Many years ago, I did something I will never do again. It was 1985-1987, and as a young Gallaudet student eager to explore, I set off for a walk alone to the shopping mall I had heard about. I did not have a car, so walking was the only option. I enjoyed the daytime walk to the Hechinger mall at Benning Road NE.
But I did not know at the time, how much risk I had taken! I didn't know that the Trinidad neighborhood I walked past alone was dangerous. When I returned safely to the Gallaudet campus after my exploration of the Hechinger mall and told friends of my little shopping adventure, they gasped and told me how much of a risk I had taken walking there alone.
To this day, the Trinidad neighborhood to the right of Gallaudet (it is to the right as you approach the entrance from the outside) remains dangerous and a relatively high crime area. The Washington Post carries reports of crimes in the area from time to time. Murders and attempted murders are taking place short distances from Gallaudet as seen in this late December 2006 item from the Washington Post: "Man is slain, 4 are injured in 2 shootings," that reports the crimes took place "less than a half-mile east of Gallaudet University." More recently, this past weekend, another man was slain, although the Post did not report how far the crime took place from Gallaudet. I looked at the map accompanying the article and it appeared the crime was far from Gallaudet. (Update: I thought that the murder last weekend was in Trinidad, because of this statement from the Post article: "Yesterday, family members huddled at home in the Trinidad section of Northeast, where Bigsby shared a house with his sister and her five children." An anonymous commenter, whose comments I rejected, claimed that the murder did not happen in Trinidad. He or she had some good points. I invite this anonymous poster to re-submit comments with a fake name, and then I will approve the comments. The anonymous commenter was backed up by other non-anonymous commenters, who said that the murder took place away from Trinidad. I stand corrected.)
I thought that the Trinidad area was improving, even being gentrified a little. (The opening of the Metro station in November 2004 not too far away probably played a role in the gentrification, as well as the increased demand for housing in DC in general) But the crime reports continue to come.
In a blog post from almost a year ago, Adam Stone asks if Gallaudet should be actively trying to improve the area around Gallaudet. Gallaudet has so many challenges on its hands now that it seems like a bit much to also ask that the University fight crime next door. What could Gallaudet possibly do? Some thoughts come to mind: give job hiring preference for certain jobs, to residents from Trinidad? encourage a deaf "invasion" of Trinidad, buying up properties or renting homes there (I understand that quite a few deaf students already live there)? offer reduced-price childcare in the Gallaudet Child Development Center to children from Trinidad so that their parents can work?
The following blogs/websites allow you to keep up with what's happening in Trinidad:
Frozen Tropics Blog
Trinidad-DC.org (website, with crime statistics and a link to a Trinidad crime map)
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Whining? I Think Not!
Ricky Taylor wrote in his blog: "Quit whining, Jamie Berke!" regarding my recent posting about the article about Shawn McDonald in the Los Angeles Times. I don't think I am whining when I point out how the writer is portraying young deaf people. Imagine that you are a hearing person who knows nothing about deafness and has never met a deaf person and you are reading things like this from the article:
"Beyond the cyclone fence wrapped around his campus stood the hearing world. He would graduate in June. He didn't have a driver's license; the test scared him. He hadn't applied to college; that scared him too."
A hearing person who does not know anything about deafness will read that and think: "Young deaf people can't pass driver's license tests. They can't go to college because college scares shit out of them. This Shawn McDonald must have lousy English or be stupid."
Or how about what the coach said? On the same page, the coach is quoted as saying that some of those boys "might never work" or will end up in "blue-collar jobs" and face challenges in "taking care of themselves." He also said co-workers would not be willing to help them, and employers would fire them for being deaf. Instead of speaking positively about the potential of his young players as bright young deaf men, that is what the coach said.
The impression a hearing reader who knows nothing about deafness will get: "Young deaf people can't work. Or if they do work, they get only low-paid or blue-collar jobs. They can't take care of themselves. Employers don't want to hire them."
Bottom line - whenever you read an article about a deaf person in the media, put yourself in the shoes of a hearing person unfamiliar with deafness who may have never met a deaf person. What impression are they going to take away with them?
The California School for the Deaf now has a major public relations challenge on its hands. If you were a parent of a deaf kid who read that article, would you want to send your kid to the California School for the Deaf?
"Beyond the cyclone fence wrapped around his campus stood the hearing world. He would graduate in June. He didn't have a driver's license; the test scared him. He hadn't applied to college; that scared him too."
A hearing person who does not know anything about deafness will read that and think: "Young deaf people can't pass driver's license tests. They can't go to college because college scares shit out of them. This Shawn McDonald must have lousy English or be stupid."
Or how about what the coach said? On the same page, the coach is quoted as saying that some of those boys "might never work" or will end up in "blue-collar jobs" and face challenges in "taking care of themselves." He also said co-workers would not be willing to help them, and employers would fire them for being deaf. Instead of speaking positively about the potential of his young players as bright young deaf men, that is what the coach said.
The impression a hearing reader who knows nothing about deafness will get: "Young deaf people can't work. Or if they do work, they get only low-paid or blue-collar jobs. They can't take care of themselves. Employers don't want to hire them."
Bottom line - whenever you read an article about a deaf person in the media, put yourself in the shoes of a hearing person unfamiliar with deafness who may have never met a deaf person. What impression are they going to take away with them?
The California School for the Deaf now has a major public relations challenge on its hands. If you were a parent of a deaf kid who read that article, would you want to send your kid to the California School for the Deaf?
Reporters Still Don't Get It
Reading the long Los Angeles Times article about Shawn McDonald, a deaf team captain at California School for the Deaf Riverside, I cringed. I am not done reading this eight-page article yet, but it is clear the writer wanted to do a "sympathy" piece about "poor deaf people." Here are a few direct quotes that will help you understand why I am cringing as I continue to read it:
If I ever get interviewed by People magazine, I am going to demand the right to review the article before even agreeing to an interview.
Update: I finished reading. At the end of the article is an e-mail for the reporter: kurt.streeter@latimes.com
- Not just about football, but about hardship. Nobody on the team could hear.
- yelled in the guttural way he had of getting angry
- It was hard enough being deaf. And now this.
- Nothing had ever been easy for Shawn McDonald.
- he was an outcast.
- Other children called him "retard." They taunted him. They spit on him and hit him.
- "CaaahhhIIIIhuuuuppuuu?" he said, praying that the customers would understand: Can I help you?
- He wore a bulky hearing aid and kept trying to talk. To many on campus, hearing aids and trying to talk meant being someone you weren't.
- Frustrated by the limits of their hand movements, his new deaf friends highlighted their feelings by contorting their faces and making exaggerated, mime-like motions with their bodies.
- He was surrounded by kids like him, who couldn't hear the taunts from the other side
If I ever get interviewed by People magazine, I am going to demand the right to review the article before even agreeing to an interview.
