by Carl Schroeder
One problem with writing anecdotes for Kalalau’s Korner is that one of the readers can be bit too clever. In particular, those who love reading can be rather good at analyzing my writing style. Consequently, I now know that each of my blogs consists of some rather firm arguments about American Sign Language (ASL) and its embedded culture—Deaf people. Great. Strangely, though, knowing what to write doesn’t make it any easier to write the next blog.
It would be nice to write about different things a bit more. I wish I could remember many names and things because I knew them all before I went to college. In my English classes, we were given many nuances of English language and literature, and were then told to apply them in analyzing a poem. And Beowulf. How pathetic! I only wished we could simply learn how to translate them into college level ASL properly and appropriately.
This is just one of my anecdotes that I would tell again and again. We studied Beowulf at Gallaudet University, but we never learned how to translate it into the language and culture we know the best. Why not? Our professors were not proficient enough, or should I say not deaf enough, for cross-linguistic and cross-cultural academic discourse. It is never part of the university mission because it does not preserve and promote “all languages and modes of communication” fallacies.
As a college professor I am condemned to repeat myself—the true sign of genuine vocation of being enthusiastic about the same ideas one thousandth times as the first. Immanuel Kant, the well known German philosopher, used to write notes of his dinner conversations on the table cloth so he could avoid talking about the same topic twice in one evening. I write the classroom assignment on the board to avoid the same.
Perhaps I should console myself that blogging and teaching are what I crave novelty but retreat to the familiar. My readers expect to read my blog writing style the way they have always. In my profession, repetition is just a trademark, and I will tell about everything I know. Many times!
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
THE RIPPLE EFFECT: Deaf Mississippi
by Carl Schroeder
Few people change our fundamental view of the Deaf world: Socrates, Plato, L’Epee, Sicard, Gallaudet, Clerc, Verditz, Stokoe, a handful of others. It is impossible to imagine our lives without them, for they got people thinking about the thinkable: Deaf people have American Sign Language (ASL) to communicate information and knowledge to make new meanings. Nothing could be simpler, nothing more natural and judging from the recent incident at Mississippi School for the Deaf, nothing harder to achieve.
Communication has its prerequisites—language and knowledge. Without language, both knowledge and communication are nonexistent. Animals do not have language; they have stimulations for survival. Only human languages allow us to account for temporal stimulations for humanities to survive. Only human beings can talk about incidents of the past to make predictions for the future.
In the fact, the world of the Deaf is looking out for the ripple effect of the historical FSSA protest at Gallaudet University which was half concluded with the demand of no reprisal still in the question. It was felt in Mississippi yesterday. About twenty young students protested poor communication and other issues at Mississippi School for the Deaf. The media was prevented from interviewing the protestors on the school premise, and the students were told to go back in the school or they violated the school policy.
But I’ve already seen communication as badly conveyed as this one in Mississippi. Deaf people don’t move to Mississippi; they “embrace” Mississippi. Unhappiness of the students as young as they are at Mississippi Deaf School can appear self-indulgent, though it’s more like the self-doubt that can kill their imagination when it sends out roots in the parching soil of incomprehension.
Worse, Mississippi was unclear. President John Adams warned: “The danger of revolution is its knock on effect for disobedient children…” Its knock-on effect? Mississippi must be honest in acknowledging that these children at Deaf School need ASL that is essentially a human language. These unhappy students represent the future of Mississippi School for the Deaf because they know the school needs to incorporate ASL for better communication and education.
Few people change our fundamental view of the Deaf world: Socrates, Plato, L’Epee, Sicard, Gallaudet, Clerc, Verditz, Stokoe, a handful of others. It is impossible to imagine our lives without them, for they got people thinking about the thinkable: Deaf people have American Sign Language (ASL) to communicate information and knowledge to make new meanings. Nothing could be simpler, nothing more natural and judging from the recent incident at Mississippi School for the Deaf, nothing harder to achieve.
Communication has its prerequisites—language and knowledge. Without language, both knowledge and communication are nonexistent. Animals do not have language; they have stimulations for survival. Only human languages allow us to account for temporal stimulations for humanities to survive. Only human beings can talk about incidents of the past to make predictions for the future.
In the fact, the world of the Deaf is looking out for the ripple effect of the historical FSSA protest at Gallaudet University which was half concluded with the demand of no reprisal still in the question. It was felt in Mississippi yesterday. About twenty young students protested poor communication and other issues at Mississippi School for the Deaf. The media was prevented from interviewing the protestors on the school premise, and the students were told to go back in the school or they violated the school policy.
But I’ve already seen communication as badly conveyed as this one in Mississippi. Deaf people don’t move to Mississippi; they “embrace” Mississippi. Unhappiness of the students as young as they are at Mississippi Deaf School can appear self-indulgent, though it’s more like the self-doubt that can kill their imagination when it sends out roots in the parching soil of incomprehension.
Worse, Mississippi was unclear. President John Adams warned: “The danger of revolution is its knock on effect for disobedient children…” Its knock-on effect? Mississippi must be honest in acknowledging that these children at Deaf School need ASL that is essentially a human language. These unhappy students represent the future of Mississippi School for the Deaf because they know the school needs to incorporate ASL for better communication and education.
Short One-Paragraph Essay: An Erratic Timeline
There is a persistent association in both ancient Greek and modern Gallaudet practice of language and culture oppression of the Deaf—and not just incidentally, but rather as an operative factor in the vital dynamic both debated by Aristotle in 355 B.C., some five years after the publication of Plato’s book Cratylus in 360 B.C., and delineated by the Gallaudet University Archives. For example, Aristotle thought that Deaf people’s inability to repeat the same sound implies inability to reason, which began what is called audism (ability to hear rather than to understand the world of sounds) today. On the other hand, Gallaudet University, along with its sophisticated, spinning public relations, continues to mislead our society in one of its internet publications entitled Timeline: History of Gallaudet and the Deaf Community which seems to show that Aristotle’s thought happened prior to Plato’s book claiming in part that Socrates questions whether words be replaced by signs used by the Deaf. As an Aristotelian institution, Gallaudet University has been inventing its own rules, and the most recent rules involve the strategic plans of diversity and inclusion—the key terms to oppress American Sign Language and its embedded culture, Deaf Culture.
PHONOLOGICAL PROCEDURE IN ASL: RED
| Key terms: ONSET, MOTION, and CODA (Vlogger's note: This is experimental.) | |
Monday, November 27, 2006
A LETTER TO THE DISABILITY AND COMMUNICATION ACCESS BOARD
November 27, 2006
Francine Wai
Executive Director
Disability and Communication Board
919 Ala Moana Blvd. #101
Honolulu, HI 96814
Dear Ms. Wai,
I would like to thank you for introducing me to you, your office and the Disability and Communication Access Board which is a Governor-appointed Board. I'm honored to be recommended by Dr. Lucy Miller to serve on the Board. I’ve visited your web site at www.hawaii.gov/health/dcab and I am totally interested in being involved with the Board. I believe I have outstanding credentials to make contributions to your office, focusing on various areas of communication access—credentialing ASL/English interpreters, technical assistance on video phone access and relay services, emergency broadcast information and so forth.
Language teaching in both American Sign Language and English has been my vocation for many years, starting at Gallaudet University as developmental English and composition instructor. Today I teach American Sign Language at Maui Community College. For 12 years, I developed, facilitated and coordinated an associate's degree in ASL curriculum through Montgomery College in Rockville, Maryland.
I am also consulting Horizons Academy of Maui, a private school serving students with diverse learning styles, in developing a new Deaf Education program that subscribes to the bilingual-bicultural philosophy. The school hopes to launch the program in January.
Again, thank you for inviting me to the Board. I do look forward to hearing from you and working with you.
Sincerely,
Carl Schroeder
Francine Wai
Executive Director
Disability and Communication Board
919 Ala Moana Blvd. #101
Honolulu, HI 96814
Dear Ms. Wai,
I would like to thank you for introducing me to you, your office and the Disability and Communication Access Board which is a Governor-appointed Board. I'm honored to be recommended by Dr. Lucy Miller to serve on the Board. I’ve visited your web site at www.hawaii.gov/health/dcab and I am totally interested in being involved with the Board. I believe I have outstanding credentials to make contributions to your office, focusing on various areas of communication access—credentialing ASL/English interpreters, technical assistance on video phone access and relay services, emergency broadcast information and so forth.
Language teaching in both American Sign Language and English has been my vocation for many years, starting at Gallaudet University as developmental English and composition instructor. Today I teach American Sign Language at Maui Community College. For 12 years, I developed, facilitated and coordinated an associate's degree in ASL curriculum through Montgomery College in Rockville, Maryland.
I am also consulting Horizons Academy of Maui, a private school serving students with diverse learning styles, in developing a new Deaf Education program that subscribes to the bilingual-bicultural philosophy. The school hopes to launch the program in January.
Again, thank you for inviting me to the Board. I do look forward to hearing from you and working with you.
Sincerely,
Carl Schroeder
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Saturday, November 25, 2006
THE GREAT DIVERSITY/INCLUSIVENESS COVER-UP
by Carl Schroeder
In the book, Enhancing Diversity: Educators with Disabilities, edited by Ronald J. Anderson, Clayton F. Keller, and Joan M. Karp, Gallaudet University interim president nominee, Dr. Robert Davila, complimented: “This is a unique, timely, and relevant book that addresses the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of persons with disabilities who seek and achieve entry into professional life as educators.” The book questions whether it is appropriate for anyone to make such critical decisions about someone's life. Is it also appropriate if Gallaudet University's IKJ-JKF Administration discusses intellectual life of the Deaf?
In promotion of Gallaudet University's mission, the IKJ-JKF Administration has continued toward to developing a program for the eradication and oppression of American Sign Language, the language and culture of the Deaf by promoting more speculative communicative pursuits.A big issue during this recent FSSA protest is the diversity of Deaf individuals on campus being not respected, recognized and realized as a collective group. There were certain unwarranted accusations of students as mobsters and faculty members as protest abettors. The arrests of students, faculty and alumni on Friday, October 13th were totally unacceptable.
We need to understand why Gallaudet University administration behaved the way it did. In an effort to eradicate from ASL, the language and culture of the Deaf, Gallaudet University created the following statements.
In Gallaudet University Strategic Goals:
Strategic Goal #1: Guided by its mission to be “the only liberal arts university in the world designed exclusively for deaf and hard of hearing students,” Gallaudet University models what it is to be an inclusive deaf university* in all aspects of its operations, academic, and community life.
*The term inclusive deaf university refers to an academic institution of higher learning that is comprehensive and recognizes the diversity among deaf and hard of hearing people—in cultural identification, language and communication choices, audiometric measures, age of onset, use of amplification technology, school experiences—and in age, gender, disability, racial and ethnic background, religion, sexual orientation, and social-economic class.
In Diversity Statement & Guidelines:
Given its mission, Gallaudet University has a responsibility to an increasingly diverse deaf and hard of hearing population.
· The University will actively seek to recruit students of color, and students with different communicative pursuits as well as other dimensions of diversity and will endeavor to provide a supportive environment on campus for all students.
In Gallaudet University Interim Presidential Search:
· The interim president will continue to demonstrate Gallaudet’s strong commitment to equal respect and concern for all deaf and hard of hearing people the world around; and will ensure this inclusiveness within the University so that Gallaudet students may continue to learn about deaf culture and pursue their own self-identity.
I would like to call your attention to only one key term in the Gallaudet University Strategic Goal #1: “an inclusive deaf university.” It’s not the word deaf with a lowercase but the article, an. The English language informs us that this article implies that it “does not fix the identity of the noun modified.” It means that this “inclusive deaf university” is purely and perhaps costly trivial. It is a cover-up for devaluing but respecting ASL and Deaf Culture.
The statement that the book Enhancing Diversity suggests: “Educators with disabilities apparently threatened those educators, especially special educators, who have held power and have been paternalistic in their approach with students who have disabilities” begs for greater development. ASL is our form of speech—speech act that includes a wide range of linguistic claims from sequential phonological segments in signs to cohesion and coherence in a given communicative act. We the Deaf can address diversity within our language and culture and make money from them for Gallaudet University.
In the book, Enhancing Diversity: Educators with Disabilities, edited by Ronald J. Anderson, Clayton F. Keller, and Joan M. Karp, Gallaudet University interim president nominee, Dr. Robert Davila, complimented: “This is a unique, timely, and relevant book that addresses the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of persons with disabilities who seek and achieve entry into professional life as educators.” The book questions whether it is appropriate for anyone to make such critical decisions about someone's life. Is it also appropriate if Gallaudet University's IKJ-JKF Administration discusses intellectual life of the Deaf?
In promotion of Gallaudet University's mission, the IKJ-JKF Administration has continued toward to developing a program for the eradication and oppression of American Sign Language, the language and culture of the Deaf by promoting more speculative communicative pursuits.A big issue during this recent FSSA protest is the diversity of Deaf individuals on campus being not respected, recognized and realized as a collective group. There were certain unwarranted accusations of students as mobsters and faculty members as protest abettors. The arrests of students, faculty and alumni on Friday, October 13th were totally unacceptable.
We need to understand why Gallaudet University administration behaved the way it did. In an effort to eradicate from ASL, the language and culture of the Deaf, Gallaudet University created the following statements.
In Gallaudet University Strategic Goals:
Strategic Goal #1: Guided by its mission to be “the only liberal arts university in the world designed exclusively for deaf and hard of hearing students,” Gallaudet University models what it is to be an inclusive deaf university* in all aspects of its operations, academic, and community life.
*The term inclusive deaf university refers to an academic institution of higher learning that is comprehensive and recognizes the diversity among deaf and hard of hearing people—in cultural identification, language and communication choices, audiometric measures, age of onset, use of amplification technology, school experiences—and in age, gender, disability, racial and ethnic background, religion, sexual orientation, and social-economic class.
In Diversity Statement & Guidelines:
Given its mission, Gallaudet University has a responsibility to an increasingly diverse deaf and hard of hearing population.
· The University will actively seek to recruit students of color, and students with different communicative pursuits as well as other dimensions of diversity and will endeavor to provide a supportive environment on campus for all students.
In Gallaudet University Interim Presidential Search:
· The interim president will continue to demonstrate Gallaudet’s strong commitment to equal respect and concern for all deaf and hard of hearing people the world around; and will ensure this inclusiveness within the University so that Gallaudet students may continue to learn about deaf culture and pursue their own self-identity.
I would like to call your attention to only one key term in the Gallaudet University Strategic Goal #1: “an inclusive deaf university.” It’s not the word deaf with a lowercase but the article, an. The English language informs us that this article implies that it “does not fix the identity of the noun modified.” It means that this “inclusive deaf university” is purely and perhaps costly trivial. It is a cover-up for devaluing but respecting ASL and Deaf Culture.
The statement that the book Enhancing Diversity suggests: “Educators with disabilities apparently threatened those educators, especially special educators, who have held power and have been paternalistic in their approach with students who have disabilities” begs for greater development. ASL is our form of speech—speech act that includes a wide range of linguistic claims from sequential phonological segments in signs to cohesion and coherence in a given communicative act. We the Deaf can address diversity within our language and culture and make money from them for Gallaudet University.
Friday, November 24, 2006
INTRODUCTION TO ASL DRAGON
| Everybody knows what a dragon is: an enormous, fierce, bloodthirsty creature appearing in fairy tales and legends. ASL Dragon, on the other hand, is a legendary beast in the folklore of Deaf people. Some critics deride ASL Dragon, claiming a creature like a dragon, able to use DSL (Dragon Sign Language), is both scientifically and linguistically impossible. ASL Dragon is a loner but not lonely because it is a dragon to reckon with, a dragon to watch out for, and a dragon to learn from. I hope you enjoy your journey through ASL Dragon. | |
The Road through the Forest ... and ASL
| …[T]he “real” forest is what I call an “abstract structure.” And if most people are overwhelmed by these abstract structures, they say, “Let us have the road, because this talk about the heart of the forest, and of the different qualities you have in the forest if it is far from any road, that is just subjective, and those who feel them are a small minority.” –Arne Naess, Is It Painful to Think? (ISBN: 0-8166-2152-7) | |
Photo Journalism: The Best Kept Secret Waterfalls
by Carl Schroeder,
Deaf/ASL Essayist
Deaf/ASL Essayist
Hiking across this grassy field
before walking down the cliff
At the mouth of a lava tube
Cimbed onto the mouth of the lave tube
Inside the lava tube
The water hole
No water?
Well, Meriam and Kathy were there with me before.
See below...it was taken last summer.
DO NOT HOLD BACK!
by Carl Schroeder,
Deaf/ASL Essayist
I remembered when I was in school in Holland, my hands were tied in the back because I signed too much. I must learn to speak with my mouth, not my gestures. I tried very hard but my Gebarentaal (Dutch Sign Language) was held back. It was not natural for me.
I also remembered pulling out of the classroom because I used too much facial and body expressions. I was not allowed to even shake or nod my head. It was wrong, and I was taught that hearing people find facial or body expressions to be very rude.
When my parents announced we were to move to the United States, I remembered my teacher telling me not to tell America about Gebarentaal and to inform America that I learned to speak, period. She did not want to be embarrassed and I must hold back Gebarentaal.
After my family came to live in Maryland, I went to a Deaf school in Frederic, Maryland School for the Deaf. I had Miss Sarah Edith Quinn, a CODA (this label was not created till much later), as my first American teacher. She was a native signer, and she played a very important role in my acquisition of not only ASL but also the English language. She was also my speech therapist (well, it was early 1960’s) who taught me not only the English sounds which are different from the Dutch language, but also rhymes and alliteration because she noticed my love for books.
Miss Quinn also taught me not to hold back anything I had put my mind on what I wanted to learn, not to hold back the interdependence between ASL and English, and, above all, not to hold back my intellectual independence. I did not realize that I was a Spinozist yet to be born. Today I am a Spinozist yet to be known.
Deaf/ASL Essayist
David Rothenberg: Doesn’t ecology
involve a certain amount of holding back?
Arne Naess: Not at all, according to Spinoza.
Arne Naess: Not at all, according to Spinoza.
Because holding back means coercing ourselves,
whereas a particular freedom is connected
internally with direct intuition (the third kind
of knowledge), and that is loving. Spinoza’s
intuition cannot be separated from loving.
I remembered when I was in school in Holland, my hands were tied in the back because I signed too much. I must learn to speak with my mouth, not my gestures. I tried very hard but my Gebarentaal (Dutch Sign Language) was held back. It was not natural for me.
I also remembered pulling out of the classroom because I used too much facial and body expressions. I was not allowed to even shake or nod my head. It was wrong, and I was taught that hearing people find facial or body expressions to be very rude.
When my parents announced we were to move to the United States, I remembered my teacher telling me not to tell America about Gebarentaal and to inform America that I learned to speak, period. She did not want to be embarrassed and I must hold back Gebarentaal.
After my family came to live in Maryland, I went to a Deaf school in Frederic, Maryland School for the Deaf. I had Miss Sarah Edith Quinn, a CODA (this label was not created till much later), as my first American teacher. She was a native signer, and she played a very important role in my acquisition of not only ASL but also the English language. She was also my speech therapist (well, it was early 1960’s) who taught me not only the English sounds which are different from the Dutch language, but also rhymes and alliteration because she noticed my love for books.
Miss Quinn also taught me not to hold back anything I had put my mind on what I wanted to learn, not to hold back the interdependence between ASL and English, and, above all, not to hold back my intellectual independence. I did not realize that I was a Spinozist yet to be born. Today I am a Spinozist yet to be known.
Thursday, November 23, 2006
ANOTHER HAWAI'IAN EARTHQUAKE
by Carl Schroeder,
Deaf/ASL Essayist
This morning I was reading about Pope Benedict XVI's upcoming visit to a Muslim country. I've always been excited by this pope for saying wrong things. Then there was another earthquake in Hawai'i. I was like wow!
I immediately checked about this earthquake. It was with a magnitude of at least 4.5, and it took place in the same area where two stronger temblors struck last month. Wow! Our planet is alive and breathing!
I loved the feeling of the earthquake but I worried about the impact it could cause to people. I just hope nothing serious had happened...just like a month before with magnitude 6.7 and 6.0 earthquakes, causing power outages, bridge collapses and road closures. Those two quakes last October 15th caused an estimated $200 million in damages.
I read somewhere that the earthquakes near the volcano may mean a serious volcanic eruption so we must keep our eyes open for it. The volcano on Hawaii (Big Island) is alive, hissing and barking.
Ever since Pope Benedict XVI's installation, he shook our world with two indications of a radical change in the Vatican's strategy toward Islam and Islamist terrorism. Our nature is now as shaky as this pope.
Deaf/ASL Essayist
This morning I was reading about Pope Benedict XVI's upcoming visit to a Muslim country. I've always been excited by this pope for saying wrong things. Then there was another earthquake in Hawai'i. I was like wow!I immediately checked about this earthquake. It was with a magnitude of at least 4.5, and it took place in the same area where two stronger temblors struck last month. Wow! Our planet is alive and breathing!
I loved the feeling of the earthquake but I worried about the impact it could cause to people. I just hope nothing serious had happened...just like a month before with magnitude 6.7 and 6.0 earthquakes, causing power outages, bridge collapses and road closures. Those two quakes last October 15th caused an estimated $200 million in damages.
I read somewhere that the earthquakes near the volcano may mean a serious volcanic eruption so we must keep our eyes open for it. The volcano on Hawaii (Big Island) is alive, hissing and barking.
Ever since Pope Benedict XVI's installation, he shook our world with two indications of a radical change in the Vatican's strategy toward Islam and Islamist terrorism. Our nature is now as shaky as this pope.
ASL DRAGON'S CAVE
by Carl Schroeder,
Deaf/ASL Essayist
Deaf/ASL Essayist
I came to the place where that ASL Dragon lived upcountry, and I didn’t like it at all. It was desolate.
ASL Dragon had a cave with no door. Nobody moved outside or in, but there was a light inside the cave, the light being bright all the time. I watched but couldn’t understand what I saw, could scarcely even understand.
The ground outside the cave was too grassy.
I didn’t want to go in. I didn’t want to enter that cave. I didn’t want to be in that place.
It was near night when I got there, so I decided to wait till the morning. I put my pack down near some bushes just over the hill from the cave, unrolled my sleeping mat, ate a little cracker although I wasn’t hungry, and slept badly.
In the morning I woke up and thought, I’m not going in there! And I washed my face cheerfully and drank at the boggy stream in the hollow, and set back off over the hills the way I’d come, thinking to pace my stride.
But thinking didn’t last, and the green hills I’d come through the day before looked brown and dry. Around noon I sat down for a while to ease my shoulders, sore and stuff with the weight of my pack. When I got up I turned back. I went back to the cave. I came in sight of the cave at sunset. I went no nearer.
I hung around there for days, living on the little food I had, not being hungry; drinking at the boggy stream. I tried once to leave again. I went a whole day’s journey that time, but that night I lay sleepless all night, desolate, in despair. I got up in the first grey of dawn and all day walked back to that cave.
It was early evening when I got there. I went across the grassy yard to the cave.
ASL Dragon appeared at the mouth of the cave. It said it had nothing to offer me, without apology, without irony. I was glad of it. ASL Dragon asked for my reason of coming to the cave.
I drew my breath as best I could and told ASL Dragon I came to the cave because I desired to know. ASL Dragon asked me why coming to the cave to seek help because I could have done it myself. I told ASL Dragon that I didn’t know what to do with what I knew. After a lengthy dialogue, I discovered that nothing was hidden from ASL Dragon any longer; not only could it see things far, far away from where I came, but it made me see souls, stolen souls, which were either kept concealed or have been oppressed.
ASL Dragon asked what burdens I did carry because it couldn’t help me. I told that my coming to the cave was both astouning and inspiring I was ready to come back home. ASL Dragon suggested that I go on my way back home in the morning, and I slept well, knowing that I made myself see. What wisdom to discover!
ASL FOREST
| Inspired by Arne Naess, Norwegian philosopher, this vlog discusses how ASL is likened to the forest. | |
A NEW DEAF PROGRAM ON MAUI
Horizons Academy of Maui, Inc.
Deaf Program: A Bilingual-Bicultural Education
Prepared by Carl Schroeder,
Deaf Program: A Bilingual-Bicultural Education
Prepared by Carl Schroeder,
Deaf Education Program Consultant
Introduction
Since the inception of Horizons Academy of Maui in 1989, the school is a non-profit, private school whose mission has been to provide quality individualized experiential education honoring the talents of students with learning diversities, allowing them to excel in school and acquire life skills for their future. This mission statement was recently changed through the school’s 2006 Strategic Plan. The Horizons program serves youth and gives them the opportunity to acquire the specific academic skills necessary for success.
We are located in the town of Haiku in upcountry Maui, Hawaii. Our campus consists of a 5,000 square foot main building on one acre of land plus a second adjacent building for high school expansion. The main building houses six classrooms, two kitchens, a computer lab, counselor office, two therapy rooms, reception area, and business offices.
Horizons Academy’s faculty, administration and Board of Directors have adopted a new additional program serving deaf students. We are committed to providing “best practices” in the field of Deaf Education.
Bilingual-Bicultural Education
In line with our newly developed school mission, we offer a new innovative program for deaf and hard-of-hearing children. It is a bilingual-bicultural education that uses a whole language approach to build student ASL and written English skills. During the last two decades bilingual-bicultural education programs have flourished in the United States as the ethnic composition of children attending schools has become more diverse.
We have researched and identified the most effective programs, curricula, and instruction tools to meet deaf students’ need. Keys to successful our bilingual-bicultural program include:
Small, nurturing classes: With an average teacher to student ratio of one to eight, Horizons Academy gives each student differentiated instruction to meet their individual needs.
Academic achievement: Each student has an individualized education program to meet his/her unique strengths and weaknesses. Once a program is developed, student achievement is assessed on a regular basis to ensure that student is making academic progress in all subject areas.
Specialized instruction: The teaching staff at Horizons Academy uses research-based effective instructional strategies and standards-based curriculum. On-going adaptations occur in direct response to the specific needs of each student.
High Behavioral Standards: Horizons Academy sets high behavioral and social standards for our students. As part our curriculum, we provide instruction on social skills, problem solving, impulse control, and anger management.
Horizons Academy needs a start-up program focused on serving the school-wide community including all students, faculty, administration and parents. By using American Sign Language (ASL) at Horizons Academy can be an excellent way to teach communication because it provides a visual and tactile representation of spoken words and is an inexpensive assistive technology. With an experienced Deaf Education professional, Horizons Academy will be able to offer a more balanced quality services than many of its educational counterparts.
Horizons Academy needs to create a new position of Deaf Education instructor/program coordinator to provide services to Horizons Academy of Maui and the parents of the deaf child, which can include:
(1) interviewing the deaf child,
(2) interviewing the parents and relevant professionals,
(3) arranging for testing,
(4) advising Horizons most appropriate assistive technology and learning strategies for the deaf child,
(5) supporting the placement in the school,
(6) helping the parents in the individualized education program (IEP) team, and
(7) recruiting and retaining teachers of the Deaf.
Program Goals
Individuals who are deaf are considered bilingual-bicultural if they were able to communicate effectively in both American Sign Language (ASL) and written English. We develop a formula that defines our bilingual-bicultural program that all deaf children should develop communicative competency. Our bilingual-bicultural philosophy works with parents or caregivers to help them realize the special linguistic, educational, and social needs of their child(ren) who are Deaf and to help them realize the importance of early language acquisition.
Our bilingual-bicultural education program differs from other programs most notably by their approach to language use. While it has respect for both ASL and English, we advocate for ASL to be the language of instruction for children who are deaf.. "Research has shown that effective language has to be fast and clear. ASL is an efficient language for visual learning and is easier for Deaf children to acquire as a first language than any form of English" (Finnegan, 1992, p. 7). Johnson, Liddell, Erting (1989) stated that ASL is the language choice of adults who are deaf, and it offers access to the school curriculum and other world knowledge. A solid foundation in a first language leads to better English performance over time, and skills transfer from one language to another.
We believe that deaf children are not deficient in their learning styles. Instead of being auditory learners, they are visual learners. Deaf children do not need remedial teaching strategies because the bilingual-bicultural program provides a unique visual learning environment in which their linguistic, cultural, and social needs are met. Our bilingual-bicultural approach holds that cognitive, linguistic, and social competences are best achieved in environments that provide full communicative access to the curriculum.
Footnotes:
Finnegan, M. (1992). Bilingual-bicultural education. The Endeavor, 3, 1-8. The American Society for Deaf Children.
Johnson, R., Liddell, S., & Erting, C. (1989). Unlocking the curriculum: Principles for achieving access in deaf education. Washington, DC: Gallaudet University.
A LABEL TO LIVE BY: HEARING
by Carl Schroeder,
Deaf/ASL Essayist
A great many people around the world do not know until they meet Deaf people for the first time that they are labeled hearing. It’s Deaf people who name them so. They have yet to understand what it means to be hearing and learn how to be hearing, too.
