American Sign Language Pedagogy at Kent State

MAIN CAMPUS -  

JOHN BRADLEY JR.

I was born deaf into Deaf family---my father and mother plus sister and brother in Akron, Ohio right after World War II. Interestingly my father had 9 Deaf brothers and sisters and also his parents---all were gone. My wife whom I met during the days at Ohio School for the Deaf and I have two children---our daughter living in Maryland and teaches at Maryland School for the Deaf is Deaf and son living in Cuyahoga Falls is hearing. Both are married and we have three grandsons born in 2006.

I graduated High School at Ohio School for the Deaf in 1964 and went to Gallaudet College. Then I graduated in 1969 majoring in accounting. During the days at OSD I played football, basketball and track. At Gallaudet I played basketball for only two years due to injured knee. I joined Kappa Gamma Fraternity which was one of my best memories there.

Right after graduation I married my school sweetheart named Rose and settle in Akron and then Munroe Falls. I worked as printer at Akron Beacon Journal for 14 years and the last five years I was a straw boss. I was a part-time instructor at Akron University and I taught ASL class in the Interpreter Training Program in 1994 till it was disbanded in 2002. Then I taught Deaf Culture class at TRI-C in western Cleveland. I landed the teaching position at KSU in 2002 (still teaching).

Last 30 years I was and am involved in many Deaf organizations such as Ohio Association of the Deaf as treasurer for ten years and Ohio School for the Deaf Alumni Association as secretary for 17 years (still doing this) plus many small organizations like Akron Club of the Deaf, State Department of Education specialized in Disabilities, Community Service for the Deaf (Chairman for 13 years). Now I am Vice President of Greater Akron Deaf Service. Very sports-minded I played basketball and softball for the Deaf Clubs for more than 20 years.

MAIN CAMPUS and VARIOUS CAMPUSES

JENNIFER HALL

Hiya everyone! My name is Jennifer Hall and I am from the small town of Columbiana, Ohio. I was born deaf from a premature birth and am the only one deaf in the family. I have a younger brother who is married and has wonderful three children. I am a proud aunt of 1 niece and 2 nephews!  I am currently single and do not have children yet!

My parents decided that I go to mainstream school and learn Signed Exact English. Finally, I had my first experience with ASL when I transferred to a High School that had a Deaf program in a new town and met my interpreter who is a CODA. At first, I didn't believe that ASL was another sign language until I visited Gallaudet for the first time during my junior year. Then I begged my interpreter to teach me ASL to prepare for my college once I graduate.

Until then, I went to NTID in Rochester, New York where I got my first cultural shock! I decided myself to interact with people to learn more ASL instead of taking classes. I graduated with an Associate's degree in Printing Publishing Technology. 

After graduation, I decided to go to Gallaudet University, Washington D.C. to meet more people and learn more about ASL!  During my college years, I got accepted to work as an intern for six months working for Mickey Mouse in Florida! (Hint: I love Mickey Mouse more than anything!) After that, I graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Digital Media. Unfortunately, I never found a job related to my field and ended up working at a insurance company for six years before I started my teaching.

While I was working at the insurance company, I really missed teaching sign language to people whom I met throughout college and workplace. So I decided to start at Youngstown Center for the Deaf where they provide classes for hearing people who want to take sign language as hours earned for their work. I taught there for around 4 years until I decided to pursue more into teaching and I worked at a high school temporarily for a couple of months for American Sign Language Level 1 and 2. Unfortunately, the high school no longer provided the classes anymore due to budget. Then I decided to go to the University of Akron and started teaching for a year. After one semester at Akron, I decided to check out Kent State University to pursue more teaching experience.

Now for the last year, I really enjoy my teaching job and love to meet new people!! Right now, I decided to pursue my Master's in Instructional Technology at Kent State and hopefully will be finished by 2011! 


" All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." Walt Disney

KSU-SALEM

JACKIE MERCER

Hello everyone, I am still out here at Kent, Salem! It is on Rt. 45 just off the 45 bypass headed South to Lisbon on the West side of the road which is about 1 mile  from Salem. Some people would think it is in the middle of nowhere.

I want to tell everyone about something that happened in my class A student came in my class and I started my fingerspelling drills that I do and he put his hands over his eyes. I went back and touched his shoulder and I said "What's wrong?" He signed "My brain is full I can't learn any more." With his hands over his eyes, he reminded my me of my Deaf son when he did not want to listen to me.  Maybe some of you can relate this. I thought it was neat and wanted to share it with you.

