The 21st International Congress on the Education of the Deaf (ICED) held in Vancouver, British Columbia on July 18-22, 2010 drew over 800 participants from 62 countries. MSD Board members Barbara Raimondo, Esquire, Dr. Cynthia Neese-Bailes, Dr. Angela McCaskill and I along with 84 other Americans attended the Congress. The first ICED was held in 1878 in Paris, France and is now held every five years. Today, ICED is perhaps the most recognized international conference for educators and researchers working with deaf and hard of hearing individuals.
The theme of the Vancouver Congress was “Partners in Education” and the 2010 ICED Organizing Committee took this to heart. The British Columbia Deaf Community, led by former MSD assistant principal and teacher Wayne Sinclair, and the 2010 ICED Organizing Committee together produced a historic document titled “A New Era: Deaf Participation and Collaboration”.
This New Era Accord basically rejects all resolutions passed at the 1880 ICED at Milan, Italy and promotes the use of sign languages and Deaf citizens’ participation in decision-making in all aspects of their lives. The Milan Resolutions had favored the pure oral method and suppression of sign language. The New Era Accord and the full ICED conference program are posted on the official 2010 ICED website address: www.iced2010.com.
Initially, there was some uncertainty about the logistics of how the ICED Organizing Committee would reject the Milan Resolutions as ICED is not a typical organization. It does not have officers, a constitution, nor by-laws. But, the ICED Organizing Committee joined forces with the global deaf community and produced an unprecedented document that hopefully will reverberate in the halls of governments, universities, and schools all over the world.
The New Era Accord was announced at the opening ceremonies and was met with much celebration and tears, and then the Accord was again celebrated at the closing ceremonies. The World Federation of the Deaf president Markku Jokinen (of Finland) participated in both ceremonies, giving a moving speech at the close of the Congress.
I arrived in Vancouver one day before the start of the Congress to attend an all-day Leaders Summit. It was held at the Wosk Centre of Dialogue, a conference center operated by Simon Fraser University. Over eighty leaders in the field of deaf education were invited to “dialogue” on current issues and challenges in our field. A panel of students of diverse backgrounds contributed much to the discussions. The spirit of listening to and respecting differing points of views carried over to the Congress.
The seven main topics at the Congress were: Early Intervention, Language and Literacy, Sign Languages and Deaf Culture, Educational Environments, Technology in Education, Educating Learners with Diverse Needs, and Unique Challenges in Developing Countries. I had the honor of giving the opening keynote speech, “The Bedrock of Deaf Education in North America: Center Schools”. Ms. Raimondo coordinated a panel of presenters from Canada, Norway, South Africa, and the United States who each gave a presentation on laws governing deaf education. She also gave the presentation on U.S. laws. Dr. Neese-Bailes presented papers on “Deaf Pre-Service Teachers with Hearing Students: Reflective Journal Content” and “Language and Literacy Acquisition through Parental Mediation in American Sign Language”.
2010 ICED was my fourth Congress, having attended Tel Aviv, Israel in 1995, Sydney, Australia in 2000, and Maastricht, The Netherlands in 2005. I wish to applaud the 2010 ICED Organizing Committee for hosting an outstanding conference. They put together a balanced conference program which brought together individuals from all across the ideological spectrum. All participants had full and equal access to all activities. No one was left out. There were deaf individuals on the 2010 ICED Organizing Committee, and a greater number of deaf and hard of hearing individuals gave keynote speeches.
It took 130 years before the infamous Milan Resolutions were finally repudiated. Although the New Era Accord may appear to be symbolic at the moment, we all know the power of words. The next Congress will be held in Patras, Greece in 2015; and time will tell if this symbolic deed will be translated into an era of renaissance for deaf people, sign languages, and deaf education everywhere.
Article by James E. Tucker, Superintendent of the Maryland School for the Deaf, in the Spring 2010 issue of The Maryland Bulletin, reprinted with permission.
The 2010 NAD Youth Leadership Camp (YLC) has begun. The camp session runs from July 23rd until August 19th in Stayton, Oregon. Campers embark on a month-long journey - a journey of learning, personal growth, and empowerment. In addition, campers experience self-discovery, learn about self-identity, and understand various aspects about themselves.