They are outside the realm of our language and culture—American Sign Language. We the Deaf have our own knowledge domain that we are communicating about: the realm of Deaf Culture—our own quality that arises from a concern for what is regarded as excellent in our language arts, social etiquettes, and scholarly pursuits. Linguists and anthropologists, for example, have claimed our ways of living built up by our own community that transmits ASL and Deaf Culture from one generation to another.
People who are learning about Deaf people need to learn how to view themselves as “hearing” people, not as ones who thrust themselves into the affairs of our language and culture and even intrude into them. For instance, just as William K. Stevens alerts: “When these interlopers choke out native species, ecologists see a danger signal”, we do see the same danger when the Gallaudet University Administration develop a “diversity and inclusiveness” mission to choke out our language and culture.
Ever since Genesis in which Adam’s first job was to name all the animals, we the Deaf do specify people by name, especially those who have met us for the first time. We name them so that they have a label to live by: hearing. They need to learn how to be hearing.
Deaf/ASL Essayist
Man sees a tree and the tree says, "I am here,
I was here, and I am nothing more than a thing
that is here." Man ponders and answers, "No!
I give you a name! You are 'tree'! You have beauty
and you have a soul. You point upwards and you say,
'There is something higher, there is the One who gives
my life and gives me my very being.'"
--Tzvi Freeman
Based on the teaching of
The Lubavitcher Rebbe
The Lubavitcher Rebbe
A great many people around the world do not know until they meet Deaf people for the first time that they are labeled hearing. It’s Deaf people who name them so. They have yet to understand what it means to be hearing and learn how to be hearing, too.
They are outside the realm of our language and culture—American Sign Language. We the Deaf have our own knowledge domain that we are communicating about: the realm of Deaf Culture—our own quality that arises from a concern for what is regarded as excellent in our language arts, social etiquettes, and scholarly pursuits. Linguists and anthropologists, for example, have claimed our ways of living built up by our own community that transmits ASL and Deaf Culture from one generation to another.
People who are learning about Deaf people need to learn how to view themselves as “hearing” people, not as ones who thrust themselves into the affairs of our language and culture and even intrude into them. For instance, just as William K. Stevens alerts: “When these interlopers choke out native species, ecologists see a danger signal”, we do see the same danger when the Gallaudet University Administration develop a “diversity and inclusiveness” mission to choke out our language and culture.
Ever since Genesis in which Adam’s first job was to name all the animals, we the Deaf do specify people by name, especially those who have met us for the first time. We name them so that they have a label to live by: hearing. They need to learn how to be hearing.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
DEAF JOKES: Freedom to Choose and Freedom to Express
This blog is about banning Deaf jokes. Banning any Deaf joke does not celebrate the freedom to choose and the freedom to express one’s opinion even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those viewpoints to all who wish to understand them. After all, intellectual freedom can exist only where these two essential conditions are met.
I recently posted my Deaf joke and it was published in DeafRead twice, first for 15 minutes and then second for almost one hour. After several emails with DeafRead human editors, I was given this following statement:
"Deafread.com is a filtered feed aggregator, where multiple RSS subscriptions are processed into our database. Human editors then decide what entries are published.This has the single purpose of providing to our readers trash-free and junk-free blog content!"
Was my joke deleted because it was probably trashy and junky? I decided to check around with my respectable colleague bloggers and readers. Their remarks were as follow:
“Your joke is cute, I see no offense. I do not know how it could have happened.”
“I see and … do not see your joke being offensive. Religion? Or God not understanding what deaf says? I still do not see anything wrong with it.”
“It’s great! I don't think many would understand it. LOL”
“I want to tell you I REALLLLLY enjoy your blog - the best!”
Then I received a weird email from DeafRead:
“While we're in email correspondence, I'd like to ask if you've considered moving your blog to blog.deafread.com?”
As long as my Deaf joke was filtered out twice, how could I feel confident enough to move my blog to blog.deafread.com? Until I know DeafRead understands intellectual freedom through freedom to choose and freedom to express, I know there could be no freedom in blog.deafread.com.
I recently posted my Deaf joke and it was published in DeafRead twice, first for 15 minutes and then second for almost one hour. After several emails with DeafRead human editors, I was given this following statement:
"Deafread.com is a filtered feed aggregator, where multiple RSS subscriptions are processed into our database. Human editors then decide what entries are published.This has the single purpose of providing to our readers trash-free and junk-free blog content!"
Was my joke deleted because it was probably trashy and junky? I decided to check around with my respectable colleague bloggers and readers. Their remarks were as follow:
“Your joke is cute, I see no offense. I do not know how it could have happened.”
“I see and … do not see your joke being offensive. Religion? Or God not understanding what deaf says? I still do not see anything wrong with it.”
“It’s great! I don't think many would understand it. LOL”
“I want to tell you I REALLLLLY enjoy your blog - the best!”
Then I received a weird email from DeafRead:
“While we're in email correspondence, I'd like to ask if you've considered moving your blog to blog.deafread.com?”
As long as my Deaf joke was filtered out twice, how could I feel confident enough to move my blog to blog.deafread.com? Until I know DeafRead understands intellectual freedom through freedom to choose and freedom to express, I know there could be no freedom in blog.deafread.com.
JFK (1917-1963) and MY FAMILY
| On November 22, 1963, two months after my family arrived in the United States from The Netherlands, John Fitzgerald Kennedy was killed by an assassin's bullets as his motorcade wound through Dallas, Texas. JFK was the youngest man elected President; he was the youngest to die. | |
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
IKJ WAS WRONG: HISTORY DOES FORGIVE
I recently visited a wonderful blog by Amy Cohen Efron, DEAF WORLD AS EYE SEE IT. There is a quotation by IKJ that reads (script-reading): “We know there is only one sure way to succeed – to learn from the past… to look to the future… and to ignore the present. If we fail to seize this moment, history will never forgive us.” IKJ himself failed to seize the moment we the Deaf have about our own future. Our past history is ignored, our present history oppressed, and our future questioned. Gallaudet University protests led by FSSA (Faculty, Staff, Students and Alumni) were perfect timing to inform the world that IKJ was wrong.
IKJ was wrong to think whether or not history forgives us. He does not understand his own history, but it understands us all. History teaches us to forgive the past.
We are history in the making; we represent humanity—flesh and blood and bone and muscle, language and culture, and, above all, Deaf life! We are not just numbers, not just here or there, not just today or tomorrow, not just diverse or inclusive. We are in this very moment assaulted by evil beyond any possible control of our own. We walk to avoid a closer oppression, protecting whatever it is that our deafness, whether total or only partial, has allowed us: American Sign Language and Deaf Culture.
IKJ was wrong to think that our Deaf history is not relevant, our future is foreseeable, and our present avoidable. We do have our own bygone times and positive outlooks.
As always, we do belong to the future. Gallaudet University is about our future; it is not about the future of cochlear implants, hearing aids, hearing tests, diverse communicative pursuits, and inclusiveness. We the Deaf are still able to at least partially predict future dangers and possibilities to inform our present language and culture. Gallaudet University must discuss how the confluence of these deep demographic trends is poised to shape ASL, Deaf Culture, and our own Deaf community. It’s going to be the tall order of taming change.
IKJ was wrong to think that he understood the future. His handpick, JKF, as the next university president was uncomfortable, and he ran the risk of moving backward, rather than forward. Inclusiveness moves ASL and Deaf Culture backward, but diversity is good if you are white and/or hearing to move forward.
History does understand our present for the future. IKJ was wrong!
IKJ was wrong to think whether or not history forgives us. He does not understand his own history, but it understands us all. History teaches us to forgive the past.
We are history in the making; we represent humanity—flesh and blood and bone and muscle, language and culture, and, above all, Deaf life! We are not just numbers, not just here or there, not just today or tomorrow, not just diverse or inclusive. We are in this very moment assaulted by evil beyond any possible control of our own. We walk to avoid a closer oppression, protecting whatever it is that our deafness, whether total or only partial, has allowed us: American Sign Language and Deaf Culture.
IKJ was wrong to think that our Deaf history is not relevant, our future is foreseeable, and our present avoidable. We do have our own bygone times and positive outlooks.
As always, we do belong to the future. Gallaudet University is about our future; it is not about the future of cochlear implants, hearing aids, hearing tests, diverse communicative pursuits, and inclusiveness. We the Deaf are still able to at least partially predict future dangers and possibilities to inform our present language and culture. Gallaudet University must discuss how the confluence of these deep demographic trends is poised to shape ASL, Deaf Culture, and our own Deaf community. It’s going to be the tall order of taming change.
IKJ was wrong to think that he understood the future. His handpick, JKF, as the next university president was uncomfortable, and he ran the risk of moving backward, rather than forward. Inclusiveness moves ASL and Deaf Culture backward, but diversity is good if you are white and/or hearing to move forward.
History does understand our present for the future. IKJ was wrong!
GALLAUDET BOT TRIVIAL PURSUITS: Ken Levinson
Who Said:
1. Louis [Schwartz] is a nut case anyway.
2. …if his language is what we aspire to, we are in huge trouble.
3. …these people [McCain and Brueggemann] have NO clue as to what they have done.
Answer:
Ken Levinson
Background Information:
1. Louis Schwartz is a highly respected financial and tax consultant. He graduated from Gallaudet University.
2. The language is American Sign Language.
3. Senator McCain and Brenda Brueggemann resigned from BOT because they had NO clue as to the fact that only IKJ supervised JKF at Gallaudet University for many years.
1. Louis [Schwartz] is a nut case anyway.
2. …if his language is what we aspire to, we are in huge trouble.
3. …these people [McCain and Brueggemann] have NO clue as to what they have done.
Answer:
Ken Levinson
Background Information:
1. Louis Schwartz is a highly respected financial and tax consultant. He graduated from Gallaudet University.
2. The language is American Sign Language.
3. Senator McCain and Brenda Brueggemann resigned from BOT because they had NO clue as to the fact that only IKJ supervised JKF at Gallaudet University for many years.
Gallaudet University's A & O Manual: EVIL and the ABSOLUTE EVIL
I would like to make a theoretical distinction between two kinds of evil in Gallaudet University’s Administration and Operations (A&O) Manual: the evil that the Administration does and what I will call absolute evil. The evil that the Administration does usually consists of cruelty, psychological as well as physical, to employees, students, and to the language and culture of the Deaf. Absolute evil, on the other hand, has little to do with people, except to use them as agents for its purposes, means to its end. I find both kinds of evil in the A&O Manual.
The university president who would handpick his own successor, the provost who would promote inclusiveness to suppress ASL and Deaf Culture, and the Vice President who seeks only self-aggrandizement—these and many other lower administrators seem to me to be rather clear representations of the cruelty and viciousness that they are also quite capable of inflicting on each other. The A&O Manual teaches them to hurt each other. Gallaudet University has many stories in which the protagonist “triumphs over adversity,” “beats the odds,” “reveals his/her true hypocrisy,” or those in which virtue is tested and rewarded, in the end demonstrate that he or she would become evil, as manifest in the creatively bizarre obstacles, tasks, and tortures outlined in the A&O Manual.
It may well be that we have become so blinded, so inured to actual human-to-human cruelty by the luridly graphic and paradoxically blasé, non-judgmental quality of inclusiveness, that we can no longer readily feel the evil. For example, Kitty Fischer, an Usher's Syndrome friend of mine, got fired after 29 years, 11 months, and three weeks of services to Gallaudet University. Recent protestors were recently beaten by the university personnel. Over 130 peaceful university students were arrested and booked. We just became numb in the face of Gallaudet University evil.
And what does all this have to do with hearing people opposing student activists at Gallaudet University? Plenty! When evil at Gallaudet is seen as a temporal human phenomenon, it becomes relatively easy to vilify and make scapegoats of that which one does not understand or which one fears. A hearing mother of a Deaf child, for example, wrote me an email that she wanted me out of Hawai’i. A hearing teacher of the Deaf wrote me an email that she was happy my daughter was arrested so she could teach her students to always obey hearing people. A hearing Gallaudet employee emailed to warn that I should never come to Gallaudet or my daughter Vivienne would suffer the consequence in the future. Cruelty and fear coalesce to create powerful stereotypes: make the unknown, the misunderstood, the old ways, into a kind of evil, that is absolute evil, and they have a means, if not an authority, to use it, a strategy to violently or quietly deal them out of existence so that they could “live happily ever after.”
At the absolute level, the level of evil, the conflict seems to be personified primarily through administrators, but with one crucial and mysterious exception. They go unpunished. They are inspired by the A&O Manual that is at the source of the power of both types: evil and the absolute evil.
The university president who would handpick his own successor, the provost who would promote inclusiveness to suppress ASL and Deaf Culture, and the Vice President who seeks only self-aggrandizement—these and many other lower administrators seem to me to be rather clear representations of the cruelty and viciousness that they are also quite capable of inflicting on each other. The A&O Manual teaches them to hurt each other. Gallaudet University has many stories in which the protagonist “triumphs over adversity,” “beats the odds,” “reveals his/her true hypocrisy,” or those in which virtue is tested and rewarded, in the end demonstrate that he or she would become evil, as manifest in the creatively bizarre obstacles, tasks, and tortures outlined in the A&O Manual.
It may well be that we have become so blinded, so inured to actual human-to-human cruelty by the luridly graphic and paradoxically blasé, non-judgmental quality of inclusiveness, that we can no longer readily feel the evil. For example, Kitty Fischer, an Usher's Syndrome friend of mine, got fired after 29 years, 11 months, and three weeks of services to Gallaudet University. Recent protestors were recently beaten by the university personnel. Over 130 peaceful university students were arrested and booked. We just became numb in the face of Gallaudet University evil.
And what does all this have to do with hearing people opposing student activists at Gallaudet University? Plenty! When evil at Gallaudet is seen as a temporal human phenomenon, it becomes relatively easy to vilify and make scapegoats of that which one does not understand or which one fears. A hearing mother of a Deaf child, for example, wrote me an email that she wanted me out of Hawai’i. A hearing teacher of the Deaf wrote me an email that she was happy my daughter was arrested so she could teach her students to always obey hearing people. A hearing Gallaudet employee emailed to warn that I should never come to Gallaudet or my daughter Vivienne would suffer the consequence in the future. Cruelty and fear coalesce to create powerful stereotypes: make the unknown, the misunderstood, the old ways, into a kind of evil, that is absolute evil, and they have a means, if not an authority, to use it, a strategy to violently or quietly deal them out of existence so that they could “live happily ever after.”
At the absolute level, the level of evil, the conflict seems to be personified primarily through administrators, but with one crucial and mysterious exception. They go unpunished. They are inspired by the A&O Manual that is at the source of the power of both types: evil and the absolute evil.
A Proposal: ASL College
History helps us to honor our past and to heed our possibilities for the future. Take a statement from Benjamin Franklin for example: In love of liberty and in the defense of it, Holland has been our example.
Leiden University
After winning the war against the oppressive Spanish in 1574, Prince William of Orange founded Leiden University in 1575 as a gift to the city. He wrote a letter to the States of Holland proposing that as a reward for the town’s brave resistance against the Spanish invaders a university be founded which would serve to preserve the Dutch language and culture, to support and maintain “the freedom and good lawful government of the country.” The university was granted the motto Praesidium Libertatis, in Latin meaning “Bastian of Liberty.” It was in this atmosphere of freedom of speech that philosophers like Spinoza and Descartes were able to develop their ideas, for which Holland is still famous today.
Branching Out
As Benjamin Franklin suggested, we can learn from both Holland and Leiden University by branching our intellectual life out of oppressive Gallaudet University and setting up a new college that aims at preserving American Sign Language and its embedded culture. Our needs for ASL translation of classics or great books, for example, are so enormous we want to recruit talented and scholarly users of ASL across the nation to read and study these books to bring forth new meanings, perspectives, and outlooks that best reflect our native language, our intellectual life, our meaningful leisure, and our form of entertainment.
Students
The prospective students of this proposed ASL College do not need to be reminded of such divisive, oppressive insults as "full access and open communication" and "students with different communicative pursuits" simply because Gallaudet University is completely in control of developing diversity, which may result in a shameful dilemma among Deaf scholars who use ASL and its embedded culture. Diversity at Gallaudet is a euphemism for linguistic and cultural genocide.
Proposal
I hereby propose to set up ASL College to pursue higher learning, higher teaching, and higher researching in the language and culture we know the best for our own intellectual freedom.
ASL College in Nutshell
ASL College shall voluntarily undergo a regular independent review by a regional college accreditation commission to ensure the quality and consistency of the degree curriculum. The word “accreditation” is derived from an old Latinate word for “trustworthy,” and in today’s terms, it means that ASL College should be trusted as high quality.
ASL College is going to be a far more sophisticated and serious institution than most of us could ever imagine, but seeing its validity and appreciating its importance for Deaf culture upon having a clear definition of what this college is. It is going to be a small college of some 350 students with the interdisciplinary curriculum focusing on ASL translation of classics—great books. Intrigued by the reading list that serves as the core of St. John’s College, ASL College is to outline a complete four year curriculum—the chronological order in which the books are to be read, discussed and translated into ASL, which is “a matter of convenience and intelligibility.”
ASL College curriculum is not enchantment and its primary intent is not to take idle excursions into imaginary lands inhabited by characters from classics, it is disenchantment and the intent is to take a hard look at essential realities through the language and culture we know the best. These emotional, intellectual, and spiritual realities are what so much of contemporary life seems scrupulously designed to insulate us from. The magic of ASL does not invoke the casting of spells: it involves the breaking of spells, especially those spells that may hold our language and culture in captive. This ASL College is “radical,” in that it addresses the roots of our experience, and it is subversive, in that its intention is to overturn and banish illusion—illiteracy in ASL and Deaf Culture. Personal, social, and cultural rationalizations concerning ourselves as Deaf people and the world around us are the spells that have to be broken.
Blogger’s Final Note
Gallaudet University is not going to be proud of this ASL College but it will come into play—one aspect of complexity—moving our intellectual freedom out of oppressive Gallaudet University. Anyone who has interest in pursuing this ASL College proposal are welcome to email to aslcollege@yahoo.com for further information and motivation.
Leiden University
After winning the war against the oppressive Spanish in 1574, Prince William of Orange founded Leiden University in 1575 as a gift to the city. He wrote a letter to the States of Holland proposing that as a reward for the town’s brave resistance against the Spanish invaders a university be founded which would serve to preserve the Dutch language and culture, to support and maintain “the freedom and good lawful government of the country.” The university was granted the motto Praesidium Libertatis, in Latin meaning “Bastian of Liberty.” It was in this atmosphere of freedom of speech that philosophers like Spinoza and Descartes were able to develop their ideas, for which Holland is still famous today.
Branching Out
As Benjamin Franklin suggested, we can learn from both Holland and Leiden University by branching our intellectual life out of oppressive Gallaudet University and setting up a new college that aims at preserving American Sign Language and its embedded culture. Our needs for ASL translation of classics or great books, for example, are so enormous we want to recruit talented and scholarly users of ASL across the nation to read and study these books to bring forth new meanings, perspectives, and outlooks that best reflect our native language, our intellectual life, our meaningful leisure, and our form of entertainment.
Students
The prospective students of this proposed ASL College do not need to be reminded of such divisive, oppressive insults as "full access and open communication" and "students with different communicative pursuits" simply because Gallaudet University is completely in control of developing diversity, which may result in a shameful dilemma among Deaf scholars who use ASL and its embedded culture. Diversity at Gallaudet is a euphemism for linguistic and cultural genocide.
Proposal
I hereby propose to set up ASL College to pursue higher learning, higher teaching, and higher researching in the language and culture we know the best for our own intellectual freedom.
ASL College in Nutshell
ASL College shall voluntarily undergo a regular independent review by a regional college accreditation commission to ensure the quality and consistency of the degree curriculum. The word “accreditation” is derived from an old Latinate word for “trustworthy,” and in today’s terms, it means that ASL College should be trusted as high quality.
ASL College is going to be a far more sophisticated and serious institution than most of us could ever imagine, but seeing its validity and appreciating its importance for Deaf culture upon having a clear definition of what this college is. It is going to be a small college of some 350 students with the interdisciplinary curriculum focusing on ASL translation of classics—great books. Intrigued by the reading list that serves as the core of St. John’s College, ASL College is to outline a complete four year curriculum—the chronological order in which the books are to be read, discussed and translated into ASL, which is “a matter of convenience and intelligibility.”
ASL College curriculum is not enchantment and its primary intent is not to take idle excursions into imaginary lands inhabited by characters from classics, it is disenchantment and the intent is to take a hard look at essential realities through the language and culture we know the best. These emotional, intellectual, and spiritual realities are what so much of contemporary life seems scrupulously designed to insulate us from. The magic of ASL does not invoke the casting of spells: it involves the breaking of spells, especially those spells that may hold our language and culture in captive. This ASL College is “radical,” in that it addresses the roots of our experience, and it is subversive, in that its intention is to overturn and banish illusion—illiteracy in ASL and Deaf Culture. Personal, social, and cultural rationalizations concerning ourselves as Deaf people and the world around us are the spells that have to be broken.
Blogger’s Final Note
Gallaudet University is not going to be proud of this ASL College but it will come into play—one aspect of complexity—moving our intellectual freedom out of oppressive Gallaudet University. Anyone who has interest in pursuing this ASL College proposal are welcome to email to aslcollege@yahoo.com for further information and motivation.
Monday, November 20, 2006
LIKE A GOD ... SOMETHING MISSING
| The importance of this story is not so much to teach something new as to teach us not to forget what we know already--the power of story. | |
LINGUISTICS OF ASL DRAGON
| Clawshapes, Palm Orientations, Locations, Non-Claw Expressions, and Modifier Movements | |
ONGOING ERRATIC COMMUNICATION PRIORITIES AT GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY
I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls. (Job 30:29)
Gallaudet University continues to be obsessed with upgrading communication for the university public relations. In a recent memorandum from IPSAC, it outlines as follows:
“Full access and open communication are a central vision for Gallaudet, and the University is striving to redefine the best education for deaf and hard of hearing students within an increasingly diverse America, and an increasingly interconnected world.”
In this blog I would like to assert that there are certain prerequisites for communication: information and language—what we know and what language we use. It’s always difficult to discuss a communication theory, especially when Deaf people are involved because American Sign Language (ASL) is required to articulate information and knowledge needed for communication.
We understand public relations and media, having spent recent months spinning with Gallaudet University media. We know what reporters, editors, and producers need and have built working relationships with the university. While we are working with general news reporters, we must pay close attention to the packaging and news value of our language and culture, namely ASL, for communication. Every move, whether it's a press release, a news conference, a media tour or just a check-in call with a local reporter, must be done in furtherance of our overall communication strategy that includes what we know and what language we use.
What we know. We have our own identity that is generated by our deafness. Deafness is a biological condition that makes our life human, our language human, and our leisure human. We define ourselves as a linguistic minority because we use a different language—ASL, and we require cross-linguistic/cross-cultural interpretation in all disciplines from educational interpreting to medical interpreting to legal interpreting. That's how our deafness delineates information and language needed for full and honest communication.
What language we use. ASL is our lingua franca. As long as ASL is defined or discussed in another language, we the Deaf are in danger of not knowing what actually goes on both parts of our brain coming together exactly when needed, right at the end of any definition of our language. Thinking in two languages is impossible.
Personally and professionally, I’m much more interested in addressing information, language and communication than in promoting a current “full access and open communication" theory at Gallaudet University, but does anyone know if “The Idiot’s Guide to the Brain and American Sign Language” has been written? Please let me know.
Sunday, November 19, 2006
MY ONGOING SCHOLARLY PURSUIT
While a student at Gallaudet I decided to major in American Studies (now English), since reading has long been one of my passions and since I knew that to make inroads into the circles of scholarship, I would need to become well versed in an area of scholarship other than ASL which was unavailable.
I also decided to commit myself to learning French for four semesters, which was a thrilling experience for me. As it turned out, I was pretty good at the basics of the language and was always eager for more. However, having been to Paris four times, French was a bit troubling for me because I could barely understand it there. I was textbook-French smart.
All the more reason, I thought, for learning language and culture. My questions were complicated even more as I began to think increasingly about linguistics at Gallaudet, Georgetown and now Hawai'i. The more I studied ASL, the more I became interested in the language documentations that preserve ASL for us, and in the linguistics, which can supposedly help us reconstruct what the original signs were. I kept reverting to my basic question: how does it help us to say that ASL is the inerrant language of the Deaf if in fact we don't have a college or university requiring ASL for the graduation.
This university level ASL dilemma has plagued me and drove me to dig deeper and deeper, to understand what ASL really is. In my paper for my dissertation proposal, I developed a long and complicated argument to the effect that even though Gallaudet University recognizes ASL, it doesn't really mean that Gallaudet advances ASL, because that it takes place in the part of the PR text. My argument in my dissertation proposal is based on the meaning of university level ASL involved and is a bit convoluted.
This kind of realization coincided with the problems I am encountering the more closely I study ASL. It is one thing from my personal experience to say that the originals of ASL went through a language clash with LSF (Langue des signes francaise) at Hartford Deaf School back in 1817, but the reality is that we don't have the originals so saying that ASL was introduced doesn't help me much, unless I can reconstruct the originals of ASL. It may be something of a moot point. Not only do we not have the originals, we don't have the copies of the originals. Not even copies of the copies of the originals. ASL lacks a priori claims, and it is therefore easily oppressed.
Language Documentation at the University of Hawai'i at Manao announces: “If these languages and minority languages elsewhere die without being recorded, it will be as if they never existed. This represents an enormous loss of accumulated wisdom and a catastrophic loss of information for linguists, anthropologists, archaeologists, folklorists, historians, psychologists, botanists philosophers, writers, and others. The loss of a language is a loss to all humanity.”
I also decided to commit myself to learning French for four semesters, which was a thrilling experience for me. As it turned out, I was pretty good at the basics of the language and was always eager for more. However, having been to Paris four times, French was a bit troubling for me because I could barely understand it there. I was textbook-French smart.
All the more reason, I thought, for learning language and culture. My questions were complicated even more as I began to think increasingly about linguistics at Gallaudet, Georgetown and now Hawai'i. The more I studied ASL, the more I became interested in the language documentations that preserve ASL for us, and in the linguistics, which can supposedly help us reconstruct what the original signs were. I kept reverting to my basic question: how does it help us to say that ASL is the inerrant language of the Deaf if in fact we don't have a college or university requiring ASL for the graduation.
This university level ASL dilemma has plagued me and drove me to dig deeper and deeper, to understand what ASL really is. In my paper for my dissertation proposal, I developed a long and complicated argument to the effect that even though Gallaudet University recognizes ASL, it doesn't really mean that Gallaudet advances ASL, because that it takes place in the part of the PR text. My argument in my dissertation proposal is based on the meaning of university level ASL involved and is a bit convoluted.
This kind of realization coincided with the problems I am encountering the more closely I study ASL. It is one thing from my personal experience to say that the originals of ASL went through a language clash with LSF (Langue des signes francaise) at Hartford Deaf School back in 1817, but the reality is that we don't have the originals so saying that ASL was introduced doesn't help me much, unless I can reconstruct the originals of ASL. It may be something of a moot point. Not only do we not have the originals, we don't have the copies of the originals. Not even copies of the copies of the originals. ASL lacks a priori claims, and it is therefore easily oppressed.
Language Documentation at the University of Hawai'i at Manao announces: “If these languages and minority languages elsewhere die without being recorded, it will be as if they never existed. This represents an enormous loss of accumulated wisdom and a catastrophic loss of information for linguists, anthropologists, archaeologists, folklorists, historians, psychologists, botanists philosophers, writers, and others. The loss of a language is a loss to all humanity.”
ONE OF MANY EXAMPLES FOR GALLAUDOPHOBIA
DearReaders,
I’ve received numerous comments and emails, and they often reflected Gallaudophobia (visit this link).
The following email is from a dear friend of mine who asked not to publish hxx comment to my recent vlog, "MJ, Please Tell Us!" I agreed to keep hxx identity discreet but wanted to share the context with the DeafReaders. It saddens me that even Deaf people are either suffering or causing Gallaudophobia.
Wow... We all are waiting to hear from MJ...we have not asked her until you asked her directly. I did not ask her on campus. She was very actively against jk...and one of big leaders against jk. I feel she was betrayed by jk. But how did jk get tenure? That's my biggest question. You have guts to ask MJ in public since no one was asking her. Hope she responds xox delete this.....off the record pls
My dear friend, your name is concealed, it's not revealed. Don’t let Gallaudophobia get you.
I’ve received numerous comments and emails, and they often reflected Gallaudophobia (visit this link).
The following email is from a dear friend of mine who asked not to publish hxx comment to my recent vlog, "MJ, Please Tell Us!" I agreed to keep hxx identity discreet but wanted to share the context with the DeafReaders. It saddens me that even Deaf people are either suffering or causing Gallaudophobia.
Wow... We all are waiting to hear from MJ...we have not asked her until you asked her directly. I did not ask her on campus. She was very actively against jk...and one of big leaders against jk. I feel she was betrayed by jk. But how did jk get tenure? That's my biggest question. You have guts to ask MJ in public since no one was asking her. Hope she responds xox delete this.....off the record pls
My dear friend, your name is concealed, it's not revealed. Don’t let Gallaudophobia get you.
