Final Blog Post

For my final blog, I would like to reflect on the semester as a whole.

Coming into TE 448 this semester, I was expecting a course similar to TE 348, which I took last year. 348 was a useful course which made me aware of many diverse types of children's books. We did a lot of analyzing of them, however, I feel that the work we did with the literature in 448 has been much more relevant for my current and future life. I feel that I have become a much more active student on this campus, attending events and lectures that were required for the course, but ended up being not only informative, but enjoyable. Attending these events made me want to join more groups on campus and attend more events and lectures on my own time, not just because I might get extra credit points for them.

I feel inspired through the topics we explored this semester, though I think we only skimmed the surface of each diverse group of people. I would like to delve much deeper into these types of literature for future use in my classroom, as well as for the simple fact of expanding my cultural knowledge. Doing this will make me a more active participant in society, understanding social issues that concern me and the people I know and love. It will make my voice as a citizen more meaningful and strong.

My favorite two weeks of the semester were the LGBT week and the People with Disabilities week. I think I enjoyed these the most because I knew the least about them before coming into the semester. At least, I felt I had studied these two cultures the least throughout my education. I still have a lot of questions about these groups, mainly for people that are hesitant to open their minds to differences. One of these questions is, how can you support one oppressed cultural group but put down another?

I think in order to tackle these issues, the key is education, education, education! People need to know the issues and be aware of some of the terrible things that are still going on today that oppress certain cultural groups that go ignored every minute. After taking this class, I really plan on being more of an activist for the issues I care about.

Reflection Post

For my final project, I reviewed the following four books featuring deaf characters: Can You Hear a Rainbow?: The Story of a Deaf Boy Named Chris by Jamee Riggio Heelan, Moses Goes to School by Isaac Millman, A Button in Her Ear by Ada B. Litchfield, and Dad and Me in the Morning by Patricia Lakin. The most prominent theme I noticed in reviewing children’s literature featuring deaf characters was one of acceptance and similarities between deaf or hard-of-hearing children and hearing children. All four books, featured deaf or hard of hearing young children who experienced the world in different ways than hearing children, yet their experiences were all portrayed in a positive light. This was important to me because I really believe that equality in diversity has to start at a young age. Once students have stereotypes set in their minds, it can be very difficult to reverse those. For this reason, accurate depictions of very diverse groups of people, including the deaf community, are imperative for building an accepting environment within a classroom that will extend to the outside world.

Professional Resource Review

Children's literature for the primary inclusive classroom: Increasing understanding of children with hearing impairments
Nancy D Turner, Maryann Traxler. American Annals of the Deaf. Washington:Dec 1997. Vol. 142, Iss. 5, p. 350-355 (6 pp.)

This article discusses the inclusion of deaf students in hearing classrooms. The authors’ main claim seems to be that “all members of the lass must feel that they are equal members of the classroom community and that their needs can and will be met.” They discuss a few ways that deaf or hard of hearing students can benefit by this inclusion rather than a type of segregation into an all deaf environment. These ways are “by (1) having appropriate role models; (2) participating in the same inclusive, diverse communities that they will share as adults; and (3) establishing a network of friends and acquaintances that will increase the likelihood of their success in the community.” While I can definitely see the importance of these three points, I do not necessarily disagree with the concept of an all-deaf learning environment. However, each of these three benefits are highly relevant and could even be achieved regardless of classroom environment with an integration into a hearing/deaf mixed community.

For the purposes of this article, though, I think deaf characters in literature successfully function as a gateway to understanding and acceptance by hearing students. This is explicit in the article: “Developing awareness and improving the attitudes of children without disabilities toward children with disabilities, …The use of children's literature is one way to develop this awareness.” The article also makes note of a disturbing and all-too-popular concept about deaf and hard of hearing students, that could also apply to ESL students. That is that “limited use of language is often mistakenly associated with cognitive impairment.” For this reason, deaf characters in the literature used to introduce hearing children to the deaf world must be accurate and positive portrayals that are also validating for deaf students. Finally, the authors included a list of short reviews and classroom ideas of use for literature with deaf characters.

As a future teacher, and someone who has taken a sign language course, as well as visited the Michigan School for the Deaf for a day of observation and professional development, I can absolutely understand the emphasis the authors have placed on the accurate portrayal of deaf characters in children’s literature in order to begin to foster acceptance of these types of differences in hearing children at a young age. Deafness can occur from birth, suddenly, or gradually for a variety of reasons including genetics and incidents. People who are born or become deaf are no less competent or intelligent than a hearing person. This is a concept I believe to be ignored far too often in public hearing school systems.

Can You Hear a Rainbow?

Heelan, Jamee Riggio. Can You Hear a Rainbow?: The Story of a Deaf Boy Named Chris. Atlanta, GA: Peachtree Publishers, Ltd., 2002.

Jamee Riggio Heelan, the author of this children’s book, graduated from the University of Kansas with a B.S. in occupational therapy. With many years experience working at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago specializing in pediatric rehabilitation, Heelan is certainly an informed author on the topic of Deafness in Society and/or Literature. This book is evidence of the type of work Heelan has dedicated her career to: treating children and educating others about childhood disabilities.

