Hearing Culture
Deaf Culture
Mainstream school
Deaf school
Academics
Social
Peer group
Balancing it out
I am hard of hearing
While growing up I was mainstream and managed pretty good.
I did require some assistance at times.
When Dave and I decided to adopt Erin
there was no question that she was going to go to the local deaf school.
She started there less then two weeks after she arrived home.
MDS has done such a great job with Erin.
The teachers have been wonderful helping Erin learn ASL and English.
The staff have been wonderful teaching Erin to feel safe at school, and that they really do care about her and want her to be successful, unlike when she lived in China.
Her first two years at MDS, there was a nice group of kids both males and females.
Erin blossom there
Even with her struggles that she has, she is doing amazing.
Academics she has had some very challenging moments
times where she was ready to quit and wanted to
teachers, paras and peers rallied around her
gave her the support she needed to work out those "low" times.
(she also got a lot of support from her mom and dad, but I am focusing on school).
At the deaf school,
She belongs
everyone communicates by sign.
ASL and English language are totally different.
Teaching a child at a deaf school is different
then teaching a hearing child at a hearing school.
Erin is coming up to the age 16 in less then a month.
She loves to be social
She loves to be active.
She understanding the importance of doing well in school
(even though she continues to want to give up when it becomes to hard).
This past fall Erin started 9th grade and was moved to the high school part of MDS.
2 other kids moved up too, one girl and one boy.
Many of the 8th graders along with some high school students transfer to the Minnesota Deaf Academy and hour away this past fall for many different reasons.
The HS had around 21 kids from 9th to 21 year old (transition program).
5 girls and 16 boys.
3 of the 5 girls are in the transition program so they aren't at the school all the time, so it was mainly Erin and her good friend "M".
It has been hard for the 2 girls with the social/peer this year.
As we know with teenage years, emotions and hormones run high.
With Erin's past, she has no interest in boys beyond being just friends,
Which is a huge thing as she a year ago didn't like boys period.
This has created some issues which the school and us have been working on.
The last couple of months Erin has been really voicing that she wants more female peers.
She also wants to do more activities with peers.
This past fall she tried out for VB at her district home school which is a hearing school.
She made it on the team.
That was a huge step out of her comfort zone as she doesn't have a lot of patience for people that don't sign (she is getting better everyday with that). Majority of her teammates were very accepting and warm to her. Some of them knew very basic signs and they did try to interact with her at times.
She is planning to play badminton in May at the hearing school when she done with Track at the deaf school.
Earlier this week, we found out Erin friend "M" is transferring to the Academy in the fall
2 other girls are graduating, this is leaving 2 girls, Erin and an senior (unless they get girl enrollments before fall) for girls at the high school.
Erin and her parents don't like that idea.
We have options.
We can keep her at MDS and hope for the best. She is very comfortable there, she feels acceptance and belongs. They can meet her academics and try to figure out how to meet the social skills and she can go to the hearing school for sports (she would get pulled out of MDS 1/2 hour early to be transported to the hearing school).
We can transfer hear to the Deaf Academy, she would live in an dorm during the week and be home on weekends. Erin doesn't want to do dorm life, she has stayed at the dorm during summer school for the last two years and didn't like it, but dealt with it because it was only for a week. Dave and I feel she isn't ready for that yet as she is still learning about family, relationships and day to day skills. We can't transport her back and forth everyday as it is to far and we work. School district won't transport as there is a deaf school locally.
We can transfer to the hearing school. I had a meeting there today. They have a deaf/HOH program there. There is one other student (she is a junior right now) in a school with 2000-3000 kids that is deaf in one ear and hard of hearing in the other ear. They have the abilities to meet Erin's academics needs. They have a lot to offer both academics and social. They have interpreters services and is very reliable, including back up ones. Given where Erin is at right now academics, she would be in the "pull out classes" for most of the day. I got to observe the math one and it was small and the teacher did a good job.
We can do half and half, she would miss an hour of school being transported (school is only 15 minutes away from each other, but they have different times).
Isolation
Fitting in
expanding your network
Challenging yourself.
Hearing school:
No peers (that they know of other then the one JR) that would be able to sign fluently enough to carry on conversations with Erin, would she feel alone?
Classes posing a challenge
Be surrounded by voices that she can't understand all day long.
Being exposed to more classes and having more elective choices.
Developing more bonds with girls as she plays more sports with them.
Learning how to live surrounded by hearing world, as more then likely that is what will happen when she finishes school..
Deaf school:
Can teach her more easily on her level
Her comfort zone
Male peers and perhaps one female peer
Everyone is deaf or fluent in signing
Possible feel alone because barely/no female peers
No sports and will have to be bus to the hearing school, will have more of a difficult time developing relationship with peers there.
When I was in school, I had a great bunch of friends,
I did miss parts of conversations,
especially the one liners
or multiple people talking at once.
Sometimes I felt like an outsider
even when my friends weren't doing anything wrong.
I don't want Erin to feel that way among her peers.
Academics are important
so are
social skills.
finding a balance of the two
or the best scernio.