Update: I finished reading. At the end of the article is an e-mail for the reporter: kurt.streeter@latimes.com
They Have Stopped Captioning
After seeing the NAD Advocacy Blog update on the granting of an extension to file comments on the numerous requests for exemptions from closed captioning rules, I decided to re-visit the FCC online database of captioning-related documents. (To access this database, go to http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/comsrch_v2.cgi and enter 06-181 in the first box labeled Proceeding).
(The best news from the NAD Advocacy Blog is that the request to allow us to file comments electronically was granted. To file a comment electronically, go to http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/upload_v2.cgi. Enter the file number that you found via the FCC database, and fill in the rest of the boxes and upload your comment.)
Here is what I found on my return visit (last time accessed was late November 2006): Not only are churches and other small producers continuing to request exemptions (I will have to update the organized FCC captioning exemption list database), those who have received exemptions have already stopped captioning! I found this out by reviewing the "brief comments." The brief comments are statements from FCC officials that they have been formally notified that the entities have ceased captioning. Thus far, these entities (locations unknown) have ceased captioning as soon as they got exemptions:
The most common argument made in the requests for exemption is that they will be forced to stop producing broadcasts if they are required to caption. Typical argument (from Union Baptist Church): "Without an exemption from the Commission’s rules, the Sunday Service video broadcast would be canceled with the result that many homebound, elderly and disabled worshippers in the greater Springfield, Illinois area would be denied weekly access to their Church, religion and religious traditions and would be denied the opportunity to practice their religion via television. The disabled, sick, frail, elderly residents in Springfield would primarily suffer as a result of the undue burden of requiring closed captioning for these video broadcasts."
My answer to that argument is - then let them stop producing! Unless they discover there are REAL consequences to their failure to consider the needs of the deaf and hard of hearing BEFORE they begin producing their broadcasts, the law mandating closed captions is not going to have any teeth. In addition, failure to caption is simply short-sightedness on their part; some of those "elderly and disabled worshippers" probably have some hearing loss!
(The best news from the NAD Advocacy Blog is that the request to allow us to file comments electronically was granted. To file a comment electronically, go to http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/upload_v2.cgi. Enter the file number that you found via the FCC database, and fill in the rest of the boxes and upload your comment.)
Here is what I found on my return visit (last time accessed was late November 2006): Not only are churches and other small producers continuing to request exemptions (I will have to update the organized FCC captioning exemption list database), those who have received exemptions have already stopped captioning! I found this out by reviewing the "brief comments." The brief comments are statements from FCC officials that they have been formally notified that the entities have ceased captioning. Thus far, these entities (locations unknown) have ceased captioning as soon as they got exemptions:
- Abundant Life Church
- Temple Baptist Church
- Second Baptist Church
The most common argument made in the requests for exemption is that they will be forced to stop producing broadcasts if they are required to caption. Typical argument (from Union Baptist Church): "Without an exemption from the Commission’s rules, the Sunday Service video broadcast would be canceled with the result that many homebound, elderly and disabled worshippers in the greater Springfield, Illinois area would be denied weekly access to their Church, religion and religious traditions and would be denied the opportunity to practice their religion via television. The disabled, sick, frail, elderly residents in Springfield would primarily suffer as a result of the undue burden of requiring closed captioning for these video broadcasts."
My answer to that argument is - then let them stop producing! Unless they discover there are REAL consequences to their failure to consider the needs of the deaf and hard of hearing BEFORE they begin producing their broadcasts, the law mandating closed captions is not going to have any teeth. In addition, failure to caption is simply short-sightedness on their part; some of those "elderly and disabled worshippers" probably have some hearing loss!
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Comic Books for Gallaudet Students?
Davila is on the right track with his vlog focused on the idea of strengthening the sense of community to improve retention at Gallaudet. Now we need ideas to improve academic skills. Students who arrive at Gallaudet with limited English abilities need help and motivation to improve fast. Time is short. College is just a few years, a blip in a lifetime.
So here is an idea I have based on my own experience. Use comic books to help and motivate Gallaudet students with weak English. I credit comic books for helping me to develop good reading skills at an early age. I read regular books as a young child, but my real love was comic books.
Casper, Wendy, Richie, Archie, Little Lulu - the "kid stuff" was easy to understand and fun to read. It helped me to build and reinforce a foundation of good English skills. The big words I came across in the comic books were intriguing, and I pestered my mother so much about what the words meant that she taught me how to use a dictionary at an early age.
I would like to see Gallaudet University library set aside a room as the "comic book room", filled with regular comic books, comic book digests, manga, and graphic novels. Students with limited English could spend hours reading those, enjoying themselves and improving their English at the same time. The simplicity of comic books would help to build their confidence in their English, and graphic novels can be as wordy as some regular books.
Comic books and comics come in a wide variety of genres. For students who might be embarrassed to read the "kid stuff," there could be a selection of erotic adult comics. For students who are struggling to understand literature, there could be Classics Illustrated. Romance, horror, superhero, and crime comics. They are harder to find, but there are also history -based comics, such as Maus and Barefoot Gen. Educational comics are another genre - I remember learning about electricity from Reddy Kilowatt, and about economics through another comic book. Ther are plenty of reprint collections of both past and present newspaper comic strips available.
There is just one problem with this idea of a comic book room in the library. Comics can be addictive! Just as the cafeteria has to chase out still-chatting students at closing time, the library could find itself having to chase out still-reading students at closing time.
So here is an idea I have based on my own experience. Use comic books to help and motivate Gallaudet students with weak English. I credit comic books for helping me to develop good reading skills at an early age. I read regular books as a young child, but my real love was comic books.
Casper, Wendy, Richie, Archie, Little Lulu - the "kid stuff" was easy to understand and fun to read. It helped me to build and reinforce a foundation of good English skills. The big words I came across in the comic books were intriguing, and I pestered my mother so much about what the words meant that she taught me how to use a dictionary at an early age.
I would like to see Gallaudet University library set aside a room as the "comic book room", filled with regular comic books, comic book digests, manga, and graphic novels. Students with limited English could spend hours reading those, enjoying themselves and improving their English at the same time. The simplicity of comic books would help to build their confidence in their English, and graphic novels can be as wordy as some regular books.
Comic books and comics come in a wide variety of genres. For students who might be embarrassed to read the "kid stuff," there could be a selection of erotic adult comics. For students who are struggling to understand literature, there could be Classics Illustrated. Romance, horror, superhero, and crime comics. They are harder to find, but there are also history -based comics, such as Maus and Barefoot Gen. Educational comics are another genre - I remember learning about electricity from Reddy Kilowatt, and about economics through another comic book. Ther are plenty of reprint collections of both past and present newspaper comic strips available.
