Reaction to American Deaf Culture
One thing that I learned about ASL is that one of its major influencers was French sign
language. I did not expect that the two would blend to make ASL what it is today, as I expected ASL
to be its own entity. I was happy to hear that the first that the first school for the deaf was founded
in Hartford, CT as that is the state in which I was born, (gave me some pride knowing this). I am also
happy that there is actually a university for the Deaf, that was founded in 1864. I was further
shocked when I read that the charter was signed by Abraham Lincoln.
I do not understand how ridiculous the International Conference on Education of the Deaf
was being in 1880. It doesn’t make sense to me how someone who is deaf could be educated easily
thorough verbal instruction, something which they probably do not understand. I do not believe
that they thought of the repercussions of their decision. Not only did this decision cause many deaf
teachers to lose their jobs, but it also causes a severe decline in the education of many deaf
children.
Thankfully the 1960’s changed people’s perception on how deaf children should be thought.
Thanks to linguists at Gallaudet University, the teaching of deaf children changed back from oral
teaching to signing, possibly allowing me to take this class today.
Some things that I found interesting from the Deaf Culture quiz and the readings was some
of the finer points of ASL, specifically where to focus when signing and some proper etiquette. I was
surprised to learn that when signing, one should look at the talker’s face and not their hands during
a conversation. Instead the hands should be looked at through the peripherals. Also the fact that
you should just walk through two people if they are having a conversation also seems rude to me,
however it is considered correct etiquette in the Deaf community.