Links for topic: NZSL and basic human rights

Trilingual NZ anthem

Origins of NZSL

Deaf culture

Thumbs up! Intro to NZSL

History of NZSL Act 2006

NZSL Act 2006

NZSL Act 2006 - four years on

NZSL Act 2006 - five years on

Access to NZSL interpreters and quality of life

Responding to language diversity: A way forward for NZ education

Name signs and ID in NZSL

Bilingualism - Language and Identity

Bilingual/Bicultural Deaf Education

Deaf News Today: Why the Deaf May Have Trouble Reading

Deaf News Today: Why the Deaf May Have Trouble Reading: A University of New Mexico study suggests that reading difficulties among the deaf do not have to do with "the right way to teach readi...

(Given the topic, you'd have thought they'd use an interpreter on the screen instead of subtitles... hey-ho, baby steps.)

References: previous times of emergency

Biesold, H. (1993). The fate of the Israelite Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb in Berlin. In R. Fischer & H. Lane (Eds.). Looking back: A reader on the history of Deaf communities and their sign languages. Hamburg, Germany: Signum Press, pp. 157-169.

Pullen, G. & Sutton-Spence, R. (1993).The British Deaf Community during the 1939-1945 War. In R. Fischer & H. Lane (Eds.). Looking back: A reader on the history of Deaf communities and their sign languages. Hamburg, Germany: Signum Press, pp. 171-176.

Deaf News Today: A Passion for BSL

Deaf News Today: A Passion for BSL: Gary Taylor “I grew up in a deaf family with deaf parents, aunts and uncles and within a wider deaf community," says Deaf Solutions...

Deaf News Today: Deaf-blind priest not allowed on flight

Deaf News Today: Deaf-blind priest not allowed on flight: Cyril Axelrod An airline mistreated a deaf-blind Catholic priest during a flight this past weekend, according to the Deaf Federation fo...

Just goes to show...

UK Deaf couple survive bungalow blast

My comments on blogs (including mine)

Reply to comment on my blog

Ana Banana14 April 2013 20:33

Thanks, Julia. Those are points that I was already worrying about. I plan to cover the opposition (so to speak) in a later blog. As for the length -- I did wonder about where exactly to cut off to make up the first blog! I think it will help when I have it all written up and I can read and evaluate it as one thing....

Comment on "Does violent media cause violent behaviour?"

Ana Banana16 April 2013 19:06

Your topic's pretty interesting, and so far what you've written about video games and players is pretty appalling. I don't play video games -- the last I played was Space Invaders in its day -- but it's hard to escape their presence in popular culture. People will always wonder about a connection between violence in video games and in real life, but more so with the increase in the life-like quality of the graphics and the technological trends towards positioning the player in the game -- first-person perspective, virtual reality, etc. -- as much as possible. You jump a little bit, though, when you say "Because of this, it is fairly obvious why people are being killed. For example, chronic video game playing brought on the Connecticut Newtown shooting." By this, I assume you refer to many playing for eight hours a week, but this is not quite clear; from your wording, you could be referring instead to the percentage of American youth instead. You used more cautious wording in the sentence: "Adam Lanza, the shooter, ...." People would probably challenge statements made with such conviction, especially without corroborating evidence.

Comment on "Print is here to stay"

Ana Banana16 April 2013 20:07

A good introduction! No meat yet on the argument, but I look forward to your next post as someone who loves printed books and has yet to buy an e-reader (if at all).

Reply to comment on my blog

Ana Banana29 April 2013 14:23

Jenette -- to address your and Julia's points, I've re-phrased my question now. I guess it's hardly arguable at this point whether d/Deaf need better access to emergency information -- they DO -- but WHO provides or funds it would be a better question to pose. I think calling Air New Zealand would be opening a kettle of fish that I would't have the time to deal with for this brief, though it would be an avenue to pursue. I'd probably contact all the carriers that fly in and out of NZ, in that case.

I agree the wording could use clarification somehow, but I didn't use quotation marks for that because I wanted to keep it consistent -- the whole conversation was signed. I might italicise the dialogue instead...