There is just one problem with this idea of a comic book room in the library. Comics can be addictive! Just as the cafeteria has to chase out still-chatting students at closing time, the library could find itself having to chase out still-reading students at closing time.
More on Vlogs Need Captions for the ASL-Impaired
I have read your comments on the previous post, "Vlogs Need Captions for the ASL-Impaired" and here is my response: to see why captioning of vlogs is so important, look no further than Dr. Davila's vlog that everyone is raving about. It was captioned and signed. I was able to understand it fully, reading the captions and watching his clear signing. Dr. Davila captions his vlogs because he wants everyone to understand the message.
I disagree that captioning vlogs would interfere with using the vlogs to improve sign receptive skills. In my experience, just the opposite is true. Captions help me to understand what the sign means, and to learn the right way to sign something. Just like using sign language does not interfere with learning to talk and may actually enhance it.
It is not a "double standard" or "different standard" to ask that deaf people caption their vlogs. As I have said before, we need to set an example, and lead, in internet accessibility. Dr. Davila is doing that. Some commenters asked why don't hearing people have ASL interpretation on their web video? My answer to that is, not everyone knows sign language but everyone can read!
Also - I just realized something - what about deafblind web users? I don't know if the technology exists yet to be able to do it, but can captions on vlogs be accessed by deafblind web users? Another option is an alternative text transcript. Did anyone notice that Dr. Davila posted a link to an alternative text transcript? Text transcripts can be accessed by deafblind web users.
Yes, it takes time to add the captions to a vlog, but the result is a product that a wider audience can appreciate and understand.
As requested by readers, here are links to previous posts by Grant Laird and Jared Evans on the technology of captioning vlogs:
Caption Online Part 2 (Laird)
Timed Text as Subtitles (Evans)
Auto Gordonian Knot (Evans)
Plus, there are several applications listed on captions.org at the bottom of this page in the Web Video category. You may also find something in the Shareware category as well, which is meant for anime subtitling but could also be used for vlog subtitling.
Finally, perhaps it would help to read the feelings of others, who have expressed their desire for captions on vlogs:
Deaf:
Hearing Person Irked.. (Evans)
Future of Vlogs (MM)
The Future of the Deaf Blogsophere (Sandman) (Includes a link to the Triomphe L'oeil vlog, which is totally captioned. )
Deafhood and Deaf Culture (Browneyed Girl. Long, search the page for "captioning" to find her comments)
Hearing:
Technology as Enablers
Of course, if you can't caption the vlog, you could always post a text transcript. Text transcripts are probably quicker and easier to do.
I disagree that captioning vlogs would interfere with using the vlogs to improve sign receptive skills. In my experience, just the opposite is true. Captions help me to understand what the sign means, and to learn the right way to sign something. Just like using sign language does not interfere with learning to talk and may actually enhance it.
It is not a "double standard" or "different standard" to ask that deaf people caption their vlogs. As I have said before, we need to set an example, and lead, in internet accessibility. Dr. Davila is doing that. Some commenters asked why don't hearing people have ASL interpretation on their web video? My answer to that is, not everyone knows sign language but everyone can read!
Also - I just realized something - what about deafblind web users? I don't know if the technology exists yet to be able to do it, but can captions on vlogs be accessed by deafblind web users? Another option is an alternative text transcript. Did anyone notice that Dr. Davila posted a link to an alternative text transcript? Text transcripts can be accessed by deafblind web users.
Yes, it takes time to add the captions to a vlog, but the result is a product that a wider audience can appreciate and understand.
As requested by readers, here are links to previous posts by Grant Laird and Jared Evans on the technology of captioning vlogs:
Caption Online Part 2 (Laird)
Timed Text as Subtitles (Evans)
Auto Gordonian Knot (Evans)
Plus, there are several applications listed on captions.org at the bottom of this page in the Web Video category. You may also find something in the Shareware category as well, which is meant for anime subtitling but could also be used for vlog subtitling.
Finally, perhaps it would help to read the feelings of others, who have expressed their desire for captions on vlogs:
Deaf:
Hearing Person Irked.. (Evans)
Future of Vlogs (MM)
The Future of the Deaf Blogsophere (Sandman) (Includes a link to the Triomphe L'oeil vlog, which is totally captioned. )
Deafhood and Deaf Culture (Browneyed Girl. Long, search the page for "captioning" to find her comments)
Hearing:
Technology as Enablers
Of course, if you can't caption the vlog, you could always post a text transcript. Text transcripts are probably quicker and easier to do.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Vlogs Need Captions for the ASL-Impaired
Just finished voting in the Deaf Blog Awards. The only category I could not cast a reliable vote on was the vlogs. Lack of captioning on the vlogs made it difficult for me to understand some of them and get the full benefit from viewing them. While I do communicate with sign language, my sign language receptive skills are somewhat limited, and I know I am far from alone in that.
So, vloggers, I love the way you express your thoughts so creatively! But, could you please add captions to your vlogs even if it causes a slight delay in getting them posted? How can the deaf community expect the regular media to add captions to their internet broadcasts if the deaf community does not take the lead itself in captioning ALL of its vlogs?
The technology for adding captions to the vlogs is quite simple. Poke around Grant Laird or Jared Evans' blogs and you will find information on how to caption vlogs.
So, vloggers, I love the way you express your thoughts so creatively! But, could you please add captions to your vlogs even if it causes a slight delay in getting them posted? How can the deaf community expect the regular media to add captions to their internet broadcasts if the deaf community does not take the lead itself in captioning ALL of its vlogs?
The technology for adding captions to the vlogs is quite simple. Poke around Grant Laird or Jared Evans' blogs and you will find information on how to caption vlogs.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Good Behavior from Gallaudet Students Essential
A few days late, I had a chance to read the MSA team exit report. This sentence jumped out at me and it is the most important sentence in the three-page report: "The team further stressed that closing an institution through protest, preventing or intimidating students from attending class, or precluding the open exchange of ideas brings the institution out of compliance with Middle States’ accreditation standards, and any further such actions will have dire consequences in terms of accreditation. "
If Gallaudet students needed any incentive to behave well from here on, this is it. Any future grievances must be resolved diplomatically, and not through protests. Davila has already warned the University community of the potential consequences if Gallaudet were to lose MSA accreditation.
If Gallaudet students needed any incentive to behave well from here on, this is it. Any future grievances must be resolved diplomatically, and not through protests. Davila has already warned the University community of the potential consequences if Gallaudet were to lose MSA accreditation.
