Whatcha Sayin’?
Unlike the popular (though annoying) Verizon ads, the question now is not
“Can you hear me now?” but
“Can you understand me now?”
In a world where communication is the key to getting ahead, both in private and public life, having more then one fluent form of communication is more valuable now then ever before. While many schools offer multiple foreign languages for their students to experience, it is important that this study continues during post-secondary education. In so many of today’s jobs, an employee is much more valuable if they can speak more then one language in order to better serve customers as well as to increase connections between other and bigger businesses worldwide.
However, this is not only to benefit them in their youth with diversity, but also in their older age as well. Studies in Canada, as of recently, have found that bilingualism can actually off set the onset of Alzheimer’s by, on average, of four (4) years. A Canadian newspaper reported the following findings;
“Toronto scientists, inspired by language research in children, uncovered evidence that Alzheimer’s begins affecting bilingual patients an average of four years later than unilingual ones. No drug now on the market provides as strong a protective effect. In fact, if everyone with the illness developed symptoms that late in their lives, the prevalence of Alzheimer’s would plummet 50%, the researchers say.”
In accordance to being bilingual comes the concept of being bicultural. Today, with the number of culturally diverse families around the United Sates it is important to remember that respect for both cultures within these families should be shown. For an example, when it comes to Deaf students of Deaf parents, it is necessary that the children are not forced to turn away from their native and ancestral culture. The differences between the Deaf and hearing cultures, though they don’t seem like they would be very different, in fact, are quite unfamiliar. For example, it is proper and very much expected in Deaf culture, to touch other people (in an appropriate fashion) to get their attention or to emphasize a point. In the hearing culture, that would be a taboo worthy of a shocked expression and/or a slap in the face. As teachers, it is imperative that we understand, not only the cultures from which our student’s are coming from, but also, our own as well. Alice Speights of University of Alabama wrote the following in regards to bilingual-bicultural education for Deaf students;
“Before schools can implement bicultural programs, educators must have an understanding of both cultures. Sign Talk Centre for Children (STCC), a reverse mainstream program, found that many of the hearing staff members did not even realize that they have a culture. “As majority members, they have rarely had to think about the values and traditions that are part of their culture. Deaf people, as a minority group, are extremely aware of their culture because they have fought so hard for its recognition” (Evans). Therefore, STCC began training in cultural mediation to help bridge the gap between the two cultures and to prepare the staff for cultural issues among the children.”
Finally, and maybe on a bit of an off topic, we have those who are against bilingual education. This is not limited to those who believe that D/deaf students should only be taught using a single method (ASL, Oralist, Total Communication), but also to first time English language learners. Former Speaker off bilingual educat the House, Newt Gingrich gave a speech on March 31, 2007 discussing the concepts oion and how, he felt, that it needed to be abolished. He was quoted by saying;
“The American people believe English should be the official language of the government. … We should replace bilingual education with immersion in English so people learn the common language of the country and they learn the language of prosperity, not the language of living in a ghetto,”
Granted, this does not apply directly to the education of the deaf community. However, the simple wording of this speech clearly indicates that it could be moved in that direction. If Mr. Gingrich had his way, not only would every citizen need to ONLY speak English, but wouldn’t every deaf person need to learn to speak as well? By his own wording, ‘English should be the official language of the government’, so this would include disbanding ASL.
In the end, we have to look at not what we as a majority society see as being ‘right’ or ‘normal’ but what we as educators and, maybe even as parents, feel is right for our students and children. We are not striving for normalcy, but instead, equality.