The purpose of YLC is to guide deaf and hard of hearing high school students from diverse educational programs through the understanding of advocacy and leadership. The camp program aims to empower campers with various tools of knowledge and prepare them for action by "learning through active involvement.' Days filled with classes and workshops are designed to teach campers how to tap into their potential, how to effectively harness their skills, and use all available resources to contribute to their respective communities.
Learning through active involvement is like creating a new trail or pathway. Each camper is an investment in the future of the deaf and hard of hearing community. The 2010 NAD YLC slogan is 'Be the One, Together as One.' Daily blogs, vlogs, and photos can be found at www.nadylc2010.blogspot.com
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Today, the announcements were made for the elected positions as follows:
New Board members elected: Margie English (Region 1), Richard McCowin (Region 2), Chris Patterson (Region 3) and Julie Rems Smario (Region 4)
The 2010-2012 Executive Board is as follows: Sheri Farinha (Secretary) and Michael Michner (Treasurer). Bobbie Beth Scoggins and Christopher Wagner were re-elected as President and Vice President.
The presenter, Melanie Nakaji, asks the question: how do we make doctors more deaf-friendly?
UCSD program enrolls medical students who are expected of the following:
- 8 quarters of ASL courses
- gave health talks in ASL
- attended gallaudet for four weeks
- met deaf friends at health talks
- attended deaf culture events
- practiced ASL using hte internet, videos, DVDs
- practiced ASL with Deaf staff
The focus is on medical, legal and cultural perspectives. The goal is not to train them to be fluent in ASL, but rather to be culturally sensitive. Doctors need to earn credits similiar to CEUs. Doctors usually prefer taking training courses online. This electronic material is readily accessible to them in their home. Online training is not limited to one city and can be used anywhere.
Jesse Thomas, from the audience, works for a Philadelphia deaf agency that provides sensitivity training at hospitals. Thomas stated, “Not all doctors show up. They are not required to. An estimated 20 to 30 percent of doctors receive this available training.”
An audience member shared an experience in an emergency room (ER) for an allergy reaction. While she was being asked routine questions, she noticed a notation in her patient papers that she is “deaf and mute”. She does not feel she is mute, and “this label comes from a certain attitude. Does this happen to other deaf patients?” She added that she never received an apology.
Mute meaning not being capable of speech, such notations warns the doctor not to attempt to speak with the patient. Doctors may think they need speak louder with deaf patients. Another audience member said that doctors should be aware so they don’t assume inability of speech as a symptom. Nakaji recommended filing a complaint with the hospital to use a more political correct term.
A NAD member from Syracuse, New York, made the recommendation of talk to nurses, instead of doctors. Doctors have 7 minutes limit per patient as mandated by insurance policy. Nurses have more time to sit down and discuss needs.
Currently the clearinghouse website promoting professional medical services is http://www.deafmd.org. Check the website to locate doctors that provide professional medical services in your area.
SB Morgaine held a workshop today discussing interpreter ethics in a social media environment. Everyone today has a bit of difficulty navigating the social media territory, but for interpreters, it’s even more difficult. Several questions she presented to audience were thought provoking, such as whether interpreters should use the popular social media application Foursquare, to announce their location, or whether interpreting agencies should be able to announce job openings.
Other issues that were raised during the workshop was the usage of Facebook – should interpreters friend their colleagues who they have solely a professional relationship with, or their consumers? There are many ramifications by ‘friending’ someone on Facebook. One story she shared with us was when she had an inside joke with her deaf friend, and she posted on her friend’s Facebook, referring to that inside joke. Many who saw that joke, took offense, and SB ended up removing that post, because of the furor. People’s reputations can be affected by what they post on social media applications – positively and negatively.
Ethics and social media both have grey areas, therefore answers do not always come by easily. I for one, do not envy the interpreters as they enter this unknown territory. However, I am glad they are taking this seriously through serious, productive dialogue within their profession and the Deaf Community to find solutions.
Led by Rosaline Crawford (NAD), Cheryl Heppner (CAN) and Claude Stout (TDI), the open forum was designed to be receptive; to ask what the working group’s priorities should be.
The first audience member discussed about how High Definition captioning is different on Standard Definition television programming.
