DeafBlogLand - bringing us closer together?

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I've become addicted to reading blogs. Truth is, a lot of blogs out there are pretty boring, talking about one's personal life. You know what? I don't care... unless I'm friends with the person and I care about the person. THEN I want to know how the person is and what the person is up to! *smile* Otherwise, I'd rather read sites that stimulate my thinking, offer points of views on topics, make me reflect, and even teach me something. As a result, I haven't been into reading blogs all that much, except for a select several sites, until several weeks ago.

So what happened several weeks ago? I discovered some more blogsites that I enjoyed, then DeafRead.com was launched. That clinched it. DeafRead.com just reeled me in, and I'm currently flopping around like a fish out of water, holding on to that bloggin' worm for dear life. As a blogger, I've been more interested in raising issues for discussion or offering an offbeat perspective than waxing rhapsodic about my latest trip to the beach all along, and I've been wishing there were more sites like that. Well, gee, I got my wish... and then some. *chuckle* No complaints, no complaints.

One thing that's taken me by surprise is how I've grown to care about people I've never met and formed opinions about people I've never met. Take TactileJunkie, for example. I discovered her blog recently and I just admire her so much now. She is a warm, caring, intelligent, scrappy, and feisty young woman. Frarochvia is another example. She's good friends of a good friend of mine, and the chronicles of her Matisse, Picasso, and baba are a must-read for me now. Her writing is fresh and original, playing with language to great effect. QueenAlpo, both on her site and on DeafDC, is an enjoyable read with a lively writing style. I've never met Tayler or Jared, but because of blogging, we have corresponded and I have a great deal of respect for these two young men. I could go on and on with more positive examples. There is the flip side of the coin, however. One blogger comments everywhere in DeafBlogLand and he is the most infuriatingly condescending person who is amazingly comfortably ensconced in his jingoistic myopia. Nothing anyone says sways him. He just replies, repeating himself, completely dismissing anything anyone has to say, and accusing others of misunderstanding or misinterpreting his comments. There are some people out there who are so filled with anger that they lash out at people who don't agree or attempt to engage them in dialogue. They are ridiculously sensitive and accuse others of outlandish things. As a result, there are a few names or pseudonyms that when I encounter them in DeafBlogLand, I actually cringe or groan. And I have never met any of these people, yet I respond to them just as I would those who I have known for months or years.

As I and other bloggers have said recently, DeafRead.com is a wonderful thing, because it provides a central place for discourse. But I'm realizing more and more that the explosion of DeafBlogLand and the centralization provided by DeafRead.com is having a more profound effect than just on the types of discussion and the depth of discussions. We are all relating to each other and responding to each other on a personal level as well. We are becoming more and more interconnected. I can only conclude that this is helping to bring us closer together as a community, even though at times the road seems quite bumpy. While some of us may disagree on some things, those disagreements are out in the open and this is an opportunity for us to work things through by rational, courteous discourse and listening to each other. This is just amazing to me - how we're learning more about each other and responding to each other just as we would with people we are already acquainted with. I'm looking forward to more dialogue and to becoming closer with people out there in DeafBlogLand. *handwave* to y'all, the Teeming Millions.

What is the Least Restrictive Environment?

Tonight at the gathering, we discussed a lot of stuff. But one thing we discussed was mainstreaming. I have grown to hate mainstreaming more and more as I become older. This is not intended to be a "bashing mainstreaming" post. As I said in an earlier post, we did not choose our educational experiences - our parents chose that for us. This is simply intended to posit the idea that mainstreaming is not the best educational placement for many of us, especially during our formative years. I was mainstreamed part-time through elementary school and junior high, then again a bit in college, then again full-time for grad school. When I was younger, I didn't mind too much, but when I was an adult, I grew to dislike it, feeling suffocated by it. But what really, really hit me and helped me articulate just what the issue with mainstreaming is was being mainstreamed to take classes this past semester to get my Level 2 credential.

Before I go on, let us look at PL 94-142, otherwise known as the Education for the Handicapped Act (EHA), later re-named the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). In its first form, and in all later incarnations, it has mentioned two things that must be considered by law:
1. All children with disabilities are required to have access to a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). (emphasis mine)
2. All children with disabilities are required to be educated in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) possible. By law, this is defined as full mainstreaming, without support services. If that does not work, then support services are added one by one, with residential schools for the deaf being defined as the most restrictive environment. Yes, I will go into what "LRE" should mean later on, but this is the law as written.
In other words, every member of the IEP team at every IEP meeting is required to consider whether or not the child's placement is a free appropriate public education, and whether or not it is in the least restrictive environment possible.

