Finally! A Formula for Making Positive Changes in Deaf Education

Abstract

Finally! A Formula for Making Positive Changes in Deaf Education Leala Holcomb (bio) Disabling Pedagogy: Power, Politics, and Deaf Education. Linda R. Komesaroff. Gallaudet University Press, 2013. 154pp. $45.00 (hardcover). Discussions about power dynamics between the underprivileged and the privileged are crucial to making progress toward equity. Disabling Pedagogy: Power, Politics, and Deaf Education helps promote such dialogue by exploring Deaf and hearing people’s differing perspectives on the challenges to improving the quality of education for Deaf children. Linda R. Komesaroff, although not deaf herself, successfully captures the profound feelings many Deaf people have about the educational barriers they encounter growing up, in addition to their experiences of oppression in trying to enter the profession of deaf education. Her book includes information on power dynamics between dominant and marginalized groups, the history of Deaf education, studies related to the perspectives of Deaf and hearing people in education, and educational law relating to these topics. Although the author, a research fellow at Deakin University, in Melbourne, delves into the politics of Deaf education specifically in Australia, the experiences, perspectives, and barriers presented in the book are strikingly similar to what is happening in the United States. Komesaroff opens Disabling Pedagogy by placing Deaf identity on the same plane as identity based on gender, class, race, ethnicity, and sexuality. She describes how dominant groups hold beliefs based on their “knowledge and position in relation to ‘the other’” (p. x). After examining how power manifests itself in society through people and language, the author shares Deaf narratives that are often rendered invisible to the hearing community. By connecting important accounts in Deaf history, she guides hearing readers’ understanding and validates Deaf readers’ experiences of the oppression and struggles of Deaf people as informed by participants in her research. On the basis of the historical and current reality of Deaf education being run by nondeaf people, the author conducted a politically active research project to explore “the themes of power, politics, and the struggle for self-determination among Deaf people” (p. 11). To help readers better understand the dichotomy between Deaf and hearing views on deaf education, she categorizes these perspectives into two principal standpoints: “the Deaf worldview” and “the hearing worldview.” She presents the Deaf worldview as taking advantage of the richness of native signed language, Deaf culture, and Deaf role models in supporting students’ development in all academic areas, including English (spoken and written). In contrast, the hearing worldview is described as focusing on children’s deafness as the cause of their inability to speak, read, or write; therefore, more exposure to speech therapy is needed. The former places an emphasis on pedagogical causes for the difficulties Deaf students face in their educational quest, while the latter places the problem within the Deaf children’s bodies. Komesaroff describes her journey in supporting the transition of a school from being one with a hearing worldview to one based on the Deaf worldview. Her work with parents, teachers, and administrators provides a good model for people who are interested in helping Deaf schools adopt the bilingual approach. Strong leadership, teachers’ readiness for change, and parents’ support are identified as essential components of the transition. Educational leaders will find [End Page 398] strategies presented in this book beneficial to their effort to facilitate a smooth, healthy transition in their schools. In the subsequent chapters of the book, the author discusses laws on education that have shaped policies affecting Deaf education. Employing real-life scenarios, she provide an expanded picture of how laws can work either against or for the Deaf child’s access to quality education. Valuable information is shared about the reaches and limitations of parents’ power to hold the system accountable if their Deaf children are delayed in language and academic development. Therefore, this book is geared not only to teachers and administrators, but also to parents of Deaf children. As a Deaf educator and researcher heavily involved in Deaf education, I recommend Disabling Pedagogy: Power, Politics, and Deaf Education as a go-to book for anyone who wants to understand Deaf education through the contrasting lenses of Deaf people and hearing people. The author does a remarkable job of exploring...