A Letter To Me
My parents just gave me my childhood documents for me to decide whether I wanted to keep them or not. The majority of the files were educational in nature, but a solid percentage of the files were legal documents. As many of my regular blog readers know, as a child I was involved with a lawsuit against the public schools to provide me with a qualified American Sign Language interpreter. The story, “Mom’s Gone Fighting The Deaf Wars” is chronicled here.
As I went through the files, I found a letter addressed to me from our attorney, Kary Love. I don’t remember reading this letter when I first received it, but as I read it again as an adult sixteen years later, there are no words for me to describe how deeply powerful this letter is. Thank you Kary, for writing this letter.
Dear Jeannette:
It was very nice to see you again at the hearing. I understand from speaking with your mother that you were not too happy about having to testify again. I wanted to write to you to let you know that, no matter how the case turns out, it was important for you to take a stand. The Special Education laws come from a famous Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education. This case established the legal principle, based on the Constitution, that all people are entitled to an equal opportunity for a public education. In that case, black people successfully challenged “separate but equal” schools based on race.
In your case, you are standing up for the principle that deaf students are entitled to an equal opportunity for education by being afforded interpreters who can make their time in school meaningful. Since you are bright and can excel in school, you have a special responsibility to assert your rights, not only for your own benefit, but to advance the rights of all disabled kids many of whom cannot stand up for themselves.
By doing this, you become one of many Americans who have sacrificed to make the Constitution a living, meaningful “supreme law of the land.” Those who went before you suffered embarrassment, harassment and even were jailed before the laws protecting equal rights were adopted. You have continued their fight, and made their sacrifices worthwhile, by not letting the laws they fought for be stripped of meaning. I know it was hard, but as I am sure your parents have told you, most things worth achieving are hard. Keep up the good work.
Very truly yours,
Kary Love
—
Copyright ©Jeannette Johnson of The Deaf Edge, 2009. All rights reserved.
Public Relations War on DVTV
The ongoing saga on DeafVideo.TV is a convoluted tale, beginning with AFA’s inception in early March, prompting Barry Sewell to accuse AFA of being an extension of DBC, which has been denied by both organizations.
This led to CherylfromMA and InsaneMisha, two prominent vloggers/commenters and strong supporters of Barry, to gradually over time, question his motives when it came to AFA and DBC. Barry’s comments increasingly turned personal and it was clear to observers that he was deliberately pushing people’s buttons to incite a reaction. CherylfromMA and InsaneMisha’s break from Barry, however, was not apparent until they attended the AFA rally against AG Bell on April 3, 2009, sending shock waves through the vlogosphere.
Afterwards, the lurkers, commenters and vloggers witnessed a vicious, tragic deterioration of Barry’s friendship with the two, particularly with CherylfromMA. One of the most stark examples of this rift is Cheryl’s video comment calling Barry a controller and a destroyer.
Despite this loss of support and friendship, Barry continued his ‘questioning’ of AFA and thier supporters, ultimately leading to more of the Signing Circle supporters to withdraw from him. Not surprisingly, AFA celebrated the defection of CherylfromMA, InsaneMisha and the others, which only led to Barry being further incited against the organization.
At this point, it seemed that AFA was winning the public relations battle on DVTV, due to Barry’s rapid loss of supporters and mass defections to AFA. Things took a twist however, when Cobi, Barry’s son created a vlog mocking AFA by using the Aflac duck commercials. That vlog can be found here.
At first, people thought it was Barry who created the vlog, but when it was revealed that it was actually his son, people were outraged. They could not believe that a fourteen year old would do this, solely on his own, as Cobi and Barry claimed. Many also viewed this as a perfect example of how prejudice comes into existence.
People at first engaged Cobi in a dialogue, particularly Ella Mae Lentz. However, this turned heated, when some of the commenters began telling Cobi that his father needed to grow up, that they found his family disgusting and so on, for allowing him to do this. One commenter even stated to Cobi that controlling parents can lead bright and mature children to kill them.
This led to some other commenters to call for a halt to this, since they felt this was bullying Cobi. The comments targeting Cobi slowly reduced after that, and Barry and Cobi remained steadfast, refusing to apologize or take down the vlog. This in turn, led to Aidan Mack creating a vlog discussing brainwashing, and in that vlog, she accused Barry of brainwashing his female followers. That vlog was then removed by Tayler, and Aidan uploaded the same vlog, only with the accusation against Barry edited out.
Aidan went on to accuse Tayler of censorship, prompting him to make this vlog, pointing out that only .09% of the vlogs, have been removed. Less than a half percent.
As things stand right now, the dispute between Barry and AFA continues with both sides pressuring Tayler to keep Aidan’s brainwashing vlog up, or to remove it. Tayler made another vlog here, discussing the pressuring emails.
Not only that, but Barry’s relentless questioning of AFA and DBC has led to public acknowledgment by Ella Mae Lentz and others that they do consider cochlear implants to be audistic. There’s a private sentiment amongst observers that this has turned into a televised Roman amphitheater, and I share that sentiment. However, I would not be surprised if someday, years from now, historians or anthropologists pieced together this saga into a documentary. On the surface, it might seem merely like a sordid public display of friendships being torn apart and personal vendettas and grievances…
But upon closer examination, one does realize that the current saga provides an unique insight into Deaf culture, deaf identity politics, audism and most of all, into the human psyche.
What’s the Matter with Interpreters?!
Right now I should be finishing a research paper for a class, then studying for two upcoming tests this week. But I’ve just had it with incompetent interpreters and it’s not like I can insert my rant into my research paper. And so, my rant is basically this: What the heck is wrong with interpreters lately?!
Why is it that so many interpreters cannot understand fingerspelling? Now, I understand my fingerspelling isn’t the best in the world, but seriously… Do I have to give a second per letter? How slow do I have to go? I don’t have the time to be s l o w in class or in a limited time situation. I just don’t understand. Maybe I’m too hard on others when it comes to fingerspelling, because the majority of the time, I know what the word is halfway through due to context. And I don’t need the person to slooooowly fingerspell it out. What does it have to take to improve hearing people’s receptive skills?