Crawford encouraged him and others to file complaints on the fcc.gov website. Filling out a simple-to-use online form feeds data into a matrix. FCC uses this matrix to identify trends and investigates these issues accordingly. In the past, consumers contacted television providers or cable companies; now consumers are enabled to go directly to FCC with complaints. “Please report the HDTV captioning delay,” said Crawford.
Heppner added that she serves on the technical working group for the FCC. She and others recently submitted a complaint with the FCC reporting slow and unsatisfactory progress, and requested that issues be followed upon.
Phil “Judge” Jacob, an audience member, remarked that because captions frequently block the view especially during broadcasts of sporting games, he has the option to make captions transparent on his television set. Occasionally captions will move to the top of the screen, opening up the bottom screen portion. Jacobs requested that captions on internet videos should have the ability to be re-positioned.
A member from New Jersey described how local television stations’ efforts to caption are weaker. Heppner stated that FCC is asking for more complaints; with more data, the better they can follow up.
A movie-watcher from Mississippi shared her frustration when captions in white font is difficult to see when the movie screen is bright. Driving for miles, she often learned the movie actually isn’t captioned. Stout advised her to contact her state’s general attorney office. “Saying that as a taxpayer, you’re not receiving equal access in movie theaters.”
Another asked about how far voice recognition has come. Heppner replied that it’s still not where it needs to be. They are still receiving consumer complaints regarding voice recognition technology.
The last audience member explained how confused she was about where to file various complaints. For example, complaints with Netflix is not filed with the FCC. There are several different levels of government on both federal and local levels. Then there’s private businesses.
Crawford understood the concern. There is a page on NAD.org that helps decide where to file a complaint. The page is found here: http://www.nad.org/issues/about-law-and-advocacy-center/file-complaint
A surprise guest, Karen Peltz Strauss, recognized NAD’s ongoing efforts, “NAD is doing an extraordinary job helping people file grievances. The FCC wants to help you. File with the FCC if your complaint is television related.” Strauss announced a new registry of video programming distributors. “If your complaint is about a service provided by Comcast, Verizon, RCN, or the TV networks such as CBS, NBC, or ABC, go to the FCC site at fcc.gov.” A new website will be launching soon making it even easier. The FCC really wants people to use the registry. If you’re having problems or issues with television captions, please make a claim. Strauss can be reached at the email address: karen.strauss@fcc.gov
Added Stout, when placing complaint with private networks such as Netflix, carbon copy your communication to NAD or TDI so they can follow up. Stout mentioned a petition filed for “universal captioning” which covers all programming and devices. Included in the petition are clauses which removes FCC waivers for programming between 2:00 and 6:00 AM, and waivers for advertisers.
Concluding the open forum, Heppner emphasized an area that needs accessibility improvement: travel. Airplane and airport televisions are often not captioned. It is the working group’s hope that progress will parallel the speed at which media and technology is growing.
At the Senior Citizens’ Luncheon, Dr. Gertrude Galloway emceed, with Dr. Roz Rosen as the keynote speaker. Throughout her speech, Dr. Rosen cracked jokes about the lives of senior citizens, which the audience laughed at. Dr. Rosen told the story of when Bernard Bragg went to an arcade, and he found a shooting game. He began playing, laughing and cheering with his friend as he hit a target every time, and soon, a crowd gathered around him, watching. This went on for several minutes, until a little boy stepped forward, looked up at him then pressed the start button. It turns out that Bernard wasn’t actually playing!
Everyone, including Bernard, had a good laugh at that one. Finishing with the jokes, Dr. Rosen took a serious but touching turn in her speech. She asked the audience if they remembered Deaf President Now (DPN), and everyone said that they did. She said, DPN should mean “Deaf Partners Now” today. We need to partner with organizations and others, especially with hearing parents of deaf children. She encouraged the audience to mentor the hearing families, because many parents do not know deaf adults. Often, the first deaf person the parents meet are their own child. We have a wealth of knowledge and experience that we could share with the hearing parents.
Deaf Partners Now would be a great way to ‘live your dash’. Dr. Rosen went on to explain that the dash meant the one on the tombstones. The dash between the birth and death dates, which was really the most important. Leave behind a legacy, so your dash would last beyond your death date.
With that, the Luncheon turned to handing out awards to three individuals – Robert Davila for the Andrew J. Foster Teaching Excellence Award. Dr. Davila could not attend, so Dr. Yerker Andersson accepted on his behalf.
