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Deafness, Literacy, Rhetoric 43 [signing directly to me] remember I showed you my evaluation paper before ? So they waived the C and I became an ASL major. But now I learned that I had a disability and they give me accommodations.44 I have let this story unfold in its full telling because it is full oftelling. There are several remarkable things going on here. First are the facts of Charlie's identity beyond that of "student": he is a nontraditional student , in his mid-forties, who had a successful career as a drafting engineer, who has experience (and accolades) as a deaf actor, and who happens to be one of the most skilled, beautiful users of his native language, American Sign Language, that I have personally known. He may not necessarily "speak well," but Charlie surely uses language well. The second remarkable point is his incredible perseverance in the face ofwhat could be only called an absolutely appalling experience with English literacy. When I add up all the multiple attempts he made at passing from English 50 through the four required English courses at Gallaudet, I count twelve classes in all.45 Third is Charlie's late-discovered learning disability, his documented dyslexia. Try to imagine: he sat in twelve introductory-level English classes before someone-notably, not an English but an ASL teacher-made sure he got tested for learning disabilities. Were they all so convinced that Charlie's inability to learn English, his inability to pass at basic English literacy, was just a function ofhis deafness that no one could see past their own limited expectations? What was going on here? I don't know. But I do know that in the face of the limitations of literacy being taught as communication only, Charlie's passion for literacy as language was not squelched. And that, I think, is beyond remarkable. "Listen" to how Charlie summarizes "the English problem" at Gallaudet: One problem I feel is that for deaf students here it is difficult for us to learn English because ofthe teacher's signing skills. I think that is a direct relationship. The teachers, I feel, should learn two languages-learn both languages [English and ASL]. Because they work with the deaf they should learn our language. It would make teachers look good. And it would help students improve their skills. It's destiny-students would be destined for success then. Ifthey've grown up with ASL, then the translation [fromASL to English] is alot easier. Andwriting[in English] isa beautifullanguage . It can be beautiful in English-ifthe teacher knows how to teach from an ASL standpoint. If they want to improve our English and they are concerned with that then they need to learn our language.46 44 Deafness as Disability Here is someone who cares not just about his language, ASL, but who respects the beauty and capabilities of any language, all languages. Here is someone who has experienced literacy learning for the sake oflanguageseemingly in spite ofthe educational system that focused mostly only on literacy learning for communication. Here then, in Charlie, is what 1think Quintilian would have been proud of-a good man speaking [sic] well. Another Gallaudet graduate (and perhaps not surprisingly, another gifted user and indeed noted teacher ofASL), Ellen, might illustrate the same point. Despite the enormous troubles she has had, and continues to have, with English, Ellen professes a "love" for it. She has a history with "lousy grammar"-a picture of herself as a somewhat "screwed up" user ofEnglish that she's come to internalize after all these years: "1 always had a problem with writing because [just as] with lipreading, I could catch certain things, but then I would miss so much. I put things together, but it was usually screwed up."47 Like Charlie, she has spent more than enough educational time trying to learn to just communicate in English-time that she indicates was equally fruitful and fruitless: c~d 1was giving up my recess at the deafschool so that I could have private speech lessons one on one. I benefited, yeah, because I can communicate with my family better and with some people. And sometimes 1feel like 1can talk and that is really nice. But really skilled sentences, no. Little phrases I can say, short and sweet." Maybe Ellen is not exactly what Quintilian had in mind, then-but 1 would not be too sure. She is, by her own account and that of others...

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