June 20, 2001

BRAVO! FAQ

Frankie Arnold is evidently a very intelligent person! The questions in Frankie Arnold's message deserve to be answered!

1. People need to understand that not every Deaf Child is going to learn how to speak. Forcing a Deaf Child to learn how to speak is no different from trying to teach a Hearing Child how to sing. Not all hearing
Children can sing.

ANSWER: ALL deaf children can learn to speak. People who became deaf very early in their lives do not have the ability to speak CLEARLY because they can't hear the sounds of their own voices or the voices of
other people. This situation is solved by a cochlear implant, which lets a deaf child hear the full range of speech sounds. After a period of listening, and learning to identify speech sounds, the deaf child's
speech does improve.

Now, even if a deaf child does not get a cochlear implant, the speech TRAINING does something else. It gives the deaf child physical experience in learning how to tell the difference between different speech sounds. That EXPERIENCE is the key to giving deaf children understanding of speech sounds, and that's why deaf children can, and do, get "inner English language" EVEN IF they cannot speak clearly. A lot of deaf children went to school IN THE PAST when learning to tell the difference between speech sounds was very difficult. Today, it is MUCH easier! A deaf child with a cochlear implant can HEAR the speech
sounds themselves. A deaf child without a cochlear implant can SEE the, speech sounds, 100% clearly, by learning how to cue the speech sounds, and they see Cued English -- they can see every speech sound being
produced by a hearing speaker, with no problem at all.

Please understand that the "speech production" system in a human being works in a completely different place in the brain than the "speech sound IDENTIFICATION system." Many deaf people don't have clear speech, but they do have very high skills in the English language. The deaf children in Europe who are using Cued Language are at or above the levels of the hearing students at the same age and grade level in their academic school studies. And, today, the deaf children who have cochlear implants can do BOTH -- they can hear all speech sounds AND they can speak clearly.

If you have never seen the deaf kids of TODAY, go to the website at http://www.oraldeafed.org , and order their FREE videotape called "Speaking for Myself." You will see the kids you have never seen, and
they are the deaf children of today, and of tomorrow. They are the NEW deaf community, and they ALSO can sign, whenever they want, in ASL, or SCR, just like everyone else.]

2. Right now, there are just too many staffs at CSDR that can not sign. As long the staff is unable to sign, then the students will not learn English.

ANSWER: It is the faculty, not the staff, that must be completely fluent in SCE, for the kids to learn English well. ASL is not related to English (ask ASLTA), and therefore students cannot learn English with
ASL.

When you have a classroom full of Spanish speaking students. The teachers do not walk into the classroom and start speaking English. The teacher would need to use Spanish to teach the students English. ANSWER: That is absolutely NOT TRUE. It is very common for a person who wants to learn a new language to go into a situation of total immersion in ONLY the new language. In fact, the total immersion (total contact) with a new language is the fastest and most complete way to learn a new language. Yes, teachers DO walk into a classroom of Spanish-speaking students and start speaking ONLY in English. They do that all the time here in California, and the students DO learn English.

Please be aware that this situation of "Spanish to English" DOES NOT APPLY to early-deafened students. A hearing person who knows Spanish also has the speech sounds that can transfer to learning English. An
early-deafened child DOES NOT "automatically" have speech sounds to learn the English language. ASL cannot teach the speech sounds of ANY language to ANY deaf child.

3. Are you aware that many colleges all over the United States that teaches ASL to college students are not using their voice? Voices are prohibited in many of their classrooms. Its called "Turn Voice Off"
ANSWER: Yes, and those "college students" are HEARING, and they are already very fluent in English or else they wouldn't be in college.

4. In the Public School system. How many Public Schools hire Deaf Teachers to teach Math? Science? Reading? PE? How many Deaf Principals are there in the Public Schools?

ANSWER: How many deaf teachers have the English and Math skills at the regular high school academic level to pass the California CBEST examination to get their Teaching and Administrative Credentials?
If you want more deaf teachers and school administrators, then you have to MAKE SURE that those people have the proper education when they are children, so they CAN get their Teaching Credentials.