This past semester, I found mainstreaming to be the most restrictive environment for me. I, an educated Deaf adult with an excellent grasp of English who is comfortable around hearing people, could not function freely as a student in a mainstreamed setting. My words were not my own, because they were filtered through a team of two interpreters. I was wholly dependent on them for processing my thoughts and signs and accurately translating them. Even the most skilled interpreter cannot do this with one hundred percent accuracy all the time. This had the effect of limiting my participation, because I ended up deciding whether or not it was worth trying to say something. I also cut my comments short when I did comment, because I did not feel my teacher and classmates would truly hear me and my individual voice/perspective. The current trend in education is for classes to be run as group discussions or at least have a lot of student participation in lectures and have an ongoing dialogue between the teacher and the students. As a result of having to keep my gaze on one three-foot space in front of me, the others' comments all blurred together because they were, again, filtered through one person. I use the word filtered because communication, no matter which way it flowed, went through one of two individuals, and they had complete power over what words/signs to use, how to phrase things, and it was completely their call on how to transmit information. In other words, interpreters added a barrier. They added an unnecessary layer between me, my classmates, and my teacher.

I was put in a tough position because of this. I compensated by going to every class, contacting my professors via e-mail a few times during the semester, and doing very well on my papers, tests, and projects. My final project for one class was an oral presentation. I thought about how I could communicate directly with everyone without needing an interpreter, and decided to do a PowerPoint presentation. That way I would let everyone read my presentation, and it'd be in my own words. I signed a sentence or so before each slide and answered questions, but this generally solved the problem for my final project. I was clearly successful in this environment if one looks at my grades - I got a 4.0 for 13 graduate units, while working full-time in a demanding job. By most standards, I succeeded.

This made me realize - wow. I, as a well-educated adult with life experience, have the tools, skills, and resources to deal with this situation. I have experience working with hearing people, which guided me throughout the semester. I have the wherewithal to provide a laptop and LCD projector for the presentation. I have the technical skills to do so. I have the experience as a student to be able to gauge what I am expected to master and to make sure I do so. I have the education to help me be self-reliant by reading the materials, checking things online, e-mailing my professor, and so on to ensure I learn the material. I have a wonderful support system, which helped me cope. I have all these tools at my disposal, and yet, I found mainstreaming to be a frustrating, restrictive environment. How can anyone justify putting children in an environment that erects a wall between them and their classmates and teacher(s)? Deaf children who do not have the skills, experience, and education I do are put in this type of situation all the time and they fare far worse than I did. Most of the time the interpreter in an K-12 placement is a glorified aide without appropriate certification nor education and the child's friends are limited to those who are willing to learn sign or to take the time to communicate with the child. What a frustrating, lonely experience.

Here are some sobering statistics: More than 50 percent of the eleven thousand Deaf children in this state are mainstreamed alone - no other Deaf child is in their school. Another 17 percent of those eleven thousand are mainstreamed with only one other Deaf child in their school. Only ten percent are in a program with large numbers of Deaf children - both state schools and mainstreaming programs with large numbers. Imagine - most of the Deaf children in this state growing up feeling completely and utterly alone. They feel different from everyone else. They feel like something is wrong with them. Before some of you squawk, this comes from personal experience and from discussions with hundreds of other people.

With all of this, it is clear that mainstreaming is a free inappropriate public education for many of us. It is the most restrictive environment, not the least. I cannot support mainstreaming as the main educational option for Deaf children and adults. Yes, it remains an option I'm grateful to have, but it should be an option only for teens or adults who have the experience, skills, and ability to handle being plunged alone in a situation where communication is not fully accessible no matter how well one talks or how well one's hearing aid or cochlear implant works. I would not wish that experience on anyone.

UPDATE: What Role do Hearing Allies Have?

