Sound Of Silence: Deaf Education Today

Ok, well not really…but it’s interesting to think about, right?

So, it might not be the end of the world but it IS the end off this project as well as nearing the end of the class/semester. Through this winter semester, we have done a lot in learning about and putting to practice, many of the concepts of writing as well as teaching writing. We were all encouraged, during this blog project, to explore aspects of education that we found interesting and appealing as future educators. I believe that by allowing us to take this project into our own hands the way we were allowed to really put a higher emphasis on the meaning behind it. As students, I’m sure we can all relate to the teacher who gave an assignment with a very specific topic in mind. These, many times, were not done whole heatedly since there was little room for personal opinion and/or change. However, by allowing individuals (ourselves as well as our future students) to choose their own topics, things they care about, it is easier to make the assignments more meaningful as well as making sure that, in the end, pride is taken in the completed project.

I very much enjoyed doing this RSS project. I feel that the freedom we had, as well as the large amount of information we were able to uncover, was priceless. I was able to learn, not only a great deal more then what I already knew about my own topic, but also about the topics chosen by my fellow classmates. Similar to the effects of the doing a research project in school, where the teacher allowed you to choose your research topic. I was able to, also, learn a lot more about RSS feeds, aggregates and blogs. The countless ways that they can be used in the classroom, by both students and teachers alike, makes these technological advancements such an amazing attribute to our education systems.

As a class, we were assigned to do a “This I believe” essay. At first, these seemed a little unusual to me for an assignment in this sort of class. It wasn’t until we had heard some examples and started writing our own that I was fully able to understand the meaning behind the phrase, “This I believe..”. As student’s many of us have a somewhat clear understanding of what we want in life. However, as college students, this is also after more years of life experiences. As future educators, we will find our selves encountering student’s from every walk of life as well as every mental, physical and emotional standing. Writing our own “This I believe..” essays were a look into this future (at least for myself). I found myself looking deeper inside of me and realizing that there were things I believed in that I hadn’t considered a dominant part of my life. As a college student and future teacher, I believe that this is something that all students should come to realize in their lives and in many cases, the sooner the better. We have to show our students, especially the ones who struggle through their academic career, that it’s what they believe in that will make them who they are.

On my topic:
I have found so much more information about the Deaf community and culture then I ever knew before. I being able to sign up on Alldeaf.com (which is NOT a Deaf only forum), I was able to be in contact and read blogs/watch vlogs by other Deaf/deaf/hard of hearing/hearing people who share many of my similar intersts as well as learn, first hand, about the culture from those who live in it everyday of their lives. I believe that everyone should look into some aspect of a society that they are not directly related to and look at how others live. You can’t fully understand or accept diversity if you have not experienced or learned about how ‘the other side’ lives.

I would like to conclude this final entry with a few, more personal words. First of all, I think that we, as a society and especially as educators, need to reexamine the world around us. There is so much that needs to change if we are going to continue to life and breathe in this world. Government, politics, the environment, the education system, diversity, cultural identity, equality…

These are all things that we have to believe in and fight for in order to keep us together. Pro this or con that, it shouldn’t matter. Stand strong as an individual and stand together as a race: the human race.