Right now, the academic scores of deaf students at CSDF and CSDR are very low, and Gallaudet University admits students with EIGHTH GRADE levels of English and Math skills (they always did, except for a very brief period around the 1940s when they raised their entrance level to the regular 12th grade level -- that's when deaf students were REALLY educated -- find out HOW deaf students were educated in the 1940s!). The Americans With Disabilities Act and ALL federal laws say that deaf people must be treated EQUALLY to hearing people. Therefore, deaf people must have EQUAL EDUCATION to hearing people, to get good jobs and good futures. When a deaf person IS EQUALLY QUALIFIED for a job, they
will be treated the same as a hearing person.

Today, people aren't hired because they are simply "deaf." Today, deaf AND hearing people are hired because of their qualifications. And, today, deaf AND hearing people are also fired, equally, if they don't do
a good job after they are hired.

5.) Then why is it okay to have many hearing staff at CSDR that cannot sign? If the Hearing are not going to accept having Deaf Teachers at their Public School system. Then why should CSDR be any different? CSDR does not want another Non-Signer or Hearing Superintendent.

ANSWER: All of the staff and faculty at CSFDR should be able to fluently sign IN ENGLISH. They are not required to sign in a foreign language.

6.) Hearing and Non Signers don't have to worry about their jobs. They always have the Public School system to turn to. The Deaf Teachersdon't.

ANSWER: That is wrong. There are MANY deaf teachers in the public school systems, and there are deaf teachers who are even teaching hearing students in the regular mainstreamed public schools, too. The
FACT is that IF a deaf teacher has the English and Math and education knowledge and skills to pass the REGULAR requirements of being a teacher, then the deaf person has no problems getting a job in the
public school system.

And if a deaf teacher CANNOT meet the requirements for regular teachers, then do you really want low-educated people teaching the deaf children at CSDR?

The deaf children at CSDR deserve the same qualified, fully-educated and fully competent teachers that the hearing children have. It is time to stop passing bad education from one generation of deaf children to the
next generation of deaf children. You will not get good education for deaf children if you simply choose anyone who happens to be "deaf" to teach the deaf children. The deaf AND hearing teachers for deaf
children must be real professionals, who have the education, knowledge and skills to pass the California State CBEST exam and all other requirements for a Teaching Credential.

7.) I would like to share a story with you about CSDR back in the early 70's. Where there were only a small numbers of Deaf Teachers and Counselors.

An 8-year-old Deaf Boy, was at the school for the first time. He could not speak nor sign. After only being there a couple of months. Three older boys sexually assaulted him.

The 8-year-old Deaf boy wanted to tell someone. He went to the Night Dorm Counselor and tried to tell him what had happen. But the boy had very limited signing skills. So did the Hearing Counselor. When the boy tried to sign. The Hearing Counselor mistook it as a dirty sign language, and punished the boy. The little boy tried to tell his parents what had happen to him at the school. But the parents did not believed
in Sign Language. They are waiting for that little Deaf Boy to speak. It would appear that the little Deaf Boy, was doing nothing but causing trouble in school. And all this time, he wasn't causing any trouble. He
wanted someone to listen to him.

Finally someone did listen to the boy. It was another Deaf family that was able to help this little boy. When a Deaf Mother realized what had happen to this boy. She simply grabs the little boy and gave him the longest hug.

ANSWER: THE QUESTION IS, WHY WAS THAT LITTLE BOY SEXUALLY ASSAULTED IN THE DORMS? WHY WASN'T HE PROTECTED FROM BEING SEXUALLY ASSAULTED? That child would NEVER have been sexually assaulted in that dorm if he had stayed at home, safe and protected, with parents who loved and cared about him.

That child would NEVER have experienced the situations in that story if he had not been removed from his loving home, and he would not need to keep those bad memories for the rest of his life, and then need to tell
people about it much later in his life.

Well, now there are TWO WAYS, very simple ways, to keep the deaf children at home with their loving parents, and to have the parent COMPLETELY communicate with their deaf children at home in their own
English language. One is to learn and use Cued English. The other is the cochlear implant. NONE of these children ever need to face being sexually abused in a dorm within a state institution, none of them need
to cry alone at night because they miss their parents and families and they don't know what they "did wrong" that caused them to be sent away from home. None of these children who use cues or cochlear implants

8.) Dr. Stone wasn't doing anything new.