Monday, January 15, 2007
Survival Strategies for Schools for the Deaf
After reading various blogs and viewing some vlogs (preferably the captioned ones), it is clear the deaf community feels schools for the deaf are threatened. Instead of wringing our signing hands, let's come up with some strategies for survival. Meanwhile, here are my random thoughts regarding what I believe schools for the deaf will have to do to survive. (For the record, I did not attend a school for the deaf prior to college, so I am not an authority on this subject. I can only state my thoughts on the matter. )
I believe that in order to survive, schools for the deaf going to have to turn themselves into the equivalent of exclusive private schools that happen to educate deaf students. They will have to adopt marketing strategies, and think of their competition as the local public school programs for the deaf. Instead of being viewed as "the deaf school" and having a stigma, they need to position themselves so that they will be viewed as schools that educate students who happen to be deaf.
They have to be welcoming of students with cochlear implants, and today's schools for the deaf do have many students with cochlear implants. What is going to be different is that they are actually going to have to market themselves to parents of implanted students. Just like a private school, they are going to have to tell parents "we happen to be a school for the deaf, but we can offer your child the same individualized attention that he/she would get at la expensive private academy." At the same time, they have to be able to tell parents "we offer the same challenging academic environment that your local school district does."
Most schools for the deaf today have parent-infant programs for parents of implanted infants. I was told by someone who worked at a school for the deaf, that those programs are crucial tools for bringing in the next generation of students. That person told me that some of the parents in the parent-infant program decide to leave after the program is completed, but others, impressed with the support they get from the school for the deaf, decide to stay and enroll their babies as regular students.
What to say to the parent who says "my implanted child is a hearing, speaking child who can talk on the phone, has plenty of hearing friends and does not need sign language?" I guess you could emphasize the social benefits of a school for the deaf, particularly for young teenagers. You could say to that parent, "yes, your child can hear and speak, but communication is still a bit of a struggle. Wouldn't your child be happier in an environment where he/she can communicate with ease?" Another approach would be the "birds of a feather" approach, "your child will have the opportunity to be with others (hearing, speaking, signing) just like him/her."
Are schools for the deaf actively marketing themselves at cochlear implant conventions? At local/regional deaf events like DeafNation Expos? Those events are prime marketing opportunities because many parents of implantees say that they do want their children exposed to deaf culture and sign language as they recognize that their children are still at heart, deaf children.
There are schools for the deaf out there that are attracting students and thriving. Which schools are they? What are they doing right? We need to hear from them so that other schools for the deaf can learn what to do. Schools like Maryland School for the Deaf and Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf are schools that I understand to be thriving?
Also, I don't have any concrete facts on this, but what is the cost of educating a deaf child in the mainstream versus the cost of educating that child at a school for the deaf? I did read in one blog that the blogger felt the cost was about equal when the services that a mainstreamed deaf child needs are factored in (sorry, I can't find that blog so that I could link to it). If schools for the deaf could streamline their costs so that they are cost-competitive with local mainstreaming costs, that could cause legislatures to be more willing to support schools for the deaf.
Last but not least, when are we going to get updated statistics so that we can start getting away from the old "fourth grade reading level for deaf high school graduates" statistic? Parents of newly identified deaf children are still hearing or seeing that, and being scared out of their minds. Surely the presence of more implanted deaf children, and deaf children who have benefitted from being identified as newborns, and therefore have good English, is making that statistic obsolete?
I believe that in order to survive, schools for the deaf going to have to turn themselves into the equivalent of exclusive private schools that happen to educate deaf students. They will have to adopt marketing strategies, and think of their competition as the local public school programs for the deaf. Instead of being viewed as "the deaf school" and having a stigma, they need to position themselves so that they will be viewed as schools that educate students who happen to be deaf.
They have to be welcoming of students with cochlear implants, and today's schools for the deaf do have many students with cochlear implants. What is going to be different is that they are actually going to have to market themselves to parents of implanted students. Just like a private school, they are going to have to tell parents "we happen to be a school for the deaf, but we can offer your child the same individualized attention that he/she would get at la expensive private academy." At the same time, they have to be able to tell parents "we offer the same challenging academic environment that your local school district does."
Most schools for the deaf today have parent-infant programs for parents of implanted infants. I was told by someone who worked at a school for the deaf, that those programs are crucial tools for bringing in the next generation of students. That person told me that some of the parents in the parent-infant program decide to leave after the program is completed, but others, impressed with the support they get from the school for the deaf, decide to stay and enroll their babies as regular students.
What to say to the parent who says "my implanted child is a hearing, speaking child who can talk on the phone, has plenty of hearing friends and does not need sign language?" I guess you could emphasize the social benefits of a school for the deaf, particularly for young teenagers. You could say to that parent, "yes, your child can hear and speak, but communication is still a bit of a struggle. Wouldn't your child be happier in an environment where he/she can communicate with ease?" Another approach would be the "birds of a feather" approach, "your child will have the opportunity to be with others (hearing, speaking, signing) just like him/her."
Are schools for the deaf actively marketing themselves at cochlear implant conventions? At local/regional deaf events like DeafNation Expos? Those events are prime marketing opportunities because many parents of implantees say that they do want their children exposed to deaf culture and sign language as they recognize that their children are still at heart, deaf children.
There are schools for the deaf out there that are attracting students and thriving. Which schools are they? What are they doing right? We need to hear from them so that other schools for the deaf can learn what to do. Schools like Maryland School for the Deaf and Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf are schools that I understand to be thriving?
Also, I don't have any concrete facts on this, but what is the cost of educating a deaf child in the mainstream versus the cost of educating that child at a school for the deaf? I did read in one blog that the blogger felt the cost was about equal when the services that a mainstreamed deaf child needs are factored in (sorry, I can't find that blog so that I could link to it). If schools for the deaf could streamline their costs so that they are cost-competitive with local mainstreaming costs, that could cause legislatures to be more willing to support schools for the deaf.
Last but not least, when are we going to get updated statistics so that we can start getting away from the old "fourth grade reading level for deaf high school graduates" statistic? Parents of newly identified deaf children are still hearing or seeing that, and being scared out of their minds. Surely the presence of more implanted deaf children, and deaf children who have benefitted from being identified as newborns, and therefore have good English, is making that statistic obsolete?
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Welfare for the Deaf?
SSI/SSDI are meant to be a temporary crutch for able-bodied deaf people. The keyword is temporary! SSI/SSDI are NOT meant to be subsidies for long-term part-time jobs.
(I am saying this because many commenters don't seem to get the point I was trying to make in earlier posts. This is my attempt to clarify.)
(Update 01/10: So many people have posted comments that I have posted a long response of my own, at the bottom of this post).
For example, I knew a deaf woman who worked part-time at Gallaudet while receiving SSDI. Her SSDI was pretty high because she had a good-paying job before she lost her job. She was in no hurry to find a regular, full-time, decent-paying job. When I asked her why she didn't aggressively seek a new fulltime job, she said to me, "Why bother?? Between the SSDI and the part-time work at Gallaudet, I am getting around $35,000 a year!"
How many deaf people out there on SSI/SSDI are like this woman? Are there others?
