Hearing ASL

Intro

In this term my entire school and I learned and immersed ourselves into the Deaf Culture. I learned so much about how deaf people communicate, learn, and do everyday things that hearing people do too. A guiding question I have for this subject is; How may we live "another persons life" and "step into their shoes"? I believe that we may live another persons life by simply doing what they do, or even try to do what they do. I've worked with a language called sign language with deaf people. It has been a great experience, and I am still amazed about how much they have to do differently from what hearing people would have to do.

FE Partner/Organization Inspiration

Going to Columbia College was a great experience for me. When I visited Columbia College Peter Cook was our guide throughout the day and was able to help us experience the deaf world. It stood out to me because we did an activity based on everyday life for a deaf person in a city. It also stood out to me because I thought the me and my class was going to have to "listen" to a lecture on how deaf culture came about. We already know that so we were ecstatic when we heard that we will be doing cool activities. We had to go to a doctor's office, grocery store, a jail, and etc. to experience how deaf people get around. I got a good sense of how deaf people face the hearing world everyday. I will show my gratitude by making a thank you video and posting it on my blog.

Showing My Gratitude

I  will be showing my gratitude towards Peter Cook by sending him a “Thank you” video in ASL. Just to show him how much I appreciated the experience.

How Has ASL Changed Your Worldwide View This Term

Taking ASL this term has taught me to look at the world from a different perspective. After going to Columbia University and took part of the activity where I had to sign for a full hour without speaking, I was able to get a clear idea of what it’s like to be deaf and the struggle to communicate with the hearing community. If I ever were to encounter myself trying to communicate with a deaf person I know not to get frustrated and try to understand their frustration as well as mine and try my best to get my message across.  

My Role, Contribution, and Learning

My experience participating in my group project was great. I was the Editor and the Researcher. While researching information on Japan, Russia, and America I’ve taken in key information and texts and shared them with my group. When the info was put into the Micromentary, I then checked over it and shared the information with my group.