How is making them look BAD a GOOD thing?

Finally, I am ready to share my experiences on how I made "them" look bad about the teacher preparatory program in this Part II series from Part I titled Let's Take a Look at the Backbone of Deaf Education in a response to David Eberwein. In my previous vLog, I criticized about the curriculum in a deaf education program at University of Southern Mississippi (USM). It later led me to receive angry, explosive e-mail messages from USM students and staff saying that what I just exposed was not what it looked like to them. With this type of approach, you must have your own armor and shield ready to deal with such controversial issues. What I did was to provoke them, question them, oh yes attack them, anger them, put them in denial and you name it. I received several e-mails that I would like to share with you and how I responded to it. The bottom line with this approach is that it surely got their attention.

I thought it would be fair to share you their side of the story however most of them yet acknowledge the need to change in their curriculum. They defended their program saying that it was enriched with cultural experience in the deaf community outside the program. While I am pleased that they are immersed in the ASL environment but my focus is the curriculum itself.


When we study history, you can find plenty of events where one makes them look bad. What would our quality of life be like if we never had the muckrakers who dug out the dirty laundry to expose the robber barons and political bosses in deception? This is why I call my blog Deaf Progressivism to just simply usher the rightful path to encourage everyone to choose wisely that will affect deaf posterity.


The upsides of making them look bad: My previous vlog drew some respondents via email asking me what deaf education program would I recommend since my messages influenced them to think twice about enrolling such programs like USM that I gave my thumbs down because of the lack of deaf studies related courses offered in the program. Although I already know a few programs that offer bilingual/bicultural courses in the course syllabi but I don't want to be the one to provide a list so I would like to ask you for your recommendations based on what you know of other program.


So please allow me to compare USM curriculum to McDaniel College and University of California in San Diego (UCSD) in deaf education. You can see how a big difference it is between USM and these two graduate programs. For example, not even one bilingual course or deaf history related course is offered at USM while McDaniel and UCSD provide plenty of deaf education core related courses. This time you be the judge because they thought that I am the only one thinking this way.

Here is a sample of McDaniel College and UCSD course syllabi so that you people of USM can see what a big difference on what it offers in a deaf education program. If you check out McDaniels and UCSD, http://www.mcdaniel.edu/4877.htm curricula, I am rather impressed that it focuses more on pedagogy core rather than clinical or pathology core. See it for yourself:


CORE (4 courses)

DED:511 Foundations in Deaf Education

DED:517 Reading for Deaf Children

DED:518 Assessment and Instruction of Deaf Students with Special Needs

DED:541 First and Second Language Learning


Area of Concentration (7 courses)

DED:527 ESL Instruction in Content Areas

DED:534 Issues and Trends in Audiology and Spoken English Development

DED:535 Literacy Instruction for Deaf Students

DED:582 Bilingual-Bicultural Approaches to Teaching Deaf Students

DED:589 Seminar in Deaf Education

DED:595 Practicum Experience


Here is a sample from UCSD that it includes a selection of bilingual courses http://tep.ucsd.edu/master-tl-asl.shtm


A typical program of study includes:


YEAR 1


Fall

COM/HIP 124: Voice: Deaf People in America

EDS 142A: ASL-English Bilingual Education Practices

EDS 161A: Innovative Instructional Practices

EDS 201: Intro to Resources for Teaching and Learning

EDS 203: Technology, Teaching and Learning

EDS 250: Equitable Educational Research and Practice

Winter

EDS 142B: ASL-English Bilingual Ed. Practices

EDS 161B: Innovative Instructional Practices

EDS 169A: Student Teaching Practicum

EDS 190: Research Practicum

EDS 205A: Reflective Teaching Practice

Spring

EDS 142C: ASL-English Bilingual Ed. Practices

EDS 161C: Innovative Instructional Practices

EDS 169B: Student Teaching Practicum

EDS 182: Inclusive Educational Practices

EDS 205B: Reflective Teaching Practices

YEAR 2


Fall

EDS 151: Teaching and the English Language Learner

EDS 240A: Research in ASL-English Bilingual Education

EDS 241: Advanced Topics in Deaf Education

Winter

EDS 233A: Topics in Education Research and Design (recommended)

EDS 240B: Research in ASL-English Bilingual Education

EDS 290: Research Practicum

Spring

EDS 149: Deaf Education Specialist Student Teaching

EDS 240C: Research in ASL-English Bilingual Education

Summer

EDS 295: MA Thesis


Based on what I have seen the course syllabi listed in USM website, there is no such courses that focuses on literacy instruction, bilingual-bicultural approaches to teaching deaf students, instruction in content areas, first and second language learning offered. My sister who is also a deaf educator lives in the South even told me she knows a hearing friend who went there and found to loathe the program because they focused too much on oral-aural type of courses.

Category:

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Tags:

• deaf
• education
• USM

[subtitleman]

Good video!

I wish you had subtitled this for the hearing people.

That way we can make them MORE aware of the Deaf issues. About our ecperiences being Deaf or Hard of Hearing in a Hearing world.

[OneWingedShark]

Hm, interesting... I read the sidebar-info because my sign-language is limited to maybe 2/3rds of the alphabet and the "I need the bathroom" sign. I have to agree (with

subtitleman) that subtitles would have been great on this video; when I was taking Japanese, watching Anime with the subs really helped me connect the words to their meanings and grammers. BTW, I do like your expressiveness, though most of what you signed was [undoubtedly] lost on me.

[morgankitty1]

i only clicked on this because this girl is very pretty, how old are you pretty woman ? i would hire this woman for a photo shoot.

[yizuman]

@OneWingedShark Text on videos will make your brain lazy and too dependent on text rather than actually read finger spelling. Take it from a deaf guy who knows.

[anastasia13306]

@gargajo85

oh wow

[MaryMiller4]

you have alot of wisdom and ability to share clearly.  thanks!

[gargajo85]

@GhostofShinobi

Of course not, by the looks of your videos, you are a FUCKING IDIOT! Sattelite dish n shit! You must be fuckin retarded. Have some fucking respect you hearing asshole!

[ESLteacher62]

You did a great job signing, from what I can tell. I could only pick up bits and pieces and words here and there. Still have a lot to learn. Basically, I really don't know what you said, but I can tell you're a good signer!

[GhostofShinobi]

Couldn't hear a single thing.

[IshidaLyons]

@Ometopada The description explain all what she was discussing about.

[IshidaLyons]

@elitebanktyranny Check the description... it in there... :o

[Ometopada]

I don`t understand sign language but it was funny/entertaining watching it. I kinda made up my own story in my head by looking at her signs and facial expressions :)