ARTS & LITERATURE
Kamloops Thompson SD#73
Proud to be Deaf
Being Deaf is one of my best qualities,
It’s helped me become aware of all minorities,
To broaden my mind,
To understand the difference between
Prejudice and discrimination.
Being Deaf has allowed me to talk and sing
In a beautiful language that is visual.
Being Deaf has given me the opportunity
To experience life in a dorm along with my peers.
It has taught me to be independent and to never give up.
I learned that there are a variety of ways to communicate,
There are no limitations so I never limit myself.
Being Deaf has put me through hard times
And I have learned several things the hard way.
Being Deaf has allowed me to live in two different worlds
And to communicate with others
Whose language differs mine.
Being Deaf has made me a stronger person,
It has allowed me to find the true meaning of pride.
Being Deaf has made me the person I am today
And I am proud of who I am.
No doubt about it!
Aimee Whyte
Aimee, a student at the Rochester Institute of Technology College, majored in Professional and Technical communications. Her parents and younger sister are both Deaf. Aimee has written poetry since she was 10. In her own words, “Through poetry, I am able to express my innermost thoughts, feelings and experiences. Being Deaf is part of my whole life.”
Joanne S. Cripps (2000). Quiet Journey Understanding the Rights of Deaf Children, The Ginger Press, Owen Sound, Ont. Canada, P 24
We Deaf
We laugh when we’re happy.
We cry when we’re upset.
We cheer when we win.
We scream when we’re scared.
We yell for fun.
We shout when we’re angry.
We make noises.
Why do you call us silent?
Tell me why.
Janis Cripps, 14
Janis is partially Deaf and comes from a Deaf family. She wrote this poem because she wanted to inform those who think that Deaf persons are quiet and never noisy that they are wrong. In her words, “we do have voices and we know how to express ourselves through laughing, crying and so on.” When she wrote this poem, she felt that Deaf people were not being heard enough.
Joanne S. Cripps (2000). Quiet Journey Understanding the Rights of Deaf Children, The Ginger Press, Owen Sound, Ont. Canada, P 34
Am I Deaf?
Am I deaf?
Am I like you?
You call me deaf.
I do not understand
Why I am deaf.
What is deafness?
How did I become deaf?
I did not know
The answers.
I asked different people to answer my questions
Yet they could not,
Forcing me to look up in books.
“Deaf – means?”
l still could not find the answer.
I has to sit and look in retrospect.
To discover this silent secret.
During my growing years
People down there taught me
To speak, lipread, act, think, love,
Play, and even play music,
Regardless if I could hear or not,
But they still identified me as deaf?
Not till my teenage years
When I participated in hearing groups
In tennis, swimming, and Girl Guides,
Did I begin to feel
That something was wrong with me.
When I was in the group,
Whenever the group went out to certain places
They tended to leave me out
Leaving me lonely and rejected.
When the group made a joke
And I could not follow
I still tried to laugh with them.
I had to keep my eyes on everyone
To keep up with the conversation
But in the end I was always lost…
Really, down inside of me
I did not feel too comfortable,
But I said “Never mind.”
I tried to become assertive
In order to fit into the group.
But the question kept nagging at me:
“Am I deaf?”
I tried to ignore it
But in the end I couldn’t.
Am I deaf?
Am I like you?
Remaining as an oral student,
I struggled to grasp
Knowledge and ideas
From the moving mouth.
Only little did I receive,
The rest was being carried away.
Am I deaf?
Not till five years ago
When my family immigrated to Canada
And I attended the school for the deaf,
Did I discover teachers who could sign.
It amazed me!
I was even astonished to see
That I could follow
Their sign language
Regardless of my limited exposure to it.
I could see their radiant faces
With moving hands in the air,
Freely expressing themselves in their own language.
Am I deaf?
Am I like you?
Sitting in the park,
Trying to figure out
Who I was,
An old man saw me contemplating.
He touched me gently and asked
“Are you deaf?”
I nearly jumped out of my skin.
“Yes I am,” I replied,
“And you?”
Patricia Shores
Sounds of the Soul
Patty wrote this poem during her transition years between being a teenager and young adult, while searching for her identity and role in the community. At the time Quiet Journey was printed she lived in Switzerland and reported that there was work to do in order to provide similar opportunities for Swiss Deaf people, that Deaf Canadians currently enjoyed.
Cripps, Joanne S. (2000). Quiet Journey Understanding the Rights of Deaf Children, The Ginger Press, Owen Sound, Ont. Canada, Pp 48-50
Gilliam & Easterbrooks (1997). Education Children Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing: Residential Life, ASL and Def Culture, ERIC clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education, Virginia.
http://www.aslinfo.com/deafculture.cfm
www.deafculture.com/definitions/
www.deafculture.com/ethnic_culture/