July 3, 2001

Commentary - CSDR and Dr. Rachel Stone

I'd like to comment about the termination of CSDR's first Deaf Superintendent Dr. Rachel Stone. Since Sacramento authorities' reasons for
her termination were not made public for reasons of ethic, privacy and legal issues.

We cannot come to her defense without knowing the reasons for her termination. Dr. Rachel Stone's supporters asked if it was incompetency, insubordination, or what?

This explains the monitoring and evaluating positions of National Association of the Deaf, California Association of the Deaf, and Center on Deafness - Inland Empire.

The deaf are an oppressed minority. The hearing are the oppressors. It's not surprising to find the Deaf community supporting Dr. Rachel Stone and became suspicious about the circumstances of termination.

Historically, any time the Deaf community has anything to say about itself, it is summarily ignored. That has been true for two hundred years in westernized society.

Deputy Superintendent Henry Der's statement does not sit well with Dr. Rachel Stone's supporters.

"We (hearing) felt that it was in the best interest of the Department of Education and the School for the Deaf to bring back to Sacramento. We do have bureaucratic (hearing) rules. If we don't adhere to those bureaucratic rules people (hearing) get very unhappy or they feel their rights are not being adhered to."

In US society are basically controlled by those in authority, namely the Hearing majority culture. This results in inequalities in regard to Deaf people, since access to education, social, and economic success is controlled by a culture with an ideology that tends to oppressed Deaf
people.

Roger Carver's article, "Conditions of the Deaf in Historical Times".

ANCIENT ISRAEL:

Those born deaf were not allowed to own property or conduct major business transactions. They also were not liable nor punished for any damage or injury they incurred.

ANCIENT GREECE:

Those born deaf were considered "non-persons" in Greek society and rejected by parents as their legitimate children, killing of deaf and other disabled babies was a common practice. Aristotle, Greek Philosopher, was quoted as saying that those born deaf "become senseless and incapable of reasoning".

ANCIENT ROME:

Roman law specified those born deaf had no legal rights and were forbidden to marry in addition required guardians look after them. Those who became deaf after having developed speech were allowed to enjoy full legal rights.

EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH:

St. Augustine (352 - 430 A.D.) taught that the deaf are excluded from salvation on the grounds that they cannot hear the Word of God, citing St. Paul: "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17). St. Augustine also taught that handicapped children were the results of the "sins" of their parents.

EUROPE, 1880

The International Congress on Education of the Deaf, which met in Milan, Italy, over te protests of many Deaf and Hearing educators, rammed through a resolution endorsing the oral method in deaf education worldwide, ushering in a new "Dark Age" in the history of the Deaf which saw hundreds of Deaf teachers fired from their jobs and overall decline in the quality of deaf education.

UNITED STATES, EARLY 20TH CENTURY:

Alexander Graham Bell, calling the deaf "a defective variety of the human race, "begins a crusade to destory sign language and to push for laws forbidding marriage between deaf persons and requiring compulsory sterilization of deaf girls in the name of "eugenics." Some states passed such legislation.

No wonder the Deaf community's in an uproar over the oppression and termination of Deaf Dr. Rachel Stone.

This is Deaf's civil rights movement which is dedicated to fighting this kind of oppression and raising awareness of Deaf history and Deaf culture within the Deaf community.

Regarding ASL and written English, Deaf teachers know in their hearts that their teaching deaf children is typical of normal education, deafness is not a factor in their classroom. On the other hand, Hearing educators view education of the deaf as "special education," and a vast majority of them are unable to communicate fluently with their deaf students. Their inability to communicate with the deaf is highly detrimental to their education. In that light, if Sacramento authorities's reasons for Dr. Rachel Stone's termination is not warranted or justified then I am afraid, she has the benefit of doubt, it's oppression. Oppression's unacceptable and intolerable hence Dr. Rachel Stone has the Deaf community's support. Being a sensible level headed person it'd have been more feasible to know the true reasons for her termination before taking a stand.

Dr. Frank Lala (CSDR Class of 1969),
Recipient of Gallaudet University's
Laurent Clerc Award