Stepha Locke
EPSE 525- Interview
Interviewed: Wayne Sinclair
On Friday, October 16/09
Wayne Sinclair was a fascinating Deaf activist to interview. Born in 1944,
Sinclair was around before Deaf culture was a ‘thing’ and ASL wasn’t considered a
language until he was 21 years of age. He told me of how, as a child, he would have
been punished for using sign despite the fact that he was born profoundly deaf; but
that didn’t stop him from starting to pick up sign language “underground” beginning
around the age of 5 when he started school at Jericho Hill in Burnaby. I found it
incredibly interesting that his situation was not that of Carol Padden’s (2005),
raised bilingually with ASL and English, nor was it really the same as Tom
Humphries (2005) who discovered and joined Deaf culture as a young adult at
Gallaudet after being taught his whole life that “it was undesirable to be like other
deaf people”; rather Sinclair was a mix of the two with sign language and Deaf
culture happening discreetly at the back of the school bus, not accepted by society
and his parents but still a big part of his young life. Because his hearing was so poor
as to be basically non-existent, hearing aids were not an option (I know from family
experience that aids were not an option for the profoundly deaf even as little as 20
years ago), however even without hearing aids he was brought up orally. Perhaps
because if this, or because of his impressive scholastic and political background,
Sinclair admits that he usually thinks in English, which would make sense given that
English is his first language, “but ASL is my home”. Sinclair maintains that ASL
makes more sense with our brain’s thought process: for instance, if someone says “a
yellow car” we understand “yellow” first but cannot make a picture on our head
until we understand “car”; in ASL the noun comes first followed by the adjective so
that we understand “car” first, can make a picture in our head, and then are given
more information: “yellow” to add to our picture. When asked about signed English
(which was somewhat awkward for me given that I reverted to very English sign
during the interview out of nervousness and familiarity, and he graciously
conversed with me likewise) Sinclair asked, “Should we write Chinese when using
English? Sign must fit with the brain,” meaning that ASL is complete in itself and
does not need to be fitted around the English language, nor should it be. Given my
background in sign English, this statement opened my eyes a little; I am currently in
the process of applying to VCC for ASL classes, and have always maintained I would
take ASL classes and be as fluent in ASL as possible as a teacher of the Deaf, but I do
come from a bias with Signed English because I grew up with it and have watched
people succeed using it. However, Sinclair has a valid point: ASL is a complete (and
beautiful) language in itself, and studies have shown that ASL as a first language can
be more beneficial with English literacy than Signed English (Schick in Marschark
and Spencer, 2003). Like any good Canadian (Sinclair was born in Calgary), he also
knows a “little bit” of French: LSQ or Quebec Sign Language.
Sinclair admits he is not a Deaf artist; when asked about Deaf art and
storytelling relating to Deaf culture, he speaks of an interest in the political not in
the arts, and demonstrates this by the many titles he holds and/or has held over the
years: Secretary of the Western State of the Deaf, member of the Ohio Chapter of the
Deaf, President of BCAD, and he is currently involved in the demanding of an
apology from the ICED for banning sign language in the past. Sinclair is also known
as TheDeafwanderer, and his profile and videos are worth checking out on YouTube.
As a child, about the age of eight years, he did meet a Deaf woman who served as a
Deaf support and good example for him; she had had a Deaf son who had drowned
and as a comfort then took Sinclair under her wing. He remembers her as very
polite, as he is despite his strong political agenda and beliefs, which really are
nowhere near objectionable: he wants Deaf people to have the same opportunities
as hearing people, and he wants people to be more sensitive to people with
disabilities.
