A Wonderful Opportunity for Students with Deafness

www.globalexplorers.orgThis may be a wonderful opportunity for a student with  deafness. Please read about it at www.globalexplorers.org. The deadline for application is Dec.15, 2009. Also view www.hear-the-world.com

Attached is a great resource for recognizing hearing loss from Phonak. Enjoy and learn more about hearing.

 http://www.hear-the-world.com/en/recognize-hearing-loss.html?gclid=CKvNjb-c4Z0CFYNX2godN1JQ6g

A Deaf Child in the Family

http://www.mindmeister.com/maps/show/32233154

The above link is a link to a new mindmap that I developed today. It outlines things families need to know and begin with as they find out the diagnosis of deafness in their family. As said by Dr. King Jordan, previous President of Gallaudet University, "A deaf child can do anything except hear". The most important things a family can do is get an early diagnosis, begin language immediately, accept and expose the child to hearing and deaf worlds.
Continue to listen and "hear with your hearts".
Marcia Tonya

Brittany's Determination and Accomplishments

Attached is Brittany's Application for MA Program at Gallaudet University. I read her application letter with great pride and warm tears of joy. Please continue to listen and "hear with your heart".

Sincerely,
Marcia Tonya

Goal Statement

My name is Brittany Danielle Outler. It is my wish to pursue my Masters of Arts in Teaching: ASL/English Bilingual Deaf Education degree at Gallaudet University. I am in the process of successfully completing a double Bachelor of Arts degree in Education and Mathematics with high honors – along with a minor in Spanish. I very much enjoying the world of challenges and adventures that math and students offer. It is my dream to teach children with deafness the wonders of math. I wish to be a teacher who can provide more fun educational learning to students.

             My brother and I were born deaf and have lived and experienced the deaf world and hearing world. Through hard work and determination, we can be anything we want to be and make a difference in the world. My parents, grandparents, and good teachers taught us this as small children and have reminded us of this fact many times since then. It is my desire to be a teacher that can reach out and show other children with deafness that they too can reach their dreams and contribute to society.

            Much of my education was delivered through the mainstream and inclusion model with resource until my sophomore year of high school when my parents agreed with my desire to finish my high school degree at a residential school, Florida School for the Deaf and Blind. This new avenue in my life was priceless. I would very much like to teach in a residential deaf school environment. I feel there is so much for children with deafness to learn and so little time to learn it. They must develop emotionally healthy lives and advance to their full potential in communication, socialization, and academic skills.

     My greatest asset is twofold. First, the fact that I am deaf and have accomplished so much in my life and have found great happiness within myself can be shared with children. I can guide and encourage them. I can help develop their self esteem which I feel is of utmost importance. Second, my love for mathematics is contagious. My students will love coming to math and seeing different ways to incorporate math in their lives.

     Children and animals have always been a great interest of mine. I have always been amazed watching them grow and learn. When I went to Florida School for the Deaf and Blind, I was inspired by my math teacher. He encouraged me to be a teacher in the future because he had a  gut feeling that I would be a good math teacher. He has a great faith in my abilities. I decided to enroll into the Education Department at Gallaudet University a  few years back, and then I found my calling when I took the Math Methods course under Florence Vold. This course opened my eyes widely and taught me different ways to make learning more fun for students. I decided that I wanted to teach math the fun way. During the Spring of 2009, my practicum at E.L. Haynes Public Charter School began as a very unique experience as a student teacher the very first day. This day, my heart burned with passion as my fifth graders really enjoyed and learned from my creative math activity which incorporated art.

     After obtaining my Master’s of Arts Degree at Gallaudet University, I will enter into the world of education and begin molding the lives of our nation’s children. I realize that life will provide me with many more challenges along the way, but I welcome them and will become a wonderful teacher.  

Really Cool Website for Children with Deafness

This is a really cool website for Children with Deafness. A friend of mine from Savannah Speech and Hearing shared it with me today and I am sharing it with you. Enjoy and continue to listen and "hear with your heart".
Marcia Tonyahttp://www.medel.com/english/kidscorner

Siblings with Disabilities Really Do Affect Siblings Positively "Lindsay's Big Sister"

This is a paper that my youngest daughter, Lindsay, sent me last night from UGA to proof. I had to beg her to let me share it with ya'll. After reading it, I think you will understand my need to share it. It is a beautiful piece and is a testimony to how people mold us into who we are.


     Upon receiving the assignment for this paper, I wondered, “Do I even know enough about myself to fill up five or six pages?” My second thought was “I am definitely not interesting enough to do so.” While I am not sure that I have completely come to terms with my self-concept, I do know a great deal about how I choose to live. I know that I carry myself in a way to uphold certain standards. More often than not, my actions reflect my ideals and morals. I know that I am a great person, but am young in age and have a lot of growing to do. According to Richard West and Lynn H. Turner, authors of Understanding Interpersonal Communication, our self-concept is a set of perceptions we hold of ourselves; these insights are relatively stable, but develop throughout our lives. The two components of self-concept are self-esteem, the way in which we perceive ourselves, and self-awareness, our understanding of who we are (61).