ANSWER: Yes, this is true. Everyone knew that ASL can't teach the English language to deaf children at least 100 years ago.

9.) She is one of many educators that saw the need for changes for the better. She was only doing what many of us believed it was about time.

ANSWER: Yes, it is definitely time to improve education for all deaf students, but the "belief" about the method is wrong.

10.) When the Deaf says, " It's Time" It's always the Hearing/Non-Signers that would step in and say "Wait!" " Slow down!"

ANSWER: SOME people jump into things without thinking, researching, and making sure that their "philosophy" will actually work. That's why SOME hearing people recommend reviewing the RESEARCH before making any decisions. Deaf children are not "experimental animals," and there is very good research, in many countries, that shows which one of the 5 methods for educating deaf children works best, which works second best, etc.

11.) Has anyone been paying attention?

ANSWER: Oh yes, people have been paying attention. No question about that.

12.) It is much easier and faster to learn ASL, than it is for a Deaf Child to learn to speak.

ANSWER: Once again, this is not about "speaking." A deaf child can also learn to cue at a much faster rate than anyone can do with signs. A Deaf Child has something to say right now. Why is people choosing to
delay the child's right to communicate right now? Instead of praying, hoping, crying, and wonder, if their child will ever be able to speak. ANSWER: Once again, no one is talking about speakng ability. Please
refrain from talking about irrelevant issues. People are talking about the best ways to get the ENGLISH LANGUAGE INTO THE BRAIN of a deaf child, as fully and completely as possible. It does not mean that the deaf child will speak clearly. Clear and understandable speech is often impossible unless the child has a cochlear implant.

13.) It is very clear that for the Hearing, they need to have some form of control over the lives of Deaf Children and Adults.

ANSWER: ABSOLUTELY TRUE, and that is why some (not all) of the HEARING people are the ASL militants, and why they are trying to prevent deaf people form seeing or learning the English language.

14.) Hearing people have a serious problem with oppression and codependency. It is unthinkable to them that the Deaf are right and the Hearing are wrong. To make matters more interesting, none of you hearing
people ever lived at the deaf school.

ANSWER: All Deaf people do not think the same way, all physically deaf people certainly do not think the same way, and definitely all hearing people do not think he same way. It is dangerous to put people into
"groups" like you are doing now. SOME hearing people are definitely oppressing deaf people, many hearing people are not. Actually, many hearing people have lived at deaf schools, and there are
many stories about them, if you read more in deaf history books. But the fact is that there is no reason for any child hearing or deaf, who has not done anything wrong, to be removed from their loving parents
and families and placed into a state institution. People who have never

15.) Now the State of California is telling everyone that American Sign Language is a foreign language. This makes no sense to me. "

ANSWER: No, that is wrong. ASLTA and the ASL Interpreters, along with the DEAF ASL supporters, are the ones who got those laws passed, by actively pressuring the government of many states to recognize ASL as a foreign (non-English) language. Governments did not simply "say" that ASL is a foreign (non-English) language -- people told the government that they WANTED ASL to be recognized as a foreign (non-English) language.

The term "foreign" simply means "not English." It doesn't mean that ASL is from another country.

16.) The firing of Dr. Stone is uncalled for. She was only doing what she thought it was right. She also was the one who contacted a "Hearing/Non Signer" Henry Der for some assistance. Only to have him fire Dr. Stone shortly after. It is clear that Dr. Rachel Stone was fired because she broke the "Hearing/Non Signers" rules. But she did not break any ASL rules.

ANSWER: There is ONE set of "rules" for EVERYONE living in the United States, and those are called "laws and regulations." ANYONE who is an adult in the United States is required to follow the laws and regulations, and it doesn't matter if a person is hear. It also doesnt matter a person uses English or another cultural minority language. Ignorance of the laws and regulations for any profession, particularly in Education, is no excuse. IF a person does not follow the laws and regulations that apply to them, then they are punished or fired.

Now, no one knows what happened in Sacramento. No one has copies of the employment reports or records. No one knows ANYTHING AT ALL about whether the deaf community should or should not "support" this particular person. No one, not even the NAD, has the information YET. The information will eventually come out. In the meantime, everyone needs to calm down, be patient, and wait.