Guest Author - Kelli Deister

If I were to ask a hearing person what it means to be deaf, they would more than likely tell me that to be deaf means to not be able to hear. They explain it as a medical condition. However, if I were to ask a Deaf person what it means to be Deaf, they would tell me about Deaf culture. They would explain it as a culture that is rich in history and resources.

The results to my recent online survey showed that fifty-nine percent of those polled are aware of the Deaf community and Deaf culture; meanwhile, forty-one percent are not aware. Another question raised on my survey was that of which school a Deaf individual should attend. I use the term should because both sides of this spectrum, Deaf and hearing, hold firm perspectives on this issue. There are hearing people that feel that the only way a Deaf person can truly succeed in our world, is for them to submerge themselves in the hearing culture. Yet, there are Deaf people that feel to participate in the hearing world, by attempting to speak or read lips, is to make a statement that you are hearing and not Deaf.

Therefore, the individual must decide for themselves which school environment best suits them. First, there is the Deaf school, which provides the student the opportunity to learn and interact through American Sign Language. Second, there is the attendance of mainstream classes in a public school, in which the Deaf student would have an interpreter in order to communicate with everyone around them. I know that sometimes the child that is deaf doesn’t have a say in which school they attend. Nor do they have a say in getting the cochlear implant. Their parents make those decisions for them instead. The heart of that individual may be one hundred percent Deaf, according to Deaf culture. However, they are perceived as being hearing because of their educational background.

Realistically, the two cultures are completely different in behavior, communication, and history. One is a culture that is predominant in our world. The other is a culture that is many times considered to be a minority. One views success as being that of an oral and audible nature while the other views success based on their cultural history.

Gallaudet University is currently dealing with this same issue over the hiring of their ninth president, Dr. Jane K. Fernandes. She was raised oral and did not use American Sign Language until she was an adult. I know that there are some individuals that are completely deaf but when they went to school they were forced by their family, or their environment, to speak and read lips. Does this then mean that the person is hearing and not Deaf? Will that person always be seen as a hearing person because their circumstances were such that they had to learn to speak and read lips in order to see any level of success in their academic life?

I wish our society were such that we did not place such tremendous pressures on the Deaf to succumb to the hearing world’s beliefs and value systems. I wish, with my whole heart, that the hearing community would treat those that are Deaf with the same level of respect that they treat those that are hearing. Furthermore, I wish that one’s success, according to the hearing world, wasn’t largely based on simply having the ability to hear.

Lastly, I wish that the Deaf community would be more accepting of their own when they have gotten the cochlear implant, or were raised in the oral method.

Sadly, these issues are a hot topic right now, from what I’ve seen. It’s as though, in my personal opinion, the Deaf community is somewhat divided over this same issue. As always, I hope for peaceful resolutions and a level of respect for all individuals. Gallaudet University is to be applauded and commended for their professionalism in allowing their students the right to free speech. They are to be applauded for attempting to resolve the current issue at hand by preparing to meet with the protesters and allow them their right to be heard.