It is incredible how much one can learn about his or her self-concept by simply recalling personal experiences. I feel that I am still learning “who I am,” and that with each and every occurrence, I understand myself a little better than before. For example, I grew up in a wonderful family of five. My older brother and sister are both deaf, leading to handfuls of experiences unique only to the members of my family. One such happening took place when I was only eleven years old. I remember going to the movie theater (or as we called it, “the big movies”), and realizing for the first time that my siblings could not fully understand the film’s plot with no sound. While emotions of sadness, anger, and frustration besieged me, I could only blame the theater and film-makers. However in the midst of my temper tantrum, I noticed my sister, Brittany, in the seat next to me with popcorn in hand; she did not have a care in the world. Ever since that day, I have been an advocate for deaf rights. I wrote letters to my political leaders at the age of twelve, spoke at public middle and high schools at fourteen, and met the Georgia state governor when I was sixteen years old. I am a driven individual, a characteristic that evolved only after many years of observing my big sister. Brittany has overcome obstacles since she was born with profound hearing loss. While hearing students complained that subjects in school were too difficult, my sister was working assiduously and excelling in every area; it was in this way that Brittany’s experiences helped to create my self-concept. Upon monitoring her determination to be more than a handicapped child, I developed a passion of my own. I have longed to help others in need since I was young; I believe that this desire contributes to the many characteristics that make me who I am.

I value my family, and the time I spend with them. I am a strong Christian, and measure my achievements based on God’s will. I am blessed with much more than necessary, and thus feel an obligation to share these blessings with others. I have been told I have a “big heart” and a willingness to trust people almost immediately, sometimes to a fault. My friends might say I have a strong personality or that I was a born-leader. Others might reference my undying love for African children, a trait realized only by a mission trip to Tanzania, Africa last May.

Culture has played a large role in my self-actualization. As a nation, Americans generally value competitiveness, material success, and strength (Turner, 93). I, too, was once guilty of possessing these ideals. My worldview changed drastically after living in a third-world country. I learned a great deal from a culture far less fortunate than mine. The families I encountered in Tanzania lived in mud huts smaller than my bedroom, drank the water I was weary of bathing in, and lost loved ones each day to diseases easily cured in the United States by over-the-counter medications. Despite these horrendous conditions, I never saw a Tanzanian frown.

While memories of my journey fade, I know I will never forget a ten-year-old, physically handicapped girl named Foster, and her thoughts regarding America and the American people. The conversation we had was heart-wrenching, and one of the most enlightening experiences I have ever had. Foster began by reminding me that “[I] am very lucky to live in a rich nation.” When asked if she wanted to travel to the United States, she told me that she had many dreams, but would never have the money to fulfill them. She described the actresses in American movies as beautiful muzungus, or rich, white people. She compared her father’s malnourished, emaciated donkeys to the cars driven in America. She asked if I owned a car like the ones in the movies; when I finally admitted that I did, feelings of embarrassment and shame overwhelmed me. These emotions are a perfect example of the forever altering self-esteem. One moment, I felt I was helping the Tanzanian people in a way that no others had. The next, however, I realized all the commodities I had taken for granted. I realized that the weekend shopping trips I had taken with my mother could have easily funded Foster’s meals for a year.

The encounter with Foster changed my life, and is a perfect example of symbolic interactionism. Interacting with the young girl helped me to better understand myself and the world around me. My self-concept became exceedingly clearer with each day I spent immersed in the East African culture. My dreams of helping others in need were not only confirmed, but also strengthened by the people I met. Almost immediately upon arrival in the United States, I felt a new, stronger sense of patriotism. I seemed to adopt the content demeanor I observed in the Tanzanian people. My values even shifted; supportiveness, quality of life, and compassion for the less fortunate were more important to me than ever before. I placed more emphasis on personal relationships, rather than material wants; these observation and modeling processes are characteristic of the Social Learning Theory. Furthermore, I noticed a change in my self-esteem; I began to perceive myself as a better person for the good I had done in Africa. While I do not completely understand who I am at this point in my life, I have learned that experiences, such as the ones shared here, help to reveal my self-concept.

References

West, R., & Turner, L. H. (2009). Understanding Interpersonal Communication: Making choices in changing times. Boston, Massachusetts: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

The Gallaudet University Creed

http://www.gallaudet.edu/

It is my wish to share the Gallaudet Creed with you. It is beautiful as I am sure you will agree.

"The Gallaudet University campus includes students, faculty, teachers and staff, all of whom share certain common goals and values that we believe enrich our academic environment. The community's primary goal is to prepare students to be informed, literate, productive and responsible citizens. In pursuit of this goal, community members pledge to uphold the following values:
We believe that education is a dominant influence on our lives and recognize that learning is a lifelong quest. Therefore, we will practice academic and personal integrity and work to create a positive and welcoming environment that is open to the free exchange of ideas among members of our community.
We believe that every person should be treated with civility and that our community is strengthened by the diversity of its members. Therefore, we will promote and applaud behaviors that support the dignity of individuals or groups and are respectful of theopinions of others. We will especially discourage behaviors and attitudes that disrespect the diversity of individuals and groups for any reason, including religion, race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, hearing status, or language and communication preference.
We believe that as members of the Gallaudet community we are the recipients of a proud and rich heritage as well as contributors to and benefactors of Gallaudet's bright future. Therefore, we will strive to bring credit to our community and ensure that Gallaudet flourishes and succeeds in its mission."