6 minute read
Lesson 2 Applying to university through UCAS
from Your Choice KS5
by Collins
9.2 Discrimination focus – Jonny’s story
Learning objectives: • To understand what it is like to live with a disability • To challenge stereotypes and assumptions • To consider how to challenge discrimination related to people who are deaf or hard of hearing Resources: • PowerPoint 9.2 • Worksheets 9.2a, 9.2b • Videos 9.2.1 (1 min), 9.2.2 (3 mins), 9.2.3 (12 mins), 9.2.4 (4 mins) Key vocabulary: deaf, hard of hearing, BSL, disability, discrimination
Teacher resources for information and inspiration: • National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS), The Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) and British
Deaf Association (BDA) all have lots of further information. • Search british-sign.co.uk for information on BSL – British Sign Language. • Tackling discrimination as a society – Scope. Search for ‘Social model of disability’ – this is a model showing that it is actually societal barriers that are the issue rather than someone’s impairment or difference.
Kickstart | 5 mins • Show Slide 1 and introduce the lesson by saying that students are going to meet someone who has experienced discrimination (do not say how). Then introduce Jonny by playing Video 9.2.1 ‘Louder Is
Not Always Clearer’.
Activate | 20 mins • Ask: ‘What’s the difference between being deaf and hard of hearing?’ Discuss this and then watch
Video 9.2.2, in which Jonny introduces himself and talks about his experiences with hearing as he grew up. He also considers the difference between being deaf and hard of hearing. Then show Slide 2 and go through the key points from the video (and see the slide notes). • Put students into pairs and go through the five statements on Slide 3. All of these address some common assumptions that hearing people might have about deaf people. Ask students to decide if they are true or false. Allow them time to work through these with their partner and then go through them, discussing each. (1. False, 2. True, 3. False, 4. True, 5. False – see slide notes for more details.) • Search online for a teaching film on BSL (‘Learn to sign “sorry I don’t understand” and “again please” in
British Sign Language’) and practise this as a group until everyone has learned these phrases. They will need this for the next activity. • Play ‘whisper chain’ with lip-reading only. So, instead of whispering a phrase into each other’s ears, students lip-read. The first person says something silently, and the next person has to lip-read it. The person lip-reading has two chances to ask the speaker to repeat what they have said, but they cannot speak either so they need to use British Sign Language to ask (e.g. the BSL sign for ‘again’ is putting two fingers together then shaking them up and down). The person at the end of the line is the only one allowed to speak, to repeat what they think the first person said. This takes concentration and patience. • if you would really like your students to begin to experience what it is like to live in a hearing world when you are hard of hearing or deaf, give them Worksheet 9.2a to complete. This is a bonus activity from
Jonny. (I would suggest you do this after, or instead of, the whisper chain activity.) • Watch Video 9.2.3 in which Jonny tells his story (note that this is 12 mins). Encourage students to note the different challenges Jonny has had along the way. Then show Slide 4 and recap the key points. Wrap it up | 5 mins • Ask students who are not deaf how day-to-day activities might be different for them if they were deaf.
Ask for examples, thinking about daily routines – you can do this as a class or in pairs (refer back to
Worksheet 9.2a or give it to students now if you didn’t use it earlier). Extending | 20 mins • Show Video 9.2.4 in which Jonny talks about his experiences of discrimination. Then show Slide 5 and recap the key points. • Hand out Worksheet 9.2b and allow time for students to complete it. Then discuss and allow students to share how they feel we can all help challenge discrimination related to people who are deaf or hard of hearing, and other disabled people, with the barriers it creates.
Here’s a bonus activity from Jonny if you would really like to begin to experience what it is like to live in a hearing world when you are deaf or hard of hearing.
The ear plug challenge
Wear ear plugs for the day! For the best experience and the best results of this challenge, I recommend wearing earplugs from the moment you wake up till the moment you go to sleep, but 6 to 8 hours instead might be better.
I use the term ‘hearing world’ a lot and many hearing people don't actually know what we mean by that. Wearing ear plugs for a day is going to allow you to step into our shoes and experience the world from a deaf perspective. Having reduced hearing or no hearing, you should realise how much you depend on being able to interpret sound every day. Also, you might start to notice how many things aren’t accessible for those who are deaf and/or hard of hearing. For example, you may notice the frustration of video content not having subtitling (which happens a lot), not being able to hear the radio, or when people report things over the intercom in a store. (There could be more serious experiences like making an emergency call and having no idea what is being said.)
You will also start to see how many other hearing people really don’t know how to communicate with deaf people.
Think about how you feel and how some of these problems can be solved.
Tips:
1. Carry a notepad and pen with you. If you don’t understand what somebody is saying to you, ask them to write it out. You can also use your phone to type things out if that works better. 2. Make sure you check your surroundings and, if you're going to cross the street, make sure you look both ways multiple times. Our visuals (eyesight) have to be our ears! 3. You might not always want to use your voice all the time. People often tend to assume that if you can talk, that means you can hear... So, my suggestion would be to write stuff down on paper or on your mobile phone as a form of communication when doing this challenge. [Jonny Cotsen]
Write your experiences below on completion of this challenge and compare with fellow students back in college/school.
1. What have you learned from Jonny about living with a hearing impairment or being deaf? Choose your
‘top three’ and write them below. (You can use the back of the paper if you need more room.)
2. Has this lesson changed any of your perceptions about people who are deaf or hard of hearing?
3. Jonny talks about how we can make simple changes, such as positioning ourselves so the person who is deaf/hard of hearing has a clear view of our face, while being patient with the communication process.
He also talks about how he has felt discriminated against by society’s assumptions and stereotypes.
a. What do you think we can do as individuals or as a society to help end discrimination for people who are deaf and/or hard of hearing, and to become their allies?
b. What do you think we can do as individuals or as a society to help end discrimination for people with other disabilities, and to become their allies?