Saturday, November 18, 2006
MJ, PLEASE TELL US!
| TRUTH IS TRUTH, TAKEN UNDER THE OATH OR NOT. --Senator Sam Erwin, Chair of Watergate Committee | |
Widsith and AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE
It is my task here to provide some brief theoretical context for this blog, and believe it or not I find that in the poem that is perhaps the oldest in the English language, written well over a thousand years ago. Its opening line reads, "Widsith spoke, unlocked his word-hoard." The word-hoard is in Old English meaning the word-treasure.
Widsith is a fictitious character in an alliterative poem of 142 lines that provides a kind of inventory of tribes and nations across the earth, both historical and fictitious, which comprise the world of early English literature — most of which is lost to us.
Widsith did not merely recount the story of his culture with each telling of his legend. He created his culture all over again with every performance, and with it, the personal identities of his listeners. His stories spoke to the collective psyche of the clan and the symbolism of his lore wove the imaginative fabric that bound individuals together.
And our Deaf culture is no different. Without story—without American Sign Language—we too have no past, no society, no memory, no thought, no real humanity. Stories shape our consciousness—they create us. Think now about how Deaf children across the nation treasure their own access to our story, whether through blogs, vlogs, live storytellers, or their own recounting of our story.
Early in life of these Deaf children, story begins to create and shape their layered inner richness as human beings. It develops an understanding of their language and cultural heritage and an interest in exploring the diversity of human heritage generally. As a Deaf child becomes more sophisticated, story instills a respect for the complexities of thought, and helps him or her appreciate the startling unity of concerns across historical, social, political, geographical, and linguistic boundaries. Ultimately, story can add to the fill development of one’s potential by leading one to an ongoing questioning and curiosity about Deaf culture generally, an ability to make aesthetic and moral distinctions, a sophistication about emotional development, and a recognition and perhaps re-evaluation of one’s personal convictions about American Sign Language.
Storytelling is the most powerful means by which values of Deaf culture are passed on. These beliefs and attitudes are not easily changed, for they become the very terms by which we perceive ourselves, the world around us, the condition of our social consciousness. Since the formation of a Deaf child’s identity is tied so crucially with American Sign Language and the stories that both mirror and perpetuate that language and culture, then our responsibility to understand Widsith’s stories is indeed immense if we are to be committed to American Sign Language—our own “treasure”.
Widsith is a fictitious character in an alliterative poem of 142 lines that provides a kind of inventory of tribes and nations across the earth, both historical and fictitious, which comprise the world of early English literature — most of which is lost to us.
Widsith did not merely recount the story of his culture with each telling of his legend. He created his culture all over again with every performance, and with it, the personal identities of his listeners. His stories spoke to the collective psyche of the clan and the symbolism of his lore wove the imaginative fabric that bound individuals together.
And our Deaf culture is no different. Without story—without American Sign Language—we too have no past, no society, no memory, no thought, no real humanity. Stories shape our consciousness—they create us. Think now about how Deaf children across the nation treasure their own access to our story, whether through blogs, vlogs, live storytellers, or their own recounting of our story.
Early in life of these Deaf children, story begins to create and shape their layered inner richness as human beings. It develops an understanding of their language and cultural heritage and an interest in exploring the diversity of human heritage generally. As a Deaf child becomes more sophisticated, story instills a respect for the complexities of thought, and helps him or her appreciate the startling unity of concerns across historical, social, political, geographical, and linguistic boundaries. Ultimately, story can add to the fill development of one’s potential by leading one to an ongoing questioning and curiosity about Deaf culture generally, an ability to make aesthetic and moral distinctions, a sophistication about emotional development, and a recognition and perhaps re-evaluation of one’s personal convictions about American Sign Language.
Storytelling is the most powerful means by which values of Deaf culture are passed on. These beliefs and attitudes are not easily changed, for they become the very terms by which we perceive ourselves, the world around us, the condition of our social consciousness. Since the formation of a Deaf child’s identity is tied so crucially with American Sign Language and the stories that both mirror and perpetuate that language and culture, then our responsibility to understand Widsith’s stories is indeed immense if we are to be committed to American Sign Language—our own “treasure”.
Friday, November 17, 2006
GALLAUDET'S "BUSINESS PLAN" IS OUTDATED
This morning I wrote the following comment for "Take Senator McCain’s Comments Seriously?" in Elizabeth’s blog.
"Please rest assured that Gallaudet University does have a solid “business plan” called Administration & Operations Manual, the bible of campus policies that practices ongoing social injustice and language oppression. Whoever becomes the next president is to COMPLY WITH this “business plan” and become an Orwellian pig that lives in House #1. To date, I have yet to see that this Administration & Operations Manual be captured. No one has realized or understood that a successful business has a good business plan."
Gallaudet University president is a university figurehead-fundraiser, and a sound “business plan” is the roadmap to success. It’s called Administration & Operations Manual. Reading and following the Manual is a long and daunting task but in the end the university president often sees things from a new perspective and has mitigated any risks. The Manual is not just for foundations and donors but also supplies the office of university president with a blueprint of operating the university. The Manual provides the president with the directions of Gallaudet University and a guidepost for its employees, too.
Please bear in mind that the Manual has been developed over many years by university attorneys who were definitely "not deaf enough" and it’s definitely outdated. We need to capture this business plan and renew it to not only prepare Gallaudet University for today's conditions but tomorrow's unforeseen events. A good business plan should have a contingency section to accommodate for the future.
Gallaudet University needs to recruit new Deaf consultants who can be valuable in aiding to revise the university Administration & Operations Manual. If the Manual consultants are doing most of the work, then we need to make sure Gallaudet University regularly consults and communicates with them during the development process of the plan. Gallaudet University president also needs to spend the necessary time to review and know the final "business plan" inside and out.
A good university president depends on a good “business plan.” The Administration & Operations Manual is the university business plan that is outdated.
"Please rest assured that Gallaudet University does have a solid “business plan” called Administration & Operations Manual, the bible of campus policies that practices ongoing social injustice and language oppression. Whoever becomes the next president is to COMPLY WITH this “business plan” and become an Orwellian pig that lives in House #1. To date, I have yet to see that this Administration & Operations Manual be captured. No one has realized or understood that a successful business has a good business plan."
Gallaudet University president is a university figurehead-fundraiser, and a sound “business plan” is the roadmap to success. It’s called Administration & Operations Manual. Reading and following the Manual is a long and daunting task but in the end the university president often sees things from a new perspective and has mitigated any risks. The Manual is not just for foundations and donors but also supplies the office of university president with a blueprint of operating the university. The Manual provides the president with the directions of Gallaudet University and a guidepost for its employees, too.
Please bear in mind that the Manual has been developed over many years by university attorneys who were definitely "not deaf enough" and it’s definitely outdated. We need to capture this business plan and renew it to not only prepare Gallaudet University for today's conditions but tomorrow's unforeseen events. A good business plan should have a contingency section to accommodate for the future.
Gallaudet University needs to recruit new Deaf consultants who can be valuable in aiding to revise the university Administration & Operations Manual. If the Manual consultants are doing most of the work, then we need to make sure Gallaudet University regularly consults and communicates with them during the development process of the plan. Gallaudet University president also needs to spend the necessary time to review and know the final "business plan" inside and out.
A good university president depends on a good “business plan.” The Administration & Operations Manual is the university business plan that is outdated.
Thursday, November 16, 2006
A LESSON FROM BABEL TOWER (in one handshape)
| Since those mythical times where the human race was condemned to split up its language just because a certain tower was built, no doubt the translators have been among the most hated people in the world. --Anonymous | |
The Ability of Gallaudet University
I am deeply concerned about the ability of Gallaudet University to confront the many challenges it faces in both ASL and English. My concern has been compounded by the failure exhibited by the current university administration to understand the nature of cross-linguistic/cross-cultural inquiry and the integrity of critical thinking in ASL and critical writing in English. This disdain for Gallaudet University is aggravated by the excessive influence of recent audistic doctrine—“all languages and modes of communication.”
I am concerned with the resurgence of Deaf education across the nation, and their alliance with political-ideological movements (IEP and NCLB) to block ASL in education. I am troubled by the persistence of “all languages and modes of communication” belief at Gallaudet University, and by the denial of the claims of linguistic-cultural interdependence between two language entities, ASL and English. This retreat into mysticism is reinforced by the emergence in convictions of “new order of the Deaf,” which undermines the use of college and university level ASL.
I think that these dismal facts portend a clear and present danger to the role of Deaf Education in the U.S. and around the world. In my professional view it is not enough to teach specific subjects—important as that is—but to convey to the students a general academic understanding of how ASL and English work together. ASL and English depend on each other. This requires both some comprehension of the methods of linguistic inquiry and an understanding of ASL-English interdependence. The cultivation of critical thinking and critical writing is essential not only for both ASL and English but also for an educated citizenry—especially if our democracy is to flourish.
Unfortunately, not only do too few well-meaning professors can base their conceptions of the universe on ASL-English interdependence—such as ASL and English—rather than “modes of communication” inquiry, Gallaudet University administration encourages and abets this linguistic ignorance. It is vital that we the Deaf be exposed to the linguistic perspective at Gallaudet University, and this presupposes the separation of ASL and English everywhere.
In the Gallaudet University community, ASL and English are inextricably linked and both are indispensable if we are to have sound education plan that will promote the cross-linguistic/cross-cultural pedagogy of the Deaf , not only in the United States but around the world.
I am concerned with the resurgence of Deaf education across the nation, and their alliance with political-ideological movements (IEP and NCLB) to block ASL in education. I am troubled by the persistence of “all languages and modes of communication” belief at Gallaudet University, and by the denial of the claims of linguistic-cultural interdependence between two language entities, ASL and English. This retreat into mysticism is reinforced by the emergence in convictions of “new order of the Deaf,” which undermines the use of college and university level ASL.
I think that these dismal facts portend a clear and present danger to the role of Deaf Education in the U.S. and around the world. In my professional view it is not enough to teach specific subjects—important as that is—but to convey to the students a general academic understanding of how ASL and English work together. ASL and English depend on each other. This requires both some comprehension of the methods of linguistic inquiry and an understanding of ASL-English interdependence. The cultivation of critical thinking and critical writing is essential not only for both ASL and English but also for an educated citizenry—especially if our democracy is to flourish.
Unfortunately, not only do too few well-meaning professors can base their conceptions of the universe on ASL-English interdependence—such as ASL and English—rather than “modes of communication” inquiry, Gallaudet University administration encourages and abets this linguistic ignorance. It is vital that we the Deaf be exposed to the linguistic perspective at Gallaudet University, and this presupposes the separation of ASL and English everywhere.
In the Gallaudet University community, ASL and English are inextricably linked and both are indispensable if we are to have sound education plan that will promote the cross-linguistic/cross-cultural pedagogy of the Deaf , not only in the United States but around the world.
Dear President Jordan
Carl N. Schroeder
41 Hale Lio Place
Haiku, Hawaii 96708
November 16, 2006
President I. King Jordan
Gallaudet University
800 Florida Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20002
Re: Metropolitan Police Academy Convict 545 754
Dear President Jordan:
I am one of PUG members who got upset by the arrest of my daughter Vivienne made on Friday, October 13, 2006. She was among those peaceful activists who saw that there exists social injustice at Gallaudet University. Vivienne is a second year honors student there. As a Montessorian, please be assured that Vivienne can do “4 x 4 = 16” and she can write better than some professors at Gallaudet.
Vivienne does not live in a vacuum. Her mother Thelma used to work for you in your Psychology department at Gallaudet University. She also helped you with your research project that involves ASL with her left-hand dominance. She has yet to see any written acknowledgement for her participation in the final research draft. To date, you haven’t shown any attribution to her work. Was Thelma exploited? What was your problem statement in the research? What was your research method? What were your data like? What was your discovery? Was it nullified? How did you conclude the research project? What grade did you get for it? Why is it still a hush-hush?
Vivienne is proud of her own heritage. In 1963, President John F. Kennedy gave a directive that her Deaf grandparents—Nelly and George Schroeder—move to the United States within six months so that their Deaf children could enroll in Maryland School for the Deaf in Frederick. Although Holland is a beautiful country, it has many laws that limit Deaf people. Today her grandmother is a faithful and humble volunteer in the office of Gallaudet University Alumni Relations, and she volunteered to develop a travel itinerary for you and your wife when you went to her home country a few years ago. You had a good time, right?
I graduated as a class valedictorian from the Model Secondary School for the Deaf. At Gallaudet University I was elected as Student Body Government president. I was Andy Lange’s roommate for two years, and I graduated as a 1983 Thomas J. Watson Fellow, a top academic honor, from Gallaudet University. I used to work for Gallaudet University, too. I shall always cherish my memories at Gallaudet.
My daughter Vivienne’s arrest was nonsense. She was picked up peacefully, carried across the street peacefully, got fingerprinted and mug shots peacefully, and received her convict number 545 754 peacefully. Although you might consider amnesty for her and her friends, FBI doesn’t because all fingerprints, criminal or not, go to FBI which in turn would report a possible crime any time in the future. There will be no peace in your amnesty.
I refuse to be naïve into thinking that amnesty would boost up peace and respect. Whatever you have decided to do about these 135 people before your retirement, please know that I am completely disgusted with your overall profession from exploiting Thelma in 1970s to hurting Vivienne this year. We will be sure that your obituary shall include 135 arrestees as we do Adolph Hitler with 6 million Jews, and you are no difference. Indifferent, I am sure you are!
Mahalo and aloha,
Carl Schroeder
cc: GUFSSA, DeafRead, Board of Trustees
41 Hale Lio Place
Haiku, Hawaii 96708
November 16, 2006
President I. King Jordan
Gallaudet University
800 Florida Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20002
Re: Metropolitan Police Academy Convict 545 754
Dear President Jordan:
I am one of PUG members who got upset by the arrest of my daughter Vivienne made on Friday, October 13, 2006. She was among those peaceful activists who saw that there exists social injustice at Gallaudet University. Vivienne is a second year honors student there. As a Montessorian, please be assured that Vivienne can do “4 x 4 = 16” and she can write better than some professors at Gallaudet.
Vivienne does not live in a vacuum. Her mother Thelma used to work for you in your Psychology department at Gallaudet University. She also helped you with your research project that involves ASL with her left-hand dominance. She has yet to see any written acknowledgement for her participation in the final research draft. To date, you haven’t shown any attribution to her work. Was Thelma exploited? What was your problem statement in the research? What was your research method? What were your data like? What was your discovery? Was it nullified? How did you conclude the research project? What grade did you get for it? Why is it still a hush-hush?
Vivienne is proud of her own heritage. In 1963, President John F. Kennedy gave a directive that her Deaf grandparents—Nelly and George Schroeder—move to the United States within six months so that their Deaf children could enroll in Maryland School for the Deaf in Frederick. Although Holland is a beautiful country, it has many laws that limit Deaf people. Today her grandmother is a faithful and humble volunteer in the office of Gallaudet University Alumni Relations, and she volunteered to develop a travel itinerary for you and your wife when you went to her home country a few years ago. You had a good time, right?
I graduated as a class valedictorian from the Model Secondary School for the Deaf. At Gallaudet University I was elected as Student Body Government president. I was Andy Lange’s roommate for two years, and I graduated as a 1983 Thomas J. Watson Fellow, a top academic honor, from Gallaudet University. I used to work for Gallaudet University, too. I shall always cherish my memories at Gallaudet.
My daughter Vivienne’s arrest was nonsense. She was picked up peacefully, carried across the street peacefully, got fingerprinted and mug shots peacefully, and received her convict number 545 754 peacefully. Although you might consider amnesty for her and her friends, FBI doesn’t because all fingerprints, criminal or not, go to FBI which in turn would report a possible crime any time in the future. There will be no peace in your amnesty.
I refuse to be naïve into thinking that amnesty would boost up peace and respect. Whatever you have decided to do about these 135 people before your retirement, please know that I am completely disgusted with your overall profession from exploiting Thelma in 1970s to hurting Vivienne this year. We will be sure that your obituary shall include 135 arrestees as we do Adolph Hitler with 6 million Jews, and you are no difference. Indifferent, I am sure you are!
Mahalo and aloha,
Carl Schroeder
cc: GUFSSA, DeafRead, Board of Trustees
ASL DRAGON: SOME SEE, SOME DON'T ...
| LINGUIST GENERAL'S WARNING: Language translation may be hazardous to health of both source and target languages. | |
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
CAN YOU IMAGINE ... PATHETIC, IF NOT FRIGHTENING
Can you imagine that for centuries Deaf people have suffered appalling language and culture abuses and the devastating consequences of educational and economic sanctions?
Can you imagine that in a climate of language oppression, many thousands of Deaf children were neglected over the years by the NCLB mandatory? Can you imagine similar numbers “failed” after schooling? That's pathetic, if not frightening.
Can you imagine that at Gallaudet University, 135 Deaf people were arrested, booked and ridiculed by lower administrators for daring to oppose their would-be superior, President I. King Jordan’s favorite Jane K. Fernandes. Can you imagine they were penalized for simply belonging to such a particular community as GUFSSA? Again, that’s pathetic, if not frightening.
Can you imagine the consequences of a “new order” of ASL semi-illiterates leading Gallaudet University into the 21st century and beyond? Can you imagine a highly educated population that does not know ASL? Can you imagine ASL that is not understood by Deaf college age students? Can you imagine where the communication outrage is? Definitely that’s pathetic, if not frightening.
Can you imagine that we open this can of worms at Gallaudet University? Can you imagine the outrage would reach fantastic levels? Can you imagine PUG (Parents United for Gallaudet) demands giving amnesty to 135 arrested people? Can you imagine that President Jordan labeled the peaceful protestors as mobsters so he has justifications for arresting them in order to split the Deaf community? IKJ is pathetic, if not frightening.
Can you imagine a VideoPhone call that I received from a long time friend of mine who was upset about my daughter’s arrest? Can you imagine how I responded about my daughter’s arrest? Can you imagine that I am still angry about the Gallaudet University Administration and Operations Manual (the Bible of campus policies) that remained overlooked? It’s pathetic, if not frightening.
Can you imagine what Mark Twain might say about Gallaudet? As Mark Twain said, “Suppose you were an idiot; and suppose you were a member of Congress; but then, I repeat myself.” Twain got it right, but can you imagine where the outrage is? Can you imagine how pathetic, if not frightening, Gallaudet University is.
Can you imagine that in a climate of language oppression, many thousands of Deaf children were neglected over the years by the NCLB mandatory? Can you imagine similar numbers “failed” after schooling? That's pathetic, if not frightening.
Can you imagine that at Gallaudet University, 135 Deaf people were arrested, booked and ridiculed by lower administrators for daring to oppose their would-be superior, President I. King Jordan’s favorite Jane K. Fernandes. Can you imagine they were penalized for simply belonging to such a particular community as GUFSSA? Again, that’s pathetic, if not frightening.
Can you imagine the consequences of a “new order” of ASL semi-illiterates leading Gallaudet University into the 21st century and beyond? Can you imagine a highly educated population that does not know ASL? Can you imagine ASL that is not understood by Deaf college age students? Can you imagine where the communication outrage is? Definitely that’s pathetic, if not frightening.
Can you imagine that we open this can of worms at Gallaudet University? Can you imagine the outrage would reach fantastic levels? Can you imagine PUG (Parents United for Gallaudet) demands giving amnesty to 135 arrested people? Can you imagine that President Jordan labeled the peaceful protestors as mobsters so he has justifications for arresting them in order to split the Deaf community? IKJ is pathetic, if not frightening.
Can you imagine a VideoPhone call that I received from a long time friend of mine who was upset about my daughter’s arrest? Can you imagine how I responded about my daughter’s arrest? Can you imagine that I am still angry about the Gallaudet University Administration and Operations Manual (the Bible of campus policies) that remained overlooked? It’s pathetic, if not frightening.
Can you imagine what Mark Twain might say about Gallaudet? As Mark Twain said, “Suppose you were an idiot; and suppose you were a member of Congress; but then, I repeat myself.” Twain got it right, but can you imagine where the outrage is? Can you imagine how pathetic, if not frightening, Gallaudet University is.
EKOLU
| Ekolu, a nine year old Deaf Hawaiian native, was demonstrating his lesson in Hula. He was good until ... | |
NOTORIOUS PLAN B AT GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY
Major riots and damages planned. High profile alumni willing to be arrested. Escaping BOT members spied. Many faculty not tenured. Professor Donalda Ammons spoke out about mess at Gallaudet University.
I was pretty scared by such levels of craziness for some obvious reasons. They wouldn’t be very good for all the Deaf but they would be excellent for some hearing people and their audistic friends who were trained to oppress us and our language and culture furthermore. They are using the English language to control information, knowledge and communication that do not reflect our language and culture very well. Media has yet to understand numerous ingrained civil rights and social justice oppressions within our Deaf community.
I was just thankful that BOT had decided to rip off two contractual agreements with JKF. Her position as president designate had stopped, and she won’t be the next president. Activists, faculty, staff, students and alumni all over the country took action to challenge Gallaudet University administration and we are having an impact.
Thousands of Deaf children in the United States and around the world today have had their language and culture hindered or destroyed, not at the hands of hearing oppressors and their audistic friends, but by the negligence and irresponsibility of Gallaudet University administration itself. The IKJ-JKF administration could never, ever recover damages against the education of all the Deaf. Recent protests were self-evident.
Our challenge now is to turn up the heat, and declare Gallaudet University off limits to people with audistic and oppressive attitude. However, we have yet to understand that it doesn’t always take educational leadership to advance our language and culture because it also takes our intellectual journey, to borrow from Robert Frost, “to make all the difference.”
During Gallaudet University protests, Plan B is so notorious that Plan A requires a lot of work! We will work very hard! Professor Donalda Ammons, thank you!
I was pretty scared by such levels of craziness for some obvious reasons. They wouldn’t be very good for all the Deaf but they would be excellent for some hearing people and their audistic friends who were trained to oppress us and our language and culture furthermore. They are using the English language to control information, knowledge and communication that do not reflect our language and culture very well. Media has yet to understand numerous ingrained civil rights and social justice oppressions within our Deaf community.
I was just thankful that BOT had decided to rip off two contractual agreements with JKF. Her position as president designate had stopped, and she won’t be the next president. Activists, faculty, staff, students and alumni all over the country took action to challenge Gallaudet University administration and we are having an impact.
Thousands of Deaf children in the United States and around the world today have had their language and culture hindered or destroyed, not at the hands of hearing oppressors and their audistic friends, but by the negligence and irresponsibility of Gallaudet University administration itself. The IKJ-JKF administration could never, ever recover damages against the education of all the Deaf. Recent protests were self-evident.
Our challenge now is to turn up the heat, and declare Gallaudet University off limits to people with audistic and oppressive attitude. However, we have yet to understand that it doesn’t always take educational leadership to advance our language and culture because it also takes our intellectual journey, to borrow from Robert Frost, “to make all the difference.”
During Gallaudet University protests, Plan B is so notorious that Plan A requires a lot of work! We will work very hard! Professor Donalda Ammons, thank you!
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
ASL DRAGON: SUCH A ... PRIMITIVE FORCE
Cxfxnxrx (1:03:32 PM): hey there dear Carl! I sure got them, and thank you! your most recent video - wow, you present such a ....what's that word...primitive force! I mean it in a good way, I hope I don't offend you!
HxxxGxx (1:03:53 PM): no...this is the first positive critic! LOL
HxxxGxx (1:03:53 PM): no...this is the first positive critic! LOL
Pro and Con of the Gally BOT Inbreeding
The BOT policy does look good “on paper” but it has a strange impact. Let’s look at this following BOT membership requirement:
Section 2.2.2 Voting Trustees — Non-Public Members. The other eighteen Voting Trustees (”Non-Public Members”) shall be elected by the Board of Trustees. The Non-Public Members shall serve terms of three years, shall be eligible for re-election, and shall serve until their successors are elected and qualified; however; Non-Public Members first elected after January 1, 1987, shall not serve for more than twelve consecutive years, provided, however, that Non-Public Members first elected after January 1, 1987, but before October 30, 1995 shall be eligible for reelection for additional terms (or partial terms) ending before October 30, 2007.
Inbreeding in the Gallaudet University BOT is the working together of closely acquainting members, for example Carol Padden/Tom Humphries (wife/husband) and Cynthia Ashby/Pamela Holmes/Nancy Kelly-Jones (1970s Atlanta gals). It is the arranging of members which are more closely opined than the neutral distribution. For the present Gallaudet University administration, it is a useful way of fixing traits in a higher education leadership, as the BOT members are anxious to make their contributions more typified.
However, the 12 consecutive years membership is pretty too long, and it's no wonder that Gallaudet University Administration is so fossilized it has gone blind. IKJ, for example, is still blind about JKF's failed leadership. Familiarity breeds contempt. The limited who’s-who-pool caused by continued BOT inbreeding means that deleterious ideas become widespread and the university loses vigor.
This is not to say that BOT inbreeding does not occur naturally. Gallaudet University which is isolated from other universities has become very inbred especially if a dominant leader picks his person for his job. IKJ had picked JKF for his job, and they both lost their believability.
There have been numerous scientific studies into inbreeding. Natural isolation and inbreeding have given rise to domestic cat breeds such as the Manx which developed on an island so that the gene for “tail-less-ness” became widespread despite the problems associated with it. Gallaudet University’s natural isolation from the academia has given rise of communication speculations or "language-less-ness" to Deaf people.
Gallaudet University BOT inbreeding is a two-edged sword. On the one hand a certain amount of inbreed can improve type to produce excellent quality education. On the other hand, excessive BOT inbreeding can limit the idea pool so that Gallaudet University loses vigor. It is up to our responsibility to stop the BOT inbreeding in order to maintain the overall health of the university.
Section 2.2.2 Voting Trustees — Non-Public Members. The other eighteen Voting Trustees (”Non-Public Members”) shall be elected by the Board of Trustees. The Non-Public Members shall serve terms of three years, shall be eligible for re-election, and shall serve until their successors are elected and qualified; however; Non-Public Members first elected after January 1, 1987, shall not serve for more than twelve consecutive years, provided, however, that Non-Public Members first elected after January 1, 1987, but before October 30, 1995 shall be eligible for reelection for additional terms (or partial terms) ending before October 30, 2007.
Inbreeding in the Gallaudet University BOT is the working together of closely acquainting members, for example Carol Padden/Tom Humphries (wife/husband) and Cynthia Ashby/Pamela Holmes/Nancy Kelly-Jones (1970s Atlanta gals). It is the arranging of members which are more closely opined than the neutral distribution. For the present Gallaudet University administration, it is a useful way of fixing traits in a higher education leadership, as the BOT members are anxious to make their contributions more typified.
However, the 12 consecutive years membership is pretty too long, and it's no wonder that Gallaudet University Administration is so fossilized it has gone blind. IKJ, for example, is still blind about JKF's failed leadership. Familiarity breeds contempt. The limited who’s-who-pool caused by continued BOT inbreeding means that deleterious ideas become widespread and the university loses vigor.
This is not to say that BOT inbreeding does not occur naturally. Gallaudet University which is isolated from other universities has become very inbred especially if a dominant leader picks his person for his job. IKJ had picked JKF for his job, and they both lost their believability.
There have been numerous scientific studies into inbreeding. Natural isolation and inbreeding have given rise to domestic cat breeds such as the Manx which developed on an island so that the gene for “tail-less-ness” became widespread despite the problems associated with it. Gallaudet University’s natural isolation from the academia has given rise of communication speculations or "language-less-ness" to Deaf people.
Gallaudet University BOT inbreeding is a two-edged sword. On the one hand a certain amount of inbreed can improve type to produce excellent quality education. On the other hand, excessive BOT inbreeding can limit the idea pool so that Gallaudet University loses vigor. It is up to our responsibility to stop the BOT inbreeding in order to maintain the overall health of the university.
ASL Writing or Writing about ASL
Nothing is wrong with ASL writing or writing about ASL. They are a marvelous invention, but I do have two reservations about it. When writing we have a greater external memory, we have a lesser internal memory. Writing can easily become like parasites, living off the blood of their host, the mind. And the second thing is that writing words is like counting corpses rather than like the living in that these words always give the same answer back to you whenever you question them. I always preferred to dialog with the living, whose answers are unpredictable, rather than to dialog with the words.