Wow. Tonight I went to a Deaf gathering, and someone else brought up DeafRead.com's decision to allow hearing blog posts to be syndicated as well as Deaf blog posts. Most of the people were not aware of what DeafRead.com is, so it was briefly explained. Once they understood, they all loved the idea of all these blogs being gathered in one place, screened, and summarized, all easily clickable. Then they reacted with shock and dismay at the idea of hearing people being included. Many of what they said has already been said in the comments section of the post announcing the decision. They said things like, "We need our space," "We need a safe place," "We pah have this and now hearing involved? No!" "I love CODAs, and other hearing people, but they need to stay out of some things," and (ASL transcription) "Deaf will back off, stop involve there DeafRead.com if hearing involve there. Leave alone. Leave Deaf there only." Wow. It was a loud and clear consensus, with one suggesting that there be a separate blog for hearing allies, with a chorus of yeas. Another person suggested that instead of hearing posts, Deaf people could read one hearing blog post, then write a critical analysis of it from a Deaf perspective, providing a link so readers can refer to the original post. I love this idea.

This, again, begs the question: What role do hearing allies have in our community? This was touched upon tonight, with most of the people agreeing that hearing allies have a place in our community, but we have yet to achieve self-actualization, acceptance and pride, and self-determination. And for this reason, hearing allies can only play a supporting role. That's one perspective, and it's something to mull over for all of us. What do you, the Teeming Millions, think?

What Role do Hearing Allies Have?

DeafRead.com recently announced that hearing people could submit their blogs for publication. This got me thinking (probably for the millionth time) that we need to have a dialogue about what role hearing people play in our lives. They clearly play a huge one because so many of us have hearing people for parents, and also because we have yet to achieve self-determination. Hearing politicians, audiologists, educators, researchers and many more have so much power over us - they control our fate and our lives. We are often squashed by these powers-that-be, and we have every right to resent them. We should be battling them. But what about the hearing allies? Those hearing people that became interested in us and genuinely want to know us as people, to further our cause, and to affirm that our existence is worthwhile? What role do they and should they play in our lives? At my school, a group made sure that the person in charge of the instructional division was a qualified Deaf person. Some people felt that that was too extreme and that it was invalidating to the hearing people who have worked with us. Others countered that we need to demand self-determination and to be in charge of our children and their destinies. Now for DeafRead.com... do hearing allies have the right to expect to have their blogs syndicated if they are Deaf-centered, supportive, and can contribute to the dialogue? Or do we have the right to expect that we control discourse? What about other situations? We need to have this dialogue. So what do you think, guys? What is their role in our lives, our schools, and our institutions? Have at it, members of the Teeming Millions. *smile*

A Brave New Deaf World

Disclaimer: this may sound like a paid advertisement for DeafRead.com, but I assure you that this is not the case! *chuckle*

Before I address my topic, I'd like to say something to my audience, the Teeming Millions. This blogsite went public only a few days ago. The response has been amazing and I am humbled. Thank you to those of you who have let me know of your thoughts and feelings!

On to the topic. Discourse has been limited in many ways for us as a community. We have only been able to participate in an exchange of ideas in a limited fashion. Obviously we've been able to discuss things locally. But on a larger stage, the people who transmitted information were limited to those who presented at conferences, participants in national/regional/global meetings, and those who author articles and books. A nationwide/global dialogue has occurred only at major conferences, such as NAD convos or Deaf Ways I and II. With the advent of e-mail, pagers, instant messaging, and videophones, we've been able to stay in touch with our friends and family more often and more easily even if they are not close by. This has helped with making our dialogues less limited to our local communities, but there are inherent limitations to this approach. Blogging has taken our discussions to the next level. I've been reading blogs for a year, and blogging for several months now. Since the Gallaudet protest, the Deaf blogosphere has simply exploded. Many more are writing their own blogs than ever before, and many times that number are reading or watching. This is transforming our discourse in a way that nothing has until now.

Even with the advent of blogging, there was still a missing link. That link is DeafRead.com. Up until a few weeks ago, we discovered blogs by word of hand/mouth, clicking on links we found on blogs, and possibly by Googling for specific topics. Hence, our individual blogosphere was limited to those in our circle of friends and our extended network. But now with DeafRead.com, the blogging experience has become centralized. This has the potential to take our discourse to a national/global level, which is mind-boggling to me. The playing field has truly been leveled. We all now have the ability to write/sign our piece and participate in the nationwide/global discourse about who we are, what it means to be Deaf, and our vision for our people and reach a vast audience. Not only that, our audience can respond and discuss our pieces with us and with each other. This is truly a brave new Deaf world for all of us! *wine glass raised* To all of us, the Teeming Millions, and may we continue this civilized, open, exciting exchange of ideas and thoughts!

