Most Deaf and hard of hearing children have parents who are not Deaf or hard of hearing. According to Mitchell and Karchmer (2004), 92% of Deaf children are from families with two hearing parents, and 8% have at least one Deaf or hard of hearing parent. Only 4% of children have two Deaf parents. The high percentage of Deaf children with hearing parents is significant for several reasons. Although a signed language may be the most logical choice for a student who cannot hear a spoken language, most hearing parents with a Deaf child do not know sign language. Some researchers suggest that “young deaf children of hearing parents frequently do not have any truly accessible and competent language models, either for sign language or for spoken language” (Marschark, Lang, & Albertini, 2002, p. 12).
(More Than Meets the Eye: Revealing the Complexities of an Interpreted Education)
Good numbers simply do not seem to exist, but very, very few hearing parents with deaf children sign at home. Deaf children often do not have consistent access to language until they enter the school system, which at its earliest is typically 3 years old. As it turns out, the ages 0-3 are some of the most critical years for language acquisition and development. Even then, they still don't have the access at home that their hearing peers do. This creates significant social and academic delays, to say the least. My job as their teacher is to figure out how to overcome those delays, and it is a daunting task. Insurmountable, at times, and certainly frustrating. We as teachers have so much influence but so little at the same time.
I, with my colleagues, have often bemoaned the disadvantages our students have as well as the effect that has on us as teachers. But now that I am halfway through my 3rd year, complaining about things that are not in my control is not productive and something I don't care to engage in anymore. Those complaints aren't going away, and I can't pretend that I will never do it again, but I ache for something more. A solution I can be a part of.
So I turned to research. Lots of googling. Lots of reading. Lots of frustration again, but this time it is because the research just does not seem to have what I am looking for. There are pieces here and there, and certainly some good ideas I hope to implement. But the research-based, large-scale impactful changes are lacking. I have talked with like-minded coworkers to see what they are studying, and they seem to be in the same boat. The buzzword these days is research-based best practices, and it's a buzzword for a good reason. We want to make sure we are not doing simply what is good for our students but what is best, and the way to go about sifting through all that is out there is through data. But what do you do if the data isn't there? How did the pioneers get the data in the first place? Where does this research actually come from?
All of these frustrations and questions have brought me to my post title: Be the Change. This was already a bit of a mantra for me within the work I do to improve life for singles in Houston. I am now thinking it might be time to apply it to my professional life. If the research doesn't exist, then perhaps I need to change that. Perhaps it is time to consider doing it myself. I can't even express how much fear that instills in me. It would require at the least a certification but preferably a masters. I don't really want to go back to school. I enjoy NOT working and being a student at the same time. It is also a math-heavy program, which is not my forte. My top fear is money. I have other places that I want that money to go to. I am enjoying fixing up my house the way I want it, and I don't really want to stop doing that. And yet maybe I am being called to serve the people I love in a different way. Maybe I am being called to serve in a way that will leave a true legacy...
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