What about ASL writing or writing about ASL? Before I could discuss my reasons for distinguishing between ASL writing and writing about ASL, I will quote in part the myth in the words of Socrates about Egyptian Pharoah Thamus and Theuth, the inventor of writing:
Now Thamus is said to have had a good deal to remark on both sides of the question about every single art (it would take too long to repeat it here); but when it came to writing Theuth said, "The discipline, my King, will make the Egyptians wiser and will improve their memories: my invention is a recipe (pharmakon) for both memory and wisdom." But the king said, "Theuth, my master of arts, to one man it is given to create the elements of an art, to another to judge the extent of harm and usefulness it will have for those who are going to employ it. And now, since you are father of written letters, your paternal goodwill has lead you to pronounce the very opposite of what is their real power. The fact is that this invention will produce forgetfulness in the souls of those who have learned it because they will not need to exercise their memories, being able to rely on what is written, using the stimulus of external marks that are alien to themselves, rather than, from within, their own unaided powers to call things to mind. So it's not a remedy for memory, but for reminding, that you have discovered. And as for wisdom, your equipping your pupils with only a semblance of it, not with truth. (Plato, Phaedrus 102)
I learned from this above Egyptian legend about the god Theuth, who gave to the Pharoah the invention of writing. The Pharoah was unabashedly grateful, but Thoth warned that what he gave with one hand he took with another.
What do I mean by giving it with one hand and taking it with another hand? Let me now cite a classical example at Gallaudet University back in 1960s. When Professor William C. Stokoe first published the dictionary of American Sign Language, he gave it with his hand we took it with our hands—a figurative speech implying that Stokoe’s ASL is not the same ASL we use with our hands.
ASL writing is like freezing signs, making them like corpses. Writing about ASL is like discovering signs, making them alive with linguistic and cultural claims. I am more comfortable with writing about ASL than I am with ASL writing.
What about ASL writing or writing about ASL? Before I could discuss my reasons for distinguishing between ASL writing and writing about ASL, I will quote in part the myth in the words of Socrates about Egyptian Pharoah Thamus and Theuth, the inventor of writing:
Now Thamus is said to have had a good deal to remark on both sides of the question about every single art (it would take too long to repeat it here); but when it came to writing Theuth said, "The discipline, my King, will make the Egyptians wiser and will improve their memories: my invention is a recipe (pharmakon) for both memory and wisdom." But the king said, "Theuth, my master of arts, to one man it is given to create the elements of an art, to another to judge the extent of harm and usefulness it will have for those who are going to employ it. And now, since you are father of written letters, your paternal goodwill has lead you to pronounce the very opposite of what is their real power. The fact is that this invention will produce forgetfulness in the souls of those who have learned it because they will not need to exercise their memories, being able to rely on what is written, using the stimulus of external marks that are alien to themselves, rather than, from within, their own unaided powers to call things to mind. So it's not a remedy for memory, but for reminding, that you have discovered. And as for wisdom, your equipping your pupils with only a semblance of it, not with truth. (Plato, Phaedrus 102)
I learned from this above Egyptian legend about the god Theuth, who gave to the Pharoah the invention of writing. The Pharoah was unabashedly grateful, but Thoth warned that what he gave with one hand he took with another.
What do I mean by giving it with one hand and taking it with another hand? Let me now cite a classical example at Gallaudet University back in 1960s. When Professor William C. Stokoe first published the dictionary of American Sign Language, he gave it with his hand we took it with our hands—a figurative speech implying that Stokoe’s ASL is not the same ASL we use with our hands.
ASL writing is like freezing signs, making them like corpses. Writing about ASL is like discovering signs, making them alive with linguistic and cultural claims. I am more comfortable with writing about ASL than I am with ASL writing.
Monday, November 13, 2006
SOCRATES at ASL ACADEMY
Socrates meets Professor outside a classroom at ASL Academy.
PROFESSOR: Well, Socrates, here we are, ready for your second day at ASL Academy. How do you like it?
SOCRATES: At the prospect of learning to use ASL? Yes, indeed, as I have always liked it. I read Plato’s account on my question whether words can be replaced by signs in his book Cratylus.
PROFESSOR: If you’re the real Socrates, you’re far from learning ASL. You’re supposed to be one of the wisest men that the Oracle had informed us.
SOCRATES: Only because I know…if you know me, you must know the riddle of the Oracle that made me Socrates.
PROFESSOR: Of course. The Oracle declared you the wisest man because you declared that you knew nothing.
SOCRATES: No, that’s not quite right…you see I am learning ASL.
PROFESSOR: That’s what Plato said in Cratylus, but his book Apology says you’re wise.
SOCRATES: I’ve read his books. They are a little dressed up, of course, but they are more accurate than yours.
PROFESSOR: How is that possible?
SOCRATES: On two accounts. First the Oracle never told me; my friend Chairephon asked the Oracle about me, and I learned from him. Second, I’ve been trying to interpret into ASL that anyone in the world could rise to a wisdom equal to mine simply by learning the lesson that I had learned: that I am not wise.
PROFESSOR: Oh, I did not realize that.
SOCRATES: Now you are wise.
PROFESSOR: Well, Socrates, here we are, ready for your second day at ASL Academy. How do you like it?
SOCRATES: At the prospect of learning to use ASL? Yes, indeed, as I have always liked it. I read Plato’s account on my question whether words can be replaced by signs in his book Cratylus.
PROFESSOR: If you’re the real Socrates, you’re far from learning ASL. You’re supposed to be one of the wisest men that the Oracle had informed us.
SOCRATES: Only because I know…if you know me, you must know the riddle of the Oracle that made me Socrates.
PROFESSOR: Of course. The Oracle declared you the wisest man because you declared that you knew nothing.
SOCRATES: No, that’s not quite right…you see I am learning ASL.
PROFESSOR: That’s what Plato said in Cratylus, but his book Apology says you’re wise.
SOCRATES: I’ve read his books. They are a little dressed up, of course, but they are more accurate than yours.
PROFESSOR: How is that possible?
SOCRATES: On two accounts. First the Oracle never told me; my friend Chairephon asked the Oracle about me, and I learned from him. Second, I’ve been trying to interpret into ASL that anyone in the world could rise to a wisdom equal to mine simply by learning the lesson that I had learned: that I am not wise.
PROFESSOR: Oh, I did not realize that.
SOCRATES: Now you are wise.
DeafRead, Emails, and Comments
DeafRead has been outstanding to the Deaf world. Blogging and vlogging abound, and as an amateur blogger, I appreciated such opportunities to meet and renew friends who emailed me about some particular blogs that captured their attention.
Comments and emails were made on some earlier blogs, which had turned out so ugly and insulting they got out of control. Let me now cite some unacceptable examples: Christians told me about God condemning me to hell for what they disliked about my blog; Deaf people told me about deaf with a lowercase; parents of the Deaf told me to get out; Anonymous called me names; some asserted that I come from an old school of thoughts. My mailbox became full rapidly with Biblical versions, angry comments, and insulting and name-calling, and I had to modify my blogsite to permit only a few friends who are respectful toward my blog entries. I began to read negative comments toward me through my comments on some other blogs and vlogs. My fellow bloggers told me they received similar negative comments and emails that I received.
I recently made some adjustment in my blogsite to allow comments and they will be closely moderated. Comments are to address my blog and vlog entries, not my person. However, the latest blog comment entries had become highly irritating to perplex my ethnicity and intelligence. I began to notice them in other blogs, too, so I decided to write and ask for DeafRead friends to cooperate and stop them. They are about old Deaf guardians and Carl DuPree's past life, which are mean-spirited. Of course, they were deleted.
Yes, I'm an amateur but serious blogger-vlogger who believes in freedom of blogging and vlogging and who is responsible for editing comments to my blogs and vlogs. In Kalalau's Korner, I'm my own editor. Of course, I had deliberately deleted these anonymous and inappropriate comments that are irrelevant, disrespectful or personal. My action does not mean that I am hypocritical or two-faced; my action means that I am responsible enough to pay attention to comments that are about my blogs, not my person.
DeafRead friends, thank you for reading this blog.
Comments and emails were made on some earlier blogs, which had turned out so ugly and insulting they got out of control. Let me now cite some unacceptable examples: Christians told me about God condemning me to hell for what they disliked about my blog; Deaf people told me about deaf with a lowercase; parents of the Deaf told me to get out; Anonymous called me names; some asserted that I come from an old school of thoughts. My mailbox became full rapidly with Biblical versions, angry comments, and insulting and name-calling, and I had to modify my blogsite to permit only a few friends who are respectful toward my blog entries. I began to read negative comments toward me through my comments on some other blogs and vlogs. My fellow bloggers told me they received similar negative comments and emails that I received.
I recently made some adjustment in my blogsite to allow comments and they will be closely moderated. Comments are to address my blog and vlog entries, not my person. However, the latest blog comment entries had become highly irritating to perplex my ethnicity and intelligence. I began to notice them in other blogs, too, so I decided to write and ask for DeafRead friends to cooperate and stop them. They are about old Deaf guardians and Carl DuPree's past life, which are mean-spirited. Of course, they were deleted.
Yes, I'm an amateur but serious blogger-vlogger who believes in freedom of blogging and vlogging and who is responsible for editing comments to my blogs and vlogs. In Kalalau's Korner, I'm my own editor. Of course, I had deliberately deleted these anonymous and inappropriate comments that are irrelevant, disrespectful or personal. My action does not mean that I am hypocritical or two-faced; my action means that I am responsible enough to pay attention to comments that are about my blogs, not my person.
DeafRead friends, thank you for reading this blog.
ASL Dragon is a Figurative Expression ...
A dear friend of mine Vonne emailed me: "You will have to forgive me as I could not make head or tail of ASL Dragon."
The two main requirements for talking about ASL Dragon are: firstly, to have the courage not to keep any question back; and secondly, to attain a clear consciousness of sight that sees without saying so as to comprehend it as a possible answer. Finally, the mind must, if it is really to see, also be truly free from ne caput nec pedes.
There are nowadays warriors of ASL Dragon, but not soldiers. Yet it is admirable to be a warrior because it was once admirable to be Deaf. Deaf warriors pride in the fact that they can sophisticatedly translate their language into other words. In Cratylus, for example, Greek philosopher Plato has Socrates question whether words be replaced by signs used by the Deaf. To be a philosopher, Plato was not merely to have subtle thoughts, nor even to found a school, but so to love wisdom as to live a life of independence and trust. To be Deaf warriors, we are not merely to have subtle thoughts, nor even to enroll in Gallaudet University, but also to love ASL Dragon as to live our language and culture, ASL.
In itself ASL Dragon sets out neither to solve our problems nor to save our language and culture. It is, as the Greeks put it, a kind of sightseeing adventure undertaken for its own sake. There is thus in principle no questions of linguistic and culture entities of any kind, even though individual Deaf people may of course turn out to be stubbornly “dogmatic.” There are indeed two attitudes that might be adopted towards ASL Dragon. One is to accept the pronouncements of Deaf people who say they know, on the basis of their language and culture. The other way is to go out and look for oneself, and this is the way of thinking about his or her being Deaf.
ASL Dragon is a figurative expression of the Deaf. It sits behind our eyes and our mind.
The two main requirements for talking about ASL Dragon are: firstly, to have the courage not to keep any question back; and secondly, to attain a clear consciousness of sight that sees without saying so as to comprehend it as a possible answer. Finally, the mind must, if it is really to see, also be truly free from ne caput nec pedes.
There are nowadays warriors of ASL Dragon, but not soldiers. Yet it is admirable to be a warrior because it was once admirable to be Deaf. Deaf warriors pride in the fact that they can sophisticatedly translate their language into other words. In Cratylus, for example, Greek philosopher Plato has Socrates question whether words be replaced by signs used by the Deaf. To be a philosopher, Plato was not merely to have subtle thoughts, nor even to found a school, but so to love wisdom as to live a life of independence and trust. To be Deaf warriors, we are not merely to have subtle thoughts, nor even to enroll in Gallaudet University, but also to love ASL Dragon as to live our language and culture, ASL.
In itself ASL Dragon sets out neither to solve our problems nor to save our language and culture. It is, as the Greeks put it, a kind of sightseeing adventure undertaken for its own sake. There is thus in principle no questions of linguistic and culture entities of any kind, even though individual Deaf people may of course turn out to be stubbornly “dogmatic.” There are indeed two attitudes that might be adopted towards ASL Dragon. One is to accept the pronouncements of Deaf people who say they know, on the basis of their language and culture. The other way is to go out and look for oneself, and this is the way of thinking about his or her being Deaf.
ASL Dragon is a figurative expression of the Deaf. It sits behind our eyes and our mind.
CAN YOU EXPLAIN THIS "ADMINISTRATIVE ROLE"?
| Brooke Lea Foster, a senior writer at Washingtonian magazine, reported in the November 12, 2006 issue of The Boston Globe that: "Now the university has a lot of healing to do - and so does Fernandes. She's unsure whether she'll remain at Gallaudet in a teaching or administrative role." | |
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Three Kinds of Questions for DeafRead
Why is there such emphasis today on “engaged” blogging/vlogging, on “authentic” blogging/vlogging, and “active” blogging/vlogging? Are these adjectives today’s new buzzwords for blogging and vlogging or are they old ideas that have been put into “new-and-improved” packaging? Why is Gallaudet University sponsoring a blogging/vlogging conference next February? Today we have become increasingly aware of the importance of active blogging and vlogging because passivity often results in nothing.
Here are some seminal thoughts I have for future blogging and vlogging:
1. The issues of motives for blogging/vlogging is particularly relevant in an entertainment-orientated, mass-communication culture where passivity and “spectatorship” are vulnerable. Active blogging/vlogging is the antithesis of the spectator’s passivity. Blogging/vlogging and publishing posts in DeafRead increase the inherent interest of issues, giving the readers a sense of discovery.
2. Thinking is an acquired skill founded on practice, like blogging and vlogging. How well we do it depends on how much of it we have blogged and it is never autonomous. We do not start to think about a subject: we enter into a body of thought and try to add to it. Blogging and vlogging welcome critical thinking.
3. Blogging/vlogging is one of important opportunities to develop the inquiring mind. As we go through blogs and vlogs, we should learn to react critically to what they read and to approach problems with the curiosity and the techniques to solve them.
Let us continue blogging and vlogging. Our readers can ask three kinds of questions developed by Mortimer Adler, the eminent American philosopher:
What does it say? What does it mean? Is it true?
Here are some seminal thoughts I have for future blogging and vlogging:
1. The issues of motives for blogging/vlogging is particularly relevant in an entertainment-orientated, mass-communication culture where passivity and “spectatorship” are vulnerable. Active blogging/vlogging is the antithesis of the spectator’s passivity. Blogging/vlogging and publishing posts in DeafRead increase the inherent interest of issues, giving the readers a sense of discovery.
2. Thinking is an acquired skill founded on practice, like blogging and vlogging. How well we do it depends on how much of it we have blogged and it is never autonomous. We do not start to think about a subject: we enter into a body of thought and try to add to it. Blogging and vlogging welcome critical thinking.
3. Blogging/vlogging is one of important opportunities to develop the inquiring mind. As we go through blogs and vlogs, we should learn to react critically to what they read and to approach problems with the curiosity and the techniques to solve them.
Let us continue blogging and vlogging. Our readers can ask three kinds of questions developed by Mortimer Adler, the eminent American philosopher:
What does it say? What does it mean? Is it true?
ASL DRAGON SEES NEW ORDER DRAGON ...
ASL Dragon Sees New Order Dragon
and Calls it No Dragon
I want to speak about bodies changed into new forms.
You gods, since you are the ones who alter them and
all other things, inspire my attempt, and spin out
a continuous thread of words from the world’s
first origins to my own time.
--Metamorphoses by Ovid
You gods, since you are the ones who alter them and
all other things, inspire my attempt, and spin out
a continuous thread of words from the world’s
first origins to my own time.
--Metamorphoses by Ovid
Atop Knob Hill on Kendall Green, there stands a beautiful, ancient Chapel in which ASL Dragon sees New Order Dragon.
Understand this: the birth for ASL Dragon is merely the idea that in ASL it sees from behind the eyes and the mind, and the birth for New Order Dragon is merely the idea that in New Order it doesn’t see from behind the eyes and mind mind. Have they made all the difference?
Very little seems to be the same between ASL Dragon and New Order Dragon. Even the dragon's habitat changes between the two cultures. ASL Dragon lives in a place where the language and culture of the Deaf is used. New Order Dragon is the one who is said to be able to live in a place where the modes of communication are speculated. ASL Dragon sees; New Order Dragon guesses.
Even a perfect rose does not sense that it is a rose. ASL Dragon does not sense that ASL is limited; New Order Dragon does not sense that ASL is unlimited. So ASL Dragon sees New Order Dragon and calls it no dragon.
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Gallaudet University Philosopher King or Queen
Today I decided to take my day off from blogging so I could dedicate my time to reading two major works by Plato and Arne Naess.
Plato defined a philosopher king or queen as the wisdom-loving ruler of his city state utopian Kallipolis, who “must of necessity pay attention to the seasons, the heavens, the stars, the winds, and everything proper to the craft if he is really to rule a ship” (The Republic, 487e). The next Gallaudet University president should be a person who loves wisdom to navigate the Deafhood ship.
On the other hand, deeply touched by the thought of Spinoza and Gandhi, Arne Naess, a Norwegian philosopher, coined the term "deep ecology" to express a vision of the world in which we protect the environment as a part of ourselves. These thoughts make me wonder about Gallaudet University needing a philosopher king or queen to protect ASL as a part of our intellectual life.
In 389 B.C., Plato founded Academy which is considered as the first university in Europe. It provided a comprehensive curriculum, including such subjects as astronomy, biology, mathematics, politics, and philosophy to cultivate thought to lead to a restoration of decent government in the cities of Greece. In the similar manner, in 1864, National Deaf-Mute College (Gallaudet University today) was founded with a comprehensive curriculum in science, mathematics, government, history, languages and so forth to cultivate thought to lead to a restoration of ASL and Deaf Culture in our American society.
Naess proposes that philosophy taught in colleges and universities should help students retain broad and deep perspectives. He suggests that philosophy should aid students in developing their own philosophy of life. While we need academic philosophers at Gallaudet, we also need more "old fashioned philosophers" who act from this perspective and relate their total-view perspectives to an activist personal philosophy - to every day questions of how we live and use our language and culture to influence people and politicians in the United States.
What Mike Kaika, a Gallaudet alumnus, who recently urged the Board of Trustees to find “someone skilled in American Sign Language…with a diverse background on an academic and an administrative level”, means that Gallaudet University needs to find a philosopher king or queen in its presidential search.
Plato defined a philosopher king or queen as the wisdom-loving ruler of his city state utopian Kallipolis, who “must of necessity pay attention to the seasons, the heavens, the stars, the winds, and everything proper to the craft if he is really to rule a ship” (The Republic, 487e). The next Gallaudet University president should be a person who loves wisdom to navigate the Deafhood ship.
On the other hand, deeply touched by the thought of Spinoza and Gandhi, Arne Naess, a Norwegian philosopher, coined the term "deep ecology" to express a vision of the world in which we protect the environment as a part of ourselves. These thoughts make me wonder about Gallaudet University needing a philosopher king or queen to protect ASL as a part of our intellectual life.
In 389 B.C., Plato founded Academy which is considered as the first university in Europe. It provided a comprehensive curriculum, including such subjects as astronomy, biology, mathematics, politics, and philosophy to cultivate thought to lead to a restoration of decent government in the cities of Greece. In the similar manner, in 1864, National Deaf-Mute College (Gallaudet University today) was founded with a comprehensive curriculum in science, mathematics, government, history, languages and so forth to cultivate thought to lead to a restoration of ASL and Deaf Culture in our American society.
Naess proposes that philosophy taught in colleges and universities should help students retain broad and deep perspectives. He suggests that philosophy should aid students in developing their own philosophy of life. While we need academic philosophers at Gallaudet, we also need more "old fashioned philosophers" who act from this perspective and relate their total-view perspectives to an activist personal philosophy - to every day questions of how we live and use our language and culture to influence people and politicians in the United States.
What Mike Kaika, a Gallaudet alumnus, who recently urged the Board of Trustees to find “someone skilled in American Sign Language…with a diverse background on an academic and an administrative level”, means that Gallaudet University needs to find a philosopher king or queen in its presidential search.
Friday, November 10, 2006
SCIENTIFIC ARGUMENTATION FOR TENT CITY HOTSPOTS
When I began my college career, I was a general science major—biology, chemistry and physics. I learned from my scientific mind that everything is categorized—evolution in biology, periodic table in chemistry, and equation in physics. They all share the same “hotspots” for concentric circles.
Let me cite some examples to support my “hot spots” claim. In the animal kingdom, a lioness is in heat that draws lions for mating. In chemistry, the oxygen atom attracts two hydrogen atoms to produce a water molecule. Physics indicates that a change in temperature can turn liquid into a solid or a gas. These above examples are important for this blog on Gallaudet Tent Cities.
Let’s now look at the concentric circles with Gallaudet University being in the center or the “hotspot.” In the first 500-mile radius with the estimate of 95 million populations, there were 22 Tent City hotspots. The second 500-mile radius and the estimated 81 million populations had 25 Tent City hotspots; the third with the estimate of 66 million populations had 9 Tent City hotspots; the fourth with the 68 million populations had 12 Tent City hotspots. The fifth centric circle compromises a Tent City hotspot in Alaska and Hawaii with the total of 1.2 million populations. Canada had five Tent City hotspots; Europe six Tent City hotspots; South America two Tent City hotspots. The above report is outlined in the following table.
Concentric center..............Hotspots.........Populations
Target: Gallaudet..............Tent City #1..1800
First 500-Mile Radius......22....................95 millions
Second 500-Mile Radius..25....................81 millions
Third 500-Mile Radius.....9......................66 millions
Fourth 500-Mile Radius...12....................68 millions
Fifth Radius.........................2.....................1.8 millions
Canada.................................5......................33 millions
Europe.................................6......................234 millions
South America....................2......................370 millions
Scientists and demographic studies will be able to show that the GUFSSA protests have powerful ripple effects that appear equal in the population distributions in the United States and Canada. European Tent City hotspots are a chain reaction located in northern part of the region whereas South American hotspots are located coast to coast.
* Author's note: I apologize that blogging the table is next to impossible so I colored each bundle for your analysis. The margin of error is possible that the random variation underlying the Tent City interpretation remains probable.
Let me cite some examples to support my “hot spots” claim. In the animal kingdom, a lioness is in heat that draws lions for mating. In chemistry, the oxygen atom attracts two hydrogen atoms to produce a water molecule. Physics indicates that a change in temperature can turn liquid into a solid or a gas. These above examples are important for this blog on Gallaudet Tent Cities.
Let’s now look at the concentric circles with Gallaudet University being in the center or the “hotspot.” In the first 500-mile radius with the estimate of 95 million populations, there were 22 Tent City hotspots. The second 500-mile radius and the estimated 81 million populations had 25 Tent City hotspots; the third with the estimate of 66 million populations had 9 Tent City hotspots; the fourth with the 68 million populations had 12 Tent City hotspots. The fifth centric circle compromises a Tent City hotspot in Alaska and Hawaii with the total of 1.2 million populations. Canada had five Tent City hotspots; Europe six Tent City hotspots; South America two Tent City hotspots. The above report is outlined in the following table.
Concentric center..............Hotspots.........Populations
Target: Gallaudet..............Tent City #1..1800
First 500-Mile Radius......22....................95 millions
Second 500-Mile Radius..25....................81 millions
Third 500-Mile Radius.....9......................66 millions
Fourth 500-Mile Radius...12....................68 millions
Fifth Radius.........................2.....................1.8 millions
Canada.................................5......................33 millions
Europe.................................6......................234 millions
South America....................2......................370 millions
Scientists and demographic studies will be able to show that the GUFSSA protests have powerful ripple effects that appear equal in the population distributions in the United States and Canada. European Tent City hotspots are a chain reaction located in northern part of the region whereas South American hotspots are located coast to coast.
* Author's note: I apologize that blogging the table is next to impossible so I colored each bundle for your analysis. The margin of error is possible that the random variation underlying the Tent City interpretation remains probable.
JKF's Style Still Felt in Tomorrow's BOT Meeting
Jane Fernandes’ leadership style is felt this weekend. JKF likes to meet with small groups and have these people discuss what to do to make her look qualified “on paper.”
The Board of Trustees will have a meeting for invited-only people—“tentatively five faculty members, three students, four GUAA members.”
Can we learn from another university to see how closely the Board works with the university community. Let’s look at the Arizona Board of Regents:
The Arizona Board of Regents will conduct a public hearing on Monday, November 20, 2006, from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., at sites around the state to hear testimony and comments from the public, students, and other interested individuals regarding the level of tuition and mandatory student fees to be charged for resident and non-resident students at Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University, and the University of Arizona for Academic Year 2007-2008. Comments will be heard on a first-come, first-served basis, rotating through participant sites.
No more small, invited only meetings in the future. That's JKF's leadership style. Open the BOT meeting to public so we will be heard. Gallaudet University belongs to the tax payers!
The Board of Trustees will have a meeting for invited-only people—“tentatively five faculty members, three students, four GUAA members.”
Can we learn from another university to see how closely the Board works with the university community. Let’s look at the Arizona Board of Regents:
The Arizona Board of Regents will conduct a public hearing on Monday, November 20, 2006, from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., at sites around the state to hear testimony and comments from the public, students, and other interested individuals regarding the level of tuition and mandatory student fees to be charged for resident and non-resident students at Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University, and the University of Arizona for Academic Year 2007-2008. Comments will be heard on a first-come, first-served basis, rotating through participant sites.
No more small, invited only meetings in the future. That's JKF's leadership style. Open the BOT meeting to public so we will be heard. Gallaudet University belongs to the tax payers!
WHO WILL SLAY ASL DRAGON?
Deep in the lair behind our eyes and our mind, ASL Dragon sees dreams of others—Deaf but lost people. They are now making a new plan to conquer the Deaf world under their new banner—the New Order of Deaf People—a secret society established with intention of slaying ASL Dragon.
This New Order of Deaf People banner is ASL Dragon’s first warning. We must therefore heed it by becoming ASL Dragon warriors. For many generations to come we will grow in size, strength, political clout, reputation, but most of all in wealth. We will find funds and sponsors for our language and culture, American Sign Language.
Now we must do ASL Dragon important services by going out in the field to study and report back with all descriptions of strategies and secret rituals in these New Order of Deaf People activities. ASL Dragon counts on your action and reports about this first warning.
Write about your action and report it to ASLDragon@gmail.com immediately.
This New Order of Deaf People banner is ASL Dragon’s first warning. We must therefore heed it by becoming ASL Dragon warriors. For many generations to come we will grow in size, strength, political clout, reputation, but most of all in wealth. We will find funds and sponsors for our language and culture, American Sign Language.
Now we must do ASL Dragon important services by going out in the field to study and report back with all descriptions of strategies and secret rituals in these New Order of Deaf People activities. ASL Dragon counts on your action and reports about this first warning.
Write about your action and report it to ASLDragon@gmail.com immediately.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
A Letter to Patti Kunkle: You May Filter This Out
Date: Thu 09 Nov 2006 06:57:40 PM EST
From: Carl kal1952@myway.com
To: Patti Kunkle patti.kunkle@gallaudet.edu
Cc: IKJ president@gallaudet.edu
Subject: You May Filter This Out
Aloha Ms. Kunkle,
You may filter this letter out because it is about insulting Deaf people and witty put-downs of their language and culture, ASL, that Ken Levinson, a member of the Board of Trustees, continues to practice.
You may also filter this following section out: “Section 2.2.10 Removal. The Board, by vote of a majority of all Voting Trustees then in office, is authorized to remove any Trustee (except the Public Members) who may refuse or neglect to discharge the duties of a Trustee, or whose removal, in the judgment of said majority, is in the interest and welfare of the University. Notice of any proposed removal shall be provided to all Board members at least ten days in advance of such vote.” The Board of Trustees needs not realize that they can kick Ken Levinson out of business for good of Gallaudet University.
You may now filter the following argument out: Our Deaf mind cannot fathom how Gallaudet University makes our dreams come true. And just like Deaf students struggling to learn but getting nowhere without ASL, Ken Levinson thrashes to fulfill his own desires, never realizing that his effort is the problem, not the solution. His own insecurity is the motive for attacking Deaf people and their language and culture, ASL.
You may definitely filter this out because I don’t think Ken Levinson’s remarks are separated from President Jordan at all.
Thank you for filtering this out.
With aloha, Carl Schroeder
From: Carl kal1952@myway.com
To: Patti Kunkle patti.kunkle@gallaudet.edu
Cc: IKJ president@gallaudet.edu
Subject: You May Filter This Out
Aloha Ms. Kunkle,
You may filter this letter out because it is about insulting Deaf people and witty put-downs of their language and culture, ASL, that Ken Levinson, a member of the Board of Trustees, continues to practice.
You may also filter this following section out: “Section 2.2.10 Removal. The Board, by vote of a majority of all Voting Trustees then in office, is authorized to remove any Trustee (except the Public Members) who may refuse or neglect to discharge the duties of a Trustee, or whose removal, in the judgment of said majority, is in the interest and welfare of the University. Notice of any proposed removal shall be provided to all Board members at least ten days in advance of such vote.” The Board of Trustees needs not realize that they can kick Ken Levinson out of business for good of Gallaudet University.
