Running head: DEAF CULTURE

Deaf Culture: St. Ritas School for the Deaf

Gracie DiGennaro
University of Kentucky

DEAF CULTURE

Abstract
St. Ritas School for the Deaf is a school in Cincinnati, Ohio that caters specifically to
deaf students from preschool to high school. I went to this school and interviewed two of
the staff there. The first woman was Megan Havens, a teacher at the school. She is
hearing but can use American Sign Language. The second was Meera Domir who gave
me the deaf perspective of the interview. Meera is also a teacher. She comes from a
hearing family. Because her family was hearing she had a difficult time learning sign
language and communicating with her family. I feel that the history of the Deaf culture,
including the history of American Sign Language, is important to explain in order for
people to understand experiences I observed at St. Ritas. In addition I will talk about the
community as a whole and how it has evolved.

DEAF CULTURE
Deaf Culture: St. Ritas School for the Deaf
The first thing most people notice when they enter a room is the sounds that
surround them. What if you did not have the ability to hear? You would perceive your
surroundings in a completely different way. For a good chunk of Americans they have

this problem, and they are Deaf. Have you ever encountered a deaf person? If not do you
think you would be comfortable communicating with someone who was deaf? When I
hear the word deaf I usually think of someone who has no ability to hear. But this is not
what deaf means. The term deaf identifies a community. There is a large
communication barrier between the deaf and hearing communities. Because of this there
is a lot of anxiety associated with the two cultures coming together. Through my research
and interviews I have discovered that deaf people actually welcome hearing people as
long as they are willing to become involved in their community. In this paper I will
discuss the history of the deaf community including the history of American Sign
Language. In addition I will discuss the social aspects of the community and how the
members feel about those outside of it. Finally, I will discuss the challenges that they face
as a community and individually. Being deaf is a lot more than a lack of hearing, deaf is a
culture and a community.
I will begin by explaining the specific area of the Deaf culture I was observing.
St. Ritas school for the Deaf was one of the first of its kind. It was established in 1915
and was designed to serve the needs of deaf students. Students would stay on campus in
dorms since many had to commute from far away. They offer from kindergarten to
twelfth grade. The grades I got to observe were the kindergarten, third grade, and twelfth
grade. At St. Ritas, their approach is to teach the students how to communicate in sign

DEAF CULTURE

language as well as regular English. The deaf community has a very strong awareness of
their history. More so than a lot of other cultures. The reason they are so knowledgeable
about their heritage is because they want to stand out as different. A lot of people misread
their fight to be recognized as individuals as a desire to blend with the hearing world.
Many deaf people fear that meshing with the hearing world will cause them to loose their
identity of being individuals.
To outsiders the deaf community seems to be a very exclusive group. I felt like I
couldnt fully understand the strength of the bond within the community because I am not
deaf. One reason that deaf people are so bound together is because they have had to
overcome so many obstacles in regard to communicating. They struggled to be
recognized as a community of people in their own right. Very early on, deaf and mute
people were not recognized as citizens. They had different laws and rights and were not
allowed to be witnesses in court (cute sound and fury). No one believed they should be
educated so they were not allowed to attend school. The invention of sign language had a
big impact on deaf citizens and changed the future of the deaf community for the better.
Sign language united deaf people, gave them a common way to communicate with one
another and strengthened their sense of community.
American Sign Language has come a long way since it was first invented. The
first version of sign language was invented in the early 1600s by the Italian physician,
Geronimo Cardano (Bacon, P, 2014). In 1620 the first alphabet book of manual signs
became published by Jaun Pablo Bonet. At the same time American Sign Language was
growing in popularity amongst deaf citizens, a counter movement of educators believed
that deaf individuals should learn to speak and write just like the hearing. It got to the

DEAF CULTURE
point where they would tie students wrists together with rope to prevent them from
communicating through signing. In a move with repercussions well into the future, this
international gathering of deaf educators pronounces oral education methods superior to
manual communications systems. (Bacon, P). This move to stop the use of sign
language outraged the deaf community. Eventually they fought for their rights and sign
language was once again an accepted way of communication. St. Ritas School teaches
their students, using American Sign but they also teach deaf students how to read and
write using regular grammar.

Another big part of communication among the Deaf community is non-verbal

communication. Non-verbal communication is more important in the deaf community
than the hearing because they have no way of hearing tones and inflections in language.
Your facial expression and body language in the deaf culture tells you the tone of the
message. Because of this, facial expressions are often over exaggerated and emphasized
so that there is no question how someone feels. I observed a conversation between two
deaf students who were talking about a subject they enjoy. They used large smiles,
nodded their heads, had very good eye contact and had relaxed posture facing each other.
Eye contact is so important when it comes to communicating in the deaf community.
From the interview with Megan Havens she told me that eye-contact is very important,
and it is considered rude to break eye contact.
After sign language was invented, schooling
for the deaf was the next thing to tackle. In 1864 the
first all deaf college was established by Thomas

Photo 1: Gallaudet College Campus;

image by the National Association for
the Deaf 1864.

