Teaching a Deaf Student in a Mainstream Classroom: One Elementary Music Teacher’s Reflection
Amy L. Sierzega
As I began preparing for my first year as an el- ementary music educator, though eager to finally make the transition from ‘pre-service’ to ‘practic- ing’ teacher, I anxiously anticipated the responsi- bilities, decisions, opportunities, and unknowns that awaited me. Upon learning that I would be teaching a fifth grade student who was deaf, I felt completely overwhelmed with feelings of uncer- tainty and inadequacy. As a novice music teacher, I could not have asked for better collegiate pro- fessors and mentors to guide and prepare me to enter the field; yet, to the fault of no one, I felt absolutely unprepared to interact with a student who was profoundly deaf in a musical setting. With only a handful of days left before the school year was scheduled to begin, I was scrambling to prepare lessons and materials for the students I had yet to meet, students who I had inadvertently assumed were hearing people. Several weeks pri- or to arriving at my new school for the very first time, I had posted the following on social media:
Every child is capable. Every child has unique educational needs. Every child is special. Every child needs something dif- ferent from every teacher. Every child is musical. Musicianship means something different to and for every child. ALL chil- dren deserve a music education devoted to fostering their growth and development as musicians and human beings.
No exceptions, no exclusions. Every. Child. The words that I composed were words that resonated with educational and personal values, musically and otherwise, that exist at my very core; I re- alized it was time for me to translate this social media prose into meaningful, palpable actions as a music educator. Did I ever expect that I would one day teach a student who was profoundly deaf in a mainstream classroom setting? Honestly, no. Did I believe that ‘music learning’ and ‘deafness’
were mutually exclusive? No. Was I going to ask anyone if this student could be ‘permanently excused’ from music class? Absolutely not! Be- neath all of my uncertainties and insecurities, was I willing to stretch myself as a teacher and musician in order to do everything in my power to provide this student—and all of my students— with the best music education possible? Abso- lutely. In this article I will share the steps I took in my journey to provide meaningful instruction and accommodations for a deaf student in a main- stream elementary general music classroom.
Action #1: Build an Understanding
In trying to figure out how to reach this student, I realized that I first would need to understand the student’s unique interests, abilities, and opportu- nities before developing any materials or plan- ning any accommodations. In an effort to begin forming an understanding of what my deaf stu- dent’s world might be like, I first reflected upon my own education and experiences. During my studies as an undergraduate in music education, I had elected to, out of interest and curiosity, take a one-semester course called “American Sign Lan- guage (ASL) and the Deaf Community.” Though I thoroughly enjoyed the course and believe that I became a more informed and aware individual as a result, I knew enough to know that I understood very little about teaching students who were deaf. I then thought back to the time when I used my incredibly limited ASL signing vocabulary to help a deaf patron find his seats at a summer mu- sic festival and realized that I had only ever inter- acted with a handful of people who were deaf, all of whom were adults. As much as I wanted to un- derstand and become familiar with my student’s world, I simply did not have a clue.
As my first professional development sessions at my new school began, I gathered more informa-
28
Special Learners
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56