Comment on "Print is here to stay"

Ana Banana29 April 2013 14:31

I'm assuming that you will be enlarging on your argument and extending your introduction. I'd like to know why you think print is staying: why does turning the pages of a book not compare to reading on an e-reader? What is it about the physical act that is so special to you?

Comment on ["Are beauty pageants causing more harm than good?"]

Ana Banana29 April 2013 14:45

This is quite an emotional introduction. Emotion in itself is not wrong -- we are, after all, supposed to write on topics about which we feel passionate. You need to provide arguments now to support your view, e.g., child beauty pageants being a few steps away from child pornography -- yes, possibly extreme, but explain why you think/feel this. "...a young, impressionable child being dolled up for the pleasure of an older audience" could apply to Anne Geddes's photos of babies dressed up as flowers and fruits, etc. or parents dressing up their toddlers in formal wear to attend a wedding. It might be helpful to specify why child beauty pageants take those extra steps closer to child porn -- what about them takes them closer?


Comment on "All Deaf children should learn sign language"

Ana Banana29 April 2013 15:06

This introduction almost reads like a summary of the blog. You could almost just flesh out each section and you've finished the brief.

Your first sentence comes across like a claim; is this your own view, in which case you need to substantiate it. If it's a conclusion to a report or an article, it'd probably help if you explained this or included a link to the relevant research. Starting with Grosjean's quote -- it strikes me as the main/significant support for your stand that all deaf children should learn sign language -- and then writing a summary of the arguments that support it to follow could be a possible approach to introducing your topic. (I'm assuming you'll format the quote properly later with the hyperlink embedded into the text.)

Including the Hearing House this early on feels a little bit like a red herring or, at least, a bit of a sideways step; I can imagine you felt the same disbelief (horrified incredulity) that I did when you read their website. You could include it in a (later) section on opposing views? As it is, I got the impression -- though I may be wrong -- that they are a relatively minor presence.

Comment on "Cochlear implants and Sign Language"

Ana Banana29 April 2013 15:39

Appreciate that it's still in the tweaking stage, but perhaps replacing the signing image with a photograph of a cochlear implant at that point...? You might also want to clarify cochlear implants not being a "solution" to deafness -- who thinks that, doctors, parents, educators -- and "even a successful implant..." -- define successful, unsuccessful, etc. -- though you could provide the clarification later in the blog. It's a strong introduction to a pretty emotive topic.

Have you had a look at Rachel Benedict's video on the ASDC website? She discusses that point of medical contact pretty well.

Comment on "Cochlear implants and Sign Language: Oralism and cochlear implants"

Ana Banana29 April 2013 16:04

In the interests of keeping within the recommended word count, yes, you could edit the history content, but it's probably good to retain the most pertinent parts -- oralism, its duration perhaps, its enduring "legacies" -- as they are relevant to your argument.

I'm afraid I took "Oralism and cochlear implants" to mean there is a link between the two. If there is, you may need to tease out the relationship a bit more in this section...? I assume it would have been added on to the last paragraph where you start "The introduction of cochlear implants (CIs) added a new dimension...." Take care that you use your apostrophes consistently (CIs vs CI's) and maybe give a short description explaining what a cochlear implant is.

Where you say "worse educational outcomes" it might be better to say "poor...", otherwise there is an expectation of the comparison to follow -- worse than what? Or supply the comparison, I guess.

A minor point: where you state "...a surprising number who support...", do you think you need to indicate a number of what -- educational professionals, parents, people?

Comment on "Ahoy participants. Ahem, pirates."

Ana Banana29 April 2013 16:17

Your lively writing voice and the style in which you've presented your stats suit the topic and the audience (I imagine) for this topic -- well done! (And good on you for sticking Johnny Depp on here.) This is a fantastic introduction to music piracy in that it covers relevant points and makes me look forward to the next installment. You've already listed a few of the fallacious arguments pirates use, and I shall wait to see how you demolish them. To smithereens!