DEAF CULTURE
Hopkins Gaulladet (Bacon, P, 2014 ). This was an amazing triumph for the deaf
community after being oppressed for so long. In 1880 the National Association for the
deaf was founded to be a voice for deaf people throughout America. The NAD was
instrumental in getting the deaf community where it is today. They advocated on behalf
of the Deaf population. Today the deaf community has developed deep roots in their
history of struggle and oppression. These common roots have provided an anchor for a
strong social bond that brings them all very close together. Part of this culture is schools
like St. Ritas for it is here that being deaf is not something that stands out and has to be

compensated for. It is a place where being deaf is the norm. Everything that goes on at St.
Ritas helps deaf students feel like they belong to a group of individuals who can
understand what they are going through and thrive along the way. One observation I
made was that deaf friends stayed very close and kept contact even if they didnt live in
the same state.

An interesting part of the deaf community is how involved they are with each
other socially. In the hearing world we do things like go to the movies, dinner, concerts,
etc. Some of these things like concerts rely solely on our hearing senses. It surprises most
people to know that deaf people actually enjoy musical concerts too. They dont
understand how it can
be enjoyed in the same
way and believe the
Deaf are missing out on
something. When

Photo 2: Photo taken by Havens on June 24, 2013.

DEAF CULTURE

interviewing Megan Havens, a teacher at St. Ritas School for the Deaf, she talked in
detail about public events that are unique to the deaf community; one being concerts. In
these concerts they sign the songs and play music very loudly so they are able to feel the
vibrations. These concerts draw the community together and deaf people really enjoy
attending them.(see Photo 2). The children on stage are signing a song to the audience
and the audience repeats the signs back. Another type of event Megan told me about was
a silent dinner. These dinners usually take place once a month. Both hearing and deaf
individuals are invited to attend. During the dinner, people are required to communicate
non-orally, meaning you can only use sign language or gestures to talk to others. This is
one way the deaf invite hearing people to get a taste of their culture and try to get them
involved. I had the chance to attend a silent dinner. Going into I was not sure what to
expect. I had a lot of nerves about how the evening would go. I realized once I got there
that communicating was easier than I had thought it would be. The deaf guests even
taught me a little bit of sign language. It was a very enriching experience and I felt the
closeness between the guests and the bond they all had.

A common misconception is that deaf people are stupid or that they lack
something that they should have. This is very offensive to the deaf community. It started
a long time ago and is a stereotype that has stuck.
The Greek philosopher, Aristotle, pronounced us deaf and dumb, because he felt that
deaf people were incapable of being taught, of learning, and of reasoned thinking. To his
way of thinking, if a person could not use his/her voice in the same way as hearing
people, then there was no way that this person could develop cognitive abilities (Parasnis,
I 1996).

Meera Domir expressed some thoughts about the experiences many deaf people have.

DEAF CULTURE

There is often frustration for the Deaf because the hearing world has often viewed being
deaf as a handicap and thought they were missing something cognitively. To the deaf
community this is extremely offensive because it has never been true. Deaf people are
just as capable and bright as hearing people. The way the Deaf see it they were born this
way and it is the way they should be. Unfortunately, as Meera alluded to me, this
stereotype still exists. The hearing world has come a long way since the early days of not
recognizing the Deaf as people. But there is still work to be done to bridge these two
cultures. Even a hearing teacher, like Megan Havens, in the deaf community has trouble
feeling totally accepted by this culture. It isnt that shes not well liked. She just hears
and they do not and that is something that will never allow her to truly be a part of the
deaf culture. She can only understand so much. Her ability to hear prevents her from the
first -hand experience that only a deaf person can have. The Deaf community is exclusive
but not unwelcoming in any way. It is similar to many other cultures, a member of the
Jewish community would not understand a Christian ritual. The Deaf culture is the same
in this regard.
Through my research I have discovered that being Deaf is more than a word.
Being deaf is being a part of something that is socially, personally and educationally
enriching. Communication is not reserved for hearing people alone, and using ones
voice is not the only way to communicate(National Association of the Deaf, 2014). Both
Meera and Megan agree that the Deaf community has come a long way. They believe that
there is much more acceptance for the culture than there used to be. Even though Deaf
people arent looked at the same way they were hundreds of years ago there is still a lot
of respect that needs to be paid to their culture. The Deaf culture is a strong, vibrant

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community of people who offer a lot of support to each other. They learn, play and
communicate in ways that work for them. Their lack of hearing does not take away their
opportunities of living fulfilling lives within a culture they established.

DEAF CULTURE

References
Bacon, P. (n.d.). Deaf Culture. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
Havens, M. (June 24, 2013).
National Association of the Deaf. (n.d.). Retrieved October 17, 2014.
Parasnis, I. (1996). Cultural and Language Diversity and the Deaf
Experience (Vol. 1, p. 52). Cambridge University Press.
Woodward, J. (1972). Implications for sociolinguistic research among the
deaf. Sign Language Studies, 1-7.

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