Newsgroups: bit.listserv.deaf-l
Date:         Mon, 25 Jan 1993 14:59:50 PST
From:         Ronald Mitchell <mitch@PLATO.DS.BOEING.COM>
Subject: Re: Teacher asks for help - again

     A good variety of useful insights and suggestions were offered in
     response  to  Cathy's  call for help in dealing with the identity
     crisis of her young student. Cathy's immediate tactic was to talk
     it  out in the classroom and I believe it was absolutely the best
     thing to do at the time.  However,  the  crisis  will  recur. I'd
     like  to  offer the perspective of one having experienced similar
     feelings of negative self-worth and inadequacy  beginning a  year
     or   so  after  becoming deaf at age eight and continuing through
     adolescence.  I'll also throw in one  possibly  practical sugges-
     tion and a smidgen of possibly useful information.

     It seems to me this young man is in a bind.   He  is  subject  to
     myriad  external influences promoting a negative self-image while
     being presented with role models who are super  achievers.    His
     crisis would have occurred in any case, but it was no coincidence
     that it was precipitated by a discussion  of  deaf  "heros".   We
     know  that  Cathy  creates a very positive environment within the
     classroom but that's only a part of what her students experience.
     Recently,  a deaf Deaf-Ler reported that hearing friends were as-
     tonished she could drive a car at  all.   A  hearing  contributer
     confessed  to being surprised that deaf kids could ski.  My hear-
     ing wife of several months is being asked "Can he drive  a  car?"
     After  forty  years  and three million odd miles on the road I am
     amused by the question.  But for an adolescent the impact of this
     negativism can be as devastating as it is pervasive.

     Psychologist Kenneth  Clark  made  pioneering  studies  into  the
     development of self concept in black ghetto children.  Commenting
     on his findings he said:

      "As we collected and analyzed  the  data  obtained  thorugh  the
     methods we used, we became impressed with the implications of the
     observations that in the initial stages of the   emerging   sense
     of  self  in children the substance and dynamics of the function-
     ing  ego  were  determined almost entirely  by  external    pres-
     sures,   determinants   and   evaluative  agents.  These findings
     provided the first clues for insights  concerning the  fragility,
     vulnerability  and  dependence, indeed, the  pathos  of the human
     ego."

     He continues,

     "The qualitative effect of the external determainants of the  in-
     dividuals  sense  of  self is inevitably evaluative; that is, the
     resulting emerging self image inevitably brings with it  a  posi-
     tive  or negative sense of worth of self.  This positive or nega-
     tive evaluative component of self is inevitable and pivotal - and
     in  its most primary and basic sense is not controlled by the in-
     dividual himself but by others over whom he has no control."

     Clark found it virtually impossible for a black child  to develop
     a    healthy    self-image  within a predominately white society.
     A deaf child surrounded by a  hearing  world  that   views  deaf-
     ness  negatively  has a tough time. Cathy's student needs to know
     that he is  fine  the  way  he  is.  That  a  full  and enjoyable
     life  lies ahead without the necessity for heroic efforts.   Suc-
     cess and happiness will not demand  some  extraordinary   compen-
     sating  talent  such as the athlete skill of a major league base-
     ball player.

     Cathy is sensitive to the need for role models  and  is  bringing
     deaf  individuals  into the class room as  much  as she can.  One
     suggestion: if you are not already doing it, Cathy, why not  sub-
     scribe  to  the  deaf  organization  newsletters   in your  area.
     These  informal  community chronicles often contain personal  ac-
     counts  of  ordinary  experiences that  can  be quite amusing and
     may also offer insights as to how ordinary deaf people cope  with
     the  problems of  deafness.   These might serve as discussion to-
     pics for the class.  I would be happy to send along a sampling of
     the newsletters from our area.

     That smidgen of information I have to offer is to that a  motiva-
     tional  program  for visual and hearing-impaired persons has been
     developed by Ms. Peggy Casey of the Pacific Institute in Seattle.
     The  program  is called "Excellence in Sight and Sound" and deals
     with the problem of overcoming external conditioning to develop a
     healthy  self  image.   Ms. Casey gives motivational seminars na-
     tionally and was inspired to adapt her material by the  struggles
     of  her two hearing-impaired daughters to confront their deafness
     as well as her own difficulty in accepting her  daughters'  deaf-
     ness.  The program consists of teaching manuals and videos and is
     suitable for older adolescents and adults.  More  information  is
     available from:

     Ms. Peggy Casey
     The Pacific Institute, Inc.
     1201 Western   Avenue
     Seattle, WA 98101
     800-426-3660


                                               ___ ___ ___ ___     ___
       Ronald Mitchell                        /__//  //__  /  /\ //  _
     Principal Engineer                      /__//__//__ _/_ /  //__/
    mitch@plato.ds.boeing.com                  Defense & Space Group
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