ASL Rose Newsletter
Vol. 3 No. 4
July 2009
"THE ASL REVOLUTION:
STOP WEAKENING ASL BY LINGUICISM"
To begin this newsletter, ASL Rose wants to express their profound thanks to Tamara Davidson for her wonderful illustrations that made past monthly newsletters more eye-catching and colorful. Once again, Tamara masterfully created an artistic work to depict that American Sign Language (ASL) is being crushed by the educational system of the Deaf under the name of “linguicism.” The beautiful part of that illustration is that ASL freedom fighters don't stand silent allowing the eradication of ASL in Deaf educational settings. This newsletter is dedicated to all past and present individuals, both Deaf and Hearing, who have fought against linguicism on behalf of ASL.
Out there are a thousand incidents where ASL is brushed off, pushed away, and devalued as an educational package for Deaf learners. Of many incidents, ASL Rose is limited to the following three different scenarios in order to give the readers some examples:
Example #1:
A teacher of the Deaf praised a young Deaf boy who pronounced just one word, "ball", correctly but failed to praise a young Deaf girl who told, in ASL, the story of the Three Pigs in its entirety.
Example #2:
A school for the Deaf gave recognitions and awards to students in their achievement in the English language arts such as short stories and poems; however, there were no awards and recognition bestowed in ASL language arts.
Example #3:
Signing Exact English known as SEE-2 entered Deaf educational settings with quick acceptance and without research data on the efficiency of its sign system by educators of the Deaf while ASL everlastingly faced strong resistance and received strong demand that it must be researched first before incorporating in schools.
An internationally renowned authority on linguistic human rights, Tove Sknutabb-Kangas, defines linguicism as a language-based form of racism. When parents don’t sign in American Sign Language (ASL) to their Deaf child and concentrate on spoken language or artifical sign system as an exclusive means of communication with them, it is a blatant case of linguicism. The strict adherence to “learning to speak English or sign English” is counterproductive to the education of young Deaf children. It is a well-established fact that too many Deaf children will have a difficult time mastering English without ASL as their first language. English will come easier for them when they have ASL as their first language. The biggest problem is that Hearing people generally equate a spoken language or English sign system with “normalcy.” When parents become aware that their child is Deaf, they need to understand that nothing is wrong with their Deaf child. When educators have Deaf children in their classrooms, they need to understand that Deaf children must have a human language first and foremost for successful progression in education. Linguicism is the main problem for not encouraging ASL in the Deaf classroom.
Language choice for Deaf children must center on ASL. With it, the language development for Deaf children will be normal. Still today, parents of Deaf children and educators of the Deaf have carried the “false hopes” that strongly tie to medical perspectives and pathological “solutions” to deafness. Putting too much faith in oralism and artificial sign systems often jeopardizes Deaf children in the following ways: developmentally, linguistically, emotionally, socially, and academically. It is time to put an end to false hopes for a medical cure and a miracle of SEE-2 by accepting ASL for Deaf children as soon as they are identified as having a hearing loss. Linguicism is the main problem for not encouraging ASL in the Deaf classroom.
The continuing problem begins with doctors who often give wrong advice to parents about what they should do with their Deaf children. They often strongly suggest oral education because of their medical emphasis which promotes finding a “cure.” Parents move on to believe the educators of the Deaf who “know” everything about deafness and Deaf education; the parents tend to take the educators’ suggestions without any question. ASL-signing Deaf intellectuals who offer better solutions are completely ignored. Sadly, many parents continue to fall into this vicious cycle due to their faith and trust in doctors and educators. Their hopes of “fixing” their Deaf child to become like a Hearing child make it more difficult for the parents to see a clear picture that ASL is so essential for Deaf children’s education. Both parents and educators must accept the full responsibility for educational failure in Deaf children when they choose not to allow ASL as a language of instruction for Deaf children during their formative years. Linguicism is the main problem for not encouraging ASL in the Deaf classroom.
The Hearing world is so obsessed on trying to make Deaf people look like Hearing individuals. Denying a Deaf child’s right to ASL often comes from fear of “looking different.” Among educators of the Deaf, the lack of understanding about American Sign Language is a contributing factor to the lack of success of the education of the Deaf child. This is due in part because parents of Deaf children depend on the educators for the cultivation of the Deaf children when parents fail their own children in a proper upbringing. However, they don't even believe that a Deaf child who learns ASL from birth to 3 years of age has greater potential to blossom into a well-rounded human being as compared with a Deaf child who does not learn ASL during the formative years. By denying Deaf children from learning ASL, you cripple, if not suffocate, their intellectual development. Deaf adults experienced linguicism quite often in Deaf educational settings as they were growing up. They also have plenty about which to tell you that denying and even delaying the acquisition of ASL came with a very hefty price on their education. Emphatically, most of them feel that denying ASL from a Deaf child is a crime against humanity. Linguicism is the main problem for not encouraging ASL in the Deaf classroom.
Why is it so important for Deaf children to have early exposure to ASL? Learning a language for any human child should be something that comes easy and without struggle. ASL is the language for Deaf children in the USA because, by its visual-gestural means, it offers full access and greater comprehension to their eyes. Spoken language or artificial sign system does not come easy for Deaf children simply because they cannot hear and cannot easily decipher the meaning from the language of English which is primarily a vocal-auditory system. It is the very fact that for all Deaf children to acquire a human language, learning ASL comes far easier than learning a spoken language. Therefore, it makes sense that they be educated in ASL for their acquisition of first language competency. Needless to say, Deaf children who struggle to learn a spoken language or an artificial sign system will likely be miseducated and experience a significant void for full and rich human communication. ASL enables Deaf children to cultivate the ability for clear and easy communication with others. Research shows that Deaf children who arrive at school with proficiency in ASL are ahead in education and socialization. They also display more positive attitudes toward learning than Deaf children who arrive at school with no proficiency in ASL. Linguicism is the main problem for not encouraging ASL in the Deaf classroom.
Deaf children's modality for acquiring a human language naturally is clearly and evidently not through auditory and oral. It has to be from naturally occurring visual and gestural. It is so natural that Deaf children with no usable hearing will switch to visual and gestural as a preferred form of communication. Why insist on forcing Deaf children to do what is impossible and unnatural for communication for them? Deaf children are not the same as Hearing children. Since Deaf children have no benefit from hearing, they rely heavily on vision. Deaf children’s visual and gestural skills make up for their lack in auditory and oral skills. Requiring Deaf children to do a nearly impossible task of being oral or signing an artificial sign system is hurting Deaf children in many ways. Linguicism is the main problem for not encouraging ASL in the Deaf classroom.
In conclusion, there is only one choice for you to humanize Deaf children: having them acquire American Sign Language (ASL). It is no different from Hearing children in terms of their language choice of spoken English The only way to eradicate linguicism in the Deaf classroom is unconditional acceptance of ASL for Deaf children. There is no better choice than ASL as a language of instruction for Deaf children in educational settings during their formative years. The educational experiences of many Deaf children will be enriched if and when ASL receives full acceptance as part of the Deaf education package. With ASL, Deaf children are more likely becoming well-adjusted Deaf adults and, more importantly, fully human. Everyone must recognize the fact that the long-term effects of not using ASL during Deaf children's formative years may damage them in all of the dimensions of human living for the rest of their lives. Please join us to fight back against linguicism in the Deaf classroom and stop weakening ASL.
Selected Responses to July 2009 Newsletter
