DESCRIBING
HOMES
Unit
Overview
In
this unit, we will discuss Deaf history, fingerspelling, vocabulary, grammar
and Deaf culture.
History
Irving King Jordan
(I. King Jordan)
Irving King
Jordan (I. King Jordan) was born June 16,1943. He grew up in the small rural
town of Glen Riddle, Pennsylvania. He was a self -described average
student and had a typical upbringing. After high school, King joined the
Navy and worked on the air craft carrier Enterprise. He was promoted to Legal
Assistant. When he was twenty-one, he was involved in a motorcycle accident. He
suffered injuries which caused him to become profoundly deaf. In 1967, he
married Linda Kephart, and together they had two children.
He then enrolled at Gallaudet University, not knowing any sign language. King
graduated with a B.A. in psychology. He went on to do his post graduate at the
University of Tennessee without the help of an interpreter. He continued on
with school until he graduated with honors and his PhD. After graduating, he
returned to Gallaudet where he became a professor and eventually the dean of
the psychology department.
When
Mr. Jordan realized the current president was about to retire, he
decided to seek the position out himself. He was one of three candidates for
the position. One candidate was hearing, the other two were Deaf. In March of
1988, the Board of Directors appointed the only hearing candidate. The student
body wanted to know why the only hearing candidate was chosen over the two Deaf
candidates. When the Board could not provide an answer, the student body banded
together and shut down the school for a week. This protest became known as
"Deaf President Now." When the Board finally agreed to all the
demands of the protest, I. King Jordan was appointed as the eighth president of
the University and the first Deaf president. Many people were skeptical of the
job he would be able to do, considering he was Deaf. Funding for the university
would depend on him being able to communicate with Congress. The skepticism was
quickly put to rest when he was able to get a funding increase and improve
classrooms and services. King retired as president of the university in 2006.
In 2010, President Barak Obama appointed I. King Jordan to the Commission on
Presidential Scholars.
Fingerspelling
Go to the website asl.ms, and practice
fingerspelling for 20 minutes. When you are finished type your score in the
answer box for question 2.
Go to the website asl.bz, and practice
numbers for 20 minutes. When you are finished, type your score in the answer
box for question 3.
Vocabulary
Grammar
When
describing something in ASL, it is important to start with the larger object
retail and work your way down to the smaller detail. When describing a home,
start with the front outside of the home. How big is the house? What color is
the home? Is there a front porch? Next, describe when you walk through the front
door. You can indicate how many levels the home has. After you walk in the
front door, start describing the scene from the left side and move your way to
the right side. What rooms are around you? Is there a hallway? Are there stairs?
What color are the walls? If there is a hallway to walk down, continue
describing as you move your way towards the back of the house to finish
describing the first level. If there are multiple levels, you can then say up
the stairs. indicate by pointing up and signing second level. You can also
indicate whether a home has a basement or not. As you were describing the home
and you begin to start describing the smaller details, begin with the
larger things in the room. Describe the color of the walls. Then describe what
is hanging on the walls or what furniture is around the room. After that, you
can describe the smaller things that are maybe on the tables or sitting around
the room.
Now go to question 4.
Culture
Read the
following article by Carla A. Halpern: Listening
in on Deaf Culture PDF File
Now answer question 5 through 14.