I don't have a problem with using SSI/SSDI to subsidize part-time work on a TEMPORARY basis. When the person decides that they would rather do the part-time work and continue to receive SSI/SSDI instead of aggressively seeking a full-time job, I DO have a problem with it.
Unemployment benefits have a time limit for able-bodied people. Why doesn't SSI/SSDI have a time limit for able-bodied deaf people? My thinking is that if a deaf person is comfortable living on SSI/SSDI (plus any part-time work they can get), where is the strong incentive for that deaf person to seek a full-time regular, decent-paying job?
I don't have a problem with an unemployed deaf person relying on SSI/SSDI as long as they are aggressively seeking employment. We all know how difficult it is for deaf people to get hired.
I don't have a problem with a deaf college student relying on SSI. The SSI is meant to help the deaf college student until graduation, and then the deaf college student will find a decent job (in theory). If the deaf college student graduates and is unable to find a regular, decent-paying job because of job search discrimination, I don't have a problem with their staying on SSI/SSDI as long as they continue to actively search.
To repeat what I started out with, I DO have a problem with the use of SSI/SSDI as a subsidy for part-time work on a permanent or long-term basis. SSI/SSDI is not meant to be welfare for the deaf.
Maybe there is more to this oft-stated "high percentage of deaf on SSI/SSDI" statement than meets the eye. Bill Cosby said to the black community, "look at yourselves." I am saying to the SSI/SSDI-dependent segment of the deaf community, "look at yourselves. Are you willing to take low-paid, full-time work like the immigrants are, to get off of SSI/SSDI? Are you aggressively searching for employment almost 24 hours a day, refusing to give up until you find that employer willing to give you a chance?"
Don't post a comment whining about job search discrimination. I know it exists. We have all experienced it. Determination and not whining will get you a job. My motto has always been, "where there's a will, there's a way."
***
Response to blog comments:
I do not moderate this blog but am going to have to if the anonymous people don't at least use fake names. It makes it difficult to read and respond to the comments when everyone is anonymous.
Anonymous #2: About.com is NOT my fulltime job. I HAVE a fulltime job outside of About.com. About.com is a part-time job.
Anonymous #3: You say some deaf work part-time and get SSDI because they can not make enough without the SS. Neither can some hearing people, and they don't get any help! Coincidentially, today's Washington Post had an article, "Life at $7.25 an hour" about a young hearing man struggling to survive. Where is the help for people like him? He isn't deaf so he can't get SS.
Anonymous #4: There is a difference between truly disabled and able-bodied deaf people. A deaf person with no other disabilities besides deafness is rather able-bodied and capable of working.
Anonymous #6: Education needs to improve, yes, but that's no reason to say that deaf are therefore entitled to SSI.
Tom Willard: Your friend probably made a mistake quitting that job even if it meant some short-term financial pain. Did he have any opportunity to grow in that job? The fact he got a raise is an indication the employer thought highly of him? Sometimes you have to tolerate some financial pain to stay employed. I did in 2001 when I had to swallow a roughly $20,000 pay cut. For the next two and a half years, my salary was below $40,000 while I searched for something that paid better. If I had not stayed employed, I would have been less attractive to a prospective employer. Maintaining a good work history allowed me to find a better job although I had to watch every dollar for two and a half years.
Anonymous #7: Being oppressed is not justification for receiving SSI/SSDI. Black people have a history of oppression too. Do they deserve special checks from the government?
Anonymous #8: You got that right. There are circumstances under which it is entirely appropriate for a deaf person to receive SSI/SSDI. I agree about the "carrot and stick" approach for able-bodied deaf people on SSI/SSDI. I checked IRS.gov for information and found this PDF file, "Disabled Access Credit (http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8826.pdf)" This is a tax credit for small businesses for providing accomodations to disabled employees. Item #2: 2. To provide qualified interpreters or other methods of making audio materials available to hearing-impaired individuals;
bc: You are supposed to look forward to retirement, not to getting SSDI. Were you serious??
Anonymous #9: I have heard this about VR counselors having difficulty before. A lot of it may have to do with the qualifications of their clients.
Anonymous #10: Thank you for saying that I get it. I started my career working at an entry-level job.
DianRez: Perhaps I should say "able-bodied deaf people without responsibilities." Your reason #4 fits my definition of "temporary."
Anonymous #11: I have in fact experienced oppression. I just choose not to go into detail about the oppression. I will say that my deafness cost me a chance at a job shortly after graduation from Gallaudet in 1996. Plus I have had supervisors at past jobs who treated me in a discriminatory way.
Anonymous #12: The able-bodied deaf without good education should either seek a fulltime job or go back to school to get more education. (And while in school it is ok for them to draw SSI/SSDI because they are working towards the goal of getting off of it). I do not personally know any deaf people who are using SSI/SSDI to do drugs and stuff.
I have been making it crystal clear to my own deaf son, soon to be a high school graduate, that SSI is meant to be temporary and only until he finishes college and gets a job. I will not permit him to rely on it after he graduates.
I don't know enough about the current situation with VR nationwide to comment, but I do know VR funds have been cut in many places. Hearing people face the same risk with regard to loans.
Anonymous #13: Re-read what I said. The woman got BOTH SSDI and had a part-time job. Combining both, she was getting around $35,000 a year total. Good for you that you volunteer. Is there any way you could use your skills from volunteer work into a better job?
Anonymous #14: Please re-read what I wrote. Your husband is a perfect example of a situation where a disabled person absolutely deserves to receive SSI or SSDI. He is NOT what I would consider an able-bodied person able to work.
Anonymous #15: An audist? Me? Oh, please. What is audist about saying that I believe an able-bodied deaf person can find a job?
Anonymous #17: Hopefully improvements in deaf education will reduce the number on SSI. The No Child Left Behind law will help in this regard. Even if a deaf person graduates school with a poor education, they could still go back to school to learn more. There is something called Adult Education. Hearing immigrants arrive here without knowing English, and go to classes to learn. Illiterate Americans can get literacy training and improve their lives (I once tutored a deaf immigrant).
Gallyred: Sigh. I am doing ok in my fulltime job but I also know I probably don't have that much chance of moving much higher. I'll try to, but I know I may not be able to. But, the reason you cited as justification for SSI/SSDI is silly.
Anonymous #18: Deaf people can find work. Remember what I said about keep looking until you find that employer who does not discriminate?
Egbert: Stop blaming oppression. A history of oppression is not justification for SSI/SSDI. I wonder if the cochlear implant generation feels oppressed?
Anonymous #19: When you are rejected illegally, fight back. Unless the job specifically requires the ability to hear, it is an illegal rejection. Take that written proof and go to a lawyer. Fight back instead of crying oppression, rolling over, and saying "poor me."
You sound like a bright person who could find a job.