You may now filter the following argument out: Our Deaf mind cannot fathom how Gallaudet University makes our dreams come true. And just like Deaf students struggling to learn but getting nowhere without ASL, Ken Levinson thrashes to fulfill his own desires, never realizing that his effort is the problem, not the solution. His own insecurity is the motive for attacking Deaf people and their language and culture, ASL.
You may definitely filter this out because I don’t think Ken Levinson’s remarks are separated from President Jordan at all.
Thank you for filtering this out.
With aloha, Carl Schroeder
TELL A STORY ABOUT ASL DRAGON
The best you can do for Deafhood is to tell a story about ASL Dragon.
People want to know why I am so interested in ASL Dragon. My answer is this: in all languages and cultures there exist dragons. What is a dragon? Not a creature who can simply breathe fire but a creature that can cause transformation.
ASL Dragon can turn fear to fun, frustration to fulfillment.
ASL Dragon can see everything behind our eyes and our mind.
ASL Dragon can carry you beyond limitations into the boundless.
When I was growing up, I knew all this was true. Sometimes Deaf friends came to our house, and even to a wide-eye boy, they appeared to be very special people. They told us stories; they emanated joy and love. It took me a long time to realize that their stories were the same thing—ASL Dragon.
I’ve read many stories about dragons and thought a lot about ASL Dragon. The Deaf world is ASL Dragon’s world. Once we find ASL Dragon within, the teaching goes on by itself. For many years my education continues to happen because ASL Dragon exists in me … behind my eyes and behind my mind.
Imagine yourself walking a road till you reach the bend. You couldn’t wait to see what lay around it. All the action and desire of a world that you’ll never know will become something you’ll have to be part of. The very image of ASL Dragon within you is ready to be born … behind your eyes and behind your mind.
Tell a story about ASL Dragon.
People want to know why I am so interested in ASL Dragon. My answer is this: in all languages and cultures there exist dragons. What is a dragon? Not a creature who can simply breathe fire but a creature that can cause transformation.
ASL Dragon can turn fear to fun, frustration to fulfillment.
ASL Dragon can see everything behind our eyes and our mind.
ASL Dragon can carry you beyond limitations into the boundless.
When I was growing up, I knew all this was true. Sometimes Deaf friends came to our house, and even to a wide-eye boy, they appeared to be very special people. They told us stories; they emanated joy and love. It took me a long time to realize that their stories were the same thing—ASL Dragon.
I’ve read many stories about dragons and thought a lot about ASL Dragon. The Deaf world is ASL Dragon’s world. Once we find ASL Dragon within, the teaching goes on by itself. For many years my education continues to happen because ASL Dragon exists in me … behind my eyes and behind my mind.
Imagine yourself walking a road till you reach the bend. You couldn’t wait to see what lay around it. All the action and desire of a world that you’ll never know will become something you’ll have to be part of. The very image of ASL Dragon within you is ready to be born … behind your eyes and behind your mind.
Tell a story about ASL Dragon.
JKF is JKF, Stupid
We must bear in mind; the Gallaudet University PR had recently unleashed a series of stupid statements, stupider each time, and helped create what would become the stupidest moment in history of all the Deaf.
At first, the statement by then president designate JKF that “deaf children need to learn all languages and modes of communication” sounds trivial, vague and horribly ungenerous. Closer scrutiny has however revealed its realistic veracity. No matter how high are our estimates of her stupidity, we are repeatedly and recurrently startled by the facts that: (1) How JKF got tenure is still not clear, and (2) How JKF was once judged qualified and intelligent turned out to be unashamedly stupid.
While we know JKF’s journey at Gallaudet University first taking the helm of two demonstration schools—Kendall Demonstration Elementary School and Model Secondary School for the Deaf—with federal mandates for dissemination and distribution of the state of the art in Deaf Education for duplication. There was, of course, nothing new about JKF being a Teflon leader. If anything, her educational leadership was untouchable, and it actually reinstated an old practice of stupidity by incorporating these two schools into the Laurent Clerc National Center—the change meant to clear the way for an oppressive authority with many loose ends and missing links of what we get so far as Deaf Education leadership is concerned.
Some observers are speculating about a number of very curious situations that had been occurring behind the JKF’s leadership scenes in the office of provost at Gallaudet University. She was bad news. The Washington Post staff writers Mary Pat Flaherty and Susan Kinzie reported that the Gallaudet University Board of Trustees is fully aware of a difficult disparity between “students with very low academic skills” and “the school's honors program.” There were grade changes. What could we learn from this stupid leadership? Easy! Every time JKF was caught acting stupid, the administration thought up of excuses to spin bad news, in the words of Faculty vice chair Lois Bragg, "trying to hide from the public…” Try to explain about JKF’s scholarly work for her tenure award. Was she not stupid enough?
All in all, it didn't make me look at Gallaudet University any differently because JKF is JKF, stupid.
At first, the statement by then president designate JKF that “deaf children need to learn all languages and modes of communication” sounds trivial, vague and horribly ungenerous. Closer scrutiny has however revealed its realistic veracity. No matter how high are our estimates of her stupidity, we are repeatedly and recurrently startled by the facts that: (1) How JKF got tenure is still not clear, and (2) How JKF was once judged qualified and intelligent turned out to be unashamedly stupid.
While we know JKF’s journey at Gallaudet University first taking the helm of two demonstration schools—Kendall Demonstration Elementary School and Model Secondary School for the Deaf—with federal mandates for dissemination and distribution of the state of the art in Deaf Education for duplication. There was, of course, nothing new about JKF being a Teflon leader. If anything, her educational leadership was untouchable, and it actually reinstated an old practice of stupidity by incorporating these two schools into the Laurent Clerc National Center—the change meant to clear the way for an oppressive authority with many loose ends and missing links of what we get so far as Deaf Education leadership is concerned.
Some observers are speculating about a number of very curious situations that had been occurring behind the JKF’s leadership scenes in the office of provost at Gallaudet University. She was bad news. The Washington Post staff writers Mary Pat Flaherty and Susan Kinzie reported that the Gallaudet University Board of Trustees is fully aware of a difficult disparity between “students with very low academic skills” and “the school's honors program.” There were grade changes. What could we learn from this stupid leadership? Easy! Every time JKF was caught acting stupid, the administration thought up of excuses to spin bad news, in the words of Faculty vice chair Lois Bragg, "trying to hide from the public…” Try to explain about JKF’s scholarly work for her tenure award. Was she not stupid enough?
All in all, it didn't make me look at Gallaudet University any differently because JKF is JKF, stupid.
CARL DUPREE AND I
16 years ago, I was babysitting for Madeline Hlibok so she and my daughter Vivienne could play together in the afternoon. I received two phone calls from Gallaudet University, first from Thelma informing me that Bernie Holt and Paul Kelly were attempting to contact me and, second from the Campus Security Office, requesting that I come to Gallaudet University as soon as possible. The first call alerted me that Carl DuPree was probably dead, but the second call never did. The rest became history which remains sad in my life.
I first met Carl Dupree in Rochester, New York a few years before. I was there for a visit and I had a lunch with some professors in cafeteria in the school of NTID. After lunch, Carl came to me and asked about nature of my campus visitation. We learned that we knew a little about our families for the first time. Carl’s aunt Kitty Allen and her husband Jack, both Deaf, sponsored my family’s immigration to the United States from The Netherlands. Although we had heard a little about each other, we never had the opportunity to meet before. It was very nice and cordial.
About one year later, Carl and his family moved to the DC area so that he and his wife could enroll in Gallaudet University. Two of their children went to Kendall Demonstration Elementary School, too. During Carl’s second semester at Gallaudet University he signed up for a course in the English Language program, and the program coordinator assigned him to me, and I got to know his work this way.
Carl was always lively in class discussion. His strength was always outstanding, and he struggled in understanding how to translate and transfer his vast knowledge into a written form of English which is very controlling and limiting. It was his big challenge. Carl was also concerned about how Deaf people acquire college level English if communication within the English Department was not clear, full and honest.
Carl DuPree and I had numerous in-depth discussions in my office, and he invited my family to meet his family. I once brought a hearing colleague of mine from the Department to meet his family so that we could discuss his concerns for not only Gallaudet University students, but also the validity of the English placement test that my colleague had brought up. Carl was always concerned about how to help Deaf student succeed at Gallaudet.
Carl DuPree’s death came to me as a huge shock. My mother who is a volunteer in the office of Gallaudet University Alumni Relations saw my initial reaction when I received the first phone call from Gallaudet about Carl’s passing. She was shocked, too. I was very sorry. I was sorry for everybody involved.
Several months after Carl’s death, Stephen Hardy, then SBG President, arranged for Carl’s wife Alva and me to meet in secrecy. We met face to face, and we talked about Carl. She explained how the hospital denied her right to her husband, which was awful. It was tearful. We hugged and parted. We missed Carl DuPree. We are still sad.
I first met Carl Dupree in Rochester, New York a few years before. I was there for a visit and I had a lunch with some professors in cafeteria in the school of NTID. After lunch, Carl came to me and asked about nature of my campus visitation. We learned that we knew a little about our families for the first time. Carl’s aunt Kitty Allen and her husband Jack, both Deaf, sponsored my family’s immigration to the United States from The Netherlands. Although we had heard a little about each other, we never had the opportunity to meet before. It was very nice and cordial.
About one year later, Carl and his family moved to the DC area so that he and his wife could enroll in Gallaudet University. Two of their children went to Kendall Demonstration Elementary School, too. During Carl’s second semester at Gallaudet University he signed up for a course in the English Language program, and the program coordinator assigned him to me, and I got to know his work this way.
Carl was always lively in class discussion. His strength was always outstanding, and he struggled in understanding how to translate and transfer his vast knowledge into a written form of English which is very controlling and limiting. It was his big challenge. Carl was also concerned about how Deaf people acquire college level English if communication within the English Department was not clear, full and honest.
Carl DuPree and I had numerous in-depth discussions in my office, and he invited my family to meet his family. I once brought a hearing colleague of mine from the Department to meet his family so that we could discuss his concerns for not only Gallaudet University students, but also the validity of the English placement test that my colleague had brought up. Carl was always concerned about how to help Deaf student succeed at Gallaudet.
Carl DuPree’s death came to me as a huge shock. My mother who is a volunteer in the office of Gallaudet University Alumni Relations saw my initial reaction when I received the first phone call from Gallaudet about Carl’s passing. She was shocked, too. I was very sorry. I was sorry for everybody involved.
Several months after Carl’s death, Stephen Hardy, then SBG President, arranged for Carl’s wife Alva and me to meet in secrecy. We met face to face, and we talked about Carl. She explained how the hospital denied her right to her husband, which was awful. It was tearful. We hugged and parted. We missed Carl DuPree. We are still sad.
O' Say! Can You Read ... I Tried!
HOW JANE FERNANDES GOT TENURE
Clarification and Full Report of the Process by which Dr. Jane Fernandes was Awarded TenureThere has been much written, commented and speculated about the process by which Dr. Jane Fernandes was awarded tenure in the ASL and Deaf Studies Department. Many people have questioned whether the process followed all the steps described in the University Faculty Guidelines for awarding tenure and whether Dr. Fernandes was properly awarded tenure.
The explanation below, prepared by Dr. Karen Kimmel, dean of the College of Liberal Arts, Sciences, and Technologies, reports the specific history of the steps taken in the award of tenure to Dr. Fernandes.
It is noteworthy that, contrary to statements he had made previously, Dr. James Nickerson wrote a memorandum to President I. King Jordan confirming that he had signed the A-5 form, certifying her eligibility for tenure under the Faculty Guidelines.
History of the ASL and Deaf Studies Department's Request for Appointment and Tenure for Dr. Jane K. FernandesPrepared by Dr. Karen Kimmel, Dean, College of Liberal Arts, Sciences, and Technologies, June 2, 2006.
In November 2004, chair of the ASL and Deaf Studies Department, Dr. MJ Bienvenu informed the dean of CLAST, Dr. Karen Kimmel, that the department members unanimously decided to request that Dr. Jane Fernandes be appointed to full professorship and receive tenure in the ASL and Deaf Studies Department because of her expertise, scholarship, and many contributions to the field of ASL and Deaf Studies. When queried by the dean, Dr. Bienvenu stated that this request was initiated by the department. Dr. Fernandes had been asked if she were interested after the department members discussed the concept. She stated that Dr. Fernandes did not initiate this request.
The dean contacted Committee A (Committee on Faculty Welfare) chair, Dr. James Nickerson, to alert him to the request. The dean asked him to review the documents. He stated that there should be no problem with the request.
In February 2005, Dr. Nickerson reviewed all applications for tenure, appointment and promotion. He signed the ASL and Deaf Studies Department's request for Dr. Fernandes' appointment to full professor (the A-1 form) and the Department's request for tenure (the A-5 form).
The requests for promotion, tenure, and appointments are sent to the dean's administrative assistant and reviewed for completion by a member of Committee A. Dr. James Nickerson, chair of Committee A, reviewed and signed the requests. The dean had pulled the Fernandes file to determine if she held degrees and had experiences that fit with the department's allied fields. The dean noted that Dr. Fernandes has served as chair and faculty member of the Sign Communication Department (formerly the ASL Department and now the ASL and Deaf Studies Department) in 1987 and had taught ASL at Northeastern University in Boston, Mass. and in Hawaii. Her degrees in French and comparative literature fit within the department's allied fields as other members hold degrees in English and English literature. The knowledge of second languages, literatures and cultures was considered to be an important aspect of Dr. Fernandes' potential membership in the Department. (Not thinking of the next step, the dean then filed this request folder in her file cabinet.)
The administrative assistant prepared the documents for the Promotion and Tenure Advisory Committee review (note that Fernandes' file is in the dean's filing cabinet).
In March, the CLAST Promotion and Tenure Advisory Committee met to review and make recommendations regarding promotion, tenure, and appointment requests for CLAST faculty. The dean filed their recommendations in her filing cabinet and noticed that she had left the original request for appointment and tenure for Fernandes in her file and had not given them to the administrative assistant. The dean contacted each member of the Promotion and Tenure Advisory Board during spring break to ask them to review a request from the ASL and Deaf Studies Department for appointment and tenure for Dr. Jane Fernandes. Eight members of the nine-member CLAST Promotion and Tenure Advisory Committee reviewed Dr. Fernandes' portfolio individually. (One member was on travel during spring break and was unable to review the portfolio.)
Based on the request of the ASL and Deaf Studies Department and the recommendations of the CLAST Promotion and Tenure Advisory Committee, and the contents of the Fernandes portfolio, the dean recommended Dr. Jane Fernandes for appointment and tenure in the Department of ASL and Deaf Studies.
The dean sent all recommendations for promotion, appointment, and tenure to Provost Jane Fernandes' office for her decisions with the exception, of course, of documents related to her appointment and tenure.
The recommendation for appointment and tenure for Dr. Jane Fernandes were sent directly to President Jordan's office.
In May 2005, recommendations for appointment and tenure were approved by the Board of Trustees including that of Dr. Jane Fernandes.
During the summer 2005, Faculty Chair, Mark Weinberg stated that he did not know that Dr. Fernandes had been recommended for appointment and tenure. He questioned the dean, the ASL and Deaf Studies chair, and the chair of Committee A about the process by which Dr. Fernandes was awarded appointment and tenure to the ASL and Deaf Studies Department. The above information was presented to the chair of the Faculty Senate. Weinberg's suspicions were raised when he reviewed the Fernandes documents and did not find a signed A-5 form (Request for Tenure).
The dean stated that she must have lost the A-5 form, but that both the A-1 and the A-5 had been signed. The chair of the ASL and Deaf Studies Department concurred. The chair of Committee A did not recall signing the A-5 form. Despite verification by the chair of ASL and Deaf Studies, the dean of CLAST, and proof that the members of the CLAST Promotion and Tenure Advisory Committee reviewed the request, there remained skepticism about the process. The appointment and request for tenure of Jane Fernandes were followed according to the Faculty Guidelines, but the lost document (and the lack of recollection of the Chair of Committee A) raised concerns and suspicion about the process.
The dean of CLAST has taken full responsibility for the lost A-5 document.
In May 2006, the CLAST dean was cleaning her file cabinet and noticed a plastic file folder lying on the bottom of the file cabinet. The folder was labeled "Request for Appointment and Tenure-Fernandes." The contents of the folder were the original A-1 Appointment form and A-5 Tenure form with the signatures of Dr. MJ Bienvenu, Dr. James Nickerson, and Dr. Karen Kimmel. The dean immediately alerted the President's Office of the finding. She also sent an email to Dr. MJ Bienvenu and Dr. James Nickerson. After Dr. Nickerson confirmed that he had received the dean's email, the dean sent an email to Faculty Chair Weinberg, Vice Chair Lois Bragg, Secretary Tom Baldridge and members of the Faculty Officers Advisory Committee: Dr. Jane Dillehay, Dr. Janet Pray, Dr. Emilia Chukwuma, Dr. Patrick Brice, Dr. William Marshall, Dr. Michael Moore, Dr. Cristina Berdichevsky, and Dr. Tammy Weiner. The dean also copied Dr. Nickerson, Dr. Bienvenu, and Dr. Fernandes on this email. She sent a copy to the president as well. The email sent on May 25, 2006 can be seen in the accompanying PDF.
On May 26, 2006, Dr. James Nickerson met with Dean Karen Kimmel. Dr. Nickerson viewed the documents and verified that he signed both forms. He said that he did not remember signing the A-5 form. He apologized through email and in person for the error. He said that any inconsistencies were his responsibility. Dean Kimmel accepts the responsibility for losing the original documents. Dr. Nickerson stated that he would write a letter to the Board of Trustees and the president explaining the situation. The dean asked him to send this information directly to Ms. Patti Kunkle, Executive Assistant to the President and Board of Trustees liaison.
On May 26, 2006, copies were made of the original A-1 and A-5 forms, Dr. Fernandes' CV and the summary sheet. The originals were delivered to President I. King Jordan. Copies were sent to Dr. Fernandes, Dr. Nickerson, Dr. Bienvenu, Mr. Weinberg, Dr. Bragg, Mr. Baldridge, and the members of the Officers' Advisory Council.
Clarification and Full Report of the Process by which Dr. Jane Fernandes was Awarded TenureThere has been much written, commented and speculated about the process by which Dr. Jane Fernandes was awarded tenure in the ASL and Deaf Studies Department. Many people have questioned whether the process followed all the steps described in the University Faculty Guidelines for awarding tenure and whether Dr. Fernandes was properly awarded tenure.
The explanation below, prepared by Dr. Karen Kimmel, dean of the College of Liberal Arts, Sciences, and Technologies, reports the specific history of the steps taken in the award of tenure to Dr. Fernandes.
It is noteworthy that, contrary to statements he had made previously, Dr. James Nickerson wrote a memorandum to President I. King Jordan confirming that he had signed the A-5 form, certifying her eligibility for tenure under the Faculty Guidelines.
History of the ASL and Deaf Studies Department's Request for Appointment and Tenure for Dr. Jane K. FernandesPrepared by Dr. Karen Kimmel, Dean, College of Liberal Arts, Sciences, and Technologies, June 2, 2006.
In November 2004, chair of the ASL and Deaf Studies Department, Dr. MJ Bienvenu informed the dean of CLAST, Dr. Karen Kimmel, that the department members unanimously decided to request that Dr. Jane Fernandes be appointed to full professorship and receive tenure in the ASL and Deaf Studies Department because of her expertise, scholarship, and many contributions to the field of ASL and Deaf Studies. When queried by the dean, Dr. Bienvenu stated that this request was initiated by the department. Dr. Fernandes had been asked if she were interested after the department members discussed the concept. She stated that Dr. Fernandes did not initiate this request.
The dean contacted Committee A (Committee on Faculty Welfare) chair, Dr. James Nickerson, to alert him to the request. The dean asked him to review the documents. He stated that there should be no problem with the request.
In February 2005, Dr. Nickerson reviewed all applications for tenure, appointment and promotion. He signed the ASL and Deaf Studies Department's request for Dr. Fernandes' appointment to full professor (the A-1 form) and the Department's request for tenure (the A-5 form).
The requests for promotion, tenure, and appointments are sent to the dean's administrative assistant and reviewed for completion by a member of Committee A. Dr. James Nickerson, chair of Committee A, reviewed and signed the requests. The dean had pulled the Fernandes file to determine if she held degrees and had experiences that fit with the department's allied fields. The dean noted that Dr. Fernandes has served as chair and faculty member of the Sign Communication Department (formerly the ASL Department and now the ASL and Deaf Studies Department) in 1987 and had taught ASL at Northeastern University in Boston, Mass. and in Hawaii. Her degrees in French and comparative literature fit within the department's allied fields as other members hold degrees in English and English literature. The knowledge of second languages, literatures and cultures was considered to be an important aspect of Dr. Fernandes' potential membership in the Department. (Not thinking of the next step, the dean then filed this request folder in her file cabinet.)
The administrative assistant prepared the documents for the Promotion and Tenure Advisory Committee review (note that Fernandes' file is in the dean's filing cabinet).
In March, the CLAST Promotion and Tenure Advisory Committee met to review and make recommendations regarding promotion, tenure, and appointment requests for CLAST faculty. The dean filed their recommendations in her filing cabinet and noticed that she had left the original request for appointment and tenure for Fernandes in her file and had not given them to the administrative assistant. The dean contacted each member of the Promotion and Tenure Advisory Board during spring break to ask them to review a request from the ASL and Deaf Studies Department for appointment and tenure for Dr. Jane Fernandes. Eight members of the nine-member CLAST Promotion and Tenure Advisory Committee reviewed Dr. Fernandes' portfolio individually. (One member was on travel during spring break and was unable to review the portfolio.)
Based on the request of the ASL and Deaf Studies Department and the recommendations of the CLAST Promotion and Tenure Advisory Committee, and the contents of the Fernandes portfolio, the dean recommended Dr. Jane Fernandes for appointment and tenure in the Department of ASL and Deaf Studies.
The dean sent all recommendations for promotion, appointment, and tenure to Provost Jane Fernandes' office for her decisions with the exception, of course, of documents related to her appointment and tenure.
The recommendation for appointment and tenure for Dr. Jane Fernandes were sent directly to President Jordan's office.
In May 2005, recommendations for appointment and tenure were approved by the Board of Trustees including that of Dr. Jane Fernandes.
During the summer 2005, Faculty Chair, Mark Weinberg stated that he did not know that Dr. Fernandes had been recommended for appointment and tenure. He questioned the dean, the ASL and Deaf Studies chair, and the chair of Committee A about the process by which Dr. Fernandes was awarded appointment and tenure to the ASL and Deaf Studies Department. The above information was presented to the chair of the Faculty Senate. Weinberg's suspicions were raised when he reviewed the Fernandes documents and did not find a signed A-5 form (Request for Tenure).
The dean stated that she must have lost the A-5 form, but that both the A-1 and the A-5 had been signed. The chair of the ASL and Deaf Studies Department concurred. The chair of Committee A did not recall signing the A-5 form. Despite verification by the chair of ASL and Deaf Studies, the dean of CLAST, and proof that the members of the CLAST Promotion and Tenure Advisory Committee reviewed the request, there remained skepticism about the process. The appointment and request for tenure of Jane Fernandes were followed according to the Faculty Guidelines, but the lost document (and the lack of recollection of the Chair of Committee A) raised concerns and suspicion about the process.
The dean of CLAST has taken full responsibility for the lost A-5 document.
In May 2006, the CLAST dean was cleaning her file cabinet and noticed a plastic file folder lying on the bottom of the file cabinet. The folder was labeled "Request for Appointment and Tenure-Fernandes." The contents of the folder were the original A-1 Appointment form and A-5 Tenure form with the signatures of Dr. MJ Bienvenu, Dr. James Nickerson, and Dr. Karen Kimmel. The dean immediately alerted the President's Office of the finding. She also sent an email to Dr. MJ Bienvenu and Dr. James Nickerson. After Dr. Nickerson confirmed that he had received the dean's email, the dean sent an email to Faculty Chair Weinberg, Vice Chair Lois Bragg, Secretary Tom Baldridge and members of the Faculty Officers Advisory Committee: Dr. Jane Dillehay, Dr. Janet Pray, Dr. Emilia Chukwuma, Dr. Patrick Brice, Dr. William Marshall, Dr. Michael Moore, Dr. Cristina Berdichevsky, and Dr. Tammy Weiner. The dean also copied Dr. Nickerson, Dr. Bienvenu, and Dr. Fernandes on this email. She sent a copy to the president as well. The email sent on May 25, 2006 can be seen in the accompanying PDF.
On May 26, 2006, Dr. James Nickerson met with Dean Karen Kimmel. Dr. Nickerson viewed the documents and verified that he signed both forms. He said that he did not remember signing the A-5 form. He apologized through email and in person for the error. He said that any inconsistencies were his responsibility. Dean Kimmel accepts the responsibility for losing the original documents. Dr. Nickerson stated that he would write a letter to the Board of Trustees and the president explaining the situation. The dean asked him to send this information directly to Ms. Patti Kunkle, Executive Assistant to the President and Board of Trustees liaison.
On May 26, 2006, copies were made of the original A-1 and A-5 forms, Dr. Fernandes' CV and the summary sheet. The originals were delivered to President I. King Jordan. Copies were sent to Dr. Fernandes, Dr. Nickerson, Dr. Bienvenu, Mr. Weinberg, Dr. Bragg, Mr. Baldridge, and the members of the Officers' Advisory Council.
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
ASL Dragon's Boredom: The Philosophy of Deafhood
Our time needs ASL Dragon more than ever because it will lead us into the world of intellectual freedom and language miracles.
ASL Dragon presents philosophy that helps us transcend ordinary reality by creating a shift in perception that opens the mind to the value of language transformation in everyday Deaf life. This transformation is the real way we the Deaf think about our quest to personify ASL Dragon for our wisdom self.
ASL Dragon is the art of transforming self imposed limitations of ASL, our language and culture, into mastery of intellectual life for achieving the highest fulfillment in life.
If we sit quietly and observe our mind, we will see that it is full of mixed signals. We are so caught up in playing roles—faculty, staff, students and alumni—that we haven’t found time to find out who we truly are. ASL Dragon awakens our mind and turns us toward a more rewarding journey into the realm of the Deafhood.
As we grow in wisdom and experience from the GUFSSA protest, new qualities unfold within ourselves that help us create the intellectual life we pursue. The purpose of higher learning is to find ASL Dragon within. Having found ASL Dragon, we’ve found American Sign Language, and it is within ourselves.
ASL Dragon presents philosophy that helps us transcend ordinary reality by creating a shift in perception that opens the mind to the value of language transformation in everyday Deaf life. This transformation is the real way we the Deaf think about our quest to personify ASL Dragon for our wisdom self.
ASL Dragon is the art of transforming self imposed limitations of ASL, our language and culture, into mastery of intellectual life for achieving the highest fulfillment in life.
If we sit quietly and observe our mind, we will see that it is full of mixed signals. We are so caught up in playing roles—faculty, staff, students and alumni—that we haven’t found time to find out who we truly are. ASL Dragon awakens our mind and turns us toward a more rewarding journey into the realm of the Deafhood.
As we grow in wisdom and experience from the GUFSSA protest, new qualities unfold within ourselves that help us create the intellectual life we pursue. The purpose of higher learning is to find ASL Dragon within. Having found ASL Dragon, we’ve found American Sign Language, and it is within ourselves.
ASL Dragon's Joy
ASL Dragon has the strange habit of seeming to enjoy the occasional mishaps that befalls the Deaf. If we come home with cuts and bruises from battling outside language, ASL Dragon would think “GOOD.” One time in the darkest night of Friday the Thirteenth, 135 people were arrested for Deaf causes. “WELL DONE,” ASL Dragon waved its claws.
How can ASL Dragon be happy when Deaf people are hurt? Happy? What am I talking and blogging about? ASL Dragon doesn’t think we notice, but whenever something bad happens to us, it seems pleased. Well, ASL Dragon wasn’t rejoicing at our misfortune. It was rejoicing our experiences. If we only knew it, these oppressive incidents could have been much worse. No, ASL Dragon does not save us from mishaps; we saved ourselves, or at lease we are learning to.
What ASL Dragon implies is that these mishaps are like an echo. If the oppression happened in the past 18 years, the echo waited until a right time to come back. Then how are we learning to prevent these delayed reactions, if we’ve already forgotten them?
ASL Dragon is silent … behind our eyes and behind our mind. We know we must always be more alert. Actions return to us over and over from different directions. So many kinds of cause and effect are working all around us and against us that we must be very alert to see them. Nothing is random in the Deaf world. Our past actions are not returning to punish us but to catch our attention. They are like clues.
Clues to what? To have clues we must have ASL Dragon. I do not wish to indulge in paradoxes just because I like to. If ASL Dragon is showering clues all around us, how can we be spotted? First, we must be willing to acknowledge ASL Dragon. It’s invisible…behind our eyes and behind our mind. Secondly, we must be willing to see these clues. They appear in many forms. If we try to apply the kind of logic that says A causes B, which causes C, the explanation will not work because these coincidences are too personal.