Speaking of receptive skills, it is truly strange to me that American Sign Language seems to be the only language where students, particularly hearing students, tend to have better expressive skills than receptive skills. In every other language, it is the other way around, and if someone’s expressive skills are better than their receptive skills, usually that would be just cause for a battery of psychological and neurological tests to find out what’s wrong!
Then we have the problem of when it comes to general academic terms, many interpreters show their lack of education by not being able to interpret the concepts properly into ASL. Half of the time, they fingerspell the word when there is a sign for it, and the other half of the time, they use the wrong sign.
I actually had an interpreter this semester who signed role call instead of roll call, and the way the interpreter signed call was the sign that meant summon in English. So I’m sitting there going, “Role summon?” then a light bulb went off in my head, “Ohhhh. Roll call.”
I’m fortunate that I have a good grasp of the English language, so I’m able to compensate for the interpreter’s incompetency, but you know, it gets tiring. This is exactly why I want an interpreter who has a minimum of a Bachelor degree and a QA 3. My ideal interpreter would have a Master degree and be RID Certified. Those interpreters who have those credentials are truly the only ones who can keep up with me and appropriately voice for me, matching the register, intent and mannerisms of what I’m saying.
That interpreter who made the roll call error had a QA 2, which is the intermediate qualification an interpreter can have here in Michigan. I ended up having to fire her. I gave her ample opportunities to recuse herself and I was hoping she would just recuse herself and save us the agony of having me to fire her… but nooooo. She had to stick it out, causing me to fire her. Talk about an awkward situation.
That’s another thing I don’t understand about interpreters. Why are there so many interpreters who refuse to recuse themselves, when they know damn well that they should?! It’s part of the code of ethics, but I see so many interpreters who are out of their league, and they just stay there, and do a half-assed job. It makes the interpreter look bad, and it makes the Deaf client look bad, when the interpreter can hardly voice for the client!
Right now, I’m scratching my head, wondering how the heck those interpreters passed the QA test. Something is very wrong with the Michigan QA test. It wasn’t like this when Chris Hunter ran the Division on Deafness and Hard of Hearing. Interpreters were truly qualified… and now… they aren’t.
*sighs*
Call to Arms – Lying To Ourselves?
Deaf Education. That word carries so much meaning and controversy. A ideological war has been waged over Deaf Education for the past two hundred years. Now, I am seeing people call for arms for deaf children and babies to be given the right to access American Sign Language so that they may receive the opportunity to a good education.
By no means am I opposed to that. I am heartened to see the increasing exchange of knowledge and a growing maturity on our part. We are starting to come into our own and ensure our right to American Sign Language.
What puzzles me however, is that despite the call to arms for American Sign Language in Deaf Education, there is an eerie silence regarding North Carolina School of the Deaf. Initially there wasn’t enough information for me to throw in my support one way or another. But now, I feel that there is enough information for myself and others in the Deaf Community to support the students, parents and staff of NCSD.
Yet, I see no wide outcry of support for NCSD. I see no organizations of and for the Deaf coming in to help the students, staff and parents of NCSD. This leaves me with some difficult questions in my mind. Why is there such a loud silence? Is it because people know picketing at NCSD won’t work and they rather just picket, and nothing more?
A call to arms to me, means doing everything possible under the sun. Documenting what happens, damned the ire of others. Being not anonymous. Dealing with personal confrontations professionally and documenting it afterwards. Organizing with like-minded individuals who share your concerns and pooling together the documents. Speaking with the government about what’s going on and showing them the evidence. Helping others learn those tools. Giving support to others who need it.
It’s not glamorous. It’s not easy. It’s not something that will land you on the front page of the newspapers immediately. It’s not gonna get you on national news because there’s almost no opportunity for you to make yourself a martyr.
But the fight at NCSD and similar places goes at the core of what matters in Deaf Education. That is where the trenches are at. That is where the battles are won, and ultimately, the war. Where are we? Why are the trenches empty?
The Michigan School of the Deaf Fiasco
There’s been some accusations/attacks over on Fookem and Bug’s blog towards me about the Ryan Commerson/MSD situation. I find it incredulous for people to accuse me and my mother of destroying deaf education in Michigan. Furthermore, I did not email parents/others telling them to not support him. I did nothing during the protests except write a few emails to The Tactile Mind Weekly. Then long after the protests ended, I had brief dust-ups on DeafDC. That is the extent of my involvement.
My mother on the other hand, as an advocate for deaf/hh children here in Michigan was extensively involved with this situation. With her permission, I’ve decided to post portions of my mother’s letter to the state superintendent about the MSD protests.
——-
March 16, 2006
Michael Flanagan
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Michigan Department of Education
608 W. Allegan Street
P.O. Box 30008
Lansing, MI 48909-7508
Dear Mr. Flanagan:
(snip)
I state my point bluntly: I am very distressed that in general, the Department has chosen to legitimize Ryan Commerson’s tactics, and in particular that it has chosen to commit our tax dollars to appeasing this one individual and his cohorts. I therefore wish to know how much of the public’s money will be spent placating these protesters, the leaders of whom are, by their own description, radicals.
This has been one of the most difficult things I have ever undertaken to write. I am torn between knowing how very important it is for parents and educators to listen to the Deaf Community with respect to the education of Deaf and Hard of Hearing [DHH] students, and my very strong conviction that Ryan Commerson and his co-agitators are less interested in the best interests of the students than they are in exploiting them, their parents and members of the Deaf Community, to further their own ends; that they are not always honest; that they are fueled by personal anger and perhaps hatred, rather than by love for DHH students; that they deliberately employ tactics that I consider to be unethical, some of which are purposefully designed to manipulate others.