I have one grandson, born near the end of 2007.  His name is Colton.  My son, Brentis, is already teaching him sign. When Brent is playing with Colton, Brent has taught him to stick out his tongue and he does. I didn't believe that Colton understood the sign so when I was babysitting I signed to him to stick out his tongue and he did!! I had to sign this several times to make sure it wasn't a coincidence. He really understands, WOW! I drive to Cinncinati as often as I can to see Colton, Brent and Dawn. 

I have four grown children, all of whom I am very proud.  Brent is my son who was born deaf and attended St.Rita school for the Deaf.  Brent changed my life.  I went from milking cows, to college, to teaching his language.

My reasons for going to college and learn ASL were only to talk with my son, not to get a new career. But upon graduating from The University of Akron, with an interpreting degree, there was an opening for a substitute interpreter at CCESC in Lisbon and I needed to support my 4 children. I accepted it, which later became full time. Then the inner need to improve my signing skills arose, so I returned to KSU for a BA in ASL with a minor in Education, and now I'm interpreting during the day and teaching at KSU in Salem (I just LOVE teaching).

My goals in life have always been in flux, and as my own journey of life continues to unravel, I find myself having again the inner need to continue my education.  So now I am back in college to get my masters in Curriculum and Instruction at KSU Stark Campus. Who knows, before I am done I may even go for a Doctorate! 

Jackie

KSU-MAIN and various!

Larry Nehring

SHEILA OWOLABI

FAMILY:

My name is Sheila Abiodun Oke-Owolabi.

My middle name means “a beautiful child born on Christmas”.  I was born in Olowogbowo, Lagos State, Nigeria in West Africa to Mr. Hamid Oke and Mrs. Safiatu Amope Oke. Both of them have eleven children.  Four of the eleven children died during infancy.  In the seven children, there were four boys and three girls including me.   I was the fourth and only deaf child in the family.  I am married to Mr. Timothy Owolabi who is deaf and a former student of Andrew Foster. We have three hearing children and ASL is their first language. 

MY DEAFNESS:

When l was five years old, l was very sick with small-pox, then l lost my ability to hearing. After l recovered from the small-pox, my parents were initially unaware that l had lost my ability to hear at 75 db.  They went to different doctors but nothing made me hearing again  

MY EDUCATION:

My parents enrolled my in the hearing Methodist Olowogbowo primary school in Olowogbowo, Lagos state. I was the only deaf student in the school.  All the teachers and principal didn’t know how to teach me basic math, English, arithmetic and writing.  In the school, l did not do well in all the basic subject areas because l did not understand what the teachers taught us.  The only subject l did well in was writing because it was a visual thing.

When the first small deaf school was opened in Olowogbowo across from the Methodist primary school by Mrs. Adelogbe, who was trained in the oral method in London, l was sent to the school.  It was my first time to see students who were all deaf like me.  It was my first time that my teacher could speak to me and correct my mistakes in speech. The deaf students supported and interacted with me without making fun of my speech.  The school had only 12 students.  We were taught the basic subjects area – arithmetic, reading, writing and the Yoruba language. 

A few years later, we were told that a new school for the deaf had opened, with many types of equipment for hearing aids, in Surulere, Lagos.  The school was the Federal School for the Deaf, but later changed its name to the Wesley School for the Deaf.  The school was the first sophisticated school for the deaf in Nigeria.  All the small deaf schools were put together in one big school.  It was my first time to see so many deaf students in the school.  The school was a beautiful school with a nice environment better than my home.  My parents wanted me to stay in the school for my education.    As years went by l noticed my primary education was lagging behind, because my hearing friends of my same age were advanced in many subjects area for the primary school level.  The school emphasized the oral method too much, rather than focusing on subject areas. 

Communication in the school depended heavily on oral methods. We were discouraged from using our native signs in the classrooms, with our teachers, principal and hearing staff.  We always used our native signs with each other.  The teachers, principal and staff could not stop us from using our native language. 

After l graduated from the Wesley School for the Deaf, l attend Aunty’s Ayo Girls High School, Lagos Island.  There were six of us who attended the school. We did not have an interpreter.  The teachers did not know how to communicate with us.  We were taught everything as other hearing students.   The education in the school was very difficult for us at the form three (equal to 10th grade) but we made it through.  

