Hearing People... STOP TEACHING SIGN LANGUAGE!

Thanks for doing a video on this topic, it’s an important one! I completely agree with everything you said, but I also want to share a slightly different perspective. I am hearing and teach ASL 1 & 2 at the community college level. I live in a very rural area with a small but active Deaf community. Unfortunately, there are few Deaf folks locally who are qualified to teach, and those that are have no interest in doing so. When I moved back home with a degree in interpreting, I was approached by the Deaf community to apply for a teaching job bc they wanted ASL to be taught in our county. I teach with a strict voice-off policy, make sure all the info about Deaf culture is shared from a Deaf perspective, and invite the Deaf community to be involved with the class (and provide compensation). The second a qualified Deaf teacher moves to our area I would be happy to step down, but I think it’s important to get a sense of how your local Deaf community feels about hearing teachers. It’s not always a black and white issue in small locales.

Hello there! I am a Deaf educator and I am hearing. I fell into a teaching position where I am teaching ASL as high school foreign language credits. I am in agreement with ASL being taught by Deaf people. All of my professors in college were Deaf. It was challenging but certainly worth it. I took this position for it to be temporary because there were not any Deaf candidates in the hiring pool. If I was not to accept the position, the ASL program would be closed down and I'm sure you know how long and hard people have been fighting to get ASL into schools. My question is, how can we get more Deaf individuals to apply for these positions? I am just a teacher so I don't have much power but I am curious and I want to advocate to those above me. Teaching isn't always the most appealing job because of the low pay, being over worked and the lack of support. I think that often deters so many adequate candidates. I would love to return to my roots of educating the Deaf or potentially being a counselor but I want to try and aid in getting Deaf people into these roles. Thoughts?

My ASL 1,3 and 4 professor was hearing and I took ASL 2 with a deaf professor and she was the worse teacher I have ever had, in all my schooling, she choice to speak rather than be bother to try to sign with us, but my hearing teacher was so patience and encouraging and almost never used her voice. I think that the most qualified should teach, just because they are deaf doesn’t mean they make great teachers. If it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t have a BA in interpreting and currently be working as an interpreter

Thanks for the info. I'm hearing and have been signing for 20+ years and have never been told by a Deaf person that I shouldn't be teaching sign. This was actually a shock for me to watch this video. One of my best friends is Deaf and she comes to my class to talk to my kids a lot. We talk about what should be taught in class and I bounce ideas off of her. When she thinks of something she feels is important to be taught she texts me. I didn't go to school to be an ASL teacher. I'm certified in math and English but I teach at a homeschool and was given the opportunity to share my passion for ASL with 40+ students (sharing my reason). I also post videos on YouTube about how to sign songs. They weren't meant to be a teaching tool seen by hundreds of people. I posted them for my students to have easy access to since the principal requires some worship songs a few times a year. I get it why Deaf should teach ASL. I 100% agree! All but 1 of my ASL teachers in college were Deaf. But there would be no way that would be available to our students. Our school is tiny. I barely get paid. I don't see anyone being willing to come teach for a tiny salary. Or if there are, I wouldn't know how to find them. Anyway, I would hate to take the opportunity to find out about and love Deaf culture and ASL as much as I do. They are encouraged to take ASL in college and one of my students graduated last year and started taking it in college. Her professor is Deaf and I absolutely agree and see that she is learning so much more from him than she did from me, but I like that I was able to plant a seed. However, all of that being said, I am glad I know one more thing about Deaf culture and will definitely explain this to my students that they will never learn from me as much as they will from a Deaf person. They HAVE to have a certain number of Deaf event hours or I refuse to give them a foreign language credit. They hear it from me all the time that I can teach them all day but if they don't use it and actually use it with Deaf people, they will never truly learn it. I hope I'm doing my very best to be as offenseless as possible but still instill in them a love for ASL so much so that they will consider taking it in college and/or pursing careers in ASL. SORRY FOR THE LONG PARAGRAPH!!

I think there are hearing people who are involved in the community and are skilled enough to TEACH ASL. Knowing a topic does not mean people are qualified to explain it well to others. For me it's a representation thing. There are so many hearing people teaching all sorts of things so when I'm taking a deaf studies or ASL class I expect to FINALLY see some representation for deaf people. Come on now, let's hire more deaf people!