I am further torn knowing that the Department is well past overdue in terms of listening to what the Deaf Community has to say about the education of DHH students. However, what the Department takes from anyone must be tempered by the knowledge, expertise and motivation of each individual. I remain torn knowing that many DHH persons are legitimately angry and that we should validate their anger, while also knowing that we cannot allow anger to guide policy and practice. While we must improve the educational outcomes for DHH students, we cannot overlook the needs and rights of each unique DHH student, and we cannot sacrifice the rights of the parents of current and future students in perceived compensation for past failures.
Above all else, I hope that the message I convey to you today, essentially a request to rethink the Department’s treatment of Ryan Commerson and his supporting agitators, which would hopefully result in a rejection of him and his cohorts, their methods and demands, will not be construed as a request to dismiss in general, the concerns of the Deaf Community. Toward this end, I make my case.
While Commerson is certainly the central figure in the “protest” of the alleged policies and practices at the Michigan School for the Deaf, he is certainly not the sole leading agent. Commerson has frequently contributed articles to The Tactile Mind Weekly (http://www.thetactilemind.com/), commonly referred to as TTMW, which is an e-zine that was intended to be a literary journal for Deaf writers.
Alison Aubrecht, Deaf and formerly an employee at MSD, is a featured writer, whose column appears in TTMW.
John Lee Clark, who is Deaf Blind, is the publisher of TTMW; his wife Adrean, who is Deaf, is the creative director of TTMW; Christopher Jon Heuer is the marketing director of TTMW.
Some, if not all of these people were undergraduate students together at Gallaudet University. All of these persons are quite literate. They have college degrees. None were educated using the BiBi approach. By her own report (http://www.michdhh.org/profiles/aubrecht_alison.html) Aubrecht uses signed English, rather than ASL.
It has been noted that when Heuer visited MSD at Commerson’s invitation, he communicated simultaneously using spoken English and signed English. Regardless of their own histories and habits, these protesters condemn simultaneous communication [Sim-Com] and the use of any variety of sign other than American Sign Language [ASL].
They began the attack against MSD in unison, following a pre-determined plan. I come to these conclusions based on the words of these people, themselves, as they appear in the TTMW, the “Starving for Access” blog (http://starvingforaccess.blog.com/) [SFA blog] and the MSD Students blog (http://michsd.blog.com).
Well before Commerson’s hunger strike, he was writing personal attacks against Ms. Winkler and Ms. Steenwyk in the TTMW. Some of the things he wrote are blatantly vicious and betray a personal agenda against them. Ms. Winkler is particularly targeted, with Commerson attacking her on a personal as well as a professional level, evincing a campaign to portray her as inept and an oppressor of DHH persons.
Commerson has accused Cecelia Winkler of flatly refusing to consider adopting a Bilingual-Bicultural [BiBi] philosophy of education at MSD, and of stating that Deaf persons are disabled. Commerson’s cohorts, many of the MSD students, and many of the readers of the SFA blog have accepted these accusations as gospel truth, simply because Commerson has said so. Of course, it is relatively easy to twist the truth and make false accusations when one knows one has nothing to lose. Having no money and no assets provides significant protection from civil suits. Even those who are slandered and libeled cannot wring blood from a turnip.
I know Commerson’s claims to be false, because I know Cecelia Winkler, having worked with her over the course of many years. So, approximately two years ago, when these attacks upon Ms. Winkler first surfaced in the TTMW, I directly asked her about Commerson’s accusations. She was naturally distressed by the false accusations and the personal attacks, and she unequivocally denied their veracity.
She informed me that what both she and Ms. Steenwyk conveyed to Commerson was that MSD would not adopt a BiBi philosophy as defined by Ryan Commerson. This is entirely different from a blanket refusal to consider a BiBi philosophy of education for MSD. Ms. Winkler expressed great regard for the BiBi philosophy, but not for many of the demands that Commerson characterized as part and parcel of a BiBi program.
She also was very mindful of the rights of parents and was particularly concerned about employing ASL as the sole through-the-air language with students who enter MSD with little, if any, mastery of American Sign Language [ASL], and in particular for those students who have disabilities in addition to Deafness, for whom use of any form of communication is a challenge. While MSD must and rightly serves all DHH students who need to be in a signing environment, Ms. Winkler is a wise and experienced enough educator to know that one approach cannot serve the needs of all students. There must be sufficient flexibility in MSD’s communication policy, to allow for meeting the diverse language needs of the MSD students. Commerson’s version of BiBi lacks that flexibility, and was properly rejected.
(snip)
Well before Commerson began his protest and hunger strike, MSD officials, led by Ms. Winkler, were already undertaking the task of revising MSD’s communication policy. This was commonly known, as reported by Freida Morrison, president of the MSD Alumni Association [MSDAA] in her letter that was re-printed on the SFA blog at http://starvingforaccess.blog.com/432085/#cmts. In part, she states:
The protest is unnecessary and inappropriate at this time. First of all, Starving for Access supporters never approached or attended general meetings to open up the discussion about ASL or BI/BI issues. We had general meeting recently, November 19, 2005, and shared new information regarding the plan to work on implementing BI/BI philosophy. Starving for Access supporters never made the effort to attend any meetings or contact us. We did not know about the protest beforehand and were surprised to hear about it on the morning of November 21, 2005.
MSDAA has been working with Strategic Plan Committee developing a proposal, specifically using BI/BI (ASL/English) methods. We just started dialogue with the State Board of Education (Beth Steenwyk and Jacque Thompson). The State finally agreed to hear about using BI/BI in MSD. This is a long process and will not happen in few days. Cece Winkler, the Principal of MSD, has been willing to open up and work with us.
(snip)
So why does Commerson and his cohorts persist in promoting these falsehoods? Such accusations are sure to inflame the Deaf Community and turn many against the MSD administration. I believe that at least some of the answers are to be found in the SFA blog. In this blog both Commerson and Heuer reference Saul Alinsky, and his book, Rules for Radicals. It is this book that sets forth the general plan that Commerson and his cohorts follow. While I, personally, refuse to spend money on that book, there are several references on the Web that suffice in providing a good idea of what Alinsky advocates, and what Commerson, et. al., are implementing.