After l graduated from high school, l worked for the Federal Ministry of Social and Sport in Lagos for two years.  While l was in high school, Andrew Foster opened a church for the deaf in Yaba, Lagos.  All the deaf leaders were his former students.  It was my first time to see all the leaders in the leaded the church activities were deaf,  with no hearing.  Occasionally the deaf church had a hearing visitor.   In the church, many oral students learned ASL with the manual method that Andrew Foster brought from the U.SA.   He was a big role model for us and he was a better father to communicate with us. 

While working at the Federal Ministry of Social and Sport, l attended the deaf church in Yaba, Lagos.  It was the place, where l received much information about universities and colleges in USA.  A few years later, l received a four year scholarship to study in USA.   While l was in College in South Idaho, for the first time l had an interpreter in classes.  That made things easier for me to understand and I studied hard.   Then l transferred to Western Oregon State University.  Later l transferred again to Oregon State University for my Bachelor's degree in Home-economics.   Then I obtained a Master's degree in educational communication and technology at Western Oregon State University. 

EMPLOYMENT.

While in Western Oregon State University, l taught Manually-Coded English  for a few years.  We moved to Ohio for my husband's job in 1990.  Since that time, l have been teaching Manually-Coded English to the hearing community in Wayne and Holmes counties for a few years. l taught ASL in Tinker and McKinley High Schools in Canton for one and a half years.  l have been teaching ASL in Akron University from 1994 to the present and l have been teaching ASL at Kent State University since 1995 to the present.  

MY FUTURE GOAL:

I want to pursue a doctorate degree and study the language, education and social life of deaf children in Africa.  I want to continue teaching ASL because l love to teach and to see the hearing and deaf students learn this language so they would communicate to each other.

STARK CAMPUS

FRED PALCHICK

From MAIN CAMPUS AND TRUMBULL CAMPUS

LAURIE PESARCHICK

Hi everybody...my name is Laurie Pesarchick...I was born deaf though grew up oral. I live in Warren and am not married. I have two sisters- one is Deaf and the other is hearing. I learned sign language when I attended Kent State University in the 80s. It was called Manual Communication then. It is NOTHING like what students are learning today! How I had wished ASL was taught at KSU back then!  I have a degree in Graphic Design and Rehabilitation Counseling and have taught ASL at University of Akron and KSU. I enjoy creating art work, crafts, going for walks or hikes, ice skating, and reading.

TRUMBULL CAMPUS

NANCY RESH

My name is Nancy Resh and I was born and raised in Virginia, the middle and only deaf of nine children. I became deaf at the age of three from a baseball game accident.

My parents had no knowledge of how to raise a deaf child so they treated me like all the other sisters. I attended regular public school with no interpreter or other special services. My sisters were my “speech therapists” and we did not have a communication problem. My mother found out about a deaf school in Hampton, Virginia and sent me there for three years. There, I learned the language and had my first exposure to the Deaf culture. Wow what an amazing experience. It was very positive.

When Hampton School for the Deaf and Blind and Staunton Deaf School were undergoing changes in the system, my mother applied to Model Secondary School for the Deaf where I graduated.  Another culture shock for me because sign language there was more sophiscated than at Hampton.

From MSSD, I attended Gally, received my Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. 

I went on to graduate school at KSU where I received my Master of Education degree. I have been teaching at KSU since 2000.

Work History:

Coleman Professional Services – Training Consluation

Youngstown Community Center for the Deaf- Director of Deaf Services

Bureau of Vocational Rehailitiation- Rehabilitation Counselor for the Deaf (Currently)

Kent State University Adjunct Faculty ASL Instructor

Geauga-Twinsburg Campus

DAVID STEWART

I grew up in Texas and graduated from Stephen F Austin State University with a degree in Deaf Education in 1979.  I come from a hearing family and learned to sign from Deaf performer Mark Mitchum, who was my roommate just after I graduated from college.  My professional career has included teaching both junior high and high school Deaf students, American Literature and British Literature at the high school level, and ASL as a foreign language at both the high school and college levels.  I have 29 years of interpreting experience, including medical, mental health, legal, platform, religious, and creative arts.  I have interpreted on Broadway in NYC as well as the nation's capitol in Washington, DC.

And there you have it! 

MAIN CAMPUS

CATHY VICKERY

STEVE VICKERY

First a fairy tale and then a story....

Hi! 

