5bReflection

http://katyhuman7.blogspot.com/2009_04_01_archive.html

I learned from Katherine that deaf people view themselves two different ways. If they speall deaf with a lowercase “d” they view themselves as belonging to the hearing society and do not feel they are of a separate culture. If they view themselves as Deaf and use a capital "D" to spell the word then they view deafness as a culture identity rather than a disability. This allows them to separate their culture and identity while maintaining them both. When I read this I thought it was a very interesting fact. I wondered how it could be possible that both the uppercase and lowercase letters had two different meanings? I guess every culture can and probably does have their own way of interpreting things differently and this isn't any different.

http://jennifer-humanities7.blogspot.com/2009/04/assignment-5a-train-go-sorry.html.

In Jennifer's essay she states that "many hearing people think Deaf would want to hear and regret loosing the sense. However, the Deaf think it is just a trait they have and live with and most love themselves for it. Learning ASL is just like learning to speak English or another language."
As I read this it made me think of the people who are born deaf and people who loose their hearing at a very young age. I know they must feel very differently about their disability. I think that people who are born deaf know nothing other than being deaf so it becomes as natural to them to learn ASL as one one learns to speak the English language. However if you know how to hear and later loose your hearing, I can only imagine what a significant loss that would feel like. I feel sad for those people.

http://racer-humanities7.blogspot.com/2009/04/5a-train-go-sorry.html

A fact that I read from Lori's essay that I didn't remember reading was that American Sign Language was not accepted as a legitimate language until the 1950's. Prior to that it was considered an inferior language and a sloppy english language substitute, and people who promoted oralism, felt that signing actually brought people to the level of animals. It's amazing how far ASL has come and how much it has opened up so many doors and possibilities to many people in the deaf community. I can't every imagine thinking of someone using ASL as being thought of as animals. My children are not deaf and I have been using some sign language to communicate with them since they were babies. I am glad that we as a nation have come so far to see signing as just one more incredible way of communication.