(snip)
That Commerson and his cohorts would use Alinsky’s tactics in order to achieve some nebulous victory (the goals of the protest are ever-changing, as evidenced in the SFA blog) while dismaying, is not shocking. What is shocking is Commerson’s indoctrination of MSD students in Alinsky’s techniques. At http://starvingforaccess.blog.com/2005/12/, Commerson, himself reports in an interview with Aubrecht:
I want it on the record that I have never denied having contact with the students.
I have been in touch with several students over the past few months, students who have expressed they feel frustrated and oppressed at MSD. Many of those students were looking for ideas on how to effect change. I discussed Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals” with those students and encouraged them to think of non-violent, legal ways they could protest without breaking rules.
This is hardly the work that Commerson was hired at MSD to do. It is also inconsistent that if, as Commerson claims, language deprivation is rampant at MSD, the students would be able to express their feelings of oppression and frustration to Commerson, much less understand Alinsky’s teachings or Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” that Aubrecht posted in its entirety on the MSD student blog, for the edification of the students.
(snip)
Since writing to Dr. Hughes, I learned that in furtherance of his agenda, Commerson assisted MSD students in setting up a student blog, (http://michsd.blog.com/) that is open for contribution by anyone, and for all to read. Taurean Burt, one of the student who manages the blog, wrote, “Thank you RC and Kid for participent [sic] this, this is also reason why I am start to set up and let have our MSD student’s rights to set up their own opintion [sic] down here and get us some of idea how to improve MSD.” (http://michsd.blog.com/393643/#cmts ).
In the student blog, MSD students are encouraged to read the Starving for Access blog, “Check out: http://starvingforaccess.blog.com Written by: alison at 2005/11/21 – 13:37:22.”
Commerson, Aubrecht and Heuer also use the student blog to engender anger and rebellion as well as to turn the students against Ms. Winkler and other MSD staff. Given the writings of Commerson, Aubrecht and Heuer, perhaps it is also their goal to turn the students against hearing persons, in general, and hearing parents of DHH students, in particular. When the Department legitimizes Commerson’s efforts, it also legitimizes his indoctrination of minor MSD students. I am horrified.
(snip)
If one reads the SFA blog and TTMW, one finds Commerson, Aubrecht and Heuer filled with deep and abiding anger toward hearing persons. While some of the personal stories told by members of the Deaf Community are filled with anguish that is palpable, Commerson’s and his cohorts’ brim with anger that arguably spills into hatred. Remember that the MSD students have been encouraged to read the SFA blog. This blog is dominated by Heuer. Even knowing that minor students read the blog, Heuer has written there, “Have you thought about organizing? Seriously organizing with every intention of packing an ugly punch?”
(snip)
Commerson has published on the SFA blog all correspondence between himself and/or Aubrecht and John Austin, Jeremy Hughes and Cecelia Winkler. Anyone who cares to read it can witness Commerson’s demands, not just of Ms. Winkler and the community in general, but also to the Department. His arrogance, his insolence, his disrespect and his threats are exhibited for all to read. His insulting questioning of Dr. Jacquelyn Thompson’s judgement, abilities and suitability is counterpoint to his excoriation of Cecelia Winkler as a leader of the referent group.
All who read the blog are similarly witness to the Department’s acquiescence to this uncredentialed, petulant agitator, as it legitimizes and honors not only his demands, but also his tactics and methods. This is a strong lesson not only for MSD students, but for all students in Michigan’s public schools. It is of great interest to parents and advocates.
Will the Department so honor every person’s demands? Will the Department commit similar funds to all those who take their grievances to the street or who otherwise rebel against an LEA, ISD or the Department, in spectacular fashion? Will the Department accept responsibility for the health and welfare of every person who is disgruntled with any public education agency in Michigan, who takes potentially harmful action in order to force submission to his or her demands? Will it similarly appease groups of parents who take public and sensational action to secure, for example, ABA programs for their autistic children, or Orton-Gillingham programs for their learning disabled children? Will the Department be as accommodating to all others who insult and demand, as it has been to Ryan Commerson? Or will the Department discriminate against all others?
The SFA blog is a peek into the souls of the chief actors in the MSD protest: Commerson, Aubrecht and Heuer. One would have to read the entire blog in order to fully appreciate what MSD is really facing, and what the Department is legitimizing. I can only list just a few of the things that are revealed there:
- Commerson and his cohorts have purposefully introduced “Outside Agitators” into the protest. Posted by the “moderator,” OA [Outside Agitator] #3 explains:
Thus begins the group: Outside Agitators. The primary goal of this group is to teach different tactics for self-advocacy, group advocacy, and for challenging the system of Haves. The goal of this group is to offer ideas and feedback, ranging from the expected “move up the political ladder” to more radical tactics that may be employed should they be deemed necessary.
- The SFA blog, though dominated by Heuer, is rife with postings from anonymous persons, including those who use the pseudonyms OA#3, OA#14, OA#6, among others. These anonymous messages include those from the Outside Agitators, who pursue their stated purpose, employing the tactics prescribed in Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals. Heuer tries to justify the anonymity, claiming that it protects them from retaliation. Their anonymity protects them, too from being held accountable for their words, and from being sued for libel.
- The SFA blog in general, and the messages of Heuer, in particular, are filled with misinformation not only about the staff and administration of MSD, but also about the achievement levels of Deaf students who have Deaf parents, the MEAP, and the provisions of NCLBA, among other things. Neither Commerson nor his Agitators have the honesty to correct the references by others to Commerson being a teacher. Commerson, in fact, taught at MSD on a substitute’s certificate. He is not a certified teacher endorsed to teach HI students; he does not have an education degree; he does have a BFA degree in film making.
