Finding My Name Sign
My first name sign was given to me by a hearing person. The A handshape tapped squarely in the feminine area on my cheek. It weathered years in a mainstreamed classroom, and traveled with me to the deaf school in eighth grade. The deaf school was also my eye-opening immersion into Deaf culture and [...]
My Letter to the Indiana Senate Appropriations Committee (“Oppose HB 1367″)
Dear Senator: My name is Dr. Christopher Jon Heuer, and my dissertation, professional research, and work all fall within the fields of literacy, language acquisition, and Deaf Education. HB 1367 will soon come before you for review. I hope you will consider my arguments against it and oppose it. At the very least, I [...]
Indiana School for the Deaf vs. Hear Indiana
Maybe you have been hearing stories coming out of Indiana and wondered what the fuss was all about. To understand the situation in Indiana, you need to know the back story. I will give you a hint upfront: oralists are up to no good. The back story begins with Indiana School for the Deaf [...]
iPads at 347: The ASL Location Parameter
With this lesson, I wanted to use iPads as a recording tool instead of being the main focus. My class is exploring the different parameters of ASL: handshape, location, and movement. There are two others (palm orientation and non-manual markers) but I’m saving those for a later unit. I have a funny relationship with the [...]
My Two Cents: Cochlear Implants
I used to feel sorry for children who had cochlear implants. I did. When I saw them it broke my heart because I really believed that their parents just didn’t understand deafness. I judged those parents. I assumed that the parents were looking for a quick fix to something that in my opinion didn’t [...]
AG Bell is in the past
Many in the signing community feel strongly that the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (AG Bell) philosophy of focusing on auditory and oral approaches when teaching deaf and hard of children is wrong. The auditory and oral approaches use the weakest point of a deaf or hard of hearing [...]
ASL Literature, Reborn on the iPad
In addition to being a first-grade teacher, I’m also the geekminister for 15 brand-new iPad 2s at P.S. 347 The ASL and English Lower School in Manhattan. This is the first in what I hope will be a regular series on how my students and I are using the iPad to learn, read, create, and [...]
Empty Messages
During a discussion I had with several co-workers today while we attended a statewide curriculum meeting, the facilitator came to our table to look at what we wrote on the poster and gave us a thumbs-up sign. I then told my co-workers that I had been scarred when I was in middle school by the [...]
The Problem of Speaking
I’ve adopted a saying lately: “Nothing is without weight.” I say this to myself in my mind as I go through my day, as my meanderings are halted with the shock of seeing speaking in front of me when I had barely become accustomed to the relief and comfort of visual communication (on what [...]
What Does It Mean to Be a d/Deaf Woman Living a Life That is Free of Violence?
Individually: It means knowing we deserve love, respect and safety. It means feeling secure in our ideas, personal choices, right to autonomy, humanity, and d/Deaf identity. It means that our relationships, friendships, and communities affirm the same to us. It means that in a relationship, we are not demeaned, ignored, or belittled. Our ASL, English, [...]