Deaf ideology,rosensteel PDF

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Rosensteel,1 Elizabeth Rosensteel Professor Lancaster ASL-2510 Deaf Ideology For this week, I watched a Ted Talk entitled “Deaf Ideology, Markia Kovacs-Houlihan”. This video was published November 10th, 2015, and the speaker Kovacs-Houlihan explains and focuses on the hearing ideology, how it is ingrained into us, and how the hearing world automatically believes that a deaf person is automatically considered disabled and is considered a disease according to the CDC. Kovacs-Houlihan goes on to explain how the hearing ideology further progresses audism, further suppressing her own identity, and how she and others are treated as if they have an inherent problem. When the deaf community does not have a problem, the hearing world does have one with the Deaf world; treating the Deaf community as if they are inferior because they cannot hear. Kovacs-Houlihan’s purpose is to get the hearing world to increase understanding and educate themselves on the Deaf community. Throughout the video, she explains her experiences with the hearing community. For instance, when she has gone out to dinner with her family, she has been handed a braille menu, as if people do not understand the difference between Deaf and Blind people. Kovacs-Houlihan also explains how our society has created a narrative that stigmatizes the deaf community and that there are “assumptions made about a Deaf person that they are isolated, uneducated, or without language”. All of these assumptions are untrue due to the Deaf community having their very own language form. They can be educators, scholars, scientist…ect. and Kovacs-Houlihan continues on to explain her own experiences in the public school system as a Deaf person.

Rosensteel,2 Detailing how the current system is not working for the Deaf students. Forming this opinion from her own stories such as when she was in school the first time: she was in class with another deaf student, she naturally started to sign to the other student. Her teacher pulled her out of the classroom to reprimand her for it, making her feel as though her identity was being suppressed, unfortunately creating the first of such experiences, not the only or last times. She also recalls a time in her high school years where she is “pulled away from her peers to be in speech training”(Kovcas-Houlihan), when all she wanted to do is be a part of the collective group. Thanks to her parent’s support she was able to overcome the oppression she has experienced, but sadly, not all in the Deaf community have that kind of support system. Kovcas-Houlihan proceeds to talk about the education system further into the video stating, “there are 2,300 dead and hard of hearing student who are placed in the public system in our state”(Kovcas-Houlihan). Majority of those students are placed in classrooms that are not created to optimize their education. She further explains how these classrooms can be designed to optimize the education of a deaf student. This new system would help both Hearing and Deaf children learn in the classroom. The hearing students would benefit from using a visual language, from having this different perspective on learning, and would potentially grow up with more of an understanding of the Deaf community. Everyone would befit from the deaf gain. According to her, “deaf gain is defined this thinking as a way of looking at the world in a different way and understanding and valuing a deaf perspective and their expertise” (Kovcas-Houlihan). She then continues to explain how deaf people a part of human biodiversity and how deaf people have actually been on this earth for thousands of years and they are here to stay. They are just having a different human experience than the rest of us.

Rosensteel,3 Throughout this video, there are a lot of parallels to what we have been learning in class, giving the watcher (me, for example) an inside look to someone else’s actual experiences. Overall, I genuinely agree with her statement about the school system. Her explanation of what she went through while in public schools really show cased how the education system isn’t created for any person but of hearing and neurotypical people. Detailing how she wanted to just be with the collectives of her peers. In the past few chapters covered in class, we’ve learned about the different educational needs a deaf child has than to others. Kovcas-Houlihan also explains about at the college she works at she does Deaf studies and said 500 students apply to the program each year. Personally, I feel as though I am a part of the number of students that want to understand the different perspectives people have.

Throughout the Ted Talk called “Deaf Ideology”, Markia Kovacs-Houlihan explained the deaf ideology and how the hearing world sees the Deaf community who are seen as inferior to those of the hearing. Explaining how they are not and they are fully capable of anything that their “normal” peers are. They have their own form of language and way of life. Being deaf is being a part of a different cultural group. Kovacs-Houlihan wants the hearing community to educate themselves and to be more understanding of different human experiences....