- Initially, Commerson and his cohorts attempted to assure parents that they respect their rights, and that it is not their intention to tell hearing parents how to raise their children or to dictate what kind of communication mode to use. The authors of Letter to parents, http://starvingforaccess.blog.com/2005/11/, are apparently ignorant of how condescending their letter is. The placating tenor of the letter, however, soon gives way to deep-rooted resentment and disrespect, if not outright hatred, toward hearing parents of DHH students. Unwittingly, their words will drive parents of young DHH children to oralism, rather than to American Sign Language.
- Heuer preaches that unless changes are made now, the window of opportunity for learning to read will close before the students can achieve literacy. Heuer consistently claims that the “neural pathways” shut down at about age 12, or perhaps sooner. He makes claims about learning to read that the literature actually documents relative to language acquisition, based on neuro-biological studies of neuronal plasticity. Heuer uses his inaccurate claims to engender fear in parents, and inspire them to act quickly as he instructs. He predicts dire consequences if parents do not follow his instructions, not only because it will soon be to late for their children to learn to read, but also predicting, “Your school is going to be a dumping ground for 13 year old illiterates every other school can’t handle AFTER they’ve sucked him dry for all the propoganda [sic] energy he has to offer their programs.”
- Disclosing his ignorance of placement procedures and truancy laws, Heuer instructs the bloggers, particularly parents of MSD students, that the way to break the union’s refusal to terminate poor quality teaching staff is for the parents to withdraw their children from MSD en masse. He writes:
…the one thing that would send these institutions into a state of widespread panic, the one thing that would open them up 100% to new ideas and make them a thousand times more willing to pursue new options…is if we all withdrew our children from that institution AT THE SAME TIME.
A few more issues bear in-depth consideration. A great deal is discussed about the poor record of academic achievement record of DHH students. Many writers to the blog point out that these are national statistics and no one seems to have any data that is specific to MSD students. Even Heuer admits that the issues of teachers who have poor sign skills and the dismal literacy level of the average deaf student are national problems, not unique to MSD or even to Michigan.
Yet, Heuer expresses outrage at the suggestion that the referent group promised to Commerson by Jeremy Hughes, focus on the education of all DHH students in Michigan, rather than exclusively on MSD. Given the acknowledgment that the education of DHH students is a national issue, and Heuer’s claim that it is a crisis situation, why would anyone oppose making the focus of the referent group education for all Michigan DHH students?
(snip)
In sum, Commerson and his agitators would not be able to control such a referent group. That such control is sought was voiced by Heuer, when he wrote to the SFA blog:
I would think that Dr. Hughes or any MSD administrator would infinitely prefer to talk to a rep for all of you than all of you together. It will help facilitate things, especially if you start moving outside of the area of just Bi-Bi-related concerns. Some of you seem to have listed other concerns as well, and you don’t sound like you’re just going to discuss these things in your meetings and not eventually approach MSD admin on them. So when you eventually do make that approach, a rep could be helpful. . . Plus this would put us all a step ahead of whatever Referent Group that gets formed. [Emphasis added.]
There is no escaping the fact that education for DHH students in this country is dismal. Michigan must improve its efforts in the delivery of education to all DHH students in this state, not just to those attending MSD. MSD, as an institution whose constituency is the entire State, has unique problems and characteristics.
Nonetheless, I believe that it is wrong and wholly unwise to establish a referent group to scrutinize MSD, alone. I am utterly aghast that the Department has kowtowed to Ryan Commerson and his demands and threats. I am horrified that much of our scarce public money will be dedicated to appeasing the Agitators. I want to know exactly how much money that will be.
I do not want the children of Michigan to learn the lessons that Commerson and his ilk wish to teach them. I do not believe that anyone other than Ryan Commerson, himself, bears any responsibility for what Commerson may do to his health if his demands are not met.
(snip)
The Department should never reward methods and tactics such as those Commerson and his cohorts employ. If Ryan Commerson chooses to resume his hunger strike, that is his personal choice, made as an autonomous adult; he, and he alone, must accept the consequences of his behavior. He should not be allowed to hold the taxpayers of Michigan hostage to his demands and threats.
Thank you for your time and attention.
Sincerely,
Celeste D. Johnson, M.A.
Too Many Words!
I thought I would take the liberty to recommend a few books for the newbies to our Deaf Community. The blogs and vlogs can be quite overwhelming and doesn’t always give an accurate picture on all of the issues within the Deaf Community. So I will be listing the top five books that I think all newbies should read so they can enjoy their stay in the Deaf Community more and gain a better insight into us.
- What’s that Pig Outdoors?: A Memoir of Deafness – An auto-biography of a man who turned deaf at age three and his subsequent life experiences.
- A Journey into the Deaf-World - This is an excellent book co-written by a hearing person, a hearing CODA (child of deaf adults) and a Deaf person, explaining about Deaf culture, American Sign Language, and how deaf children in general are educated and raised. It covers the broad experiences of the Deaf Community. This shows both sides of our culture and community.
- Deaf in America: Voices from a Culture – Co-written by two Deaf professionals, this gives an extremely detailed insight of the beauty and positivity in our culture and community.
- The Silent Garden: Raising Your Deaf Child – Self-explanatory. I have not read this book personally, but it is highly recommended by those who have read it.
- The Mask of Benevolence: Disabling the Deaf Community – This is quite a scholarly book, written by Dr. Harlan Lane, a hearing psychology and linguistic professor at Northeastern University. This book explains a bit about the history of the DC and explores the misconceptions the hearing have about us. The scholarly aspect may cause it to be a bit difficult for some, but reading this book is truly worth it.
Enjoy reading!
Table of Contents
“Mom’s Gone Fighting The Deaf Wars” – Epilogue
Please read the final chapter before reading this.
I went to Gallaudet and RIT, but due to various reasons, mainly because of physical health reasons, I had to drop out. I studied psychology extensively, searching for answers that would bring me true closure. While I gained a deeper and clearer insight in the psyche, I was never able to get complete answers to why Ms. Marr and the other staff behaved the way they did.