As for rejecting a job because it pays less than SSI...as I said earlier, sometimes a little financial pain is necessary to achieve longer term goals. I have read about people turning down jobs to stay on welfare. Guess what, they never get off welfare! It becomes a trap.
Todos: Yes, that is correct. In previous blog posts I did mention the benefits of a real job. The person I was referring to was living in an inexpensive small apartment and had low living expenses. The last time I talked to her, she was looking for a real job.
Mookie: Ridor does not have a blogging salary plus a part-time job plus SSDI. He has SSDI plus income from advertising on his blog plus donations from readers. His bank statement is his private business.
Anonymous #20: Illegals are not entitled to certain government benefits and they take any job they can get because they *have* to survive. Working is the only way! Unemployed deaf people probably could do their jobs, but would an unemployed deaf person be willing to do "dirty and hard" jobs that immigrants do, like picking crabmeat out of crabs in a warehouse?
Sandman: I agree with most of what you said.
Last but not least, I had SSI from age 18 until age 22. It is over 20 years later, but I still remember the good feeling I got when I walked into the Social Security office and told them to take me off SSI.
(I am saying this because many commenters don't seem to get the point I was trying to make in earlier posts. This is my attempt to clarify.)
(Update 01/10: So many people have posted comments that I have posted a long response of my own, at the bottom of this post).
For example, I knew a deaf woman who worked part-time at Gallaudet while receiving SSDI. Her SSDI was pretty high because she had a good-paying job before she lost her job. She was in no hurry to find a regular, full-time, decent-paying job. When I asked her why she didn't aggressively seek a new fulltime job, she said to me, "Why bother?? Between the SSDI and the part-time work at Gallaudet, I am getting around $35,000 a year!"
How many deaf people out there on SSI/SSDI are like this woman? Are there others?
I don't have a problem with using SSI/SSDI to subsidize part-time work on a TEMPORARY basis. When the person decides that they would rather do the part-time work and continue to receive SSI/SSDI instead of aggressively seeking a full-time job, I DO have a problem with it.
Unemployment benefits have a time limit for able-bodied people. Why doesn't SSI/SSDI have a time limit for able-bodied deaf people? My thinking is that if a deaf person is comfortable living on SSI/SSDI (plus any part-time work they can get), where is the strong incentive for that deaf person to seek a full-time regular, decent-paying job?
I don't have a problem with an unemployed deaf person relying on SSI/SSDI as long as they are aggressively seeking employment. We all know how difficult it is for deaf people to get hired.
I don't have a problem with a deaf college student relying on SSI. The SSI is meant to help the deaf college student until graduation, and then the deaf college student will find a decent job (in theory). If the deaf college student graduates and is unable to find a regular, decent-paying job because of job search discrimination, I don't have a problem with their staying on SSI/SSDI as long as they continue to actively search.
To repeat what I started out with, I DO have a problem with the use of SSI/SSDI as a subsidy for part-time work on a permanent or long-term basis. SSI/SSDI is not meant to be welfare for the deaf.
Maybe there is more to this oft-stated "high percentage of deaf on SSI/SSDI" statement than meets the eye. Bill Cosby said to the black community, "look at yourselves." I am saying to the SSI/SSDI-dependent segment of the deaf community, "look at yourselves. Are you willing to take low-paid, full-time work like the immigrants are, to get off of SSI/SSDI? Are you aggressively searching for employment almost 24 hours a day, refusing to give up until you find that employer willing to give you a chance?"
Don't post a comment whining about job search discrimination. I know it exists. We have all experienced it. Determination and not whining will get you a job. My motto has always been, "where there's a will, there's a way."
***
Response to blog comments:
I do not moderate this blog but am going to have to if the anonymous people don't at least use fake names. It makes it difficult to read and respond to the comments when everyone is anonymous.
Anonymous #2: About.com is NOT my fulltime job. I HAVE a fulltime job outside of About.com. About.com is a part-time job.
Anonymous #3: You say some deaf work part-time and get SSDI because they can not make enough without the SS. Neither can some hearing people, and they don't get any help! Coincidentially, today's Washington Post had an article, "Life at $7.25 an hour" about a young hearing man struggling to survive. Where is the help for people like him? He isn't deaf so he can't get SS.
Anonymous #4: There is a difference between truly disabled and able-bodied deaf people. A deaf person with no other disabilities besides deafness is rather able-bodied and capable of working.
Anonymous #6: Education needs to improve, yes, but that's no reason to say that deaf are therefore entitled to SSI.
Tom Willard: Your friend probably made a mistake quitting that job even if it meant some short-term financial pain. Did he have any opportunity to grow in that job? The fact he got a raise is an indication the employer thought highly of him? Sometimes you have to tolerate some financial pain to stay employed. I did in 2001 when I had to swallow a roughly $20,000 pay cut. For the next two and a half years, my salary was below $40,000 while I searched for something that paid better. If I had not stayed employed, I would have been less attractive to a prospective employer. Maintaining a good work history allowed me to find a better job although I had to watch every dollar for two and a half years.
Anonymous #7: Being oppressed is not justification for receiving SSI/SSDI. Black people have a history of oppression too. Do they deserve special checks from the government?
Anonymous #8: You got that right. There are circumstances under which it is entirely appropriate for a deaf person to receive SSI/SSDI. I agree about the "carrot and stick" approach for able-bodied deaf people on SSI/SSDI. I checked IRS.gov for information and found this PDF file, "Disabled Access Credit (http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8826.pdf)" This is a tax credit for small businesses for providing accomodations to disabled employees. Item #2: 2. To provide qualified interpreters or other methods of making audio materials available to hearing-impaired individuals;
bc: You are supposed to look forward to retirement, not to getting SSDI. Were you serious??
Anonymous #9: I have heard this about VR counselors having difficulty before. A lot of it may have to do with the qualifications of their clients.
Anonymous #10: Thank you for saying that I get it. I started my career working at an entry-level job.
DianRez: Perhaps I should say "able-bodied deaf people without responsibilities." Your reason #4 fits my definition of "temporary."
Anonymous #11: I have in fact experienced oppression. I just choose not to go into detail about the oppression. I will say that my deafness cost me a chance at a job shortly after graduation from Gallaudet in 1996. Plus I have had supervisors at past jobs who treated me in a discriminatory way.
Anonymous #12: The able-bodied deaf without good education should either seek a fulltime job or go back to school to get more education. (And while in school it is ok for them to draw SSI/SSDI because they are working towards the goal of getting off of it). I do not personally know any deaf people who are using SSI/SSDI to do drugs and stuff.
I have been making it crystal clear to my own deaf son, soon to be a high school graduate, that SSI is meant to be temporary and only until he finishes college and gets a job. I will not permit him to rely on it after he graduates.