This drives me crazy! I agree with the points that its better taught by Deaf, but Language is not ANYONES to keep. If you are teaching and motivating hearing students to learn sign that is supporting the Deaf community! There is always a struggle for Deaf to communicate in this hearing world, but if more people could, wouldn't that be a good thing? Many people not willing to take the lower pay job and so I think it's completely crossing the line for you to tell people if you see/know someone hearing that is teaching ASL to ask then why? Have they asked the Deaf community etc etc. How about it doesn't matter! If there was a job and I'm passionate about it, anyone should be able to do it without worrying if someone is going to get butt hurt over it...If I have a passion to do something, and I want to inspire others to do it...like I have been.... then why not? Would you tell a chef that hasn't worked a specific cuisine before like mexican food to not cook Mexican food or because it's not from their culture?! Because I'm white I have to cook only "white" culture food???? ASININE! That's my thoughts and shared by MANY of my deaf friends as well. Stop making about who's right, who's wrong, it's about sharing the language for communities to come together and thrive with each other!

This is a critical discussion. I would like to ask a few questions- perhaps this is not the best forum for this because I do not want to argue: I want to learn. It is hard to discuss in a Youtube comment section, so I will leave a few questions and preface with my respect of both of you, your family, and this channel. 1.I have had ASL teachers, both Deaf and hearing, state their excitement to see ASL expanding into public schools. When we discuss if hearing people should teach ASL, our local (small/rural) Deaf community seems to approve because the more people who learn basic ASL, the more people will likely respect Deaf people. If you do not know about something (Deaf culture/ASL), it is hard to advocate its merits. Question one is- Is it better to have no ASL program at all or to have a hearing teacher (this is the case in many a small town)? 2. We live in a rural area with few schools teaching ASL and the ones that can struggle to find teachers that are state qualified to teach and hold an ASLTA endorsement and are also Deaf. I think Deaf teachers of ASL are the best option- you state that you can learn online from a Deaf teacher like Bill Vicar, but you will not earn actual credit in school for it. In my town, the local school has been advertising nationally for an open job at a public high school for over 4 years. We have Deaf people here, some of whom are actually teachers- but they don't want this job for personal reasons (not all Deaf people want to teach, not all Deaf teachers want to teach in a public school- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G21EiByBVoI - stories like this one). Question 2. If I understand you correctly, the burden to teach all hearing people who want to learn ASL is not entirely on the shoulders of the Deaf community- is that fair? Is that really what Deaf people want in all situations? 3. I am not ignorant of oralism and prejudice. I believe representation is important, but we have a national teacher shortage across all fields. Not all schools even offer ASL yet as an option (My bias is that I would like all students to have the opportunity to learn ASL). In light of these things, I ask question 3- Is there complexity here- or are the centuries of oppression so much that there is no place for collaboration? Can we work cooperatively to raise awareness and overcome (like William Stokie at Gallaudet or Thomas H. Gallaudet with Laurent Clerc)? Please note that I am not speaking about some random hearing person with a social media account- but an actually qualified teacher that has gone to college to teach ASL that happens to be hearing. Why are they not an ally?

I've been trying to articulate a response without anger and disgust. So now we're on to "culture appropriation" by teaching ASL or learning ASL from hearing teachers? This is idiotic at best. When you are trying to learn something you should take on ALL angles so you have a well rounded experience. I home school my children, 12 and 14. I find all videos and lessons possible. I've told them that this could help them in their future and whenever possible, help others. Shite like this and the odd comments below from others who are deaf make me want to stop them from learning ASL. Is this really the shared attitude of many? A teacher is a teacher. They have learned a skill and are willing to use those skills to help others learn. Pure trash talk to say "Hearing people should not be teaching ASL" because they don't know the culture or struggles. You seemed intelligent and I was about to hit subscribe. I know I'm just one person to not do that but others will see this nonsense.

Thanks for the clarification! I’m deaf but learned ASL the “hard way” through immersion and meeting deaf people when I got to college and now I’m confident and fluent in my language. I always get annoyed and irked when I remember that my old high school is teaching ASL (after I graduated) and the teacher is hearing. I applied years ago for that and was never called back. This is why the Deaf community is very protective because it also denies us of jobs or opportunities.

