[VIDEO DESCRIPTION & TRANSCRIPT: The opening montage of different clips are all in black and white. The NAD logo is at the bottom right corner as a watermark. As the clips appear, there is a bright blue banner in the center with text “THANK YOU TEACHERS” in black. Kevin is seated and says “hello” towards the camera, Liz is seated looking at the camera, Steve L. is standing and says “hello”, Holly is standing and says “hello”, Benro says “hello” as the bright blue banner fades away, Michele is starting to say something, Richard says “hello”, Steve H. appears and slowly fades to color.
STEVE H: Today, we want to thank teachers.
MELISSA: I’d like to take a moment and thank our teachers. I remember my teachers telling me that deaf people can travel the world, get a pilot license, and fight for our rights. I want to thank those teachers!
RICHARD: I want to thank a teacher. This person grew up at the American School for the Deaf, graduated from Gallaudet, then moved to teach at the Nebraska School for the Deaf as a reading teacher. That teacher is a strong deaf person, proud Italian, and an amazing role model for many deaf children around. This teacher taught us how to read English, sign it out loud while reading, and navigate on how to switch between signing and English. The teacher had a huge impact on me. My writing, reading, and writing skills improved!
JENNY: I want to thank my high school English teacher who took the time to really question me. “Why do you think that?” “Why are you reading that book?” “Why?” Their questioning really made me think more critically and making sure I didn’t just do a “good enough” job. When they asked tough questions, I was able to think why and explain myself. That was when I understood the value of tough questions.
MICHELLE: When I look back on my childhood, I had a special role model who was also deaf. I was lucky to know this person. I want to thank that person because when I was younger and still figuring out where I wanted to go to college, I was at crossroads. This teacher taught me that there were options including Gallaudet and RIT. I did my research and fell in love with RIT. I am very appreciative of having the opportunity of going to college because of that teacher. They showed me that I can do it and that I can succeed. Because I went to college, I also became a role model for other people that I met. I am incredibly grateful to this teacher.
BENRO: There is a teacher I want to thank from when I was in my third year of college. I took a class “Introduction to Sociology”. This class was about the study of various groups of people, developing structures and functions of human groups. This stuck with me as I entered the real world and I was able to identify various groups, to honor different cultures and languages along with different educational backgrounds. I learned that was something to be valued, and that shaped me to be who I am today.
LIZ: Two teachers I want to recognize had a huge impact on my life, they’re both Gallaudet professors: Dr. Mary Malzkuhn who taught Government and Dr. John Schuchman who taught History. Both were incredible. They supported me, encouraged me to grow, and challenged me. For all of the teachers who work everyday to invest in their students, thank you for all you do!
STEVE L.: The teacher I would like to thank is Lillian Cutler. She taught me from kindergarten through 3rd grade. While she was very strict, she had the best interest at heart in making sure I got everything that I needed to be successful today. She continued to watch me until I graduated from 8th grade. She passed away during the time I was away at college, and it was a huge loss for me. I am grateful for her watching over me, I still feel her watching over me today.
HOLLY: A teacher that I look up to was from when I was a high school freshman at the Arkansas School for the Deaf, Roman Kazragis. Roman is a deaf teacher who taught Social Science and was incredible! Every time I entered the classroom, every day, Roman would inform us the latest news — what was going on in the world, what was happening with history, why people were doing that, and many more. Roman did this every single day for the first 10 to 15 minutes before starting the lesson plans. I remember this vividly, so I want to thank Roman for encouraging us to read national news — CNN, New York Times, and Washington Post. This is what I remember every time Roman taught us what we needed to know and what was going on. Thank you Roman.
STEVE H.: I remember one teacher specifically that had a big impact on me during my sophomore year in high school, in Civics class. This teacher really explained past the surface on how the government worked, how the legislators worked, and how various divisions of the government worked. Ever since this class to this day, I still use this information. Thank you to this teacher!
KEVIN: His name is Edward Mingus, he was my football coach. He taught me a lot about what success means and how it looks like in the future. I learned what was important in the workplace and different successful leadership styles. He taught a computer class, with the old Apple Computer 2e making filaments, I learned how to make them and assembled them. This experience started my interest in this field and then I went to college. Ever since then, I recognize my successes because of him. I moved to Illinois for a job and got involved involved in the community. If not for Ed, I probably would be doing the same routine back home in Wisconsin. Taking his class helped me become successful.
Video fades to a soft grey background with several different font types showing “NAD” in dark grey very quickly. Copyright video ends with the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) logo centered.]