Comments on "Success for all: every school, every child"

Ana Banana30 April 2013 22:53

Well-organised and informative reading of a distressing topic. I am a little bit unclear, however, on what your stand is...? Have I missed it? Please excuse my typical obliviousness if I have. I understand that you disagree with the status quo in NZ d/Deaf education.

A minor point: avoid using quotation marks for terms, e.g., "oralism" and confine their use of to actual quotes. For the purposes of a blog, I think inserting a hyperlink and the resultant different font colour should suffice to indicate particular meanings.

Ana Banana1 May 2013 00:03

As there is some -- a little -- leeway on the word count, some information about opposing positions (e.g., the still persistent views that letting d/Deaf children use Sign Language will hinder their integration with the hearing majority or interfere with their learning English -- cf. the readings extracted from Dugdale's book) will probably help reinforce your presentation of your position. As it is, I'm still not quite sure of your stand: are you after mainstreaming with proper support? training more teachers in NZSL? training more teacher aides? opening more regional centres (like Kelston and Van Asch)?

Ana Banana1 May 2013 00:05

p.s. Please review your use of deaf and Deaf throughout your posts. Are you specifically writing about Deaf or deaf children in NZ education or both?

Response to comment on my last post

Ana Banana6 May 2013 14:07

Nicola -- there are overseas examples, but I didn't know whether to include them given the word count limit and the possibility that I might stray too far...

Comment on "Cochlear implants and Sign Language: The bilingualism approach"

Ana Banana7 May 2013 13:54

I'm glad you included Baby Sign. It's frustrating that it hardly gets a mention (if at all) in many articles about the benefits of bilingualism, never mind d/Deaf bilingualism. I'm not a fan or a detractor of the trend -- I tend to instinctively avoid anything that's "in" -- but we shouldn't ignore something that catches on like that. It must have some effect to become so popular and the implications for communication theory, linguistics, brain development, etc. must be of interest.

From your statement "...children exposed to signing..." do I take it that some Deaf parents have allowed their Deaf children to have cochlear implants though?

Comment on "All Deaf children should learn sign language: Growing up deaf in..."

Ana Banana7 May 2013 14:13

More information on what it's like to have a cochlear implant (or even two) might help explain why "A child who is born deaf can not be made hearing by having a cochlear implant" and strengthen your arguments for bilingualism. Even those who are involved -- or becoming involved -- with the Deaf community, Sign Language, Deaf culture, etc. would probably have little or no idea of the experience. People do believe cochlear implants fix or cure deafness because they think CI's actually bestow normal hearing. But I don't think you actually get that, do you? What is it that you actually get?

Comment on "Does violent media cause violent behaviour?"

Ana Banana7 May 2013 14:30

Again, you might want to consider re-wording "Repetition of killing... must trigger something in people's minds...", "...the person would be encouraged...", and "In doing so, they hold the aggression...". Unless you can support these with definitive proof, you have to present them as speculations or possibilities.

Ana Banana7 May 2013 14:43

As a parent myself, I agree wholeheartedly with your stand!

You may need to add a sentence to finish your second paragraph, though: you start by talking about parents' need to know how easy it is for their children to get hold of stuff, then end with parents not sheltering children and allowing them to experience things gradually. You need something to bridge the two ideas together.

Comment on "Print is here to stay: The future..."

Ana Banana7 May 2013 14:58

I'm glad you've included that quote from Agresta. It's not just the physical pleasures associated with reading paper books but also the social aspects with having them -- sharing books with friends, even the frustration of not getting them back (okay, maybe not THAT) or forgetting to whom you lent one -- which help explain why people love paper books. I'm assuming that you will still be editing your blogs this week -- you might just want to review the quote as it appears to have some minor errors. Otherwise, it's pretty good.

Comment on "Child beauty pageants, whats the deal?"

Ana Banana7 May 2013 15:16

I'm a little bit confused: is your last paragraph your own thoughts or continuing on from Barzey's statements in the previous paragraph or both?

As for confidence and losing, I think you need to clarify: what about beauty pageants for children would make them more harmful to children's self esteem than losing, say, in a spelling bee or a game of marbles or baseball? Some people would argue that competition is a part of normal, everyday life and that learning to cope with it is part of growing up.

