Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!olivea!oliveb!bunker!hcap!hnews!272!94!Fran.O'gorman From: Fran.O'gorman@f94.n272.z1.fidonet.org (Fran O'gorman) Newsgroups: misc.handicap Subject: Re: QUESTION RE SIGNERS AND SIGNIN Message-ID: <17821@bunker.UUCP> Date: 21 Feb 91 02:14:27 GMT Sender: wtm@bunker.UUCP Reply-To: Fran.O'gorman@f94.n272.z1.fidonet.org Distribution: misc Organization: FidoNet node 1:272/94 - Monroe Electronic M, Monroe NY Lines: 51 Approved: wtm@bunker.UUCP Index Number: 13694 [This is from the Silent Talk Conference] Hi Vixen, Thank you so much for sharing so much of your experience with me, it is really a shame you dealt with such unpleasant and insensitive ASL instructors. (The first one --the nice one-- sounds super though-- kind of makes up for the bad ones.) What I think is that it really all goes back to the art of good teaching. Occasionally a person has that skill intuitively, but more often it has to be taught. That's why there's such a thing as an Education major in college. I was a public librarian originally and got into education through the back door. I'm in a combination Junior High School/Senior High School situation and believe me when I say, we wouldn't get AWAY with assuming a haughty or superior attitude towards our students. Today's kids just wouldn't accept it. And here you were a motivated learner! I guess these sign interpreters you encountered were merely versed in sign itself, but had no training in education. That IS a shame! Here in NY State we are not only required to be certified in our specialty -the requirements for such includes a certain amount of education courses- but the State mandates that we receive periodic staff development training (not in our specialty, but our techniques in teaching it) as well as that we be evaluated regularly. It's not on how well we know 'our stuff' that we're measured but on how well we communicate it. If our students fail, we share in that sense of failure, and everyone knows a discouraged student is less likely to succeed! Simple humanity should dictate more in the first place...but what can I say, I guess some people are just more "human-er" than others...and some are just plain not human at all... Actually I should say (for the record) my ASL instructor was tough and I had a terrible time keeping up, but she wasn't THAT bad. I was just a little embarrassed at my struggle and had to keep reminding myself that the others were taking the course a second time (except for the 2 speech therapists who were taking it to 'brush up' on their skills). But my feeling was that, it (the course) being so tough could scare off people who are more easily discouraged and thus result in less people acquiring the skill which would be a unfortunate. Well enough of my ramblings/reflections...sorry for getting carried away here... but I was also sorry to hear about your bad experiences--they are just the kind of educational horror stories that we in education want to put behind us, but I guess, unfortunately, are like nasty weeds--tough to erradicate! --Fran -- Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!272!94!Fran.O'gorman Internet: Fran.O'gorman@f94.n272.z1.fidonet.org