We can’t decipher the hidden meaning, however, until we ask for it to be revealed. We must not expect ASL Dragon to write a book and have it read to us. ASL is creative, and so is ASL Dragon. Just as each fall, each clue is meant for us to reach higher level of awareness. When we fall or get hurt, be grateful that ASL Dragon is out of sight, just behind our eyes and our mind.
Respect ASL Dragon’s joy.
How can ASL Dragon be happy when Deaf people are hurt? Happy? What am I talking and blogging about? ASL Dragon doesn’t think we notice, but whenever something bad happens to us, it seems pleased. Well, ASL Dragon wasn’t rejoicing at our misfortune. It was rejoicing our experiences. If we only knew it, these oppressive incidents could have been much worse. No, ASL Dragon does not save us from mishaps; we saved ourselves, or at lease we are learning to.
What ASL Dragon implies is that these mishaps are like an echo. If the oppression happened in the past 18 years, the echo waited until a right time to come back. Then how are we learning to prevent these delayed reactions, if we’ve already forgotten them?
ASL Dragon is silent … behind our eyes and behind our mind. We know we must always be more alert. Actions return to us over and over from different directions. So many kinds of cause and effect are working all around us and against us that we must be very alert to see them. Nothing is random in the Deaf world. Our past actions are not returning to punish us but to catch our attention. They are like clues.
Clues to what? To have clues we must have ASL Dragon. I do not wish to indulge in paradoxes just because I like to. If ASL Dragon is showering clues all around us, how can we be spotted? First, we must be willing to acknowledge ASL Dragon. It’s invisible…behind our eyes and behind our mind. Secondly, we must be willing to see these clues. They appear in many forms. If we try to apply the kind of logic that says A causes B, which causes C, the explanation will not work because these coincidences are too personal.
We can’t decipher the hidden meaning, however, until we ask for it to be revealed. We must not expect ASL Dragon to write a book and have it read to us. ASL is creative, and so is ASL Dragon. Just as each fall, each clue is meant for us to reach higher level of awareness. When we fall or get hurt, be grateful that ASL Dragon is out of sight, just behind our eyes and our mind.
Respect ASL Dragon’s joy.
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
There are many important items in www.9thprez.com that are important to our Deaf history. They are all gone*!
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
* How JKF's tenure award was embezzled.
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
WHERE IS www.9thprez.com?
* How JKF's tenure award was embezzled.
KNOW A-S-L THAT BEST
KNOW GALLAUDET STRIKE THERE
TRUE BUSINESS THERE STRIKE THERE
WHY FED-UP THERE SAME-SAME
YEAR-YEAR EVERYDAY-EVERYDAY
DEAF THERE NOTHING THERE
DEAF THERE EASY OPPRESS THERE
KNOW GALLAUDET BEST THERE
WHAT KNOW A-S-L THAT BEST THERE
A-S-L THERE EASY OPPRESS THERE
CULTURE THERE OPPRESS THERE
KNOW GALLAUDET GOAL THERE
NOT RIGHT THERE WRONG THERE
KNOW GALLAUDET THERE WE LOOK-AT THERE
DISGUST THERE GALLAUDET THAT THERE
TIME NOW CLEAN-UP THERE
STOP DEAF THERE OPPRESS THERE
STOP A-S-L THERE OPPRESS THERE
STOP CULTURE THERE OPPRESS THERE
A-S-L THERE GROW THERE
CULTURE THERE GROW THERE
DEAF THERE GROW THERE
KNOW GALLAUDET STRIKE THERE
TRUE BUSINESS THERE STRIKE THERE
DEAF THERE TRUE BUSINESS THERE
TRUE BUSINESS THERE STRIKE THERE
WHY FED-UP THERE SAME-SAME
YEAR-YEAR EVERYDAY-EVERYDAY
DEAF THERE NOTHING THERE
DEAF THERE EASY OPPRESS THERE
KNOW GALLAUDET BEST THERE
WHAT KNOW A-S-L THAT BEST THERE
A-S-L THERE EASY OPPRESS THERE
CULTURE THERE OPPRESS THERE
KNOW GALLAUDET GOAL THERE
NOT RIGHT THERE WRONG THERE
KNOW GALLAUDET THERE WE LOOK-AT THERE
DISGUST THERE GALLAUDET THAT THERE
TIME NOW CLEAN-UP THERE
STOP DEAF THERE OPPRESS THERE
STOP A-S-L THERE OPPRESS THERE
STOP CULTURE THERE OPPRESS THERE
A-S-L THERE GROW THERE
CULTURE THERE GROW THERE
DEAF THERE GROW THERE
KNOW GALLAUDET STRIKE THERE
TRUE BUSINESS THERE STRIKE THERE
DEAF THERE TRUE BUSINESS THERE
Gallaudet's Love--A Force of Nature: A Letter
Aloha M,
Yes, I do remember you, and I hope you remember that we first met in Alabama back in mid-1970s when I worked at Georgia School for the Deaf in Cave Spring. Yes, it was many years ... I also remember you teaching art at KDES, and you were good. I only regret that you were denied your talent that Deaf children needed.
I also remember meeting your wife C in Raleigh, N.C. where I spoke about Deaf people being viewed as "a second thought." How could I ever forget a great person like C? I am sure C could still remember it because she once wrote me an email that she liked my "second thought" argument.
I am sorry that C's recent trip to New York was not successful. It showed that Gallaudet University needs to navigate its ship into a new direction to focus on our language and culture--ASL--that needs funding and sponsoring. I am sure C is now challenged to think through and move on "sailing close to the wind."
We can learn English through our language (not our ears nor CI); we can learn to speak through our language (not our ears nor CI); we can learn about the world of sounds and music through our language (not our ears nor CI). M, both my parents are Deaf but through our language I learned to master my English, to speak well, and appreciate the world of sounds and music. I am sure that there are many, many other Deaf people with similar experiences that C can help promote and propogate so that Gallaudet University could cater to better understanding of our inherent need for our own language and culture, ASL. Why not?
Gallaudet University PR needs improvement. In the distant past, many Deaf people who did not know sign language needed to spend one year (post graduation program) in schools for the Deaf so that these people would come to Gallaudet well prepared for the use of language and culture. Gallaudet used to work CLOSELY with these schools. But not today! Why not?
To the extent I know I love Gallaudet, I become Gallaudet's love--a force of nature that contains truth. Gallaudet University is where ASL is at its best. We need to capitalize on it!
M, thank you for writing to me. I got inspired to respond the way I did. Professor Jill Bradbury of English just invited me to participate in a blogging conference at Gallaudet next February. I've asked if I could travel to DC for one week with two weekends sandwiching, and she agreed. I would love an opportunity to meet you guys while I am there.
With aloha always, Carl
Yes, I do remember you, and I hope you remember that we first met in Alabama back in mid-1970s when I worked at Georgia School for the Deaf in Cave Spring. Yes, it was many years ... I also remember you teaching art at KDES, and you were good. I only regret that you were denied your talent that Deaf children needed.
I also remember meeting your wife C in Raleigh, N.C. where I spoke about Deaf people being viewed as "a second thought." How could I ever forget a great person like C? I am sure C could still remember it because she once wrote me an email that she liked my "second thought" argument.
I am sorry that C's recent trip to New York was not successful. It showed that Gallaudet University needs to navigate its ship into a new direction to focus on our language and culture--ASL--that needs funding and sponsoring. I am sure C is now challenged to think through and move on "sailing close to the wind."
We can learn English through our language (not our ears nor CI); we can learn to speak through our language (not our ears nor CI); we can learn about the world of sounds and music through our language (not our ears nor CI). M, both my parents are Deaf but through our language I learned to master my English, to speak well, and appreciate the world of sounds and music. I am sure that there are many, many other Deaf people with similar experiences that C can help promote and propogate so that Gallaudet University could cater to better understanding of our inherent need for our own language and culture, ASL. Why not?
Gallaudet University PR needs improvement. In the distant past, many Deaf people who did not know sign language needed to spend one year (post graduation program) in schools for the Deaf so that these people would come to Gallaudet well prepared for the use of language and culture. Gallaudet used to work CLOSELY with these schools. But not today! Why not?
To the extent I know I love Gallaudet, I become Gallaudet's love--a force of nature that contains truth. Gallaudet University is where ASL is at its best. We need to capitalize on it!
M, thank you for writing to me. I got inspired to respond the way I did. Professor Jill Bradbury of English just invited me to participate in a blogging conference at Gallaudet next February. I've asked if I could travel to DC for one week with two weekends sandwiching, and she agreed. I would love an opportunity to meet you guys while I am there.
With aloha always, Carl
A Better Gallaudet Ship We Call Deafhood
Robert Greenleaf coined the term servant-leadership in 1970, and it is best summarized by Hamilton Beazley in foreword for the book The Servant Leader Within: A Transformative Path which reads:
"In education, servant-leadership has led to new pedagogy, new learning, and new organizations devoted to its practice. In all its applications, servant-leadership achieves what is apparently impossible: bringing transformative experiences to the realm of the ordinary, to the everyday events that, cumulatively, define our lives and shape our experiences."
After the protests at Gallaudet University, we shared our experiences with the media via blogging and vlogging. For many years, the media has thought of our Deaf experiences more or less as unicorns, fairies, pans or some other mythic beasts that appeared as terrorists, anarchists, outlaws, or deviants. Our experiences are not like anything the media could expect or anticipate.
The media must free itself from the old known. To the media the only freedom lies in the unknown, because whatever is known is past, gone and finished. Whatever the media conceived of us as Deaf people were bounded. As soon as it put words around our experiences, something wonderful about our being Deaf got lost. Boundaries were cages; reality was a delicate bird trembling in the hands of the media. If they held it too long, and it would die.
Our Deaf world is no longer a prison because we all are experiencing the new and the unknown, but few of us see the unknown as a force that is beckoning us. The unknown contains clues to another reality. But what are these clues? They are all in ASL. And our choice whether to pursue ASL is entirely personal.
Along with old habit and inertia, fear has much to do with keeping reality the same as it always was - status quo - "this beloved ship we call Gallaudet." Opening the way to unknown is hard for many of us to accept, yet it is only avenue into our language and culture, our own world. We are aware that in a world of change that we are currently witnessing at Gallaudet University, there must be gain and loss. Our society judges gain to be good and loss to be bad, but our nature - our language and culture - does not make such distinction. The media, including the resignations of Senator McCain and Professor Brueggemann, has judged the action of the Board of Trustees to be bad. We do think otherwise; we'd build a better Gallaudet ship we call Deafhood.
The resignations from Gallaudet University Board of Trustees are a projection from their professional ignorance of our nature that as long as there is language, there must be culture. It was shameful that Gallaudet University protests were not viewed as ultimate events. Before they happened, there were many minor losses along the way. If we take a moment to think about these losses, we could easily see the pattern of gain and loss that ran throughout the university which was full of adversity, small or large. These resignations demand that something new and transformative be laid on the table. In order to do that, old, outworn patterns named Strategic Goals must be dissolved, and a new servant-leadership must cater to our language and culture. We are ready for a new university leader who can see the seeds of opportunity in the ashes of disaster. We trust our own transformation.
Loss and gain at Gallaudet University are just a mask. Underneath is the steady light of the eternal, which shines through our language and culture - ASL.
"In education, servant-leadership has led to new pedagogy, new learning, and new organizations devoted to its practice. In all its applications, servant-leadership achieves what is apparently impossible: bringing transformative experiences to the realm of the ordinary, to the everyday events that, cumulatively, define our lives and shape our experiences."
After the protests at Gallaudet University, we shared our experiences with the media via blogging and vlogging. For many years, the media has thought of our Deaf experiences more or less as unicorns, fairies, pans or some other mythic beasts that appeared as terrorists, anarchists, outlaws, or deviants. Our experiences are not like anything the media could expect or anticipate.
The media must free itself from the old known. To the media the only freedom lies in the unknown, because whatever is known is past, gone and finished. Whatever the media conceived of us as Deaf people were bounded. As soon as it put words around our experiences, something wonderful about our being Deaf got lost. Boundaries were cages; reality was a delicate bird trembling in the hands of the media. If they held it too long, and it would die.
Our Deaf world is no longer a prison because we all are experiencing the new and the unknown, but few of us see the unknown as a force that is beckoning us. The unknown contains clues to another reality. But what are these clues? They are all in ASL. And our choice whether to pursue ASL is entirely personal.
Along with old habit and inertia, fear has much to do with keeping reality the same as it always was - status quo - "this beloved ship we call Gallaudet." Opening the way to unknown is hard for many of us to accept, yet it is only avenue into our language and culture, our own world. We are aware that in a world of change that we are currently witnessing at Gallaudet University, there must be gain and loss. Our society judges gain to be good and loss to be bad, but our nature - our language and culture - does not make such distinction. The media, including the resignations of Senator McCain and Professor Brueggemann, has judged the action of the Board of Trustees to be bad. We do think otherwise; we'd build a better Gallaudet ship we call Deafhood.
The resignations from Gallaudet University Board of Trustees are a projection from their professional ignorance of our nature that as long as there is language, there must be culture. It was shameful that Gallaudet University protests were not viewed as ultimate events. Before they happened, there were many minor losses along the way. If we take a moment to think about these losses, we could easily see the pattern of gain and loss that ran throughout the university which was full of adversity, small or large. These resignations demand that something new and transformative be laid on the table. In order to do that, old, outworn patterns named Strategic Goals must be dissolved, and a new servant-leadership must cater to our language and culture. We are ready for a new university leader who can see the seeds of opportunity in the ashes of disaster. We trust our own transformation.
Loss and gain at Gallaudet University are just a mask. Underneath is the steady light of the eternal, which shines through our language and culture - ASL.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
CITIZEN CARL SCHROEDER
November 7, 2006
I've abandoned hope for all Republicans!
My registration card!
My toy moped!
I voted!
The feather in my hat!
ASL Dragon is the Art ... How We Look at It
ASL Dragon is the art of transformation. The secrets of ASL exist to transform us from ignorance to a state of enlightenment. ASL is going on all the time and no one can stop transformations from occurring at every level of language. ASL Dragon is our transformation.
ASL Dragon is a quest, and the quest is always for the same thing—perfection. Just as gold is the most perfect of metals because it cannot be corrupted. Perfection in ASL Dragon means freedom from ignorance.
But we the Deaf cannot be perfect. The secret is not in how ASL Dragon looks at us but in how we look at it.
Quests are personal journeys into Deafhood, and every step is taken alone. But ASL Dragon has much to say to us before we undertake our quest. It tells us that once we accept that we are the flow of life and nothing less, the quest for perfection becomes a quest beyond the boundless.
The things that are perfect inside us are essence, being, and love. These cannot be bounded in time, space and language. When we walk across Gallaudet University, for example, does our love for someone walk across the campus? When we shower, does our essence get wet? Boundaries can be found on the map, but they are invisible in life. Our brain can be mapped, but essence, being, and love cannot be found in the brain.
There is no limit to the marvels of ASL Dragon. In any given moment we can be reading blogs, digesting them, storing information as memory, healing ourselves. All these transformations go on largely unnoticed. ASL Dragon is invisible, working behind our eyes and our mind.
ASL Dragon is a quest, and the quest is always for the same thing—perfection. Just as gold is the most perfect of metals because it cannot be corrupted. Perfection in ASL Dragon means freedom from ignorance.
But we the Deaf cannot be perfect. The secret is not in how ASL Dragon looks at us but in how we look at it.
Quests are personal journeys into Deafhood, and every step is taken alone. But ASL Dragon has much to say to us before we undertake our quest. It tells us that once we accept that we are the flow of life and nothing less, the quest for perfection becomes a quest beyond the boundless.
The things that are perfect inside us are essence, being, and love. These cannot be bounded in time, space and language. When we walk across Gallaudet University, for example, does our love for someone walk across the campus? When we shower, does our essence get wet? Boundaries can be found on the map, but they are invisible in life. Our brain can be mapped, but essence, being, and love cannot be found in the brain.
There is no limit to the marvels of ASL Dragon. In any given moment we can be reading blogs, digesting them, storing information as memory, healing ourselves. All these transformations go on largely unnoticed. ASL Dragon is invisible, working behind our eyes and our mind.
SENATOR McCAIN is JUICY!
I just chatted with a friend who is an artist living outside of Tucson, Arizona. Oh, yes, I do have hearing friends everywhere! I copied it for my DeafRead friends. Let’s get this out to public! John McCain MUST never run for president!
Kalalau: John McCain resigned from Gallaudet University Board of Trustees today
laslas111: why
Kalalau: getting ready for 2008
laslas111: John McCain is a pig
Kalalau: I guess
laslas111: he is a warmonger and has alcohol problems....he also beats his wife....this is all inside info
Kalalau: that's juicy!
Kalalau: LOL
laslas111: I really need to get out of the mainland...preferably the US entirely
laslas111: yeah juicy.....from a friend who is a psychotherapist
laslas111: and has a big mouth....LOL
Kalalau: LOL
laslas111: If he ever tries to run for president, it will all come out
laslas111: I’ll see to it....LOL
I guess we won’t miss John McCain! He's bad news!
Kalalau: John McCain resigned from Gallaudet University Board of Trustees today
laslas111: why
Kalalau: getting ready for 2008
laslas111: John McCain is a pig
Kalalau: I guess
laslas111: he is a warmonger and has alcohol problems....he also beats his wife....this is all inside info
Kalalau: that's juicy!
Kalalau: LOL
laslas111: I really need to get out of the mainland...preferably the US entirely
laslas111: yeah juicy.....from a friend who is a psychotherapist
laslas111: and has a big mouth....LOL
Kalalau: LOL
laslas111: If he ever tries to run for president, it will all come out
laslas111: I’ll see to it....LOL
I guess we won’t miss John McCain! He's bad news!
ASL DRAGON on TOWER CLOCK
Tower Clock ticks away seconds, minutes, and hours, recording the long march from past to present to future.
This morning I woke up very early, shivering in my bed, only to find ASL Dragon looking at me from across the bed chamber. I told him I was having a bad dream. I was the last person on earth, wandering forests and streets that were empty of anyone but me. ASL Dragon told me there was no dream. I was the last person on earth. I asked how that could be. We discussed whether the only person on earth would also have to be last person. We agreed that separation is only an illusion—we appear to be separate from each other because our ego takes the view that we are all isolated and alone.
Every story about ASL Dragon, even the most confused, takes it for granted that it lived backward in time. As a dragon myth teller, I love to astonish, and any reader who tried to unriddle what living backward in time meant would marvel at the strange creature ASL Dragon was. However, ASL Dragon really is today.
Blogging about ASL Dragon has taken on the job of selecting and rejecting experiences, as I’ve done. As a result, I create isolation, since anything that picks and chooses creates a gap. Between I and something I’ve rejected, there is a gap. Between ASL Dragon and Tower Clock there is also a gap, because we have chosen not to have the same experience about them—we are separate.
In fact, we the Deaf take it for granted that we couldn’t possibly share experiences, not fully. I cannot enter all of my blogs about my emotions, fears, wishes, and dreams, nor do you mine. The best we can usually do is to try to build bridges of communication, which often prove too weak to hold. We have to rule out modes of communication. We communicate primarily in American Sign Language.
ASL Dragon is never isolated, however, because it is now on Tower Clock.
This morning I woke up very early, shivering in my bed, only to find ASL Dragon looking at me from across the bed chamber. I told him I was having a bad dream. I was the last person on earth, wandering forests and streets that were empty of anyone but me. ASL Dragon told me there was no dream. I was the last person on earth. I asked how that could be. We discussed whether the only person on earth would also have to be last person. We agreed that separation is only an illusion—we appear to be separate from each other because our ego takes the view that we are all isolated and alone.
Every story about ASL Dragon, even the most confused, takes it for granted that it lived backward in time. As a dragon myth teller, I love to astonish, and any reader who tried to unriddle what living backward in time meant would marvel at the strange creature ASL Dragon was. However, ASL Dragon really is today.
Blogging about ASL Dragon has taken on the job of selecting and rejecting experiences, as I’ve done. As a result, I create isolation, since anything that picks and chooses creates a gap. Between I and something I’ve rejected, there is a gap. Between ASL Dragon and Tower Clock there is also a gap, because we have chosen not to have the same experience about them—we are separate.
In fact, we the Deaf take it for granted that we couldn’t possibly share experiences, not fully. I cannot enter all of my blogs about my emotions, fears, wishes, and dreams, nor do you mine. The best we can usually do is to try to build bridges of communication, which often prove too weak to hold. We have to rule out modes of communication. We communicate primarily in American Sign Language.
ASL Dragon is never isolated, however, because it is now on Tower Clock.
INCLUSIVENESS HELPS (if you were white ... and hearing)
Inclusiveness is more complex and challenging but that’s Gallaudet University we are talking about. We used to think of inclusiveness in terms of more than six principal groups—D/deaf, Hard-of-Hearing, CI users, Oralists, ASL users, Black Deaf, Deaf with another Disability, etc. However there are over 1200 independent thinking students on campus who happen to be Deaf. We have to think about inclusiveness in a totally different way; a more complex approach but I think ultimately far more rewarding. Let’s not just throw out the concept of inclusiveness; let’s question it and move to a more sophisticated and develop approach.
At Gallaudet, Deaf Culture is as much a part of the inclusive landscape as anything else and it’s ridiculous to try to ignore our language, American Sign Language. This is a language that needs to be included and it takes many years to work it through. We don’t have decades because there’s less space, more and more Deaf people, more and more desire to learn ASL, more and more honest communication of what is needed. How do we combat it without a notion of what inclusiveness is?
We the Deaf live our language, ASL. We can call it Deaf Culture but basically inclusiveness is talking about opportunity for oppression of ASL—the inability to include our language and culture with some kind of meaning. Because there doesn’t seem to be an academic line that’s going to take us through to anything that we feel is worth accomplishing in our own language. We don’t want to sit on campus and say, “We have this wonderful inclusive identity.” What then is inclusiveness?
Inclusiveness is like a welcome mat: everybody is included; of course, it helps a lot if they were white ... and hearing. Now I seem to be talking about white ... and hearing people’s power but this is what we’re actually talking about. The fundamental question for inclusiveness is about dividing Deaf Culture. Inclusiveness is not a failed experiment, it’s ridiculous. However, we have to look at it as a reality to be dealt with in terms of white people’s power, which I realize is a real fallacy, and then there is no real mutual respect.
No respect? OK, let’s now look at language inclusiveness at Gallaudet University. The English Department has 30 full time faculty members with numerous adjuncts but the ASL and Deaf Studies Department has only 8 full time faculty members with few adjuncts. Unless we address a language disparity at Gallaudet University, inclusiveness becomes respectful.
At Gallaudet, Deaf Culture is as much a part of the inclusive landscape as anything else and it’s ridiculous to try to ignore our language, American Sign Language. This is a language that needs to be included and it takes many years to work it through. We don’t have decades because there’s less space, more and more Deaf people, more and more desire to learn ASL, more and more honest communication of what is needed. How do we combat it without a notion of what inclusiveness is?
We the Deaf live our language, ASL. We can call it Deaf Culture but basically inclusiveness is talking about opportunity for oppression of ASL—the inability to include our language and culture with some kind of meaning. Because there doesn’t seem to be an academic line that’s going to take us through to anything that we feel is worth accomplishing in our own language. We don’t want to sit on campus and say, “We have this wonderful inclusive identity.” What then is inclusiveness?
Inclusiveness is like a welcome mat: everybody is included; of course, it helps a lot if they were white ... and hearing. Now I seem to be talking about white ... and hearing people’s power but this is what we’re actually talking about. The fundamental question for inclusiveness is about dividing Deaf Culture. Inclusiveness is not a failed experiment, it’s ridiculous. However, we have to look at it as a reality to be dealt with in terms of white people’s power, which I realize is a real fallacy, and then there is no real mutual respect.
No respect? OK, let’s now look at language inclusiveness at Gallaudet University. The English Department has 30 full time faculty members with numerous adjuncts but the ASL and Deaf Studies Department has only 8 full time faculty members with few adjuncts. Unless we address a language disparity at Gallaudet University, inclusiveness becomes respectful.
Monday, November 06, 2006
A New ASL University
If you would not be forgotten,
As soon as you are dead and rotten,
Either write things worthy of reading,
Or do things worth the writing.
--Poor Richard's Almanack, 1736
History helps us to honor our past and to heed our possibilities for the future. Benjamin Franklin once wrote: “In love of liberty and in the defense of it, Holland has been our example.”
After winning the war against Catholic Spain in 1578, The Netherlands became the first Republic (monarchy democracy) in Europe. Dutch citizens in Leiden, the town where the war was won, were liberated from the oppressive Spanish Imperialism. University of Leiden, founded in February 1575, was a gift from William of Orange to the citizens of Leiden who had withstood a long siege by the Spaniards. The university was chartered to preserve Dutch language and culture. The University of Leiden then produced numerous contributions ranging from Grotius to Spinoza to Descartes whose work led to international laws, intellectual freedom, and freethinking, for which Holland is still famous today.
As Franklin suggested, we can learn from Holland in that we have deliberated ourselves of oppressive Gallaudet University by conversing the university anew to preserve and promote ASL and Deaf Culture. Our needs for ASL translation of great classics, for example, is so enormous we need new economics to recruit talented scholars of ASL across the nation to read and study these classics with the students to bring forth new meanings, perspectives, and outlooks that best reflect their language, life, and intellectual leisure.
This brings me to my question: how do we converse Gallaudet University into a new university so that we could entertain higher learning that best reflects our own intellectual freedom?
Let’s turn our thoughts to the oppression. It strikes me that the program of Gallaudet University is ideological more than phenomenal, megalomaniac rather than generosity. Its ambition is to weaken or destroy ASL and Deaf Culture based on its proposed creation of “a new order of deaf people” (Washington Post Radio, 10/15/2006). In its place comes a sort of biblical oppression that would be in Christian name, Ephphatha? Through this Christian word on the official university seal, there would be no freedom of expression, no freedom of religion, no independent academic disciplines, no equality between Deaf and hearing people, and no place for scientific progress. In short, it would be our worst nightmare.
How do we respond to that oppression? Let me start by saying that multicultural diversities are especially vulnerable to attacks by the university community. That is why our first task is to put our language and culture on the map by means of the Gallaudet University Administration and Operations Manual. We must also:
a. encourage active participations by all of faculty, staff, students and alumni;
b. promote social and cultural mobility for international and hearing students; and
c. maintain the balance between respect for cultural diversity and the need for a shared sense of language and culture of the Deaf.
Central to this new university should be the issue of talent. In the coming years, Gallaudet University must intend to make major contributions to world society in the areas of prosperity, well-being and culture. Talent is indispensable to the realization of that ambition. To this end, Gallaudet University is to be committed to both recruiting and developing talent. This will involve Deaf secondary school students, Deaf university students, and young Deaf researchers and academics.
WRITE TO CONGRESS ... NOW!
Gallaudet University continues to upset us. We love Gallaudet University. It is Deaf history in the making, good or bad.
All references to the protests leading to ousting President I. King Jordan’s all time folksy favorite, Dr. Jane K. Fernandes are removed. All, I repeat, all Gallaudet University PR links we referred to in our postings are now all gone. Why in the hell are we prevented by Gallaudet University PR from reporting news stories in building a better university by helping to spread our thoughts across the nation and around the world?
Ideally Gallaudet University is the academic community of alienation, accommodation and affirmation. In the United States, we pride in our abilities to inform citizenry, to maintain democracy, to make new meanings, and even to change presidents (Ford, Carter and Bush). It is un-American of Gallaudet University to erase the protests off by removing all press releases from its archives.
I am humbled yet proud to say, as a beloved alumnus of Gallaudet University, I do not except myself from this criticism. So here’s what I wrote to my Senators. This is a letter sample for you to copy and send to your Congress people:
All references to the protests leading to ousting President I. King Jordan’s all time folksy favorite, Dr. Jane K. Fernandes are removed. All, I repeat, all Gallaudet University PR links we referred to in our postings are now all gone. Why in the hell are we prevented by Gallaudet University PR from reporting news stories in building a better university by helping to spread our thoughts across the nation and around the world?
Ideally Gallaudet University is the academic community of alienation, accommodation and affirmation. In the United States, we pride in our abilities to inform citizenry, to maintain democracy, to make new meanings, and even to change presidents (Ford, Carter and Bush). It is un-American of Gallaudet University to erase the protests off by removing all press releases from its archives.
I am humbled yet proud to say, as a beloved alumnus of Gallaudet University, I do not except myself from this criticism. So here’s what I wrote to my Senators. This is a letter sample for you to copy and send to your Congress people:
Carl N. Schroeder
41 Hale Lio Place
Haiku, Hawaii 96708
The Honorable Senator Daniel K. Inouye
Suite 722, Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-1102
November 6, 2006
Dear Senator Inouye,
I am writing to express my concerns that Gallaudet University has continued to fail to manipulate communicable trust between the leadership and the led.
The way Gallaudet University removed its entire public relations links we referred in our writing, blogging and researching about the historic protests leading to Dr. Jane K. Fernandes’ termination as the next university president. Access to information about the protests at Gallaudet University is now zeroed. It's un-American!
