You submitted several very good questions that are often asked by people who are not familiar with working with students who are deaf or hard of hearing. I want to post some of them here on the blog and give the class a chance to answer them. Once you have discussed these I will also chime in. A few of these may then lead to questions on the test.
The first question I want to share is: Do you separate the deaf child from the regular hearing students? Because if you have a deaf child in a regular education class and the deaf child has an interpreter then how do you keep the attention and order in the class if the regular education or hearing students want to watch the interpreter?
5 comments:
I was in a second and third grade class with a Deaf student who had an interpreter. It was as distracting as you may think. She was the only Deaf student in the class, but she really wasn't all that different from the rest of us. She did everything else that the rest of us did, she just had an interpreter. I don't ever remember being distracted by the interpreter. We all knew she was there, but I guess we just kinda learned to focus on other things. I went back to observe the same teacher a couple of weeks ago and she has another student with special needs in her classroom (he has a lot of behavior issues) and the students she has now pay no more attention to him than we did to the interpreter-maybe it has something to do with the teacher.
I right now in two of my Classes have an interpreter. I do many times catch myself getting distracted in the class, but I believe that this is do to my interest in the signing and interpreting aspects. Although I can understand that many kids would become distracted with an interpreter in the classroom, but I believe that it is the teachers point to be able to keep the children's attention and not to allow them to focus on the interpreter.
How many of you look right at ME the entire class period? Does a student have to look at the TEACHER in order to be paying attention? Could watching the interpreter actually enhance the student's experience?
In 3rd grade I had class with a boy who was deaf and had an interpreter. I didn't find it distracting at all actually. The teacher actually taught us sign language to communicate better with him, and we, as a class really enjoyed it. Also, as Mrs White said, a child doesn't have to be constantly watching a teacher to be paying attention. I think that incorporating different kinds of children into the classrooms is a learning experience for all involved..
No. This actually makes me a little steamed. This doesn't work that way, it just doesn't. It is very unfair to the deaf student and worse, it doesn't benefit anyone anything. The interpreter is still in the room if the deaf student is placed away from others and other students can still turn their heads and watch the interpreter if they wanted to. Its something you can't control. Deal with it. If the deaf student want to sit with another student because of the interaction they have to help each other in the classroom, go for it. If the deaf student want to sit in the middle of the room to feel more comfortable or want to be in the center of attention, allow it. If sitting in the back because he/she is uninterested, let him/her until you feel you need to work with this student to improve grades or whatever. Not just because he or she is deaf. Lame excuse. The teacher can not force the deaf child to sit somewhere else because of the "distracting" interpreter. I think I did once had a teacher who did that during first week of school one year and I snapped back at her and said, "you're more distracting than my own interpreter." I wasn't nice and very stubborn back then but in clearer words, it is unfair to the deaf student and embarassing too. I felt hurt and angry. The interpreter has no say in this decision at all either. All they do is translate from teacher to the child. Never isolate a child just because they have special needs. As for seating charts, I have gone through many seating charts throughout my school career and they have always placed me without bias and/or unfairness. Many times teachers would come to me and ask where I would like to sit thats the best for me first before assigning the rest of the class. I always sat in the front and I didn't care so I was easy to deal with but I know some students who wanted to sit in the very back or randomly in the room but not the front. The interpreter sometimes would sit in the back close to the student if needed so they're still not missing out. Lastly, like most comments, the interpreter eventually become a usual thing to see in class and students get used to having them and forget they're there. Ill say give it a week or 2 and your students will get used to them.
Sorry if I sounded a little harsh but I gotta tell you all now before you do it if you become teachers, never to isolate or separate a child just because they're different. if they're misbehaving thats a totally different situation. please never do it. ever.
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