I also read a ton of self-help books, searching for answers about myself. I was told constantly that most interpreters didn’t want to work with me, because I was horrible to them, and all kinds of crap. I didn’t have a good self-concept, but I knew that I wasn’t a horrible person. So I read nearly any psychology books I could get my hands on. And I wrote. Writing was the balm for my wounds.
When I began my second year at a community college after Gallaudet and RIT, I had a meeting with my advisor. As she searched through a desk for paper, she suddenly stopped and looked up at me. Through the interpreter, she said to me, “You know JJ, you’re not like the other deaf students here at CC. I have had not one complaint about you from the interpreters.”
My interpreter, who was also my friend, interjected (with my permission), “Yeah! I was just telling JJ that! I was telling her that all of the interpreters practically fight to interpret for her!”
I smiled then after a pause, I said, “Tell that to Northview for me, will you?”
Anne, my advisor fell silent for a moment then said, “Yeah. I heard about your situation with Northview. I never understood that.”
The interpreter said, “Well I dunno. Maybe it was because you, JJ were a smart aleck. I mean, in Ethics class she’s always jumping in and tearing apart other students’ arguments. It’s sooooo fun to interpret for! Voicing for her a mile per minute! So maybe the high school staff felt they had to ‘calm down’ you?”
I shook my head with a smirk. My interpreter knew bits and pieces of the story, but she really did not have any clue of what happened. Still smirking, I looked up and said, “That’s right. I’m horrible! I’m a smart ass! After all, I’m the Deaf Community Hitman! Yeaaaaaah!”
They burst out in body-convulsing laughter. With a smile, I retrieved the paper and walked away with the interpreter in tow.
Several feet away, the interpreter paused, then looked over her shoulder. She looked at me with a slight smile, “I can still hear Anne laughing.”
I smiled back at her and thought to myself, “Good… Leave them smiling at the very least.” As I looked away, I suddenly realized that I hadn’t had the nightmares about math since I began at the community college. My smile grew wider then I said, “Come on. We’re gonna be late for class.”
I graduated from the community college with a general A.A. degree and now am attending an university to complete my Bachelor of Science in Public and Nonprofit Administration. The nightmares never returned.
Deb Mills, to the best of my knowledge, remains teaching preschool at Northview. I saw her a few times over the years, and she never was able to look directly at me.
Sherri Ermatinger remains at Northview, interpreting. She now holds a QA rating. Mom ran into her once and Sherri told her, “I just wanted to say that you were right. I was not qualified to interpret for your daughter back then. But now I realize that I was not. Anita had told us that you hated all of us interpreters and all kinds of things, and I believed her. I’m sorry about what happened.”
Joan Esch left Northview several years later after my graduation to raise her children. She, like Deb, was never able to look at me in the face.
Ms. Kalsbeek still teaches at Northview, and I see her once in a while – always a pleasant encounter.
Ms. Marr went back to Maine to be with her family and is still interpreting to this day. Through a mutual friend, she asked for permission to email me. I declined and haven’t heard from her again.
Duane Kiley packed up his office on the last day of the school year and left. He told Mom when she wrote that last letter of complaint, that she was right and that he could not sleep at night. I hope he can sleep at night now.
Anita Siciliano retired from Northview several years ago, and has never been seen in the Deaf Community since.
John LaSotta, the superintendent who lost his job over the hearing and appeal, committed suicide during my senior year in high school. There was a suicide note, but it was never disclosed to the public.
Doreen Mangrum was demoted and works in another school district. Like the other two, she was never able to look directly at me. Years later, Mom would receive an envelope from her. She and Mom had an argument once about Mom giving her my social security number, and Mom refused.
In that envelope from Doreen, was a cut out newspaper article about a scandal that hit the public schools somewhere in Michigan. A school employee was caught stealing other employee and students’ social security numbers. Along with that cut out article was a post-it note, which simply read: You were right. – Doreen
Northview now has a deaf supervisor running the Total Communications program. The majority of teachers now sign far better, and all of the interpreters, to the best of my knowledge, have a QA rating.
As for Mom, she’s still fighting the Deaf Wars.
After the settlement, Kary hired Mom to work for him. He told her that she had wrote the best complaints he ever saw in his legal career. When she doesn’t work for Kary, she still advocates on behalf of deaf and hard of hearing children, and refuses payment from the parents.
Mom’s now a member of the Division of Deafness and Hard of Hearing Advisory Council, and has successfully advocated for over a hundred deaf/hoh children, including transferring over forty students to Michigan School of the Deaf.
She also won the Advocate of the Year award in Dearborn a few years ago, and she wrote a paper for Gallaudet about IDEA, which can be found on the American Society for Deaf Children’s website.
She was also instrumental in the formulation of the interpreter bill which I blogged about a while ago, and she is part of the core referent group to revise and reform the special education rules regarding deaf and hard of hearing children.
As the years go by, Mom’s caseload grows lighter and lighter, but I don’t anticipate her stopping her advocacy completely anytime soon. When she’s not advocating, she keeps busy by teaching American Sign Language at the local colleges, and being just a mom to me and my siblings because after all, like she said to me once during an argument, “I don’t care if you’re an adult now. You’re still my baby, and I will always be your mother!“
The End
“Mom’s Gone Fighting The Deaf Wars” – Chpt. 26
This is a blog serial – so please read the preceding chapter if you haven’t done so yet. To see the list of characters, please refer to the Preface post.
The settlement agreement was finalized in April 1995. I was standing in this very room where I’m writing this blog, when Mom came up to me and said, “It’s over. We got the settlement, and got what we wanted.”
The only response I had was a nod of my head. I could scarcely believe it was over. This had gone on from the end of sixth grade to near the end of tenth grade, which was an eternity for me.
In the settlement agreement, Mom had numerous things agreed upon. One was the procedure of how to complain when we had issues. There was the financial component, which is confidential. And the major part of the agreement was that Northview had to hire Dennis Cokeley, an internationally renown expert on ASL and interpreting, to evaluate all of the interpreters at Northview, to determine which ones could interpret for me.
