Monday | April 17, 2006

1st Referent Group Meeting

On April 13th, at Holiday Inn, Flint, we had our first Referent Group meeting.  Thirty people were invited and their profession includes administrators, teachers, parents, students, advocates, and community leaders.  
 
The agenda was centered on ASL/English Bilingual approach and Language Planning.  The experts, Dr. Steve Nover, a language planner and the director of Center for ASL/English Bilingual Education and Research in New Mexico School for the Deaf, and Dr. Jay Innes, the director of Gallaudet Leadership Institute, were contracted by Dr. Jacquelyn Thompson of Office of Special Education and Early Intervention Service.  Dr. Steve Nover and Dr. Jay Innes provided us with an insight on what language planning entails as well as debunked the difference between Total Communication and ASL/English Bilingual approach. 
 
The emphasis was on using a research-based model.  As explained by the experts, Total Communication was suggested by a respected Deaf educator, Roy Holcomb, with hopes of providing a compromise to re-introduce the use of signs in the classroom and the philosophy itself exploded across the country like a wildfire.  The problem?  Total Communication was not research-based so it was without foundation. 
 
The promising existence of a research-based model gave us all a renewed hope of pushing the Deaf Education into a new realm where quality is valued over convenience. 
 
Dr. Jacquelyn Thompson made a verbal commitment to follow through with a total implementation of the ASL/English Bilingual approach at Michigan School for the Deaf. 
 
Dr. Steve Nover enthusiastically told us, “I am excited about this…this is a historical moment.  For the first time, we have a State director involved with the process!  In most schools, we had to slowly get a “buy in” from different levels of administrators.  Dr. Jacquelyn Thompson is the State Director of Special Education and she is here with us today!”  “Hey, where’s a camera?  Does anybody have a camera here?  We need a group photograph for this historical moment!”  Laughter filled the room. 
 
The next Referent Group meeting takes place on May 10th and it will be open to the public.
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Wednesday | April 12, 2006

Reflections...

  

The referent group meeting is only one day away and as time nears, I find that I am increasingly anxious. This is such an important meeting, one that could either prove to make huge strides for the Deaf children of Michigan—or set them back even farther.

 

I have very little faith in the proceedings, if you want to know the truth. And this lack, I feel, is justified. Already, so many things have spoiled the process, ranging from Ms. Winkler being involved in choosing the referent group members to the fact that the group will be facilitated by a hearing, non-signer who has no knowledge of the nuances of communication within a visual community. The list of participants recently went out to referent group members, and I had the opportunity to review it. I was disappointed with the choices made. Several of the members on this group, to be fair, are excellent choices and will prove to be strong participants in terms of being able to contribute to the discussion at hand. They have enough knowledge of the issues, and they have strong reasoning and skills of logic. But the vast majority neither have knowledge nor have proper debating skills. Worse yet, if Ms. Winkler is a tantamount part of this process, then we are – to be frank—screwed. She will be seated on a referent group and surrounded by a large number of members that she does not have the slightest bit of respect for (and I am referring to current MSD and CAC staff in the referent group). Whatever they decide, I doubt she will uphold. In that sense, this group is being set up for failure.

 

Sometimes I am frustrated by the fact that we have to trust in ignorant hearing authorities and administrators to solve the problems that exist within this school. It’s like Matt Bach’s articles in the Flint Journal: no matter how much “investigating” he thinks he does, his articles still smack Audist and lean in favor of the school (specifically Ms. Winkler). Sadly, this is the best we can expect from someone who is writing from the mind-set of a hearing person who has no real experience in the community. Beth Steenwyk, Jacque Thompson, Mike Flannigan, and so on. I do not dispute their expertise in what they do on a day-to-day basis. I do not doubt that they are probably qualified to do the jobs they were hired for. But I have seen absolutely no evidence that they know what is best for the children of our community or for the school of the Deaf.

 

I am also deeply disturbed by the fact that Ms. Winkler continues to work as Principal of the school. That, most of all, leaves me feeling hopeless. Because the truth is, whatever educational approach is decided upon during the referent group meetings will fail upon implementation in the school by virtue of the lack of true leadership. However funny, witty, and involved Ms. Winkler is—she is not a leader.

 

Still, though… This is a step we must try before moving on to other tactics. And we will. Deaf people are known for backing down, giving up, or blowing up and in turn jeopardizing their position in a negotiation.

 

Not us. We’re in for the long haul.

 

*I know many readers will resent the use of “hearing” in the above article. Many will grab onto that one word and run with it, proclaiming this author a “hater of hearing people.” And they are the ones who more than anyone else, don’t get it.

 

**I wish I had Ryan Commerson or Christopher Heuer’s courage to reveal their names. I don’t—and I am ashamed of that fear. But there it is.

 

***The above acronyms MSD and CAC stand for Michigan School for the Deaf and Communication Access Center (for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing), respectively.

  
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Monday | April 03, 2006

So... What now???

Don’t let the lack of big news deceive you. We have been doing a lot of things lately, laying the groundwork for upcoming events.

 

Michigan Deaf Association recently passed a motion to Rally at the capitol on May 17th, 2006. The platform issues will be 1.) Bringing an ASL/English Bilingual Education option to Michigan, and 2.) Pushing for legislation on the Deaf Child Bill of Rights. Some of us will be driving out to show our support. They will be matching the Michigan Hearing Loss Association in funds for a day at the capitol, where both groups will be encouraging the State to focus more on Deaf and Hard of Hearing issues (which have been sadly neglected for years).

 

So, Folks… Hold that date. May 17th. Make a long weekend out of it. Come to Michigan and bring your progressive spirit! We are seeing a lot of action lately—First with South Dakota School for the Deaf, then Michigan School for the Deaf. Now Rochester School for the Deaf is opening itself to possible changes and improvement. There is also indication that two other schools (we will not name them at this point in time) are planning on pushing for the same ASL-English, Audist-Free changes as we are hoping to enforce in Michigan.

 

Ryan Commerson and Kenya Lowe are currently in New Mexico, taking this opportunity to get more information from CAEBER and New Mexico School for the Deaf on Bilingual Education. The research never stops!

 

We’ve also been meeting to discuss the possibility of launching a new website that may serve as a tool for this kind of battle. More information will be distributed at a very near date.

 

 The referent group meeting in Michigan on possible Educational Approaches at Michigan School for the Deaf will have its first meeting on April 13th, 2006. We have not gotten a lot of information regarding specifics of the group. We do not know how many people will attend. We do know that several of the people we recommended were contacted by Cecelia Winkler, the principal of Michigan School for the Deaf and were asked to join. We are also aware that several Deaf professionals, including Dr. Steve Nover and Dr. Jay Innes were invited to consult with the Referent group and will assist with the proceedings. The meeting will be facilitated by a hearing woman who has no knowledge or experience in the field of Deafness. She is by profession a facilitator for such types of meetings. It will be interesting to see how communication is facilitated during this meeting. We will be sharing more information soon.
  

In other news, MSD has an interim Campus Manager (acting supt.). This person was formerly the Assistant Principal. The Assistant Principal position has been filled by a hearing teacher. We do not support the person who was chosen for the position, and feel that the school is not showing good faith effort to implementing an audist-free environment. There has been no recent news on progress made regarding the communication policy. We hope to see this set up soon.

In the meantime, your continued support is very much appreciated. We hope to see many of you on May 17th. As the date nears, we will be posting information regarding directions, lodging, and so on.
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