What is Myth and What is True?

There are a lot of myths about the Deaf culture many people don't realize are myths.

Myth: All Deaf people read lips.

True: There were generations that were forced into Oralism. "Oralism is one method of teaching a deaf child; this method does not allow the child to sign in or out of the classroom. The focus is on teaching the children to read speech cues, and focuses on teaching deaf people to speak instead of sign" (DeafWeb). Oralism now is frowned upon and now there are schools for the Deaf that teach through sign.  My mom was taught to reads lips, when I asked her how much of a conversation she understands she said, "If they enunciate well about 55-60% I understand. Its lower if they don't enunciate and way harder if they sit sideways. My brain tends to fill in the blanks so I get the gist of the conversation." Lipreading is very hard, so have patience when someone asks you to repeat yourself even if you already have.

Myth: Deaf people are quiet.
True: This is not true at all. My house is very loud wither it is the television or my mom making dinner. The reason is that my mom can't tell the difference unless she has her implant on, but even if she does the house gets very loud. When she gets excited she can't tell she is raising her voice.

Myth: Talking louder will help them hear.

True: Talking clearly without changing how you talk with help them understand, but only if they read lips. If they don't know how to read lips, then talking verbally with them obviously wont help the conversation go anywhere. Writing on paper when an interpreter isn't around is the most preferred type of communication.

Myth: Deaf people are limited.
True: There is some prejudice towards the Deaf such as; they can't do things on their own, they can't drive, that they can't enjoy music or dance. These are silly misconceptions, because you can still feel music even if you can't hear it. It is said that Deaf drivers are safer because they rely on their sight a lot more then us hearing people. One person breaking barriers is Nyle Dimarco, he is a Deaf model who has won Americas Next Top Model season 22 and Dancing with the Stars season 22. In the video below there is a section where he blindfolds himself. This means that while dancing during that time he couldn't hear the music or see his partner for cues. He was in no way limited.

http://www.michigan.gov/mcsc/0,4608,7-137-8074_22503_23185-63417--,00.html
http://www.deafwebsites.com/education/oralism.html

Self Harm in Teens

In Mexican Whiteboy Danny Lopez seems like an average teenager. He is quiet and keeps to himself. He loves baseball and wants to make his father proud. Then his father leaves unexpectedly and leaves Danny wondering what he did wrong. In many parts of the book he digs his fingernails into his arm, "Behind his back he grips his left wrist, digs his fingernails into the skin until a sharp pain floods his mind, makes him feel real" (Pena). Danny does this many times when he is anxious or worried. Slowly this became a comforting mechanism like it is for so many other teens. Depression and anxiety is increasing in youth. This graph shows how many hospital admissions for self harm there has been in certain years. We can see that this is a rising issue, but we are left with the question of how we can help? Speaking from experience if you yourself are suffering from self harm, you have to talk to someone. If you aren't suffering from it but knows someone who is getting them help would be first priority, but also be there and listen to them.





Pena, Matt De la. Mexican whiteboy. New York: Ember, 2011. Print.
https://www.elementsbehavioralhealth.com/mental-health/compulsive-self-mutilation/

How To Make Our School Better...

   As an American teenager I cannot remember a time where I wasn't stressing over a test or a piece of homework that was due. As I was researching the American school system it surprised me to find out that the United States wasn't higher up on the PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment). The United States ranks at 14th in reading and 25th in maths; which is good but there is still room for improvement (Sheppard 2010). Looking at other countries and how they run their school systems leaves me thinking about our own and how to help it. The first thing I found was that the Netherlands has the happiest children in the world. These kids have little to no homework until they are older than 10 (Acosta 2013). They focus on learning and the importance of playing. Many would say that the less focus on work would lead to bad test scores, but the Netherlands ranked 7th in reading and 6th in maths on the PISA showing that its okay for kids to just be kids. Secondly I found out that capping the class sizes at 25 can lead to a more one on one experience for the students that is beneficial for the children and the teachers. Having less kids in one room will lead to a more family experience to the learning and will let teachers help any misunderstandings without kids being overlooked. In other countries such as Singapore, Finland, or South Korea they pay teachers more than the average American starting at a salary of $39,000 (Jacques 2013). Having higher salaries would ensure that more people pursue their passion for teaching whereas going for other better paying jobs so they can survive this economy. Johnny Chatin said, "In both Korea and Finland though, eduaction is held in high regards and teachers are treated with great respect (equal to how we revere doctors or lawyers in the west.)" which is an interesting statement because aren't teachers as important as doctors and lawyers? They are teaching the next generation of doctors, lawyers, scientists, artists, builders, pilots, etc. America has a good education system, but we can make it great.

http://www.findingdutchland.com/five-impressions-of-the-dutch-educational-system/
https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2010/dec/07/world-education-rankings-maths-science-reading
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/09/foreign-education-policies_n_4385583.html 
http://www.mbctimes.com/english/20-best-education-systems-world