Cokeley was a research assistant under William Stokoe at Gallaudet, a co-founder of Sign Media, Inc, and a former RID president. This was a huge deal – Cokeley was truly an expert and extremely well known in the interpreting field. Mom had told her interpreter friends that Dennis Cokeley was coming to town, and that he would be having dinner with us that evening after evaluating all of the Northview interpreters.
One of her friends didn’t believe Mom, because who the heck that famous would show up to a mere peon’s house? So Mom invited the friend to stop by briefly and see for herself.
Cokeley and I were sitting around the dining table, waiting for Mom to finish cooking, when the doorbell rang. Mom said, “Oh, Dennis, would you please get the door?”
So Cokeley stood up and went to answer the door. He came back a moment later, looking confused. “That was odd. There was a lady at the door and when she saw me, she looked shocked and fled. What was that all about?”
Looking back, I’m impressed that Mom got Dennis Cokeley to do this. As a teenager, I had no idea who he was – just that he was supposed to be famous. But as a child, I had met famous people before, and none really impressed me because they were normal people. Nothing remarkable about them stood out to me. The only exception to that was Betty Colonomos but that wasn’t because of her fame. It was because she signed so gracefully, and I was so entranced watching her sign. I could watch her sign forever – I had never seen someone sign that beautifully before, and I knew that she genuinely cared about people.
Anyway, when Cokeley had finished his evaluation, nobody was really happy with his decision. He determined that the only interpreter that who could truly meet my needs was Ms. Marr. Both Northview and I objected – we didn’t want to be stuck with each other all day. So Cokeley relented and agreed to another interpreter who had just been hired that year, for a limited number of my classes. I now had two interpreters for all of my classes, and a majority of them was going to be interpreted by Ms. Marr.
The constant humiliation and harassment from Ms. Marr continued. It wasn’t until the following year in eleventh grade that Mom finally put a stop to the harassment for once and all.
It was near Christmas, and we had an annual Total Communication program potluck and performance by the students. A bunch of the staff and students were in the self-contained classroom, and we all were just chatting. Ms. Kalsbeek, who now was a teacher there at the high school asked me, “Jeannette, what do you think of having the ASL students participate in the performance?”
Ms. Marr lost it and she screamed at us, “Jeannette is only a student! How dare you give her that power or ask her for her opinion?! You are the teacher and you are in control, not her!“
Her face was contorted in rage. She was genuinely livid that a teacher had the nerve to ask me for my opinion. We all just stood there, stunned. I think that’s when Ms. Kalsbeek and most of the staff there finally admitted to themselves that my complaints about Ms. Marr was legitimate.
When I went home, I was furious. I was fed up with the constant outbursts by Ms. Marr. It was like she lived to crush me into a little obedient girl. I sat there and cried tears of rage, and I didn’t bother to quieten my sobs, like I used to. It was supposed to be over, and it wasn’t.
When Mom found out what had happened, she first called Kiley and they discussed what happened. Mom demanded that Kiley make Ms. Marr apologize and he said that after Ms. Marr’s apology in ninth grade, she swore she would never do another apology.
So Mom wrote a letter to Kiley. A very, very long letter confirming the conversation she had with Kiley and what had transpired that day in class with me and Ms. Marr. She wrote, “If a student had behaved like Ms. Marr had, that student would have been suspended for insubordination. Why is it that we hold students to a higher level of standards than we hold for adults? They are children, and they are learning how to behave appropriately. Ms. Marr is supposed to be an adult and she has zero excuse for her conduct.“
Then the next page was turned sideways, with the biggest font that could fit on that paper, and it read, “NEVER AGAIN!“
Mom said that if she heard me complaining about Ms. Marr ever again, she would ensure that Ms. Marr’s RID certification was removed permanently.
Ms. Marr apologized and that’s when the harassment and constant humiliation finally ended.
My senior year was the best year in high school. Ms. Marr behaved herself, and I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. No complaints were filed that year.
During graduation, when I walked across the stage to receive my high school diploma, the person who shook my hand wasn’t the principal for most of the other students. It instead was Dr. Oldt, the superintendent, who shook my hand. I couldn’t help but think as Dr. Oldt shook my hand on the stage, “Damn. They must be really happy to see me go.”
As my friends and I posed for pictures, the other interpreter I had, approached Mom. She and Ms. Kalsbeek had been invited to my open house party, since they were the only two that complaints weren’t filed against and whom I liked as well.
The intepreter said to Mom, “Celeste, I realize Jeannette and Ms. Marr did not always get along. But can’t Ms. Marr be invited to the open house like Ms. Kalsbeek and I were? Ms. Marr loves your daughter and she wants to be part of this celebration.”
Mom gave her a stony gaze and said, “No. Ms. Marr is not going to be part of this celebration. Ms. Marr makes my daughter sad, and I cannot have that at the celebration. Jeannette needs to celebrate and be fully happy. I cannot do that to my daughter. I cannot have her celebrating, then see a person there, who tortured her. No… Ms. Marr is not invited.“
The interpreter gaped at Mom in disbelief. She couldn’t believe that Mom said that with Ms. Marr within earshot distance. Mom told me later that as we walked away, Ms. Marr just stood there, looking stricken.
I never saw her again.
“Mom’s Gone Fighting The Deaf Wars” – Chpt. 25
This is a blog serial – so please read the preceding chapter if you haven’t done so yet. To see the list of characters, please refer to the Preface post.
Ms. Marr never went that far again in the mainstream classes again, after being forced to apologize. Nevertheless, she took extreme pleasure at seeing me yelled at by the teacher or being in a frustrating situation.
She would also regale me with stories of her childhood. Long, boring stories about how dependent her deaf parents were on her, and how about she had to take care of her deaf and mentally retarded sister. Ms. Marr would also preach to me how wonderful religion was and took it upon herself to try to instill morals in me. I swore to myself that if I ever had hearing children, I would not be dependent on them like Ms. Marr’s parents were. I didn’t want my children to turn out like her.