When I asked Sinclair questions about the communication and educational
methods he would choose if he had a Deaf child himself, he thought ASL would be
the child’s first language, and was adamant that he would not make the choice to
implant his child with a cochlear implant, but would support the choice if the child
made it themselves at an older age. He sees a problem with hearing parents
“invading” their deaf or hard of hearing child’s body to implant a CI; he also sees a
problem with early intervention because he thinks CI’s are not fairly represented
but rather ‘sold’ to hearing parents, and that hearing parents need to also have the
opportunity to be ‘sold’ on Deaf culture. This ties into the discussion in Padden &
Humphries (2003) about cultural genocide and parent’s rights on page 167, and the
community “has a more tempered and balanced view of the devices because more
Deaf adults have sought out this technology for themselves,”. Sinclair thinks that the
choice of a CI should be up to the person who is implanted with it. What questions
this raises for the benefits of early implantation seem to focus on an oral approach
as oppose to a bilingual approach, which is what Sinclair (and many Deaf parents)
would choose for their children anyways.
As a Deaf educator for the Deaf, his biggest concern with hearing Teachers of
the Deaf is taking educational time away from the student for speech therapy: “Don’t
take education [class time] away from the Deaf child for speech- do it before school,
after school, whenever, but it should not take the student away from the classroom,
away from education.” Identity is also a huge thing; Sinclair believes that our DHOH
students should take ASL and Deaf culture classes, and has experienced this practice
in certain schools he has taught in. Deaf culture and ASL give our Deaf students
identity. Deaf culture should be addressed when looking at multiculturalism in
mainstream classes; that is, Deaf culture should not be part of the curriculum of
itself, but disabilities as cultures should be included in teaching multiculturalism,
and that includes Deafness. However, Sinclair quickly agreed with me when I
suggested that hearing Teachers of the Deaf are not the ones to teach Deaf culture to
our DHH students, and that people from the Deaf community should be brought in.
When asked about the issue of Deaf schools versus mainstreamed students
with itinerant teachers, Sinclair showed concern regarding itinerant teachers as a
lone force. “A classroom teacher has so many demands, the itinerant teacher of the
Deaf and the Deaf students are not a strong enough force to necessarily matter in
the classroom. But Deaf schools aren’t necessarily the answer either: Deaf schools
don’t always challenge kids as they are often overwhelmed with other disabilities.
You need at least 300 kids for a good program so they can be grouped to meet their
needs.” He suggests hearing itinerant teachers work through Deaf schools; that is,
have the provincial Deaf school work with the school districts and train the
itinerants so that the itinerants are coming from a Deaf background and are
cohesive with the Deaf school. He also spoke about the importance of connecting
with the home, and the possibility of Distance Education through videophone if
necessary (especially for Deaf culture class) in certain parts of the province.
When asked about the ideal classroom for a Deaf student, Sinclair described a
multipurpose room in sections with a circular table, learning stations, a quiet
corner, and a student-lead centre project area. He spoke of having stars or artwork
on the ceiling and a highly visual environment. He spoke of 3-4 adults, 1-2 of which
are teachers, supporting students who took the lead in their learning. He talked
mainly about fostering communication, which would include lights flashing at the
bell, and signed video announcements, but really is so much more than that.
I found talking to Sinclair enlightening and engaging; it really helped me
expand my knowledge of Deaf culture and my ideas of what Deaf education should
/could look like. Sinclair remembers growing up in a time before Deaf culture was
acknowledged, yet clearly his role in Deaf culture has helped define it: as a little boy
learning ASL “underground”, and as an adult fighting for Deaf rights on a political
standpoint, Sinclair has been and is Deaf on many different levels. I thoroughly
appreciate his taking the time to share his views and experiences with me.
References:
Hermans, D., Knoors, H., Ormel, E., & Verhoeven, L. (2008). The Relationship
between the Reading and Signing Skills of Deaf Children in Bilingual
Education Programs. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 13(4), 518530.
McQuarrie & Parrila: Phonological representations in Deaf Children: Rethinking the
“Functional Equivalence” Hypothesis (p. 141-154). Journal of Deaf Studies
and Deaf Education 14:2 Spring 2009.
Padden, C. & Humphries, T. (2005). Inside Deaf Culture. Harvard University Press.
Deaf Studies, Language and Education (2003) Mark Marschark & Patricia Spencer
(Eds.). Oxford University Press.