Goals for the Future and a Thanks for the Present

My ultimate goal to continue on from this course is the act of self-reflection. I believe this practice has bettered my ability to look within myself and establish my views on topics and issues within our society. It has allowed me to realize my own personal viewpoints and to ensure that I am addressing every side of the issue before coming to neutrality. I want to thank my colleagues within this course for helping me stay accountable and for encouraging open communication on topics that many try to ignore or stray away from. It is my hope that we all continue on this path of self-reflection as we all want a future that is safe and anti-bias for our children and scholars.

Word Art

These words reflect on my most frequently used words and wonderings in this course. While they may just be words, they reflect my feelings, frustrations, curiosity, and overall thoughts on the matter discussed through this course. These are words that I will carry with me to the end of this program and through my career as an anti-bias educator. 

"We Don't Say Those Words"

I learned American Sign Language at a young age. I lived next door to a woman who taught me both ASL and to play the piano. Throughout my life, I looked for chances to use this language whenever I could and to connect with members of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community. In college, I was a part of UGA's first American Sign Language Multicultural Community which allowed me to live on the same floor and attend meetings with others who either shared my passion for ASL or who were Deaf or Hard of Hearing. In this experience, we frequently attended events put on by our community or through personal friends of the group. It was not uncommon to be sitting in the coffee shop with nine other individuals, communicating only through our hands. It warranted a few stares and awkward smiles from college age kids, but it was not until one of our events that involved a child's innocent wondering and an adult's "shushing" that I realized just how important it is to educate our children on how different everyone is.

The incident happened at a local restaurant in our college town. There were six of us around a table in the middle of the restaurant, during a busy time of day. Two of us were hearing and the other four were Deaf. It was during our conversation that I overheard a child of only four or five-years old, ask his mother why those people looked funny with their hands. I noticed how the mother quickly silenced the child saying "They can't hear honey, that is how they talk" and immediately after, the father made a comment saying "Don't worry (wife's name), they can't hear him talking about them". Myself and the other hearing individual immediately looked at each other in anger. It was obvious that the child learned in that incident to not ask questions about other's differences and that just because there were Deaf individuals, he should not worry about saying hurtful things. It was a wake up call on the importance of explaining disabilities, abilities,  and differences to children so they are encouraged to ask questions and not learn that they are superior to others who are different to them. I know that anyone of my Deaf or Hard of Hearing friends would have been over-the-moon in joy had the child come up to ask a question or to try and learn ASL.

As an educator now, I realize that many children may not receive the right responses to their questions or inquiries, so as the educator, it is my job to help these children ask questions, get answers, and enjoy the differences we all have.