On Thursday, October 15, I attended an ASL Poetry Slam at the Bowery Poetry Club. Although it was described as a poetry event, it featured one man sharing a number of short stories, through ASL, that relate in some way to the Deaf community.
Before arriving I had expected there to be no English usage. I was surprised, then, when the doorman verbally addressed me. By the time the show started, the room was packed, with people using both ASL and English. The show opened with a warm-up, in which three audience members were invited on-stage to use the signs for numbers 1, 2, and 3 in new ways. After this, several stories were shared that somehow addressed misunderstandings of Deaf culture. For instance, one story explained how a Deaf man was being followed, as he walked down the street, by someone, not of the Deaf community. This person, not understanding that the man could not hear him, continued to follow him while screaming for his attention and then eventually grabbed the man, thinking that he was simply being rude.
The show then ended with more audience participation, in something called "Guessign." Several people went on-stage, and, in partners, one person stood behind another, while placing their hands in front and signing a story about a vampire, all while wearing "monster fingers."
Because I am only in my first semester of taking ASL, I was lost during most of the stories. However, I was able to understand a few fairly well and was at least able to get the general concept being presented in each. I also learned a few new signs, as well as several items about the Deaf community.
As a future teacher, I feel that an event like this one would be a great way to further address differences, and similarities between a variety of cultures. Although students may not be able to understand items being signed, simply being in the environment can allow students some idea of ways that people using ASL interact. Too often we focus solely on items such as race to distinguish one culture from another and ignore those that may not be quite as obvious. However, it is apparent that there is a need to have students better understand Deaf culture to prevent incidents, like those from the story presented earlier, from occurring.
This video isn't from the event, but I thought it might be cute to use if discussing ASL in the classroom, especially if your kiddies like Miley Cyrus. We should all thank Sarah, who sent me the link. :)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmKnQjBf8wM
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I went to a poetry slam my first semester of ASL too and could barely understand anything either :) I thought it was really cool though and have always wanted to go to another one once I've learned more signs and become better at understanding when people are signing really fast.
ReplyDeleteI wish I would've gone to this event! I've never taken ASL, but it's something I definitely want to learn in the near future. I agree with you Casey in that we need to point out to our students that racial/cultural differences are not the only things that set us apart and make up who we are. Language is also an essential component of who are and what makes us unique. In my first grade placement last semester, I witnessed a few children in my class making fun of and laughing at a person they saw in the street using ASL and I thought things like this wouldn't occur if we taught children how to respect all kinds of differences, not just racial ones. The Miley Cyrus song signed is a great way I would introduce sign language and I would use it to show them that ASL is different but also similar in that it's also used to express yourself, just like spoken language.
ReplyDeleteI took two semesters of ASL and enjoyed EVERY MINUTE OF IT!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI went to ASL poetry slams and they were AMAZING.
I completely agree that we need to not only focus on race, but also on these differences that can also cause differences in a classroom. I think that learning a language like ASL is something that will give a teacher yet another tool that he or she can use.
I took a semester of sign language as well and absolutely loved it! Like you, the poetry slams were sometimes difficult for me to understand but I immensely enjoyed being in the environment. I would often ask people around me what certain signs meant and they would spell it out for me so I could understand. Even though I was unfamiliar with many of the signs, I was able to comprehend a lot more than I anticipated. You'd be surprised with how much other visual cues, like facial expressions and body language can tell you!
ReplyDeleteI took two semesters of ASL and thought it was great! I attended a few poetry events at the Bowery Poetry Club as well and thought they were so interesting, even though I also didn't understand everything that was being said. I completely agree that it is so important to teach students about differences that you might not be able to see just by looking at someone. I also believe that ASL is very useful in the classroom. I don't know if my CT took ASL or saw this somewhere else, but the students in my current placement use some signs, or letters, as silent ways to ask to get a drink of water (W) or go to the bathroom (R) and my CT and I respond with the signs for yes and no.
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