I would also become extremely attuned to people’s body language. By observing Ms. Marr’s body language, and others as well, I would know whether today would be a good day or not. As an indirect result of that, I also became a very good actor because I would steel myself for what I knew would be a bad day coming, and I would act like it didn’t affect me. The next day, after something horrible happened, I would carry on perfectly normal conversations with her and with whoever else harassed me. Needless to say, it wasn’t good for my psyche. I clearly remember that year, at least once a week, I would cry myself to sleep over what happened to me that day.
Most of the time, I did report to Mom about what happened – Ms. Marr and the others didn’t terrify me like Joan did. I can’t pinpoint exactly why, but I think it’s because Joan was far more cold than anyone else, and even as a teenager I could see that Ms. Marr was just a pathetic creature. But anyway, there were a lot of complaints filed that year.
It also was during that year that LaSotta, the Northview superintendent, found out that his contract would not be renewed. It was never really acknowledged, but we all knew it was because of our lawsuit and appeal.
Near the end of ninth grade, we held another meeting. We were still stuck with the stay-put, but we needed to meet anyway, to discuss my progress and so on. It was during that meeting that Doreen told Mom that it was obvious that I had a learning disability in mathematics. Mom denied it and thought Doreen was full of it. She told Doreen, ‘Fine. Let’s find out. I’m going to take Jeannette to be evaluated by Dr. Greg Long and prove you wrong!’
So that summer, Mom drove me all the way down to Northern Illinois University, where Dr. Long was at. I was nervous, because I knew that I was definitely struggling with math, and that was unusual. Everything else wasn’t that difficult for me, so I suspected that Doreen could be right. It would explain why I was struggling so hard.
Dr. Long gave me a battery of psychological tests, and I’ll never forget this part. We were in a room with an one-way mirror, so grad students could watch Dr. Long administer the test to me. Up to this point, I had basically aced all of the tests. But when Dr. Long pulled out the puzzles, I knew I was in trouble. I was never good at puzzles, and I wanted to pass the tests, but I knew I couldn’t pass this one.
The puzzle pieces were spread out on the table, and this was just an example one – I should have been able to easily put together that puzzle. And I couldn’t. Dr. Long raised his eyebrows and put it together for me, and it was an apple.
A child’s puzzle, and I couldn’t put it together. I did have a learning disability in math.
When summer ended, Northview had a new superintendent, Dr. Pat Oldt. We also were finished with the state appeal and appealing to the federal courts. It was also arranged that I would have tutoring pretty much everyday after school in math. And of course, Ms. Marr was interpreting the tutoring sessions.
The tutoring sessions for the most part, were okay. It was one on one with the mainstream math teacher, so Ms. Marr couldn’t really get out of hand. But one day, Ms. Marr didn’t show up to the session, and both the teacher and I were puzzled. It was always understood that I would come by for tutoring, and I would inform them only if I didn’t want it that afternoon.
So I went home and told Mom about the no-show. She called Kiley and asked what was going on. Kiley told her he would call back after talking with Ms. Marr about it. A few hours later, Kiley called back and of course, laid all of the blame at my feet. He claimed that I didn’t tell Ms. Marr about the tutoring session, therefore she didn’t show. But unknown to Kiley, my brother who attended high school with me, had told Mom that Sherri E. collapsed that day, with chest pains.
So Mom put two and two together, and she told Kiley, “I don’t think so. I think this is what really happened. It’s understood by everyone that Jeannette will be there, unless she says she won’t be. I think that Ms. Marr was so worried about her co-worker, that she forgot all about the tutoring session.”
A long silence ensued. Then he softly said, “Yeah. You’re right. You’re not going to file a complaint about this, are you?”
Mom didn’t file a complaint over this one. There were already so many complaints that it was practically a bloodbath. But I was tired of getting the blame when something went wrong. Why was it always my fault?
When the appeal reached the federal courts, the magistrate was shocked. Mom told me that he wrote roughly along those lines, “I do not understand why this is here. This case should not be here. I see a long list of valid, legitimate concerns on the parents’ side, but all I see from the schools is a litany of personal, vicious criticisms leveled at the mother.
I see no substantial defense on the schools’ part, and I am looking at the schools with an extremely jaundiced eye. I am ordering the two parties to attempt to settle, or otherwise I am very inclined to rule in the parents’ favor.”
So in the winter in my tenth grade year, Mary Polonawski with two other regional directors sat down with Mom and attempted to write out a settlement agreement.
Mom would recount to me years later that they were sitting in a meeting room, and Mom had a box of complaints behind her. She at this point, was exhausted and enraged over what happened to me and her. At one point during the meeting one of the directors was dismissive of what Mom was saying. So she pulled up the box and pulled out a complaint and slapped it down on the table. “This complaint is about Deb Mills’ forgery. What do you think that is worth to a jury?”
Another complaint was slapped down on the table. “This complaint is about Ms. Marr’s pervasive harassment of my daughter. What do you think this is worth to a jury?”
Yet another complaint, complaint and complaint were slapped down on the table. “This complaint.. this complaint.. this complaint.. What do you think this is worth to a jury? What do you think this is worth to a jury? What do you think this is worth to a jury? I have a basement full of those boxes!”
They stared at her in stunned silence, then one of them said, “You’re going to bankrupt us! What do you think is going to happen? People are going to be upset with you for bankrupting us! Northview won’t be able to provide services to the students anymore if we go to a jury!”
Mom leaned over the table and snarled, “Me bankrupt you?! I did not do those things and nor did my daughter. Your school personnel did those things! And by God, someone is going to pay for this. There are going to be consequences for what you did. You were the ones who committed those crimes! CRIMES!“
I can only imagine that Mom’s raw words echoed through that room.
After a long silence, with tears on her face, Mary then said, “Okay…”
Mom stared at her, waiting.
After taking a deep breath, Mary then said, “What do you want in the agreement?”
Mom sat back in her chair with a small sigh. The long ordeal was finally about to end…