I don't know enough about the current situation with VR nationwide to comment, but I do know VR funds have been cut in many places. Hearing people face the same risk with regard to loans.
Anonymous #13: Re-read what I said. The woman got BOTH SSDI and had a part-time job. Combining both, she was getting around $35,000 a year total. Good for you that you volunteer. Is there any way you could use your skills from volunteer work into a better job?
Anonymous #14: Please re-read what I wrote. Your husband is a perfect example of a situation where a disabled person absolutely deserves to receive SSI or SSDI. He is NOT what I would consider an able-bodied person able to work.
Anonymous #15: An audist? Me? Oh, please. What is audist about saying that I believe an able-bodied deaf person can find a job?
Anonymous #17: Hopefully improvements in deaf education will reduce the number on SSI. The No Child Left Behind law will help in this regard. Even if a deaf person graduates school with a poor education, they could still go back to school to learn more. There is something called Adult Education. Hearing immigrants arrive here without knowing English, and go to classes to learn. Illiterate Americans can get literacy training and improve their lives (I once tutored a deaf immigrant).
Gallyred: Sigh. I am doing ok in my fulltime job but I also know I probably don't have that much chance of moving much higher. I'll try to, but I know I may not be able to. But, the reason you cited as justification for SSI/SSDI is silly.
Anonymous #18: Deaf people can find work. Remember what I said about keep looking until you find that employer who does not discriminate?
Egbert: Stop blaming oppression. A history of oppression is not justification for SSI/SSDI. I wonder if the cochlear implant generation feels oppressed?
Anonymous #19: When you are rejected illegally, fight back. Unless the job specifically requires the ability to hear, it is an illegal rejection. Take that written proof and go to a lawyer. Fight back instead of crying oppression, rolling over, and saying "poor me."
You sound like a bright person who could find a job.
As for rejecting a job because it pays less than SSI...as I said earlier, sometimes a little financial pain is necessary to achieve longer term goals. I have read about people turning down jobs to stay on welfare. Guess what, they never get off welfare! It becomes a trap.
Todos: Yes, that is correct. In previous blog posts I did mention the benefits of a real job. The person I was referring to was living in an inexpensive small apartment and had low living expenses. The last time I talked to her, she was looking for a real job.
Mookie: Ridor does not have a blogging salary plus a part-time job plus SSDI. He has SSDI plus income from advertising on his blog plus donations from readers. His bank statement is his private business.
Anonymous #20: Illegals are not entitled to certain government benefits and they take any job they can get because they *have* to survive. Working is the only way! Unemployed deaf people probably could do their jobs, but would an unemployed deaf person be willing to do "dirty and hard" jobs that immigrants do, like picking crabmeat out of crabs in a warehouse?
Sandman: I agree with most of what you said.
Last but not least, I had SSI from age 18 until age 22. It is over 20 years later, but I still remember the good feeling I got when I walked into the Social Security office and told them to take me off SSI.
Monday, January 08, 2007
Great Deaf Blogger War: Round Two
It wasn't my intention to start a feud, but my blog post has created a far bigger storm than I expected. I also said in my previous blog post that I was done with this and ready to move on, but the intensity of the response in the deaf community is forcing me to post this.
Ricky D. Taylor has posted previously about his job search, but has NOT stated if he is on SSDI, SSI, or another form of government support. As commenter "M" wrote on Ridorlive: "Ridor makes himself a public figure. Therefore, the things he does are open to public scruitiny….. just as Ridor does with many other people on this very blog."
Therefore, I feel justified in asking this: I know that he was laid off from a previous job some time ago. Is he on SSDI? If he is on SSDI, and asking the public for donations to support his blog, then I resent that! I resent the idea of part of my hard-earned salary going to support his blogging while he is receiving SSDI.
If he is NOT receiving SSDI or any other form of government trough support, then CHEERS to him for his efforts to be self-employed! I'll be a big booster of Ridor's efforts to become a professional deaf blogger *IF* he is not on SSDI, SSI, or any other government check.
He IS a public figure. He owes it to his public and his many fans of which I am one, to come clean. Hey, I might even donate myself if he states publicly that he is not receiving any form of government support!
Ricky D. Taylor has posted previously about his job search, but has NOT stated if he is on SSDI, SSI, or another form of government support. As commenter "M" wrote on Ridorlive: "Ridor makes himself a public figure. Therefore, the things he does are open to public scruitiny….. just as Ridor does with many other people on this very blog."
Therefore, I feel justified in asking this: I know that he was laid off from a previous job some time ago. Is he on SSDI? If he is on SSDI, and asking the public for donations to support his blog, then I resent that! I resent the idea of part of my hard-earned salary going to support his blogging while he is receiving SSDI.
If he is NOT receiving SSDI or any other form of government trough support, then CHEERS to him for his efforts to be self-employed! I'll be a big booster of Ridor's efforts to become a professional deaf blogger *IF* he is not on SSDI, SSI, or any other government check.
He IS a public figure. He owes it to his public and his many fans of which I am one, to come clean. Hey, I might even donate myself if he states publicly that he is not receiving any form of government support!
Sunday, January 07, 2007
He Can Dish It Out, But Can He Take It?
Apparently not! In reaction to my previous blog post "Mixed Feelings on Ridor's Donation Requests," the subject of that posting sent me several instant messages filled with colorful and insulting language. Due to the nature of those unsolicted communications, I decline to publish them publicly on a family-friendly website.
Unless he can pull in substantially more than the average $200 a month he admits to receiving, I stand behind my position that he should get a "real" job with benefits, meaning that someone should hire him (I asked why hasn't anyone hired him yet. Based on his saga earlier of what happened when he lost a chance for a job in Richmond, I was certainly under the impression that he did not have a "real" job.)! What does $200 a month pay for? It certainly is not enough for a mortgage, rent on an apartment, food for a month, clothing, a car, health insurance, life insurance, and all the other basic necessities of life.
He can *try* to make a living as a blogger, without needing social security (I do not know if he receives SSDI and it is none of my business. But we all know that deaf people who lose jobs are entitled to SSDI). It will be difficult and very challenging for him to make a comfortable living out of blogging alone. At some point, a "real job" may be necessary.
I do read RidorLive. I believe his blog would be even better if he had financial security. That kind of financial security usually comes only with a "real" job.
Last but not least, what an honor to be blasted publicly on RidorLive! Does this mean I have finally arrived as a blogger in the deaf community? I'm now in the same class as Mike ("Kokonut Pundits") McConnell?
This is the official end to the current saga for me. I have better things to blog on, and I'm sure he does too.
