Kayley Glauser

M&W 7-9pm.
9-5-2011

INTRODUCTION AND CHAPTER ONE REVIEW

The Introduction and Chapter one of the book, Inside Deaf Culture, by Carol Padden
and Tom Humphries begins by addressing several aspects of Deaf Culture, and gives a brief
history of the foundation of Deaf education. I found this section has provided a great deal of
well rounded, unbiased information. That being said, it has been difficult to find one subject
for me to form an opinion on. The main ideas I have gathered from this section of the book are
as follows; separation, the importance and differences of Culture, and acceptance for and from
the Deaf community.
In these chapters, there have been many examples of separation. First, the separation
of social classes. This is shown when in the nineteenth-century the government decided to put
labels on social classes for educational purposes. Now the rich would not be educated with the
poor, the mannered would not be educated with the ill-mannered, and the hearing would not be
educated with the deaf.
I feel the intentions of this new education system were honorable, but I do not think the Deaf
education system was set up properly. Mainly hearing people were in control of how the
institution was built and how it was operated and I find great flaw in this approach. How could
a hearing person know what is best for a Deaf person? There was also separation of children

and family for the sake of education. Deaf children would have to leave their homes to stay in
these institutions for long periods of time. These children experienced and were taught many
things, but the love and affection of a family was not something that could be given to them.
Sometimes these institutions were not safe for the students. As exemplified in the book, bad
things happened to some of the children, and justice was not served for many of them (many
times solely because of lack of communication to authorities). Overall I feel the beginning of
formal and organized Deaf education was necessary, but it saddens me to see the flaws in the
process of doing so. Even today there is separation between the hearing world and the deafworld. From what I have observed, America has been and is most convenient for the hearing
person, and is somewhat blind to the culture of the Deaf. There is a definite separation between
the two and I feel that it is a hole that has been dug and it will take many years to fill.
If we take a look back in history of any civilization, we find one important common
factor; Culture. Culture can be as general as a planet or country, or as specific as a family or a
human being. However your paradigm, everyones culture is different and important. Deaf
Culture is not excluded from this. As the book implied, the history of the Deaf community has
not been taken seriously until around the nineteenth-century. This word culture has helped to
explain the Deaf community to the hearing world. Deaf Culture is a natural community that has
developed over time because of common experiences, common feelings, and of course, a
common language. In the past, Deaf people have been viewed with the opinion of Deaf
people cant do. With the progression of educating hearing people about the wants and needs
of the Deaf, the opinion becomes, Deaf people choose to do because of Culture and overall
happiness.

Something all humans, deaf or hearing, have in common is the desire to be accepted. As
I read about the Deaf education system, I realized that until formal education, deaf children
were not accepted. Some were not even accepted in their own homes. Imagining what it
would be like to be told your whole life that your existence was a problem and that you
needed to be fixed makes me empathetic towards many deaf people who have suffered
because of this treatment. Reading this beginning section of the book has helped me to
understand the separation and hesitancy of trust from the Deaf community towards the hearing
community. It would be hard to be friends with someone who has had in the past the only
intention to help you, even if it is not needed or wanted. It is like being friends with a
therapist when you do not want to talk about your problems.
As I have learned additional information about Culture, separation of Cultures, and
acceptance in the Introduction and Chapter one of the book, Inside Deaf Culture, I look
forward to more examples of Deaf experiences and the contrast to my own. As I continue
reading, I hope my eyes will be opened to the Deaf culture and hope to become more receptive
to ASL and have a deeper understanding to the life of a Deaf person.