Riverside County Deaf Education Event
By Mia Rotell,
Imagine if language were completely taken away. No one spoke English, Spanish, Mandarin or any of the other languages across the world. How would people communicate?
Would they make up new words? Would people come together to create a unified world language, or separate into countries and establish languages among themselves? There are currently more than 7,000 languages across the globe, but one language unites them all — sign language.
Think about — and sign — what the motion for “cut hair” or “short hair” might be.
Did you make your hand into a pair of scissors and place it next to your neck? Or did you flatten your hand and make a chopping motion against the side of your neck? Congratulations — you now know the correct sign for “cut hair” or “short hair” and can communicate this with people around the world.
“Sign language is a universal language, and the Deaf population is growing,” said Dr. Nancy Hlibok Amann, director of the State Special Schools and Services Division in California. “Language is what makes us (Deaf people) different from others. We can’t let Deaf students be forgotten.”
The California School for the Deaf, Riverside, partnered with the Riverside County Office of Education to host the DeafEdx event, Field of Possibility: Where Deaf Education Takes Root, at the RCOE Conference Center on Wednesday, March 18. Invitations were sent to those who work with Deaf children in educational settings and were limited to 300 RSVPs.
California currently serves nearly 17,000 Deaf students; Riverside County alone serves 1,163. The goal of the event was to ensure Deaf students were not slipping through the cracks by giving educators the tools needed to support them.
“I always hear that I need to give my students as much help as they need, but no one answers how,” said Isela Quijada, an educator in San Diego County. “It’s nice to be here and know that other people feel the same way.”
Angela Gray, also an educator in San Diego County, believes Deaf culture is about coming together despite the isolation educators may feel while trying to best support their students.
“We need to meet individually to think,” Gray said.
The event provided professionals a space to network and share experiences, strategies and ideas for making their classrooms as effective as possible. Seven presenters spoke on topics such as the vulnerability of Deaf minors to addiction, the impact of AI on Deaf culture, Deaf education and more.
A variety of workshops were held in the second half of the event to give Deaf professionals the answers they were seeking.
“This is the first event of its kind that we know of,” said Craig Petinak, director of public relations and communication services for the Riverside County Office of Education. “This was targeted directly at what they do every single day in schools for students who are Deaf or hard of hearing.”
To learn more about Riverside’s Deaf community and how to get involved, visit deafcommunityofriverside.org/introduction or follow @Deaf.Community.Riverside on Instagram.
For More Education News Visit www.zapinin.com