Unless he can pull in substantially more than the average $200 a month he admits to receiving, I stand behind my position that he should get a "real" job with benefits, meaning that someone should hire him (I asked why hasn't anyone hired him yet. Based on his saga earlier of what happened when he lost a chance for a job in Richmond, I was certainly under the impression that he did not have a "real" job.)! What does $200 a month pay for? It certainly is not enough for a mortgage, rent on an apartment, food for a month, clothing, a car, health insurance, life insurance, and all the other basic necessities of life.
He can *try* to make a living as a blogger, without needing social security (I do not know if he receives SSDI and it is none of my business. But we all know that deaf people who lose jobs are entitled to SSDI). It will be difficult and very challenging for him to make a comfortable living out of blogging alone. At some point, a "real job" may be necessary.
I do read RidorLive. I believe his blog would be even better if he had financial security. That kind of financial security usually comes only with a "real" job.
Last but not least, what an honor to be blasted publicly on RidorLive! Does this mean I have finally arrived as a blogger in the deaf community? I'm now in the same class as Mike ("Kokonut Pundits") McConnell?
This is the official end to the current saga for me. I have better things to blog on, and I'm sure he does too.
Hire a Deaf Person, Not an Immigrant
Maybe we need a new slogan to help boost the deaf employment rate: hire a deaf person, not an immigrant! Why am I saying this? I just read a column spotlighting John Moore, a deaf man who is volunteering because he can not find a job in landscaping. I don't know what the job market is like in his area, but I'm guessing that employers will choose to hire a non-English speaking immigrant (legal or illegal) to do landscaping work, before they will hire an experienced, English-speaking (or writing) deaf man.
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Mixed Feelings on Ridor's Donation Requests
I have mixed feelings about Ridor's requests for donations. First, yes, he is a "professional" blogger. In a way, I am too. I do earn some money for my work at About.com, but it has never been enough that I could support myself and my family on that alone. I have always had to work at a regular job in addition to About.com.
Second, I am among those who would like to see Ridor get a "real" job. Whether he likes it or not, Ridor has become a "role model" for young deaf people. As such, he ought to have a real job with benefits, a retirement plan, etc. so that young deaf people will see that he can do it. "Professional" blogging is not going to provide Ridor with the trappings of a comfortable life nor will it be enough to fund an eventual retirement.
Third, the number of quality deaf blogs continues to increase - and therefore, the competition increases for Ridor. Sooner or later, the competition will reach a point where Ridor is not able to make enough money from his blog to pay the bills. What then? Will we be subjected to frequent pleas for donations on his blog?
Fourth, I believe that if Ridor had a real job, there would be less pressure on him to be "sensational" on his blog and he could focus on the quality. It has got to be hard thinking to yourself, "what can I write that will get lots of attention" so that there will be enough coming in to pay next month's rent? Freedom from having to worry about where one's next meal is coming from, makes a big difference when you are a blogger.
Fifth, I can't understand why no one has hired Ridor yet. Here we have a strong job market as reported by the media (167,000 new jobs in December alone, and a 4.5 percent unemployment rate). Ridor is young, intelligent, skilled, has an international reputation, and has been in the media. Why hasn't anyone hired him yet for a "real" job?
I half-heartedly support the idea of making donations to Ridor, but only for the purpose of helping him to maintain the quality of his blog. Even after he finds a real job, donations will continue to help maintain the quality of the blog. (Besides, as quality deaf blogs increase, his blog increasingly runs the risk of looking like just another deaf blog).
Finally, I know that Ridor had experienced being laid off. So have I. In my career, I lost three jobs. Each time, I searched hard and managed to find a new job even if I had to take a pay cut. I even managed to find a job during a recession, by determinedly searching and applying for jobs almost 24 hours a day. One loss almost forced me to quit About.com. The stress even put me in the emergency room with severe head pain.
My point is, I believe that any educated deaf person with a bachelor's degree who is determined enough, CAN find a job (I know the chances are not as good for deaf people who lack bachelors' degrees or lack a good work history, or are older). It may not be highly paid - but it will be a job. Even an unpaid volunteer job can be a stepping-stone. Yes, I know there is discrimination in the job search. I have experienced it myself. However, I believe that for every employer who discriminates against deaf people, there is another employer who will not discriminate. You just have to find the ones who don't discriminate!
When I was a child selling candy to help support the Rockland County Association for the Hearing Impaired, my mother gave me some good advice that I have never forgotten. It applies equally to the job search. She told me, "every no you get will bring you closer to a yes."
Second, I am among those who would like to see Ridor get a "real" job. Whether he likes it or not, Ridor has become a "role model" for young deaf people. As such, he ought to have a real job with benefits, a retirement plan, etc. so that young deaf people will see that he can do it. "Professional" blogging is not going to provide Ridor with the trappings of a comfortable life nor will it be enough to fund an eventual retirement.
Third, the number of quality deaf blogs continues to increase - and therefore, the competition increases for Ridor. Sooner or later, the competition will reach a point where Ridor is not able to make enough money from his blog to pay the bills. What then? Will we be subjected to frequent pleas for donations on his blog?
Fourth, I believe that if Ridor had a real job, there would be less pressure on him to be "sensational" on his blog and he could focus on the quality. It has got to be hard thinking to yourself, "what can I write that will get lots of attention" so that there will be enough coming in to pay next month's rent? Freedom from having to worry about where one's next meal is coming from, makes a big difference when you are a blogger.
Fifth, I can't understand why no one has hired Ridor yet. Here we have a strong job market as reported by the media (167,000 new jobs in December alone, and a 4.5 percent unemployment rate). Ridor is young, intelligent, skilled, has an international reputation, and has been in the media. Why hasn't anyone hired him yet for a "real" job?
I half-heartedly support the idea of making donations to Ridor, but only for the purpose of helping him to maintain the quality of his blog. Even after he finds a real job, donations will continue to help maintain the quality of the blog. (Besides, as quality deaf blogs increase, his blog increasingly runs the risk of looking like just another deaf blog).
Finally, I know that Ridor had experienced being laid off. So have I. In my career, I lost three jobs. Each time, I searched hard and managed to find a new job even if I had to take a pay cut. I even managed to find a job during a recession, by determinedly searching and applying for jobs almost 24 hours a day. One loss almost forced me to quit About.com. The stress even put me in the emergency room with severe head pain.
My point is, I believe that any educated deaf person with a bachelor's degree who is determined enough, CAN find a job (I know the chances are not as good for deaf people who lack bachelors' degrees or lack a good work history, or are older). It may not be highly paid - but it will be a job. Even an unpaid volunteer job can be a stepping-stone. Yes, I know there is discrimination in the job search. I have experienced it myself. However, I believe that for every employer who discriminates against deaf people, there is another employer who will not discriminate. You just have to find the ones who don't discriminate!
When I was a child selling candy to help support the Rockland County Association for the Hearing Impaired, my mother gave me some good advice that I have never forgotten. It applies equally to the job search. She told me, "every no you get will bring you closer to a yes."
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