather several examples from the actual lives of deaf people to support the metaphors used in this clip. Someday this will be done.
Deafhood Question: After attending an oral school for a certain number of years, what was your feelings when your parents (or someone else) informed you that you will be going/moving to a different school, this time the one using sign language?
For those of you who has been following the story, have you noticed two new additions to the clips? The clip title under the numbered chapter title. And a quote related to the myth or to anything Deaf at the end of the clip. It is much fun tinkering with the editing process and making the clips better as time goes along. Comments? Suggestions?
Worship the Deaf Child Within You.