Diversity: Critical Analysis, Interpretation, & Enlightenment > An Artistic Journey

An Artistic Journey
into the World of the Deaf

My afternoon with the Deaf was an illuminating experience of eye-opening and ear-closing proportions. When I walked into the Center for Deaf Adults, I had no idea of what to expect. I was aware that the Deaf have a proud subculture that is uniquely their own and it is one that I knew absolutely nothing about. Therefore, I had many worries concerning my interaction with the people that I would meet. Would I be accepted at face value and thereby encouraged to try learning something about their world or would I be thought of as an intruder? How will I communicate? Will there be an interpreter? I know that visual cues are very important in this culture; Will my actions be wrongly interpreted as offensive? Can I participate in the scheduled community art activity or will they expect me to only observe?
What is going to happen . . . ?

I purposely arrived early so that I could talk to the "hearing" receptionist about the center and what types of services are offered. She then directed me to another staff member named Allen. He is almost completely deaf. Although he can speak rather well, the receptionist was needed to translate my questions and responses to sign. Allen was very helpful about the information that I needed and he was also instrumental in putting my fear of acceptance to rest. His willingness to share his personal barriers to communication with the hearing world and the difficulties associated with that endeavor for all the deaf helped me to understand a little better. At the same time, I began to feel less nervous about being in unfamiliar territory because these people are basically the same as anyone else. Given half a chance, they are happy to share their lives with you.

After my talk with Allen, I was introduced by the receptionist to the volunteer art coordinator named P.D. I believe that she uses her initials because it is easier to finger spell. Her first question to me by using both voice and sign was, "are you hearing?" I replied, "yes." She then asked, "do you know sign?" "Very little", I replied in both voice and sign. She then stated that several were hearing today but that they had requested no voice, only signs were to be used during the art session. Okay, I thought, this is going to be interesting. It was!

As soon as we walked into the conference room, P.D. started signing to the others. I have no idea what was said, although there was some pointing in my direction. I can only guess that I had been introduced. If the others were introduced by name to me, I missed it. P.D. then began to instruct, in sign, on how to execute our first art project. Naturally, I was somewhat lost. Only by observing the model of the project and watching the others was I able to figure out what to do. The first project was to make wrapping paper by placing leaves under a piece of paper and shading over with a crayon, imprinting the leaf shape on the paper. I was so busy trying to watch everything and everyone I was unable to finish.

Next, we were given an index card, scissors, and scotch tape. P.D. signed instructions again while holding up a model. Again, by looking closely at the model, I was able to complete the simple task. We were given colored paper and were told to choose three different sheets. This time, I knew the signs for "3" and "different" That helped me considerably. However, the others knew that I was handicapped by my communication skills so they were very diligent in making sure that I understood what to do. It was during this time that I realized that even though I had understood, I did not communicate that understanding to them. Up to that point, I had not used sign. I found that when I repeated a few of the words in sign back to them they were satisfied. Therefore, my worries about offending visually were unfounded. In actuality, I gave few visual cues to the others. I had always thought of myself as an expressive person because I gesture with my hands all the time when speaking. I then realized that if I don't speak, I don't express much of anything. What a revelation about myself! Next, after we had assembled the various stages of this project, P.D. came around to see the completed works and to remark on them.

While P.D. was conversing with the girl across from me, the sign for baby came up and they laughed while looking in my direction. I got the rather paranoid impression that they were talking about me, which is okay. I am very much like a baby in my sign-language development, if that is what they were referring to. However, I will never really know if that was indeed the context of the conversation or if it had anything to do with me at all.

The third project consisted of making an "I Love You" card by using the same shading techniques described above. The fourth and final project was also similar, only we were told to design our own shapes on contact paper then cut them out and apply them to an index card for stability. The card was placed under a piece of paper and shaded again to make more wrapping paper. This time, P.D. had to write "design" on a piece of paper before I understood what she wanted. Yet again, time ran out before I had hardly begun.

I came away from the experience with feelings of visual sensory exhaustion combined with a sense of dawning enlightenment. In this setting, I had been unable to use my ears to gather the necessary information provided from the instructions to guide me as I worked. Therefore, I had to try to watch everything while staying on the task. This is not easily done and my limited sign vocabulary provided only snatches of communication signals. This created considerable gaps in understanding and impeded my performance. I had considerable trouble keeping up with the others. By the end our time, I was grateful for not having to watch everything so closely anymore.

I can only imagine that my experience reflects what a deaf person endures in our "hearing" world. Most, if not all, auditory signals are missed. Perceived visual cues may be out of context. Simple directed tasks become difficult because the directions are not clear.

It is my hope that I will be able to keep this experience in mind, if I ever have a deaf child in my class when I become a teacher. I think that I will be more sensitive to their visual needs. In addition, I should be able to recognize behaviors that indicate the child may have missed information vital to the set task. These behaviors would include such incidences as their not being able to keep up or copying another child's work.

Overall, the experience was very positive. I was taken in and welcomed. Just because the Deaf community is portrayed as a tightly knit group does not mean they are unwilling for others to be a part of their world. In fact, they are very happy to share their culture with anyone who shows an interest. I felt very encouraged to return. In particular, they wanted me to attend the beginning ASL class that was following the art project event and I really wanted to. Unfortunately, my babysitting situation prevented it. In the near future, I plan to take them up on their offer. I can't help but feel that learning fluent sign and more of their culture can only be of benefit to my personal life in relation to my son's needs and my role as a teacher. Later, I may even decide to teach in a school for the deaf.

Evidence Rationale Statement

As part of my requirements for a course in special education, I chose to go to the deaf center to gain some insight into another culture. I actually came away with much more than I expected and I will treasure the experience. My reflections of that visit, stated above, actually says it all and provides a rationale of its own as to why the experience supports evidence of respect for individual and cultural characteristics. Without a doubt, I was able to develop a beginning understanding of the "ethnographic picture" of deaf students. In the future, I will be able to analyze the curriculum much more efficiently to address the needs of deaf/hard-of-hearing students in my class room.

Evidence meets standard: Diversity: 3.2

© 2000 by Barbara L. Wilt (Schoolmarm). All written material is protected by United States copyright laws and is not to be reproduced by any means without documented reference & credit provided to the author. The only exclusion applies to Lesson Plans & Classroom materials which are freely available for use by all without restrictions.