Allow me to introduce myself.  My name is Steve Vickery and everyone calls me Vic. 

I was born deaf and my parents decided to trade me in for some magic beans which grew some giant beanstalk.  They managed to grab the goose that lays golden egg and got away.  Right now, they are living in high class leaving me nothing.  I tried to find some magic beans and got them by donating some cuticles of mine from my feet which hasn’t been clean for some time.  A bean stalk did grow but it has thorns which was fraught with pain but my Irish stubbornness made me go all the way.  I found a goose laying some golden eggs and I was elated!  I grabbed it as usual, like father like son, went down and tried to sell the eggs.  But I was busted by the IRS for tax evasion.  They had to release me because those golden eggs were really “fool’s gold”.  I was upset and decided to have the goose for an early Thanksgiving.  Burp!  Dang!  That was good!  Right now, after years of fruitless educational pursuit, I’ve decide to become a teacher.  I realized that I don’t have the brain of Albert Einstein or the brawn of Bill Gates.  So here I am, in the middle of nowhere in Ohio, teaching ASL.

Now the real story of Vic, while I was swimming in my mother’s womb, she became ill with rubella which effectively affected my hearing.  I became deaf.  I was born in a hospital on a Navy base in New England; my dad was in the military and it only cost him $5 to have me delivered to this ball of dirt, Earth.  No wonder I am such a cheapskate!  Anyway, I grew up in the best place in the whole world, New Hampshire.  In my opinion, it ought to be a country of its own!  Anyway, back to the pathetic story of my life, I went to a deaf institute in Northampton, Massachusetts.  This particular school, Clarke School for the Deaf, strongly believes in oralism which I had to endured for 11 %#@* years.  I graduated and went on to high school in Kent, Washington.  I was told that I was the first deaf to graduate from that high school (as if I care). 

I enrolled as a student at Rochester Institute of Technology in New York in 1985; I was in for a culture shock.  Every deaf student there used ASL and I was like the only dude who doesn’t know ASL.  Right off the bat, I became an outcast.  I wasn’t sure whether to drop out, take ASL classes, or stick around and fight for it.  To take ASL classes, takes forever to learn and try to mingle with them with my lackluster skills, forget it pal.  Drop out; hum…not a good idea after saving all that dough for college.  I realized that I will be living with them, 24/7 for the next 4 years and it would be a challenge.  I decided to stick around and do my best.  I tried my best to communicate with them and at the same time, observing their unique culture and language.  Within 2 weeks, I was able to communicate with them in ASL and WHOA!  I realized how different it was between being deaf and Deaf culture!  I am so glad to have this Irish stubbornness in me! 

I graduated in 1990 and now I will fast-forward to present, I don’t want to bore you with my pathetic life however if you have a serve case of insomnia, please see me and I will be happy to tell you my life story.  I am capable to cure insomnia.  Anyway, here I am, in my office at 11PM on Monday, preparing for my classes.  I have been teaching ASL since 1999.  I started at the University of Akron for a year then KSU offered me a job and I have been here ever since.  I have taught at Ashtabula, East Liverpool, and Kent.  Do I like my job?  You bet I do!  I used to be an engineer and made a huge amount of moolah until I got laid off, (thanks a lot to NAFTA!).

I wasn’t happy on that job, but as a teacher, I love it!  The pay may be low but the rewards are great!  If you ask me if there is one thing that bothers me about the students’ view on ASL; it’s their misconception of how easy they think it will be to learn ASL.  It is not as easy as you might think and it is as hard as learning Russian, trust me.  I challenge you to do some research on the difficulty of learning ASL.

You can receive some extra credit for this.  Please turn in the paper, it has to be typed, font size 12, double-space, and must list citations and bibliography.  The paper must be 5 pages long and that does not include the work cited or bibliography.  You must then also present an overview of your paper to your class, in sign (ASL I, II, and III students should supplement their signing with a graph or a chart, and don't worry if your presentation relies heavily on  using vocabulary like "learn," "student," "think," "work," "difficult," etc.  ASL IV, V, and VI students would be expected to sign more.).  This extra credit is for my students only!  You must discuss with me before starting the extra credit.  The rest of you, ask your teacher if you can do this for an extra credit.

(Robbie supplies a hint:  Start by checking

Kemp, M.  "Why is learning American Sign Language a challenge?" American Annals of the Deaf; Washington; Jul 1998)

Main Campus

Robbie Thoryk