Deaf Education in America: Voices of Children from Inclusion Settings

10. Interviews With Regular Education Teachers

169 The regular education teachers interviewed all teach in large suburban districts in Pennsylvania. They have experience teaching at least one deaf student in their class with the support of an educational interpreter (see Table 10.1). They are located in separate school districts. The teachers’ responses have been organized by the following topics. • academic achievement • meeting the needs of deaf students • relationship with the deaf student • accommodating for the needs of the deaf student • relationship building between deaf and hearing students • communication between deaf and hearing students • working with an interpreter in the room • support from the deaf education teacher • advice for other teachers • unexpected findings, and • purpose of integration An analysis discusses the themes that emerged within the responses. The final section presents a collective discussion of the major themes found throughout the regular education teacher interviews. Interviews With Regular Education Teachers 10 Table 10.1 Experiences of Regular Education Teachers Teacher Grade level Number of years teaching deaf students Elementary Middle school High school Eric X 1–3 Richard X 4–6 Mindy X X 7 or more Amy X 1–3 Chapter Ten 170 Narrative Sketches of Regular Education Teachers Eric: Eric has taught for eight years in a high school math department. His high school has several deaf mainstreamed students. His reflections of having a deaf student are based on his experiences last school year, before he was transferred into a new position as a school principal. Richard: Richard has been teaching technology and computer classes for many years. He seems flexible and sensitive in meeting the needs of all students. His interview is a reflection of his recent experiences with one deaf student in his class. Mindy: Mindy has had extensive experience with deaf students in her classroom. For several years, she taught fifth grade but is now a seventh grade math teacher. All of her experience with deaf students has occurred in the same school district. She is very outgoing and creative and has a strong desire to see kids excel. Amy: Amy is a young high school math teacher. In her interview, she reflects upon her recent experience of having a deaf student in her class for the first time. She seems to have a reflective approach towards her teaching and thinks deeply about how to meet the needs of her one deaf student. Academic Achievement I asked the teachers about the deaf students’ performance in class. I was especially interested in their perceptions of the deaf students’ ability to understand the content at the same level as the hearing students. Richard I have just one [deaf student] this year, and he seems to do well, As and Bs in everything . And, he has an interpreter with him all day long. Mindy If they really and truly use an interpreter, as they should, their learning should not be much different at all. Not at all. Not in my experiences. If they put up their hand and say, “I didn’t understand you,” I know it is because they didn’t watch the interpreter, and I let them know about that. Amy This is the first time I have ever had a deaf student. It is a totally new challenge for me, especially if I didn’t have the interpreter . . . . But it does help me to completely think about “Am I doing things that are making it harder for her, easier for her?” 171 Interviews With Regular Education Teachers The teachers approached questions about academic achievement from very different angles. All teachers seemed to be concerned for the academic success of the student, yet their responses centered on different points of focus. While Richard judged the student’s abilities by the outward sign of getting good grades, Amy looked inwardly to try to understand how she could help the student be more successful. Mindy’s responses reflect two myths about inclusive education. First, she believes that an interpreted education is equivalent to a direct education . However, several factors affect the quality of an interpreted education, including the student’s receptive and expressive language capabilities, the interpreter’s receptive and expressive language capabilities, and the interpreter ’s ability to process one language effectively into another language. The second myth that Mindy introduces is that it is the student’s fault if they do not understand the teacher. Many researchers, however, have shown that interpreter quality is often...