Good News from the North – Canadan Progress

A while back at People of the Eye – we posted about Audism in Canada

Several of the issues have now made progress

Good News #1:

The student protests at the Centre Jules-Leger, a multilingual (LSQ, French, & English school for the Deaf) were a success in showing that the hiring of a new principal was unjust due to her being unqualified for the job – the hiree did not know LSQ (Quebec Sign Language) nor Deaf culture (the hiree’s degree and experience was in special education).
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/life/Centre+Jules+L%C3%A9ger+review+finds+unqualified+unprofessional+staff/5007426/story.html

Civil disobedience & peaceful direct confrontation works!

Good News #2:

Deaf activities and allies succeeded in lobbying for a commitment to the re-opening of the Newfoundland School for the Deaf

(see past full page ads that the activities had run in major newspapers calling for an investigation into the schools closing https://handeyes.wordpress.com/2011/03/20/ad-calling-for-investigation-into-nsds-closing/)

From the Liberal Party of New Foundland’s People’s Program book (p. 49)

SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF
A New Liberal Government will re-open the School for the Deaf, over a two-year period, working closely with parents and related groups and organizations.

Hopefully the Liberal Party will win the fall election and then within 2 years NSD will re-open.  Maybe it would even offer a course in Maritime Sign Language.

The reopening of the school is very important because the school was earmarked by a doctor as being one of the pillars of keeping Deaf culture and sign language alive and thus something to be done away with in the push to eradicate deafness –

see http://www.thetelegram.com/Education/2009-04-27/article-1436743/Eradicating-deafness/1

Also because Canadian data shows that while oral / aural is the big push for infants and youngsters by elementary school age the shift goes to signing programs (see chart bel0w)

Looking forward to the hiring of a QUALIFED and PROFESSIONAL principal for Centre Jules-Leger and the reopening of NSD.

 

 

 

 

Ad calling for Investigation into NSD’s Closing

Ad run Saturday March 19, 2011 in The Telegram (Canadian Newspaper) calling for an Independent Inquiry into the Closing of the Newfoundland School for the Deaf (NSD), which was done contrary to the iced 2010 new era agreement [Deaf citizens involved in governmental decision making, fair, equal, and appropriate access to education, and language rights].  for more info on this effort go to: http://www.cde-nl.ca/

2nd Ad

for the PDF nsdthetelegram

Past “People of the Eye” blog entry re: the Deaf Canadian landscape:

https://handeyes.wordpress.com/2011/03/14/canada-not-know-joseph-audism-out-audism/

several links from Shel: A Deaf Canadian’s Thoughts re: the Newfoundland School for the Deaf unjust closure

http://www.deafcanadian.com/2010/10/24/nsd-the-quiet-death-of-a-deaf-school-not-so/

http://www.deafcanadian.com/2010/12/29/nsd-letter-from-a-deaf-former-elected-parliamentarian-to-king/

http://www.deafcanadian.com/2010/05/02/neutrality-does-it-exist/

http://www.deafcanadian.com/2011/01/09/wow-iphone-app-as-an-educational-tool-for-deaf-kids-in-newfoundland/

http://www.deafcanadian.com/2011/03/06/parental-choice-truth-or-illusion/

Canada knows not Joseph? Audism out Audism

Oh Canada – Out Audism Out

NOTE: text in red is from George Veditz’s Preservation of Sign Language Speech (1913) as translated to English by Dr. Carol Padden. (move playhead to 11:53 to see Veditz sign it)

“‘A new race of pharaohs that knew not Joseph’ are taking over the land and many of our American schools.”

Can you spell audism? I know, I know some folks can NOT but most folks can and KNOWLEDGE IS POWER.

Audism is attitudes and practices based on the assumption that behaving in the ways of those who speak and hear is desired and best. It produces a system of privilege, thus resulting in stigma, bias, discrimination, and prejudice—in overt or covert ways—against Deaf culture, American Sign Language, and Deaf people of all walks of life. ~ Audism Free America

Some evidence of audism in action in Canada –

1. a Principal with no sign skills and a degree in “special education” is hired over a bilingual-bicultural Deaf candidate for the post at Centre Jules Léger (CJL).

“They do not understand signs for they cannot sign. They proclaim that signs are worthless and of no help to the deaf.”

students three demands

Canadian Association of the Deaf (CAD) letter of support of the three concerns of the students

http://www.cad.ca/news_events_en.php?newsID=88

ASL vlog on the protest and demands:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54VvHjP62ZE&feature=player_embedded#at=21

LSQ vlog on the protest and demands:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DYGClMN_Qk&feature=player_embedded

ADDED JULY 2011 – the students’ protest is successful – there will be a NEW qualified director in the fall http://www.ottawacitizen.com/life/Centre+Jules+L%C3%A9ger+review+finds+unqualified+unprofessional+staff/5007426/story.html

“Enemies of the sign language, they are enemies of the true welfare of the deaf.”

2. Ontario is giving out FREE cochlear implants – (see http://news.ontario.ca/mohltc/en/2011/03/improving-access-to-devices-for-people-with-severe-hearing-loss.html)

– was The “VOICE” organization behind this? – the equivalent to the AG Bell Association a la Canada

(See Dr. Snoddon’s rebuttal to this action http://www.thestar.com/opinion/letters/article/952943–ear-implant-decision-raises-questions)

“…As long as we have deaf people on earth, we will have signs…”

3. there are no Deaf superintendents of Deaf schools in all of Canada – count ‘em folks – none, as in Zero, as in nada

see CAD’s statement re: employment

http://www.cad.ca/employment_and_employability.php

hmmmm so much for “nothing about us, without us – Canadian Deaf schools”

4. The Newfoundland School for the Deaf has been closed as a doctor gleefully predicted it would (and “should” in his opinion).

(see http://www.thetelegram.com/Education/2009-04-27/article-1436743/Eradicating-deafness/1)

“It is my hope that we all will love and guard our beautiful sign language …

ADDED: link to an AD taken out calling for the investigation into the closing of the NSD

5. Newborn Hearing Screening – http://www.health.gov.on.ca/english/public/pub/child/hearing/hearing1.html

…as the noblest gift God has given to deaf people.”

Do not let a new race of Pharaohs that knew not Joseph take over the land.

We need not let this bad history REPEAT itself.

Say unto the 2nd Wave of Oralism and Neo-Eugenics, Out Audism Out!

TRUTHS:

*** Biodiversity, linguistic diversity and cultural diversity are interconnected. Cut one and u will be cutting down the others and dooming us all

http://www.terralingua.org/html/home.html

*** Data showing % of Deaf children in Oral-Aural-ONLY programs sharply declines around adolescences when dialogue and discourse is much more complex and bilingual-bicultural programs sharply increase at this time to accommodate for the influx of oral-aural-ONLY survivors

***Report re: secondary education Deaf students

http://ies.ed.gov/ncser/pubs/20113003/

George Veditz’s typed transcript of his famous signed “Preservation of Sign Language” speech (1913) – note some word choices and ordering is not the same as it appears in the film. Read it and ask what they faced then, do we face now?????