I was not there. I can't tell you what happened exactly. But, this is what a high school student told me:
His teacher talked to the class for a bit while playing a recording of someone else talking with music in the background. The student raised his hand and asked the teacher to turn off the recording, because he cannot understand her. Allegedly, she put her hand up and told him to not interrupt her class like that again. Yikes. The recording kept playing as she continued to talk. Naturally, the student shut down and stopped trying to listen. He felt embarrassed.
The student did exactly what he was supposed to do and I praised him. He was advocating for his hearing needs in the classroom! That is a big deal. This is not always easy to do, especially for kids. However, how do we expect him to advocate for himself in the future if he thinks that his teacher may view him as being disrespectful? Why should he bother if it is going to get them in trouble?
Perhaps, he did not raise his hand or maybe he requested that she turn off the recording in a rude manner. I don't know. I was not there. BUT - the teachers need to understand that deaf and hard of hearing individuals are going to have a very difficult time understanding auditory information when there is noise present.
As a result, I sent out an email to all of his teachers reminding them to minimize background noises while talking or during instruction. I included in the email that playing recordings during a lecture is not acceptable and explained why.
I also met with his teacher and went over this with her, to make sure she understands. I made a point of telling her that when this student speaks up in class about not being able to follow or hear, he is not being rude. It needs to be taken seriously. A student trying to advocate for his hearing needs should not be punished or ignored.
I made a note to myself to do more classroom observations.
I really hope this experience does not discourage the student from advocating for his hearing needs at school in the future.
(e
His teacher talked to the class for a bit while playing a recording of someone else talking with music in the background. The student raised his hand and asked the teacher to turn off the recording, because he cannot understand her. Allegedly, she put her hand up and told him to not interrupt her class like that again. Yikes. The recording kept playing as she continued to talk. Naturally, the student shut down and stopped trying to listen. He felt embarrassed.
The student did exactly what he was supposed to do and I praised him. He was advocating for his hearing needs in the classroom! That is a big deal. This is not always easy to do, especially for kids. However, how do we expect him to advocate for himself in the future if he thinks that his teacher may view him as being disrespectful? Why should he bother if it is going to get them in trouble?
Perhaps, he did not raise his hand or maybe he requested that she turn off the recording in a rude manner. I don't know. I was not there. BUT - the teachers need to understand that deaf and hard of hearing individuals are going to have a very difficult time understanding auditory information when there is noise present.
As a result, I sent out an email to all of his teachers reminding them to minimize background noises while talking or during instruction. I included in the email that playing recordings during a lecture is not acceptable and explained why.
I also met with his teacher and went over this with her, to make sure she understands. I made a point of telling her that when this student speaks up in class about not being able to follow or hear, he is not being rude. It needs to be taken seriously. A student trying to advocate for his hearing needs should not be punished or ignored.
I made a note to myself to do more classroom observations.
I really hope this experience does not discourage the student from advocating for his hearing needs at school in the future.
(e
good one...Hearing Loss Treatment Kerala
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