(no subject)
.Gallaudet at long last is now implementing a policy that has been a million years overdue. Starting this fall students will be required to take ASL and English proficiency tests and will be placed accordingly. Meaning if you cant sign or you use SEE or some other such method you will be taking remedial ASL classes. And here is the part that is making some people mad, you cant graduate if you dont pass the ASL proficiency test.
I am all for it. Before you start telling me this is not fair blah blah blah. Let me explain. When I was at Kentucky School for the Deaf everyone signed ASL. I will tell anyone that cares to listen that my academic performance before and after my enrollment at KSD improved dramatically. Before, I was a sad special ed student stuck in public school, and after, well everyone who knows me can tell the difference. My point is that because I was constantly exposed to language, a real one and not a made up, or codes I could understand language and ideas much better. All you people that think that ASL hampers the development of English, I can tell you that is not true. Research bears that out.
Yes I know some of the new signers point to the cruelty of native signers. I will tell you that is a given. I was picked on when I first entered KSD and I saw countless others picked on. It has happened since education of the Deaf began and will continue until we are all dead. Once you learn the language and the culture you will be fine.
My point is that at KSD you were surrounded by people who were fluent in ASL and you had role models to look up to. Believe me, I would not be who I am today if I had not had strong Deaf role models who exemplify the best way to deal with hearing stupidity.
I had always thought that everywhere in the Deaf community was the same. When I arrived at Gallaudet I was sadly mistaken. As a matter of fact I think my speech improved at Gally because I had to use it to make myself understood by Professors who could not sign. Right, there were professors who could not sign at a Deaf university. That is a paradox if I ever heard of one. I know all the arguments on why that happened but still, one would no go to the Sorbonne in Paris and speak only English.
Now that the Deaf with a capital D is in control of Galludet, ASL and the force of everyone using ASL is upon us, maybe now we can see some strides in the quality of education and make Galludet a true mecca for Deaf people everywhere.