This is a direct contradiction of the practice of American democracy—freedom of speech. There was a time on campus when Deaf people and friends were labeled as terrorists, anarchists, dissents, outlaws, convicts, and troublemakers if they protested. In some ways the fear is that you will have a label of lack of university administration loyalty. That fear keeps us from collecting information and asking the tough questions.
Gallaudet University is federally funded, private university exclusively for the Deaf that also admits international and hearing students to pursue language and culture of the Deaf. Censorship at Gallaudet University is not acceptable and appropriate.
Thank you.
Aloha,
Carl N. Schroeder
ASL Dragon Within Each of Us
ASL Dragon within each of us could also be called the witness. The role of our witness is not to interfere in the changing language, but to see and understand. ASL Dragon doesn’t rest—it remains awake even when we are dreaming or in a dreamless sleep. It does not need to see through our eyes because ASL Dragon is magical.
Information is basic to anything we can see in our world—every atom can be broken down into two components: proton and electron. Yet in their primordial state these ingredients are formless. Information can break down into random blips of data, and they are also formless. Just as the atom takes a force to spin its components, information takes a force to organize data into intelligence—the glue of the universe.
To ASL Dragon, this isn’t just a theoretical notion because it can see with its own inner eye that he is that intelligence. ASL is baffled by such understanding, since it isn’t of the mind. It is used to knowing things, but not used to knowingness itself. ASL Dragon’s knowingness remains present even when we sleep. ASL Dragon lives in every atom. ASL Dragon is the eye behind the eye, the mind behind the mind. ASL Dragon is behind our eyes and our mind.
It isn’t easy to explain what knowing is. In an ordinary waking state, we all see objects and people, but ASL Dragon sees force in them all. ASL Dragon sees itself as one focus of force—a metaphor for higher state of intelligence.
Every state of intelligence depends on how we acknowledge the existence of ASL Dragon. It is not a metaphysical mystery because ASL Dragon cannot tell where it ends and the Deaf world begins. Ask: Are you dreaming this blog, or is this blog dreaming you?
Information is basic to anything we can see in our world—every atom can be broken down into two components: proton and electron. Yet in their primordial state these ingredients are formless. Information can break down into random blips of data, and they are also formless. Just as the atom takes a force to spin its components, information takes a force to organize data into intelligence—the glue of the universe.
To ASL Dragon, this isn’t just a theoretical notion because it can see with its own inner eye that he is that intelligence. ASL is baffled by such understanding, since it isn’t of the mind. It is used to knowing things, but not used to knowingness itself. ASL Dragon’s knowingness remains present even when we sleep. ASL Dragon lives in every atom. ASL Dragon is the eye behind the eye, the mind behind the mind. ASL Dragon is behind our eyes and our mind.
It isn’t easy to explain what knowing is. In an ordinary waking state, we all see objects and people, but ASL Dragon sees force in them all. ASL Dragon sees itself as one focus of force—a metaphor for higher state of intelligence.
Every state of intelligence depends on how we acknowledge the existence of ASL Dragon. It is not a metaphysical mystery because ASL Dragon cannot tell where it ends and the Deaf world begins. Ask: Are you dreaming this blog, or is this blog dreaming you?
ASL Dragon and Silence: A Difficult Lesson
ASL Dragon’s definition of language and culture is wrapped up in silence. The essence of ASL Dragon is transformation—a surge of information, knowledge and communication. Our Deaf mind has its own ways, but it is not so different: the Deaf mind understands whatever repeats information, knowledge and communication from the past.
“CL:1 I FISTKISS CL:1” in ASL basically means “I love this” in English which, in turn, means, “I love repeating what was said before.” Thus both ASL and our mind are selective. Picking and choosing is not wrong, but it takes effort. Although we have all been taught that effort is good, this is not so. ASL cannot be achieved by effort; ASL Dragon cannot be achieved by effort.
On a more subtle level, picking and choosing must also involve rejection. Our Deaf mind focuses on one thing at a time. Before we can say, “CL:1 I FISTKISS CL:1,” we have to reject all other choices. The things or ideas we reject tend to be colored by fear. Our Deaf mind doesn’t regard pain and suffering neutrally; it fears and rejects them. This habit of picking and choosing winds up expending a lot of energy, because our Deaf mind is constantly vigilant, constantly watching out to make sure that ASL Dragon does not live in fear. What room is left for silence?
Without silence, there is no room for ASL Dragon. Without silence, there cannot be any real appreciation of ASL, which is as delicate in its inner fabrics as a newborn who happens to be Deaf. So the first step into ASL Dragon’s world is to recognize that language and culture of the Deaf exists. As you read this lesson, your mind may rebel, saying “No!” to the very notion that ASL exists. Your mind may join in these waves of "New Deaf Order" and "Modes of Communication" folklores—whatever may arise. They are merely habitual ways of picking, choosing, and rejecting.
ASL Dragon knows that our Deaf mind may succeed in making us intelligent, our language human, our rejection understood, our silence heard.
“CL:1 I FISTKISS CL:1” in ASL basically means “I love this” in English which, in turn, means, “I love repeating what was said before.” Thus both ASL and our mind are selective. Picking and choosing is not wrong, but it takes effort. Although we have all been taught that effort is good, this is not so. ASL cannot be achieved by effort; ASL Dragon cannot be achieved by effort.
On a more subtle level, picking and choosing must also involve rejection. Our Deaf mind focuses on one thing at a time. Before we can say, “CL:1 I FISTKISS CL:1,” we have to reject all other choices. The things or ideas we reject tend to be colored by fear. Our Deaf mind doesn’t regard pain and suffering neutrally; it fears and rejects them. This habit of picking and choosing winds up expending a lot of energy, because our Deaf mind is constantly vigilant, constantly watching out to make sure that ASL Dragon does not live in fear. What room is left for silence?
Without silence, there is no room for ASL Dragon. Without silence, there cannot be any real appreciation of ASL, which is as delicate in its inner fabrics as a newborn who happens to be Deaf. So the first step into ASL Dragon’s world is to recognize that language and culture of the Deaf exists. As you read this lesson, your mind may rebel, saying “No!” to the very notion that ASL exists. Your mind may join in these waves of "New Deaf Order" and "Modes of Communication" folklores—whatever may arise. They are merely habitual ways of picking, choosing, and rejecting.
ASL Dragon knows that our Deaf mind may succeed in making us intelligent, our language human, our rejection understood, our silence heard.
ASL Dragon's First Lesson: To Be Born
ASL Dragon exists in all of us. This dragon sees and knows everything from pleasure to pain. Everything the dragon sees has its roots in the Deaf world. Our body and mind may sleep but ASL Dragon is always awake.It takes a lifetime to learn what ASL Dragon has to teach, but everything that will unfold over years and decades is available in our first lesson. Here we introduce ASL Dragon. We describe its approach to the Deaf world, which is to solve the deepest riddles of language and culture. And all this happens in a magical way. For one thing, ASL Dragon does not actually appear in physical form. Forms are irrelevant to us. We have seen worlds come and go, we have survived the upheaval, and our reaction to everything is the same: ASL Dragon exists.
Through ASL Dragon, we are seers. What do we see? We see reality as a whole, not in its many parts. Through ASL Dragon we don’t live in the world; the world lives in us.
This first lesson is about finding ASL Dragon and appreciating its presence, which is very different from the presence adopted by the outsiders. Outsiders do not see the same world we do but they enforce their world to be whatever it is good for us. The basis of everything in their world rests upon the “Anything but Hear” folklore. Therefore, in imposing the world as it is, they meet resistance by ASL Dragon.
Without ASL, there is no room for the dragon. Without ASL, there cannot be any real appreciation of the Deaf world. So the first step into ASL Dragon’s First Lesson is to recognize that ASL Dragon exists—that is enough. ASL Dragon does not argue with the mind because all debates are generated by thinking, and ASL Dragon doesn’t think. ASL Dragon sees. ASL Dragon is inside all of us, and it wants only one thing: to be born.
Sunday, November 05, 2006
Gally PR Fact #1: ASL Can Do What English Can't ...
Given the realities of recent protests at Gallaudet University, ASL merged as a powerful language that could best illustrate Deaf Culture, which the English language could never, ever do. ASL can be what English can’t be a tool that prevails at Gallaudet.
Gallaudet University PR had disclosed numerous words and labels in best possible English to the media that were foreign to the language and culture of the Deaf. The media got so deliberately confounded by this language war that President I. King Jordan himself has begged to lay down the weapons of the words in yet another misleading PR effort. It is never the battle of words; it is the language war between ASL and its counterpart English.
Gallaudet University claimed there were terrorists who never kill anybody; anarchists who never overthrow any governance; outlaws who never violate any law; dissents who never reject the university charter. It uses the English language that does not understand deeply ingrained oppression ASL is still enduring today. ASL does what English doesn't survive language bigotry, hegemony, and oppression.
We need a revamp of Gallaudet University PR before a new presidential search is to resume in the near future. We need to present our views on the implications of PR for the preparation of new president for Gallaudet University. We need to provide input for consideration of practical problems in transition from old to new administration models. We need to make recommendations on the competencies of ASL that Gallaudet University is to develop in its PR, to increase in the quantity and quality of ASL used in media, and to improve the media to focus on ASL. A new university president needs to be very knowledgeable about the existence of ASL in higher education because changes need to be made to help Gallaudet University serve Deaf community with forward-looking programs.
Gallaudet University PR needs reorganization to bring ASL new life simply because ASL can do what the English language cannot.
Gallaudet University PR had disclosed numerous words and labels in best possible English to the media that were foreign to the language and culture of the Deaf. The media got so deliberately confounded by this language war that President I. King Jordan himself has begged to lay down the weapons of the words in yet another misleading PR effort. It is never the battle of words; it is the language war between ASL and its counterpart English.
Gallaudet University claimed there were terrorists who never kill anybody; anarchists who never overthrow any governance; outlaws who never violate any law; dissents who never reject the university charter. It uses the English language that does not understand deeply ingrained oppression ASL is still enduring today. ASL does what English doesn't survive language bigotry, hegemony, and oppression.
We need a revamp of Gallaudet University PR before a new presidential search is to resume in the near future. We need to present our views on the implications of PR for the preparation of new president for Gallaudet University. We need to provide input for consideration of practical problems in transition from old to new administration models. We need to make recommendations on the competencies of ASL that Gallaudet University is to develop in its PR, to increase in the quantity and quality of ASL used in media, and to improve the media to focus on ASL. A new university president needs to be very knowledgeable about the existence of ASL in higher education because changes need to be made to help Gallaudet University serve Deaf community with forward-looking programs.
Gallaudet University PR needs reorganization to bring ASL new life simply because ASL can do what the English language cannot.
Gallaudophobia: Fear of Gallaudet-Style Oppression
First of all, please don’t ask me about curing Gallaudephobia because I know little about it. My interest is in coining the phobia term to describe a type of fear that exists only at Gallaudet University. Yes, it has yet to be found in a reference book or medical paper but it has to be confirmed by the medical profession.
Why did I want to come up with a phobia term that describes a type of fear at Gallaudet University? It started in an email I received this morning, and it is about a respectful Deaf professional who got into trouble with the Gallaudet University administration. The concluding statement that “Keep low profile… afraid they will use her against us” begs for greater development so I began to think of the name of a phobia that best describe it. I looked for it online and started to write down a list of phobia words I thought is related to the Gallaudet experience. The list includes as follows:
Dikephobia (fear of justice)
Eleutherophobia (fear of freedom)
Enosiophobia (fear of criticism)
Epistemophobia (fear of knowledge)
Judeophobia (fear of Jews—Stephen Weiner and Ron Stern?)
Katagelophobia (fear of ridicule)
Mastigophobia (fear of punishment)
Melanophobia (fear of black)
Phronemophobia (fear of thinking)
Rhabdephobia (fear of being severely punished)
Social Phobia (fear of being evaluated negatively in social situations)
Xenophobia (fear of outside influence)
Xenoglossophobia (fear of foreign languages)
I was not happy with any of the above phobias because they are all not how my email sounds about our fear and oppression experience at Gallaudet University and elsewhere.
I needed to understand how phobias are named. The word phobia is Greek, therefore any word that is connected to it should be Greek. To coin a new phobia name, it should follow this Greek rule but it has been broken many times within the medical profession. Today we will find many phobia words that are steeped in Latin and often, when forming a name for a phobia, they have used a Latin suppletion affixed to the Greek root to form phobia terms. Yes, the language pundits frown on this but it has happened time and time again over the years. It is therefore acceptable to coin such a term like Gallaudophobia to describe fear of oppression at Gallaudet University and elsewhere.
The normal fear to Gallaudet stimuli, such as negative labels (anarchists, terrorists, law breakers, outlaws, convicts, etc.) has unfortunately been a prototype elsewhere as well. If the person were to be exposed to either labeling or being labeled, the phobic response could not extinguish itself. This is occurring within the Gallaudet community, and we need to develop phobic treatment involving exposure to negative labels. However, I am not an expert in curing Gallaudophobia, I do think it's a serious phobia.
Fear at Gallaudet prevails. It’s an ongoing Gallaudet-style oppression.
Why did I want to come up with a phobia term that describes a type of fear at Gallaudet University? It started in an email I received this morning, and it is about a respectful Deaf professional who got into trouble with the Gallaudet University administration. The concluding statement that “Keep low profile… afraid they will use her against us” begs for greater development so I began to think of the name of a phobia that best describe it. I looked for it online and started to write down a list of phobia words I thought is related to the Gallaudet experience. The list includes as follows:
Dikephobia (fear of justice)
Eleutherophobia (fear of freedom)
Enosiophobia (fear of criticism)
Epistemophobia (fear of knowledge)
Judeophobia (fear of Jews—Stephen Weiner and Ron Stern?)
Katagelophobia (fear of ridicule)
Mastigophobia (fear of punishment)
Melanophobia (fear of black)
Phronemophobia (fear of thinking)
Rhabdephobia (fear of being severely punished)
Social Phobia (fear of being evaluated negatively in social situations)
Xenophobia (fear of outside influence)
Xenoglossophobia (fear of foreign languages)
I was not happy with any of the above phobias because they are all not how my email sounds about our fear and oppression experience at Gallaudet University and elsewhere.
I needed to understand how phobias are named. The word phobia is Greek, therefore any word that is connected to it should be Greek. To coin a new phobia name, it should follow this Greek rule but it has been broken many times within the medical profession. Today we will find many phobia words that are steeped in Latin and often, when forming a name for a phobia, they have used a Latin suppletion affixed to the Greek root to form phobia terms. Yes, the language pundits frown on this but it has happened time and time again over the years. It is therefore acceptable to coin such a term like Gallaudophobia to describe fear of oppression at Gallaudet University and elsewhere.
The normal fear to Gallaudet stimuli, such as negative labels (anarchists, terrorists, law breakers, outlaws, convicts, etc.) has unfortunately been a prototype elsewhere as well. If the person were to be exposed to either labeling or being labeled, the phobic response could not extinguish itself. This is occurring within the Gallaudet community, and we need to develop phobic treatment involving exposure to negative labels. However, I am not an expert in curing Gallaudophobia, I do think it's a serious phobia.
Fear at Gallaudet prevails. It’s an ongoing Gallaudet-style oppression.
LIKE YOU, I TAKE ASL SERIOUSLY!
Many good people build their case against American Sign Language entirely on their own speculations. These people value speculations and are serious about making academics out of them. Unfortunately, many of them have never really studied what ASL does and doesn’t.
We the users of ASL, native or near native, take ASL seriously, too. Personally, I’ve spent more than 40 years using it since my Deaf parents moved to the United States from The Netherlands. I am now learning Hebrew and Hawai’ian to gain a better understanding of the government and binding (GB Theory) in ASL.
I am convinced ASL has powerful underlying structures for surface structures—as well as manual alphabet. But it’s not the structure of linguistic deviance these good people so often claim.
I’m not expecting you to take my word for it, though. I ask only that you’d consider what my research and scholarship has taught me about the ways used by some people to condemn ASL. I’ve developed a syllogism of two premises for a conclusion, and you then decide for yourself…
MY FIRST PREMISE:
Most people have not carefully researched ASL often used in the Deaf community.
As you may know, linguistic ignorance of ASL is an epidemic in the United States. It is all too present around the topic of Deaf people. Often people who love and use ASL have never given careful attention to what ASL does and doesn’t.
For example, many users of ASL don’t know that:
- Signs have parts.
- Deaf Education and Special Education teachers are silent about ASL, especially in IEP (Individualized Education Plan).
- ASL is ever-changing.
Many people who are certain they know what ASL is don’t know how to write about it. They haven’t learned how to write about ASL, let alone studied them academically. They don’t know the original meaning of the signs in ASL. They haven’t tried to understand the historical context in which those signs are changed. Yet the assumption that the speculations of communication are passed down from generation to generation with very little study or research. The consequences of this misinformation are disastrous, not only for Deaf people, but for the entire world, especially the media.
MY SECOND PREMISE:
Historically, people’s misinterpretation of ASL has left a trail of suffering and oppression.
Over the centuries people who misunderstood or misinterpreted ASL have done terrible things. Their communication speculations have been misused to defend educational bankruptcy; to support linguistic and cultural colonialism; to persecute the Deaf on Black Friday; to support The IKJ-JKF Administration; to oppose ASL linguistics research; to condemn Deaf-to-Deaf marriage; to choke Carl DuPree as a troublemaker; and to support the Administration & Operations Manual. Shakespeare said it this way: “Even the devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.”
MY CONCLUSION:
We must be open to new truth about ASL from Gallaudet University.
Even heroes of the ASL linguistics research have changed their minds about the meaning of various linguistic claims. We the linguists pride in our ability to agree to disagree with each other. We would find our colleagues in all other academic departments at colleges and universities contradicting each other. Gallaudet University must take up this leadership in ASL linguistics.
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Deaf Father's Two Advices
First Advice:
Carl:
There are some people, who may not understand or dislike your blog. Ignore them. They want your blog in simple English. Don't give in to their request.
Remember: The writings of the philosophers, like Aristotle, Philo, Maimonides (my favorite), Voltaire, Karl Marx, Bernard Shaw are hard to read, but still studied, praised and condemned.
Keep up your job!!!!
Second Advice:
Carl:
I think you may propose the complete revamping of public relations (PR) of Gallaudet administration. That present PR did really a poor job of informing and presenting the Deaf Culture to the hearing world, especially the media.
For example: At TV the deaf protester using sign language had not been fully quoted and obviously not voice interpreted. More....If you read the editorials in Washington Post and other daily papers, then you can easily see, that the writers have not been fully informed about the Deaf and their culture by the present PR of Gallaudet. The changes must be coming. Regular sessions between PR and major and minor newspapers should be formed on permanent base.
What do you think? If you agree, then you change the above into your own expressive and maybe philosophical language.
DAD
Carl:
There are some people, who may not understand or dislike your blog. Ignore them. They want your blog in simple English. Don't give in to their request.
Remember: The writings of the philosophers, like Aristotle, Philo, Maimonides (my favorite), Voltaire, Karl Marx, Bernard Shaw are hard to read, but still studied, praised and condemned.
Keep up your job!!!!
Second Advice:
Carl:
I think you may propose the complete revamping of public relations (PR) of Gallaudet administration. That present PR did really a poor job of informing and presenting the Deaf Culture to the hearing world, especially the media.
For example: At TV the deaf protester using sign language had not been fully quoted and obviously not voice interpreted. More....If you read the editorials in Washington Post and other daily papers, then you can easily see, that the writers have not been fully informed about the Deaf and their culture by the present PR of Gallaudet. The changes must be coming. Regular sessions between PR and major and minor newspapers should be formed on permanent base.
What do you think? If you agree, then you change the above into your own expressive and maybe philosophical language.
DAD
The Kingdom of King Jor: A New Story without Regret and Respect
Once there sits a throne of King Jor in the chamber. It is now vacant, and it is being groomed. And something goes awry in King Jor’s court, and the chamber members and attendants get nervous about not knowing their own wit’s end with the king on the run. His kingdom is deteriorating over a long period of time, and it is ready for change.
King Jor makes a proclamation for his subjects to recover from the Knob Hill and Sixth Gate Battlegrounds without regret and respect. The king, unlike his own subjects, lives in luxury and enjoys the benefits of the Kendall Green society he controls. The true hypocrisy of his court is expressed by his subjects, who criticize King Jor’s faithful court she-jester for her oversimplified and overspeculated view of a “new order” society.
King Jor is described as rather unchanged since the revolution. He still does his work the same way, never becoming too enthusiastic or too ready about anything that has passed. King Jor explains, "Court jesters come in and out. None of you has ever known a better one than this That is Not to Be she-jester." It’s almost as if the king can see into the future, knowing that the revolt is only a temporary change, and will flop in the end.
King Jor’s subjects are the only people who don’t seem to have expected anything positive from his kingdom. They seem to be finally confronting King Jor and revealing his knowledge of hypocrisy. King Jor's throne is now empty.
This kingdom is now a new story to be told to many generations to come.
King Jor makes a proclamation for his subjects to recover from the Knob Hill and Sixth Gate Battlegrounds without regret and respect. The king, unlike his own subjects, lives in luxury and enjoys the benefits of the Kendall Green society he controls. The true hypocrisy of his court is expressed by his subjects, who criticize King Jor’s faithful court she-jester for her oversimplified and overspeculated view of a “new order” society.
King Jor is described as rather unchanged since the revolution. He still does his work the same way, never becoming too enthusiastic or too ready about anything that has passed. King Jor explains, "Court jesters come in and out. None of you has ever known a better one than this That is Not to Be she-jester." It’s almost as if the king can see into the future, knowing that the revolt is only a temporary change, and will flop in the end.
King Jor’s subjects are the only people who don’t seem to have expected anything positive from his kingdom. They seem to be finally confronting King Jor and revealing his knowledge of hypocrisy. King Jor's throne is now empty.
This kingdom is now a new story to be told to many generations to come.
Dear Professor Schroeder
Dear Professor Schroeder,
Before the first class of ASL, I had no idea how a teacher could teach us a language without the use of verbal cues. That proved to be the most valuable tool in the class and the best way to learn sign language. I am amazed how much you have taught me in just five classes. I came to class with very little knowledge of sign language, only a few signs and the alphabet. My confidence in learning ASL has grown because of how class management is spent. Who knew LEGO people would be such a valuable tools in learning another language? And the fact that no one can talk during class time forces us to communicate in sign. I always leave class signing to my friends and family. It's just been the best experience I've had in learning. I would hoped there would be a continuing class after this introduction to ASL so that I can improve sign with others and eventually use the language in the community.
I have been practicing hula for many years and I can see a similarity in each. For example, hula we use the whole body to emphasize particular word, feeling, or place. Signing seems to also take the characteristics of the object and make a movement to distinguish what it is.
I would like to thank you so much for teaching us. Your energy and spirit carries in class and makes it enjoyable to come in and learn, even though it's on a Friday. That pace in class is also great because it keeps everyone on their toes and learning. Again thank you for introducing me into your language and culture of nonverbal communication.
Mahalo nui loa,
Ewa
Before the first class of ASL, I had no idea how a teacher could teach us a language without the use of verbal cues. That proved to be the most valuable tool in the class and the best way to learn sign language. I am amazed how much you have taught me in just five classes. I came to class with very little knowledge of sign language, only a few signs and the alphabet. My confidence in learning ASL has grown because of how class management is spent. Who knew LEGO people would be such a valuable tools in learning another language? And the fact that no one can talk during class time forces us to communicate in sign. I always leave class signing to my friends and family. It's just been the best experience I've had in learning. I would hoped there would be a continuing class after this introduction to ASL so that I can improve sign with others and eventually use the language in the community.I have been practicing hula for many years and I can see a similarity in each. For example, hula we use the whole body to emphasize particular word, feeling, or place. Signing seems to also take the characteristics of the object and make a movement to distinguish what it is.
I would like to thank you so much for teaching us. Your energy and spirit carries in class and makes it enjoyable to come in and learn, even though it's on a Friday. That pace in class is also great because it keeps everyone on their toes and learning. Again thank you for introducing me into your language and culture of nonverbal communication.
Mahalo nui loa,
Ewa
A Coward's Letter about Black Friday
Date: Fri 03 Nov 2006 11:45:14 PM EST
From: Mai Nu Nu dealbreakers@yahoo.com
To: kal1952@myway.com
Subject: Re: NOT DEAF ENOUGH:
Why were the students arrested at the gate #6 on Friday, October 13th? We are dumbfounded!
Carl, I can't understand most anything of what you write, in ASL or English, but I understood that above. I don't mean it as an insult. I'm just letting you know that you need present clear ideas instead of posting so many long blogs of --- well, nonsense. And not allowing public response to your blogs is just cowardly.
Answer to your question above: They were arrested because they broke the law. They begged to be arrested, thinking it would gain them sympathy, but IKJ held out for three days! But they gained no sympathy after all, because on the evening news they whined that it was too dark and that the lights were too bright in their eyes. Hearing people laughed so hard at that nonsense! The stubbed toe was even more silly (sic). As if they had a right to stick a toe under the gate wheel without expecting a boo-boo. Call an ambulence (sic)! Post photos! Post video! Call Amnesty International -- it's torture! Good thing future employers will know who has an arrest record. Employers don't care if it was an arrest for a civil rights protest, but they'll remember that these arrests were to clear out a dangerous mob of bullies. Employers don't want to hire angry bullies who break the law.
From: Mai Nu Nu dealbreakers@yahoo.com
To: kal1952@myway.com
Subject: Re: NOT DEAF ENOUGH:
Why were the students arrested at the gate #6 on Friday, October 13th? We are dumbfounded!
Carl, I can't understand most anything of what you write, in ASL or English, but I understood that above. I don't mean it as an insult. I'm just letting you know that you need present clear ideas instead of posting so many long blogs of --- well, nonsense. And not allowing public response to your blogs is just cowardly.
Answer to your question above: They were arrested because they broke the law. They begged to be arrested, thinking it would gain them sympathy, but IKJ held out for three days! But they gained no sympathy after all, because on the evening news they whined that it was too dark and that the lights were too bright in their eyes. Hearing people laughed so hard at that nonsense! The stubbed toe was even more silly (sic). As if they had a right to stick a toe under the gate wheel without expecting a boo-boo. Call an ambulence (sic)! Post photos! Post video! Call Amnesty International -- it's torture! Good thing future employers will know who has an arrest record. Employers don't care if it was an arrest for a civil rights protest, but they'll remember that these arrests were to clear out a dangerous mob of bullies. Employers don't want to hire angry bullies who break the law.
I Got Invited ... to Gallaudet University
Yesterday I received an e-mail from Professor Jill Bradbury of English Department at Gallaudet University:
Hello Carl – I would like to invite you to participate in a conference I am organizing called “Blogging Gallaudet’s Future.” We will cover travel expenses….
I accepted it. The conference* will be organized by the new Coalition for Critical Inquiry, and it will be held in the near future.
I am honored. Blogging about the future of my alma mater Gallaudet University is, among other things, the art of making distinctions. Right now, my greatest temptation will be to take several weeks to collect all Gallaudet-related blogs, shape them into a book manuscript and expand it into a larger and more complete work than I have in hand.
Just as writing is a way of thinking, publishing is a way of benefiting from the thinking of others who will read and criticize my work. I need critiques because wouldn’t my blogging itself be an even more egregious example of putting myself forward? So what am I to do?
Then a following-up e-mail from Professor Bradbury arrived:
Great - would you be willing to be on the panel: "The Futuristic Classroom"?
Yes, yes, yes… While a student at Gallaudet, I read two books by Alvin Toffler—The Third Wave and Future Shock. I am influenced by his work in my blogging strategies so that I could contribute and coordinate all my knowledge about Deaf people—intensive experiences from using American Sign Language exclusively to high-academic learning and teaching that involves the Deaf mind—into coherent strategies. I also wrote "Cognitive Development in College Years and Language Pedagogy" for my master's thesis at American University. My graduate work was written under the influences of two theories by William Perry and David Kolb about learning strategies in college years.
I won’t let any more time than that Gallaudet invitation pass before I get started working on my book manuscript. I need to revise and cut accordingly and see what I have. As a writer, I need to be careful about the meanings and uses of words and other symbols in ways that may appear to be odd or excessively fussy or even cranky. I am fully aware that the care I take with words and other symbols is bound to get them into conflicts with stylists, ordinary grammarians, editors, typesetters, and even Deaf readers. I do know not only what I am saying, but also why I say it in the way I do.
Gallaudet, I am ready to come!
* This event will be organized by the new Coalition for Critical Inquiry. The coalition's purpose is:
a) to provide public forums for objective debate and critical reflection on issues arising from the Unity for Gallaudet protests;
b) to model intellectual dialogue, respect for diverse viewpoints, and commitment to social justice for the Gallaudet and larger deaf community.