This story is told from the first person perspective of a young boy named Chris who is deaf. The reader gets an intimate look into Chris’ family, school and social life, which is reflective of what is socially characterized as a normal elementary aged life. Chris explains that he experiences some aspects of life differently because of his deafness, such as smelling dinner to know it is ready, and using an alarm clock that “shakes [his] pillow” instead of making a noise. The way these things are portrayed, however, Chris is not at all presented as subordinate in any way. Rather, he offers understanding into the world of a Deaf child who is submersed in a hearing/deaf mixed world. His family signs and speaks, he goes to school with hearing and deaf students, and has both hearing and deaf friends. We see that while Chris’ life may be different from our own, his deafness does not hinder him, nor does he have any cognitive impairment as a result of being born deaf. Chris even plays on a soccer team with hearing kids and gets some assistance from his mom who signs to him from the sidelines. He claims, “Most kids I play against never even realize that I am deaf,” which further informs the reader, who may not know any deaf people, that deaf people are the same as anyone else, they just can’t hear the same!

The illustrations in this book are mostly photographs with parts of the picture drawn in. The fact that the pictures are photographs make Chris’ world and life more relatable to the reader. They depict Chris as a real, regular boy, just like them, their friend, brother, cousin, classmate, etc.

Moses Goes to School

Millman, Isaac. Moses Goes to School. New York: Frances Foster Books, 2000.

Isaac Millman, Pratt Institute graduate, describes the purpose of his book in his Author’s Note: to enlighten his audience about the fact that “Children who are deaf and heard of hearing are very much like children who hear. They play with their friends, help their families, and sometimes misbehave.” They take care of their pets and go to school. In school, they learn to read and write and do sports, put on plays sings songs and go on class trips.” Millman successfully achieves his goal through the eyes of his protagonist, Moses, a young deaf boy who attends a public school for the deaf. We see how Moses and his classmates “communicate in sign language,” learn technological skills, and practice “reading and writing.” The reader gets a special look into the bi-lingual aspects of the deaf community. Most people probably do not realize that American Sign Language (ASL) is structured differently than English, so ‘speakers’ of both can speak two languages, which is very impressive in itself. The activities of Moses’ school day are shown as fun and educational as the students write letters to their pen pals, and sign to the popular song Take Me Out to the Ballgame. His school experience is portrayed as very relatable and not at all subordinate.

The illustrations in this book are detailed drawings, showing people signing to each other during various daily activities. Characters in the book are very diverse: of the ten students in Moses’ class, two are Asian, two are African American, one is Pakistani, and one is Latino. Furthermore, Millman included sign-language diagrams on every few pages to help his readers “begin to learn a few words in American Sign Language.”

After having visited the Michigan School for the Deaf, I see this book as a positive reflection of a deaf school environment. Students in the classroom I visited learned the same material as in a public hearing classroom. Faculty members were both deaf and hearing, and all signed ASL, just as in Millman’s book, Moses Goes to School.

A Button in Her Ear

Litchfield, Ada B.. A Button in Her Ear. Morton Grove, IL: Albert Whitman & Company, 1976.

In her book, A Button in Her Ear, Ada B. Litchfield tells the story of a girl named Angela who is hard of hearing and discovers this through her gradual loss of hearing. She often misunderstands her friends and family, which are the indicators of her hearing loss. After visiting her doctor and an audiologist, Angela gets a hearing aid, which she calls a “magic button” that helps her hear what people around her are saying to her. In her Note about the story, Litchfield explains that hearing aids do not work for every person who experiences hearing loss: “children with more severe hearing loss may need training in using visual clues and in their own speech production. If loss is profound, other means of communication using visual clues, sign language, and finger spelling may be employed.” Angela is presented in a relatable way for children who go to school and play sports just like she does. Perhaps the best part to support acceptance of deaf or hard of hearing children by hearing children is near the end when Angela’s teacher introduces Angela’s presentation of her hearing aid to the class by saying, “Just as Ann and Doug and John and I are wearing glasses to help us see better, so Angela is wearing a hearing aid to help her hear better.” Students can see through this that just because someone is wearing a hearing aid does not make them any less competent, as the aid functions in a similar way to something as accepted as glasses. We see that Angela accepts her hearing loss in a positive way with support from the adults in her life and continues to lead a normal life of a young girl, going to school, playing sports and playing with friends.

Dad and Me in the Morning

Lakin, Patricia. Dad and Me in the Morning. Morton Grove, IL: Albert Whitman & Company, 1994.

Patricia Lakin tells a story of a father and a son with a strong relationship who get up early in the morning to share the special experience of a beautiful sunrise. The son in this story is not explicitly described as deaf or hard of hearing, but it is evident in the fact that he uses a “special alarm clock” that flashes, wears hearing aids, is able to “speech-read”, and communicates with his father using sign language. The illustrations and descriptive words in the story portray this father and son to be similar to any hearing father and son who may be reading the story together, or just the same as any reader, for that matter. Just because the son is deaf does not hinder his experience of the wonders of the early morning world. He notices a bunny, smells pine trees, feels the slap of his sandals, and the cold water off the beach. He can smell the rocks, see and feel hermit crabs, and finally, see the beauty of a sunrise. We see that he experiences the world in the same way that we do, just more quietly than we may. The love in the father and son’s relationship also strengthens the sensitivity and normality of these characters. Without blatantly describing his deafness, Lakin portrays this deaf character in a positive light, highlighting his many other senses and abilities to communicate them.