So how do you spend your leisure time?

I got an intriguing e-mail recently, one that made me stop, sit, and reflect. My friend's son, who is taking his upper division classes in education, e-mailed me a survey focusing on leisure in order to complete an assignment. For me, leisure is a limited and precious commodity, and I had to stop and mull over each one of his questions. Here are the assigned questions and my responses. What about you, dear member of the Teeming Millions? What does leisure mean to you?

1. What would you define as Leisure?
I'd define leisure as any activity that is not required for one's job or to maintain one's physical body or one's dwelling. In other words, leisure is anything one chooses to do.

2. How would you break up Leisure into categories (physical leisure, intellectual leisure, etc.)?
I can see so many ways to break leisure up that this would require an essay to answer it. But for practical purposes and for what "works" for me, I would break it up into physical leisure, intellectual leisure, creative leisure, and plain relaxation.

3. How important do you think each of your categories is to you in your own life?
All are important to me in different ways. I love to swim and if I don't swim for a week or so, I start feeling out of sorts and I become quite stiff. Intellectual leisure helps stimulate my mind and gets me thinking in different ways. I've become quite fond of Sudoku. Creative leisure, as the name implies, unleashes my creativity. This is probably the most important category for me, because I'm happiest when I'm creating something, whether it's a finely honed blog post debating the issue du jour, a handpainted clock, or a set of curtains. I cannot discount the role of relaxation, however. When I'm stressed out, nothing feels as good as lying down on the sofa and watching mindless sitcoms or reading Archie Double Digest comics.

4. How important, overall, is leisure to you?
Oh, leisure is extremely important to me. I love my job, but if I had a choice, I would spend less time at work and more time in other pursuits. It's a must as far as I'm concerned.

5. How important do you think leisure is to society? Explain.
I think in America leisure has become another obligation or another way to keep up with the Joneses. We're stressing ourselves out trying to outdo everyone, and this extends to our leisure time.

6. How much time do you spend on leisure weekly?
Every minute I can. It fluctuates wildly from week to week, because my job is not stable in terms of pressures from week to week. I try to spend at least an hour per night and a few hours, if not all day one day during the weekend.

7. Does the time you spend on leisure affect (positively or negatively) other aspects of your life? Why or why not?
If I'm not hyper stressed out with an overwhelming to-do list, it's very positive. It leaves me feeling refreshed, whole, and fulfilled.

8. What leisure activities do you like to do?
I could write a tome, but allow me to list some of the activities I like to do.
Sudoku
Writing blog posts that are starting points for discussions
Drawing
Swimming
Walking
Spending time with friends and loved ones
Sewing
Painting
Watching television
Going to museums, exhibits, and that type of thing
Travelling
Debating on a wide variety of topics
AIM chatting

9. Do you believe society and others understand the importance of leisure? Explain.
I will combine my answer for 9 and 10 below.

10. Do you believe that we should change our understanding of leisure (treat it more, or less, importantly as we do other aspects of our life such as work)? Why?
As I mentioned in #5, leisure has become a source of stress in America. We could learn a thing or two from Europeans. Their way of life is much more relaxed, and hence their leisure is more relaxed. I think if one took a survey, the majority of respondents would say, "Yes, leisure is important." But they would come up with reasons why they can't do as much as they like, citing numerous demands on their time. I believe leisure has become a source of stress, just like everything else. I'm not lazy by nature, and I have been praised over and over for going above and beyond in my job, but there are limits to what we can do and still maintain certain standards for quality of life.

11. What has changed in how you view leisure since you were young?
My whole life used to be leisure when I was a child, except for school, homework, and chores. I took it for granted, I think. Now that I have the responsibility of being a productive employee, maintaining my household, and all the stuff that is expected of an adult, leisure has become precious to me. I have to consciously carve out time for it or to plan so that I'm not just sprawled on the sofa doing nothing.

12. Open–ended (Feel free to comment on anything here).
I think I've said a lot on the topic, but bottom line - leisure is whatever one chooses to do for pleasure. It is often a source of guilt for people, I suspect, and that's not the way it should be. It should be celebrated and honored.