Comment on "Child beauty pageants: What are we willing...?"

Ana Banana7 May 2013 15:25

Valiant Elsie, taking one for the team! (I have heard of someone who watched a whole season of Honey Boo Boo in one sitting -- it was that or die of boredom, though, so I guess HBB was a reasonable alternative. By a slim margin.)

Your sincerity and honest emotions on the topic come through. But as Nick pointed out, a lot of people would disagree with your opinion. Did you find any studies on children who compete in beauty pageants -- their emotional well-being, how they compared to children of a similar age, the effects of participating in pageants on the children, etc.? Providing information from such and links will help support your arguments in the blog.

Comment on "Success for all... Reality for Deaf students?"

Ana Banana7 May 2013 15:36

Jenette, you may then want to review your use of deaf, Deaf, and d/Deaf in your blog. There are places where an alternative to the term you used could apply.... Apart from that, as you know, I'm all for your stand.

On the whole, the blog's well presented and clear. It touches on valid points and the issue, sadly, remains contentious. In the meantime, it's d/Deaf children and their families that suffer.

Comment on my post "The lack of emergency information"

Ana Banana7 May 2013 15:51

Please note that some of my links don't show as such; they only show when the cursor is held over them. Bearing that in mind, the non-visible hyperlinks in this post are embedded in:

"report" in item 4 of the list of what the government should do;
"Radio Data System (RDS)" in item 5 of the same list;
"other special", "Herald", and "TVNZ" in item 6 of the same list;
"officially recognised", "slowly", and "at all" in the first sentence, third paragraph.
"dropped Teletext" in the first sentence, last paragraph;
"TVNZ" and "Sky" in the second sentence, last paragragraph;

Comment on "Music Pirates: Are they a threat...?"

Ana Banana7 May 2013 18:30

Dixie Chicks! Sweet. Davy, you ROCK.

Remember Karen's caution, however, about making strong statements: You may want to re-word your statement "If musicians like the Dixie Chicks...." Alternatively, you could insert a link detailing the significant effect of music piracy on musicians' earnings. Ditto the following statement -- what basis do you have for it? If you have research or statistics supporting that, link them. You addressed the latter stand about music piracy not affecting legal purchases etc. with this paragraph, but you haven't posed a counter-argument about the prior one of those who check out the music for free.

I am still loving your voice and the way you use words.

Comment on "Music Pirates: Are they a threat...? Part 2."

Ana Banana7 May 2013 18:36

Gah, sorry, Davy -- here are all the supporting info that I mentioned in my comment on your previous post. Sorry. I shall desist from commenting until I read the rest of your posts.

Reply to comment on my blog

Ana Banana7 May 2013 19:56

Jenette, thanks for the tip. I got our Julia the Webmaster to show me how to fix it.

Comment on "All deaf children should learn sign language: Growing up deaf..."

Ana Banana9 May 2013 00:52

As per Julia and Jenette's comments above, Nicola. Specific (but brief as you can) is probably key, e.g., as Jenette pointed out "...often hard work for...": instead of that phrase, you could write "means hours of training everyday for the child to learn to... and the parents to..." etc. (You could possibly shorten that further -- sorry, I don't know the details.) Or you could re-phrase "...still may not have total access to the information..." as "... still may not hear all the information..." or "...may still miss parts of what teacher or his classmates...". Well done for touching on the social and familial aspects of missing out on early language acquisition. And as Julia said, if you need a hand with the grammar, etc. you know how to get hold of us.

Comment on "Music Pirates: Are they a threat...?"

Ana Banana9 May 2013 01:39

And LEGO. I can't take much more of this, ha ha ha!

Just go over the grammar again -- little glitches here and there -- and review whether some of your statements need to be couched in more tentative language (as per lecturer advice) and supported by links. Your main argument here appears to be illegal downloading hurting earnings and therefore re-investment in future music, but I rather liked an artist on one of your links saying that downloading without paying for it is basically stealing. That's what it boils down to, doesn't it?

I had never heard of the Pay-As-You-Want model. It could lead to interesting results. Would it be like the stock market index, do you think?