Ronald M. Hirano and Virgina Luke both received the Senior Citizen Award, and Jim Brune accepted the award on Ronald’s behalf.
Congratulations to all three award winners – they deserve this recognition!
A popular workshop this morning was Greg Hlibok’s workshop on the civil rights for the Deaf. He moderated a panel of deaf attorneys who expressed their opinions on whether our work on civil rights are completed. The panel unanimously agreed that we have a long way to go.
The American Disabilities Act [ADA] has tremendously improved access for the Deaf, but due to society and technological evolutions, there are still many gaps that the laws do not cover. Robert Mather, one of the panelists, remarked that the ADA was a catalyst for change, but we need more activism. Claudia Gordon, a fellow panelist, commented that employment for the Deaf was still a major issue, and we need more education and change of perceptions to really achieve the changes we want. ADA used to be powerful but unfortunately, the Supreme Court has watered down the law, and that tied into Robert Mather’s comment about needing more activism.
Michael Stein emphasized that technology was still a major issue today as well, which the ADA doesn’t cover adequately – especially the VRS industry. One of the panelists added that there were often no results on complaints, and while the Obama Administration was better than the previous administrations on enforcement, the legal system itself is not pushing enough to get things into action. It was clear to me that all agreed that basically in all aspects of the Deaf Community lives, there still needed to be improvement and changes made. They encouraged the audience to continue filing complaints, develop working relationships with the policy-makers, suggest solutions and recommendations so we can move forward to a better future for all.
Tayler Mayer interviews random people attending the 50th Biennial Conference in Philadelphia, PA. Attendees from all over the nation came for different reasons, but all share a common ground: National Association of the Deaf (NAD). Start planning now for the next NAD conference in Louisville, KY. It will be in the year 2012. Captions will come soon.
The College Bowl was held last night in the Grand Ballroom with a full house erupting in wild cheers every time their team got answers correctly. The teams were:
- Gallaudet - Meredith Peruzzi, Gabriel Paulone, David Uzzell, Allison Weiner, and Colin Whited
- NTID - Gianni Manganelli, Colin Pearson, Hannah Worek, Jordan Burgener and Cory Behm
- CSUN - Darren Hause, Brandon Marin, Joshua Soudakoff, and Emily Schwartz
The rules were in the first round, if you got an answer correctly, you got one point. If you accepted a challenge, you would get 2 points for a correct answer, but if you got it wrong, you would lose 2 points. In the second, you would win 3 points, and with the challenge, win or lose 6 points and in the third, the stakes were raised even higher with 5 points, and 10 points for the challenge.
In the very beginning of the first round, all three teams were getting the answers correctly, and then by question 12, NTID and Gallaudet started pulling ahead of CSUN, jumping ahead with scores of 12 and 13 points respectively, with CSUN having 8 points. NTID's strength was clearly in Mathematics, and Gallaudet's was in Deaf Culture and Heritage. Audience members discussed excitedly behind their chairs with each other to guess the right answer. At the end of the first round NTID had 18 points, Gallaudet 19 points, and CSUN 12 points.
During the intermission, supporters of each team rallied, wildly cheering on their teams. The sponsors of the College Bowl Finals, ZVRS showed a video commercial. Then the second round began. That's when things got even more energetic! People jumped up and roared every time their team got an answer correctly. Much to everyone's amazement, NTID lost a Mathematic challenge, thereby losing 6 points. At the end of the second round, Gallaudet was leading with 58 points, NTID with 36, and CSUN 24 points.
In the third round, NTID swung back at Gallaudet, almost immediately accepting two challenges and winning. NTID supporters nearly blew the roof off with their wild cheering as NTID jumped 8 points ahead of Gallaudet. CSUN valiantly fought to catch up, and they did a great job, but the main fight was between Gallaudet and NTID, often accepting challenges, both winning and losing them. At the end, Gallaudet won the College bowl with 93 points, and NTID right behind them with 91 points! CSUN came in third with 44 points.
As a thank you to their coach, Robert Weinstock, the Gallaudet team doused him with water and Nancy J. Bloch, the NAD CEO, proudly presented the trophy to the Gallaudet team for the fourth time in a row! Congratulations to the Gallaudet team, and both CSUN and NTID did an outstanding job. The teams made the event thrilling and energetic to watch!
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