The coalition encourages thoughtful engagement with controversial issues affecting Gallaudet’s future. Our goal is to bring together historical and social context, arguments from diverse perspectives, and respectful dialogue, so that members of the community can come to informed opinions and decisions of their own. While individual organizers and participants may be strongly affiliated with different sides of the current conflict, the coalition itself is neutral. All events organized by the coalition are committed to presenting a range of opinions and facilitating rational discussion.
Hello Carl – I would like to invite you to participate in a conference I am organizing called “Blogging Gallaudet’s Future.” We will cover travel expenses….
I accepted it. The conference* will be organized by the new Coalition for Critical Inquiry, and it will be held in the near future.
I am honored. Blogging about the future of my alma mater Gallaudet University is, among other things, the art of making distinctions. Right now, my greatest temptation will be to take several weeks to collect all Gallaudet-related blogs, shape them into a book manuscript and expand it into a larger and more complete work than I have in hand.
Just as writing is a way of thinking, publishing is a way of benefiting from the thinking of others who will read and criticize my work. I need critiques because wouldn’t my blogging itself be an even more egregious example of putting myself forward? So what am I to do?
Then a following-up e-mail from Professor Bradbury arrived:
Great - would you be willing to be on the panel: "The Futuristic Classroom"?
Yes, yes, yes… While a student at Gallaudet, I read two books by Alvin Toffler—The Third Wave and Future Shock. I am influenced by his work in my blogging strategies so that I could contribute and coordinate all my knowledge about Deaf people—intensive experiences from using American Sign Language exclusively to high-academic learning and teaching that involves the Deaf mind—into coherent strategies. I also wrote "Cognitive Development in College Years and Language Pedagogy" for my master's thesis at American University. My graduate work was written under the influences of two theories by William Perry and David Kolb about learning strategies in college years.
I won’t let any more time than that Gallaudet invitation pass before I get started working on my book manuscript. I need to revise and cut accordingly and see what I have. As a writer, I need to be careful about the meanings and uses of words and other symbols in ways that may appear to be odd or excessively fussy or even cranky. I am fully aware that the care I take with words and other symbols is bound to get them into conflicts with stylists, ordinary grammarians, editors, typesetters, and even Deaf readers. I do know not only what I am saying, but also why I say it in the way I do.
Gallaudet, I am ready to come!
* This event will be organized by the new Coalition for Critical Inquiry. The coalition's purpose is:
a) to provide public forums for objective debate and critical reflection on issues arising from the Unity for Gallaudet protests;
b) to model intellectual dialogue, respect for diverse viewpoints, and commitment to social justice for the Gallaudet and larger deaf community.
The coalition encourages thoughtful engagement with controversial issues affecting Gallaudet’s future. Our goal is to bring together historical and social context, arguments from diverse perspectives, and respectful dialogue, so that members of the community can come to informed opinions and decisions of their own. While individual organizers and participants may be strongly affiliated with different sides of the current conflict, the coalition itself is neutral. All events organized by the coalition are committed to presenting a range of opinions and facilitating rational discussion.
Friday, November 03, 2006
NOT DEAF ENOUGH: Progressing Away From Progress
Gallaudet University is in the hub of Deaf academia, the brain center of the Deaf world. This is where we train many of our future leaders of the Deaf—our Deaf philosopher-kings and philosopher-queens, or the closest thing. Gallaudet is best.
A few months ago, I wrote an email to a friend of mine that I refuse, I repeat, refuse to be accountable for JKF’s not-Deaf-enough expression. It is not philosophy, it is insult. And it is an expression—an English expression—that has no equivalent in ASL. Perhaps the university administration started getting what could be called “bored” only in their time. Might it be connected with the oppression?
Oppression? Yes! This is the world in progress. Deaf people are already in progress. Oppression is not a progress. The not-Deaf-enough expression is not a progress.
This is Gallaudet University, one of the most popular places to be Deaf. Being not Deaf enough is not very clever. It is simple and serious. It is not a rhetorical question; it is a plea for a pity—progressing away from progress.
So this not-Deaf-enough expression is now a well-known insult, after all these six months! Come to think of it, we don’t have much accountability for this type of dumbness. Is our whole world of the Deaf as dumb as this expression? No! Why do we have to demythologize it? We won’t! Does it mean that we the Deaf are actually ahead of the university administration? Yes, we are! Doesn’t Gallaudet University wish that we stand up for freedom of speech and the rights of Deaf people? It should! Why were the students arrested at the gate #6 on Friday, October 13th? We are dumbfounded!
Well, if progress means change toward the best, and if ASL is the best, then progress means change toward ASL. So what? ASL is the goal of progress. By demythologizing the not-Deaf-enough expression, how could we progress toward ASL that keeps receding? You see? How could paddlers make progress toward a finish line if someone kept moving it as they paddled? They couldn’t. Then the not-Deaf-enough expression progresses, we cannot progress. That’s dumb!
That was exactly why JKF had progressed herself away from our progress. She was dumb!
A few months ago, I wrote an email to a friend of mine that I refuse, I repeat, refuse to be accountable for JKF’s not-Deaf-enough expression. It is not philosophy, it is insult. And it is an expression—an English expression—that has no equivalent in ASL. Perhaps the university administration started getting what could be called “bored” only in their time. Might it be connected with the oppression?
Oppression? Yes! This is the world in progress. Deaf people are already in progress. Oppression is not a progress. The not-Deaf-enough expression is not a progress.
This is Gallaudet University, one of the most popular places to be Deaf. Being not Deaf enough is not very clever. It is simple and serious. It is not a rhetorical question; it is a plea for a pity—progressing away from progress.
So this not-Deaf-enough expression is now a well-known insult, after all these six months! Come to think of it, we don’t have much accountability for this type of dumbness. Is our whole world of the Deaf as dumb as this expression? No! Why do we have to demythologize it? We won’t! Does it mean that we the Deaf are actually ahead of the university administration? Yes, we are! Doesn’t Gallaudet University wish that we stand up for freedom of speech and the rights of Deaf people? It should! Why were the students arrested at the gate #6 on Friday, October 13th? We are dumbfounded!
Well, if progress means change toward the best, and if ASL is the best, then progress means change toward ASL. So what? ASL is the goal of progress. By demythologizing the not-Deaf-enough expression, how could we progress toward ASL that keeps receding? You see? How could paddlers make progress toward a finish line if someone kept moving it as they paddled? They couldn’t. Then the not-Deaf-enough expression progresses, we cannot progress. That’s dumb!
That was exactly why JKF had progressed herself away from our progress. She was dumb!
"THAT IS NOT TO BE"
Here’s an imaginary dialogue between IKJ and me.
CNS: What in the world is “that is not to be”?
IKJ: It’s a way out of fundamentalism of the extreme GUFSSA activists. To be or not to be means not to be IS to be.
CNS: But what is fundamentalism of the GUFSSA folks?
IKJ: GUFSSA fundamentalism is basically narrow-minded thinking, forcing everything into rigid, preconceived little categories.
CNS: Is one of these internet factors—like Inside Gallaudet—is your university PR a fundamentalist, then?
IKJ: Oh. I guess I’ll have to narrow my definition a bit.
CNS: Then would that narrow thinking make you a fundamentalist?
IKJ: I don’t know whether to take you seriously or not. No, fundamentalism does not mean just any narrow thinking. It’s limiting. A fundamentalist forces everything and everybody into his or her narrow categories.
CNS: What are those categories?
IKJ: Basically, “all languages" and "modes of communication.” JKF says if you don’t know all languages, you can’t have a mode of communication.
CNS: Pardon me?
IKJ: It certainly is. It’s a most anti-JKF attitude.
CNS: What is a JKF? I take it you are a JKF supporter?
IKJ: I’m the first deaf president here. Deaf. It is changed from a lowercase deaf to an uppercase Deaf. Yes, I supported JKF from the beginning.
CNS: That was not my question.
IKJ: I might even seek to heal Gallaudet University without JKF taking the helm.
CNS: You still have not answered my question.
IKJ: Oh. Well, I just believe that if you don’t know all languages, you don’t have a mode of communication. JKF was born deaf and she supports "all languages and modes of communication."
CNS: I guess you’re not going to answer my question. Well, let’s try another. I presume you have reasons for what you do and are not?
IKJ: Of course.
CNS: Well?
IKJ: What do you mean, well? I just wrote this phrase, “that is not to be,” because I still think JKF was great for the "all languages" and "modes of communication" leadership that Gallaudet University needs. You want to know why I don’t believe in fundamentalism of the GUFSSA terrorism. Why, because it’s damned narrow.
CNS: I thought you said they thought they knew all languages, and one mode of communication became too narrow. No?
IKJ: Huh?
CNS: Please just tell me why you believe the GUFSSA fundamentalism is not workable.
IKJ: Oh. Well, because if it were, then most of the world would be going Deaf, and only small, select elite would make it to the administration of Gallaudet University.
CNS: Oh. How do you know that?
IKJ: It’s so simple. If all languages are possible, then only one mode of communication is possible. Didn’t you ever take logic?
CNS: Take it? I graduated from Gallaudet University.
IKJ: Oh. Sorry. I forgot.
CNS: What in the world is “that is not to be”?
IKJ: It’s a way out of fundamentalism of the extreme GUFSSA activists. To be or not to be means not to be IS to be.
CNS: But what is fundamentalism of the GUFSSA folks?
IKJ: GUFSSA fundamentalism is basically narrow-minded thinking, forcing everything into rigid, preconceived little categories.
CNS: Is one of these internet factors—like Inside Gallaudet—is your university PR a fundamentalist, then?
IKJ: Oh. I guess I’ll have to narrow my definition a bit.
CNS: Then would that narrow thinking make you a fundamentalist?
IKJ: I don’t know whether to take you seriously or not. No, fundamentalism does not mean just any narrow thinking. It’s limiting. A fundamentalist forces everything and everybody into his or her narrow categories.
CNS: What are those categories?
IKJ: Basically, “all languages" and "modes of communication.” JKF says if you don’t know all languages, you can’t have a mode of communication.
CNS: Pardon me?
IKJ: It certainly is. It’s a most anti-JKF attitude.
CNS: What is a JKF? I take it you are a JKF supporter?
IKJ: I’m the first deaf president here. Deaf. It is changed from a lowercase deaf to an uppercase Deaf. Yes, I supported JKF from the beginning.
CNS: That was not my question.
IKJ: I might even seek to heal Gallaudet University without JKF taking the helm.
CNS: You still have not answered my question.
IKJ: Oh. Well, I just believe that if you don’t know all languages, you don’t have a mode of communication. JKF was born deaf and she supports "all languages and modes of communication."
CNS: I guess you’re not going to answer my question. Well, let’s try another. I presume you have reasons for what you do and are not?
IKJ: Of course.
CNS: Well?
IKJ: What do you mean, well? I just wrote this phrase, “that is not to be,” because I still think JKF was great for the "all languages" and "modes of communication" leadership that Gallaudet University needs. You want to know why I don’t believe in fundamentalism of the GUFSSA terrorism. Why, because it’s damned narrow.
CNS: I thought you said they thought they knew all languages, and one mode of communication became too narrow. No?
IKJ: Huh?
CNS: Please just tell me why you believe the GUFSSA fundamentalism is not workable.
IKJ: Oh. Well, because if it were, then most of the world would be going Deaf, and only small, select elite would make it to the administration of Gallaudet University.
CNS: Oh. How do you know that?
IKJ: It’s so simple. If all languages are possible, then only one mode of communication is possible. Didn’t you ever take logic?
CNS: Take it? I graduated from Gallaudet University.
IKJ: Oh. Sorry. I forgot.
The Cannot-Blame-ASL Agenda
It’s finally happened. American Sign Language has been exposed. With the recent protest at Gallaudet University that resulted in termination of the ninth president who believes that “all children need to learn all languages and modes of communication,” a pro JKF blogger blurred at me: “Do not discriminate students on the basis of ASL fluency or choice of … mode [sic] of communication ....” What does he actually blame?
As a college professor of 21 years, I always require my students to write essays for material I taught. Any bad essay would hinder a student, deaf and hearing alike, from graduating. I do flunk them out of my class, and I do not discriminate against them at all. Any college or university graduate is expected to write a good college level composition in clear and coherent English, which is my top responsibility. My ASL students are also required to take ASL Proficiency Interview and score it well enough to pass their courses. It is not discrimination; it is responsibility.
To write about ASL, the student must decide what lies at the core of the language and culture. What Professor William C Stokoe noticed and loved about ASL was his unrelenting commitment to be continuous in linguistic acknowledgement, never rejected, and willing to endure the criticism that continuous acknowledgement entails. Embracing linguistic transformation is not easy; Stokoe taught that ASL is human and it is undeterred by the demands of continuous acknowledgement of Deaf people’s language and culture. The main point of using ASL is to transform the language and culture to intellectual life.
This can be called the Cannot-Blame-ASL agenda, which is alarming simple: Gather Deaf people in a comfortable, non-threatening environment and let ASL flow. It is important because it draws on the experiences and wisdom of so many different Deaf people—all of them can feel comfortable and real. They need to acknowledge their own language and culture that is totally authentic and blameless.
And we cannot blame ASL.
As a college professor of 21 years, I always require my students to write essays for material I taught. Any bad essay would hinder a student, deaf and hearing alike, from graduating. I do flunk them out of my class, and I do not discriminate against them at all. Any college or university graduate is expected to write a good college level composition in clear and coherent English, which is my top responsibility. My ASL students are also required to take ASL Proficiency Interview and score it well enough to pass their courses. It is not discrimination; it is responsibility.
To write about ASL, the student must decide what lies at the core of the language and culture. What Professor William C Stokoe noticed and loved about ASL was his unrelenting commitment to be continuous in linguistic acknowledgement, never rejected, and willing to endure the criticism that continuous acknowledgement entails. Embracing linguistic transformation is not easy; Stokoe taught that ASL is human and it is undeterred by the demands of continuous acknowledgement of Deaf people’s language and culture. The main point of using ASL is to transform the language and culture to intellectual life.
This can be called the Cannot-Blame-ASL agenda, which is alarming simple: Gather Deaf people in a comfortable, non-threatening environment and let ASL flow. It is important because it draws on the experiences and wisdom of so many different Deaf people—all of them can feel comfortable and real. They need to acknowledge their own language and culture that is totally authentic and blameless.
And we cannot blame ASL.
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Tent City - Hawaii to Celebrate Sunday
We made it! Tent City - Hawai'i is on the GUFSSA map!
On Sunday we will celebrate the existence of Tent City – Hawai’i on Kanaha Beach. It is a pot luck party starting at 12 noon till the sunset. We will have a Deaf guest from the state of Ohio who knows the Board of Trustees Interim Chair Brenda Jo Brueggemann. Our guest who prefers to be called Janene used to work with her at Ohio State University, and she will share her experience with us all.
It’s a cultural thing in Hawai’i. And Hawai’ian spiritual tradition, too. We will celebrate the existence of Tent City – Hawai’i to perpetuate in future generations of the Deaf by gathering together to talk about Gallaudet University. We will develop a sacred bond to pass on our Hawai’ian GUFSSA legendary to Deaf youth and ASL students on this beautiful, rural island of Maui.
A big rock from Carl Schroeder's backyard will be brought to be washed and cleaned in the Pacific Ocean and then wrap up for the shipment to an artist/sculptor on the mainland who is collecting rocks from all Tent City sites to build a memorial in honor of the GUFFSA activism. We will perform the seven rituals of the Aumakua on the rock.
Mikey Tomita and Carl Schroeder are hosting this new Hawai’ian-Gallaudet celebration.
Mikey Tonita: mikey.tomita@tmomail.net
Carl Schroeder: kal1952@myway.com
On Sunday we will celebrate the existence of Tent City – Hawai’i on Kanaha Beach. It is a pot luck party starting at 12 noon till the sunset. We will have a Deaf guest from the state of Ohio who knows the Board of Trustees Interim Chair Brenda Jo Brueggemann. Our guest who prefers to be called Janene used to work with her at Ohio State University, and she will share her experience with us all.
It’s a cultural thing in Hawai’i. And Hawai’ian spiritual tradition, too. We will celebrate the existence of Tent City – Hawai’i to perpetuate in future generations of the Deaf by gathering together to talk about Gallaudet University. We will develop a sacred bond to pass on our Hawai’ian GUFSSA legendary to Deaf youth and ASL students on this beautiful, rural island of Maui.
A big rock from Carl Schroeder's backyard will be brought to be washed and cleaned in the Pacific Ocean and then wrap up for the shipment to an artist/sculptor on the mainland who is collecting rocks from all Tent City sites to build a memorial in honor of the GUFFSA activism. We will perform the seven rituals of the Aumakua on the rock.
Mikey Tomita and Carl Schroeder are hosting this new Hawai’ian-Gallaudet celebration.
Mikey Tonita: mikey.tomita@tmomail.net
Carl Schroeder: kal1952@myway.com
Deafhood: Embrace Change, Embrace Growth
In fact, one of the things I’ve always admired most about Deafhood is its embrace for change. It teaches us to look to the work we can do on ourselves—repair, maintain, build, grow—so we can better deal with change that is certain to come. Growth may mean that as Deaf people we must be the ones who to proactively instigate change that is long overdue. Gallaudet University, for example, is now ready to change and grow.
We have memory, we have history that gives us remembrance that Gallaudet University began in 1864 by a native user of American Sign Language, Edward Miner Gallaudet, the youngest son of the Reverend Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Sophie Fowler Gallaudet—a Deaf woman who also learned sign language later in life. In 1864, the National Deaf-Mute College was chartered by President Abraham Lincoln to initiate higher learning and teaching in the language and culture of the Deaf. It had nothing to do with "all languages and modes of communication"; it had nothing to do with "hearing aids and hearing tests." This history is our strength that is deeply rooted in our sense of place. Its lesson is not to be a victim of change inflicted upon Gallaudet University: We are the ones to instigate the change that is beneficial, the change that holds merit of our language and culture.
The GUFSSA watchdog group has encouraged us to begin, as in a way to begin anew, feeling confident that we always have the past to anchor us, to indicate our intellectual life, and to define our language and culture.
We are beginning anew at Gallaudet University. We’ve already started some things, yet whether there are few more initiatives swirling around us now. For instance it can be the way to tie all those initiatives together for Gallaudet University by looking to unity and harmony we created together.
Here’s a new philosophy sprung out of my FSSA blogging. There is an inner wellspring inside all of us, and we will go to this inner well to get healthy in our individual body, mind and spirit. We find reason, heart, soul, and our sense of place: Gallaudet University.
We will be warmed by change and growth at Gallaudet University. Our Deafhood will continue.
We have memory, we have history that gives us remembrance that Gallaudet University began in 1864 by a native user of American Sign Language, Edward Miner Gallaudet, the youngest son of the Reverend Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Sophie Fowler Gallaudet—a Deaf woman who also learned sign language later in life. In 1864, the National Deaf-Mute College was chartered by President Abraham Lincoln to initiate higher learning and teaching in the language and culture of the Deaf. It had nothing to do with "all languages and modes of communication"; it had nothing to do with "hearing aids and hearing tests." This history is our strength that is deeply rooted in our sense of place. Its lesson is not to be a victim of change inflicted upon Gallaudet University: We are the ones to instigate the change that is beneficial, the change that holds merit of our language and culture.
The GUFSSA watchdog group has encouraged us to begin, as in a way to begin anew, feeling confident that we always have the past to anchor us, to indicate our intellectual life, and to define our language and culture.
We are beginning anew at Gallaudet University. We’ve already started some things, yet whether there are few more initiatives swirling around us now. For instance it can be the way to tie all those initiatives together for Gallaudet University by looking to unity and harmony we created together.
Here’s a new philosophy sprung out of my FSSA blogging. There is an inner wellspring inside all of us, and we will go to this inner well to get healthy in our individual body, mind and spirit. We find reason, heart, soul, and our sense of place: Gallaudet University.
We will be warmed by change and growth at Gallaudet University. Our Deafhood will continue.
Respect for ASL at Gallaudet
Gallaudet University exists in a world that desperately needs effective academic leaders to show us the way of higher learning. Gallaudet University is unique because it is where American Sign Language (ASL) is best used.
There are so many arenas of scholarship in our university that cry for betterment, and we need the visions of insightful leaders to paint better pictures of possibility for us to strive for. Consider our desire for exclusive ASL and college level English, for clear and coherent translation between these languages, for educating the next generation about these languages and for banishing ignorance about these languages as just a few examples. We need new academic leaders to inspire us, excite us, and energize us toward our commitment of both ASL and English in higher education that will make a difference for humanity.
It is my believe that teaching in exclusive ASL comes first, so that students can learn and develop academic skills in the cross-linguistic and cross-cultural translation into English. Good translation means good thinking—thinking coherently when the students are to write an essay, a research paper, or a thesis, of course, in college level English. Their scholarly authority will be respected when they are able to distinguish between ASL and English academically.
Communication is a technical skill that can be learned if a scholar is to spread his or her ideas further than the campus of Gallaudet University. Communication is not a language; it imparts or exchanges ideas, opinions or meanings by a language be it signed or written or spoken. (Yes, I can talk but it is NEVER, EVER important!) This is the fundamental requirement I always have for my students to communicate clearly and coherently because I have respect for them and for their language.
Gallaudet University needs a president who can open the door to discussion about ASL in higher education, who encourages speaking up and speaking freely, welcoming input, feedback, and ideas without setting up committees of a few. Gallaudet University needs a president who expects action and execution with urgency in an atmosphere where everyone feels safe making on-the-spot comments. Gallaudet University president is a change agent, because he or she knows that Deaf people are here to stay.
In other words, ASL exists at Gallaudet!
There are so many arenas of scholarship in our university that cry for betterment, and we need the visions of insightful leaders to paint better pictures of possibility for us to strive for. Consider our desire for exclusive ASL and college level English, for clear and coherent translation between these languages, for educating the next generation about these languages and for banishing ignorance about these languages as just a few examples. We need new academic leaders to inspire us, excite us, and energize us toward our commitment of both ASL and English in higher education that will make a difference for humanity.
It is my believe that teaching in exclusive ASL comes first, so that students can learn and develop academic skills in the cross-linguistic and cross-cultural translation into English. Good translation means good thinking—thinking coherently when the students are to write an essay, a research paper, or a thesis, of course, in college level English. Their scholarly authority will be respected when they are able to distinguish between ASL and English academically.
Communication is a technical skill that can be learned if a scholar is to spread his or her ideas further than the campus of Gallaudet University. Communication is not a language; it imparts or exchanges ideas, opinions or meanings by a language be it signed or written or spoken. (Yes, I can talk but it is NEVER, EVER important!) This is the fundamental requirement I always have for my students to communicate clearly and coherently because I have respect for them and for their language.
Gallaudet University needs a president who can open the door to discussion about ASL in higher education, who encourages speaking up and speaking freely, welcoming input, feedback, and ideas without setting up committees of a few. Gallaudet University needs a president who expects action and execution with urgency in an atmosphere where everyone feels safe making on-the-spot comments. Gallaudet University president is a change agent, because he or she knows that Deaf people are here to stay.
In other words, ASL exists at Gallaudet!
Gallaudet's Loss is an Oppression Spiral
The October 31, 2006 Washington Post editorial entitled Gallaudet’s Loss is unethical, irresponsible and oppressive. It is in an oppression spiral. It contains information and concrete tools for ongoing language and culture bigotry, hegemony and oppression in the Deaf community, especially at Gallaudet University. It also provides assistance for administration of Gallaudet University against Deaf people.
There is no doubt what was behind this protest: the deterioration of the university administration at Gallaudet University and the growing sentiment across the nation and around the world against the oppression of American Sign Language. Despite more aggressive and often dishonest tactics, Gallaudet University public relations are encountering resistance on campus from not only students, but also faculty, staff and ultimately alumni. We have experienced a lot of apprehension from the university administration with regarding to oppressing Deaf people.
"The play's the thing," said Shakespeare’s Hamlet, "wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king." "Catch" is indeed the word. Since conscience moves swiftly or withdraws within itself, we have to catch the words "the king" uses. President I. King Jordan’s statement that “… we must all put down our weapons of words and seek to restore a sense of community” becomes obvious that lying, name-calling, and other dishonest practice have been common, acceptable and practical under the auspices of his administration.
It’s shameful that The Washington Post chose to editorialize in favor this oppressive university administration.
There is no doubt what was behind this protest: the deterioration of the university administration at Gallaudet University and the growing sentiment across the nation and around the world against the oppression of American Sign Language. Despite more aggressive and often dishonest tactics, Gallaudet University public relations are encountering resistance on campus from not only students, but also faculty, staff and ultimately alumni. We have experienced a lot of apprehension from the university administration with regarding to oppressing Deaf people.
"The play's the thing," said Shakespeare’s Hamlet, "wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king." "Catch" is indeed the word. Since conscience moves swiftly or withdraws within itself, we have to catch the words "the king" uses. President I. King Jordan’s statement that “… we must all put down our weapons of words and seek to restore a sense of community” becomes obvious that lying, name-calling, and other dishonest practice have been common, acceptable and practical under the auspices of his administration.
It’s shameful that The Washington Post chose to editorialize in favor this oppressive university administration.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Jim Fernandes' Letter: Indifference is Evil
A recent letter from Jim Fernandes is, after all, awkward, troublesome, to be involved in calling his wife Jane a heroine: Joan of Arc. It's pain and despair. Yet, for both of them who appear indifferent, the Gallaudet University community is of no consequence. Our anguish is of no interest. Their indifference reduces us to an abstraction.
What is indifference? Etymologically, the word means "no difference." A strange and unnatural darkness, cruelty and compassion are blurring. Is it a philosophy? Is there a philosophy of indifference conceivable? Is it viewed as a virtue? Is it necessary to practice it simply to sleep well, live normally, enjoy a glass of wine, as we the Deaf around the world experience oppression?
Indifference elicits no response. It is not a response. Indifference has no beginning but it is an end. And, therefore, indifference is always the friend of the oppression, for it benefits the oppressor--never the oppressed whose pain is magnified when he or she feels forgotten. Indifference is evil.
We come from Gallaudet University that has been composed of three simple categories: the oppressors, the oppressed, and the bystanders. During the darkest times, inside the campus, we felt abandoned, forgotten. All of us did become the oppressors, the oppressed, and the bystanders.
And now we knew, we learned, we discovered that the Board of Trustees heard us, Congress heard us. And the illustrious occupant of the Edward Miner Gallaudet Residence, who is the university's first alumnus made university president, heard us. And I say it with some anguish and pain, because, today the Fernandes has yet to hear us.
What is indifference? Etymologically, the word means "no difference." A strange and unnatural darkness, cruelty and compassion are blurring. Is it a philosophy? Is there a philosophy of indifference conceivable? Is it viewed as a virtue? Is it necessary to practice it simply to sleep well, live normally, enjoy a glass of wine, as we the Deaf around the world experience oppression?
Indifference elicits no response. It is not a response. Indifference has no beginning but it is an end. And, therefore, indifference is always the friend of the oppression, for it benefits the oppressor--never the oppressed whose pain is magnified when he or she feels forgotten. Indifference is evil.
We come from Gallaudet University that has been composed of three simple categories: the oppressors, the oppressed, and the bystanders. During the darkest times, inside the campus, we felt abandoned, forgotten. All of us did become the oppressors, the oppressed, and the bystanders.
And now we knew, we learned, we discovered that the Board of Trustees heard us, Congress heard us. And the illustrious occupant of the Edward Miner Gallaudet Residence, who is the university's first alumnus made university president, heard us. And I say it with some anguish and pain, because, today the Fernandes has yet to hear us.
Inclusiveness without 100% ASL is ...
Inclusiveness means “all of us together.” It is the language of “we,” and we are in this together. However, at Gallaudet University:
- How do you feel when someone tells you, “We’re in this together if and only if we could match signs with words.”
- How do you feel when someone says, “All deaf children can learn all languages and modes of communication.”
- How do you feel when someone tells you, “Come on, you can sign and talk at the same time.”
- How do you feel when someone says, “I can talk fluently and sign not fluently” or I can sign fluently and talk not fluently.”
- How do you feel when someone asks, “Have you checked your hearing aids?” or “What are the results of your hearing tests?”
You don’t feel good. You don’t feel complete. You don’t feel honest. You don’t feel included. Above all, you don’t feel right.
We the Deaf use American Sign Language for information, knowledge and communication respectively. Information increases knowledge for communication to happen. ASL stimulates ownership and responsibility in the all-encompassing aspects of intellectual conversation we carry.
The world is changing. So does ASL. This is what happens when we incorporate something new into our language, into ASL that we use. We have to walk the talk to keep our language and culture alive and well. The surest way to maintain our language is to use it exclusively at Gallaudet University—our institution of higher learning, the leader of the education of the Deaf around the world.
I am totally convinced that ASL is what has been evolving for me in my Deafhood journey. It is not a question of diversity. If we were obsessed with diversity we are missing the ship. If the paddlers paddled on their own will in order to remain diverse, the ship would get nowhere. That is status quo. Deafness is not a choice; it happens in all the fairness. Ultimately the inclusiveness is what we need: Use American Sign Language exclusively so we could expect to bring our strength to our ship.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