In 2 weeks Erin will tour the hearing school to see what she thinks.
She will need a lot of prayers to keep an open mind.
To think it thru what each school has and doesn't have to offer.
What are Erin's feeling right now?
She has a lot of mixed feelings
She wants to be with deaf people
yet she wants more female peers and connections with activities.
She has had a lot of questions about both schools,
She is leaning towards the hearing school
because of the social skills and activities.
She is leaning towards the deaf school
because that is her comfort zone.
Any thoughts?
Teaching a child at a deaf school is different
then teaching a hearing child at a hearing school.
Erin is coming up to the age 16 in less then a month.
She loves to be social
She loves to be active.
She understanding the importance of doing well in school
(even though she continues to want to give up when it becomes to hard).
This past fall Erin started 9th grade and was moved to the high school part of MDS.
2 other kids moved up too, one girl and one boy.
Many of the 8th graders along with some high school students transfer to the Minnesota Deaf Academy and hour away this past fall for many different reasons.
The HS had around 21 kids from 9th to 21 year old (transition program).
5 girls and 16 boys.
3 of the 5 girls are in the transition program so they aren't at the school all the time, so it was mainly Erin and her good friend "M".
It has been hard for the 2 girls with the social/peer this year.
As we know with teenage years, emotions and hormones run high.
With Erin's past, she has no interest in boys beyond being just friends,
Which is a huge thing as she a year ago didn't like boys period.
This has created some issues which the school and us have been working on.
The last couple of months Erin has been really voicing that she wants more female peers.
She also wants to do more activities with peers.
This past fall she tried out for VB at her district home school which is a hearing school.
She made it on the team.
That was a huge step out of her comfort zone as she doesn't have a lot of patience for people that don't sign (she is getting better everyday with that). Majority of her teammates were very accepting and warm to her. Some of them knew very basic signs and they did try to interact with her at times.
She is planning to play badminton in May at the hearing school when she done with Track at the deaf school.
Earlier this week, we found out Erin friend "M" is transferring to the Academy in the fall
2 other girls are graduating, this is leaving 2 girls, Erin and an senior (unless they get girl enrollments before fall) for girls at the high school.
Erin and her parents don't like that idea.
We have options.
We can keep her at MDS and hope for the best. She is very comfortable there, she feels acceptance and belongs. They can meet her academics and try to figure out how to meet the social skills and she can go to the hearing school for sports (she would get pulled out of MDS 1/2 hour early to be transported to the hearing school).
We can transfer hear to the Deaf Academy, she would live in an dorm during the week and be home on weekends. Erin doesn't want to do dorm life, she has stayed at the dorm during summer school for the last two years and didn't like it, but dealt with it because it was only for a week. Dave and I feel she isn't ready for that yet as she is still learning about family, relationships and day to day skills. We can't transport her back and forth everyday as it is to far and we work. School district won't transport as there is a deaf school locally.
We can transfer to the hearing school. I had a meeting there today. They have a deaf/HOH program there. There is one other student (she is a junior right now) in a school with 2000-3000 kids that is deaf in one ear and hard of hearing in the other ear. They have the abilities to meet Erin's academics needs. They have a lot to offer both academics and social. They have interpreters services and is very reliable, including back up ones. Given where Erin is at right now academics, she would be in the "pull out classes" for most of the day. I got to observe the math one and it was small and the teacher did a good job.
We can do half and half, she would miss an hour of school being transported (school is only 15 minutes away from each other, but they have different times).
Isolation
Fitting in
expanding your network
Challenging yourself.
Hearing school:
No peers (that they know of other then the one JR) that would be able to sign fluently enough to carry on conversations with Erin, would she feel alone?
Classes posing a challenge
Be surrounded by voices that she can't understand all day long.
Being exposed to more classes and having more elective choices.
Developing more bonds with girls as she plays more sports with them.
Learning how to live surrounded by hearing world, as more then likely that is what will happen when she finishes school..
Deaf school:
Can teach her more easily on her level
Her comfort zone
Male peers and perhaps one female peer
Everyone is deaf or fluent in signing
Possible feel alone because barely/no female peers
No sports and will have to be bus to the hearing school, will have more of a difficult time developing relationship with peers there.
When I was in school, I had a great bunch of friends,
I did miss parts of conversations,
especially the one liners
or multiple people talking at once.
Sometimes I felt like an outsider
even when my friends weren't doing anything wrong.
I don't want Erin to feel that way among her peers.
Academics are important
so are
social skills.
finding a balance of the two
or the best scernio.
In 2 weeks Erin will tour the hearing school to see what she thinks.
She will need a lot of prayers to keep an open mind.
To think it thru what each school has and doesn't have to offer.
What are Erin's feeling right now?
She has a lot of mixed feelings
She wants to be with deaf people
yet she wants more female peers and connections with activities.
She has had a lot of questions about both schools,
She is leaning towards the hearing school
because of the social skills and activities.
She is leaning towards the deaf school
because that is her comfort zone.
Any thoughts?
I don't have any advice, but I'll be praying that you will know figure out the best plan for Erin. I know it has to be stressful trying to figure this out!
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