I’ve only been able to learn anything at all from adults who are hearing and can explain the signs to me. It’s tough to learn a new language as an adult (critical learning period for language has been over for many years). Immersion just doesn’t work for me. Would you rather less adults be able to learn? Also what about people who have partial or degenerative hearing? Are they not allowed to teach by this logic? Or can they only teach part time I’d like to be able to communicate with my sister who is progressively losing her hearing. Maybe we’re not a part of the deaf community but language isn’t something anyone gets to own, sorry!

I learned ASL from all Deaf professors. In college I was a Deaf Studies major. I only had 1 hearing professor and that was for my careers class. Learning ASL from a hearing person doesn’t offer an as enriching experience, in my opinion. Learning from someone deaf also allows a learner to be comfortable talking to more deaf people, which can sometimes be intimidating. Thanks for your video!

I agree. I’m a deaf studies major and my first instructor was deaf. The following semester my instructor was hearing and the difference in the class was terrible. You learn so much more with someone who is actually apart of the deaf community, to me it just makes sense. It’s not to discredit hearing instructors but I prefer my classes to be taught by a non hearing person.

I took ASL in my early college days and my professor was deaf. That's the best way to learn plus I was also in a Deaf Ministry at my church.

if an Anglo Saxon was to teach slavery we'd want someone knowledgeable and understanding of how awful these times were and/or are teaching against racism. Same goes for the hearing teaching ASL You'd want someone fluent and someone capable of teaching and making sure the class grasps the language. So being hearing should not be a problem for the Deaf community. I get it representation is due but we're still fighting for ASL to be taught in school therefore small victories are in place and we celebrate them. Getting offended because a deaf person isn't teaching asl is not a good reason to cancel a person. What matters is that ASL gets recognized then get representation. That's honestly toxicity at it's finest.

How does putting up walls and barriers of shoulds and shouldn'ts help anyone?

I totally get where you’re coming from with the deaf representation argument, but what if you don’t really have the deaf person option and you still wanna learn sign language? Representation is important and deaf people definitely have the right to teach their own language, but if there are no deaf people in the area to teach it, how will the students learn? I think part of the struggle with the deaf asl teachers debate is representation vs availability. Not every school district has an asl class, unfortunitely, so a lot of students whose only learning resource is public school miss out on learning such a wonderful language and a rich culture, simply because there isn't anyone to teach it. In my opinion, as long as they are qualified to teach asl, they'll be okay for filling a need, but when it comes to between a hearing and deaf person applying for the same position at the same location, the deaf teacher should at least be given a fair shot at the job. In the end, it should go to whoever is more qualified/better equipped for the job. That does not mean deaf people should be shoved aside. Not at all. I said fair shake for a reason. No jobs should bias on basis of inconvenient handicaps, except in jobs where it is required. Example: Don't hire a deaf person for a job that relies almost exclusively on hearing. That would be dumb. Teaching is not one of those jobs. Deaf people can teach just fine.

I'm hearing and the classes I've taken were taught by deaf teachers with no speaking allowed. I think it's incredibly important. For one thing starting with that barrier helps you understand some of what deaf people experience everyday. It also puts you you into a receptive observing mode, you're focusing on soaking up the information you need to communicate, and the need to communicate is an enormous driving force in human behaviour and emotion. The other thing is that language and culture are intrinsically intertwined, if you're not learning about a culture you may be acquiring vocab, but you're not learning the deeper understanding of how to meaningfully connect with and understand a community. I will absolutely share basic phrases, the alphabet, and signs that can help my nuerodivergent friends communicate accessibility needs amongst each other, but I always encourage as strongly as I can for people to go take classes from deaf teachers

If i understand correctly, let me put it in terms that i can interpret this, for example; an English-speaking person only would not be able to teach Spanish because they do not have the culture or they do not dominate the language well enough??? i feel cultural appropriation is a trigger word for me it makes me cringe because the point of living in this planet is to learn from one another as we share, the only thing i see now in days is " well you can't do that because you are not that or this wah wah wah" shut the hell up.

Together, hearing and Deaf, we are help others have access to sign. 👩🏼‍🏫

This is my opinion but I personally disagree, I feel like both hearing and death should be able to teach American sign language, but they should at least be educated in the language being fluent and in the history before trying to teach their native language.