OCALA, Fla. (WCJB) - Teaching can be a challenge, especially during COVID-19, but some educators have even more to think about.
For several students at Forest High School in Marion County, communication is key in order to succeed.
It can be a challenge to teach math, especially at the end of the school day, but that’s not all Teacher Emily Cook has to worry about.
She has to make sure her deaf and hard of hearing students understand the lesson as well.
“Deaf students bring in a language delay. English is not their first language so when you’re teaching in the best of circumstances you have to worry about what English background they have, the reading and the writing, and also teach the content on top of that,” Cook said.
And with COVID-19 guidelines, that presents even more of a challenge.
“Most of what we say is on our face and that is literal for the deaf and her of hearing population. They rely on our facial expressions to get the tone of how we’re speaking, to get a lot of our grammar, to get a lot of the lip reading so if you use the cloth mask well they’re missing all of that communication,” Cook said.
That’s why she uses a face shield to teach her classes so her deaf and hard of hearing students can still have the benefit of seeing facial expressions.
Cook has one student who attends face-to-face lessons and two that are doing distance learning, with several other students at the school learning with help from district interpreters.
“They’ve established a great system down stairs utilizing multiple devices just for one student in order to be able to communicate so they can be successful in all of their other classes,” Cook added.
And she said it’s all worth it.
“I love teaching the deaf and hard of hearing population. That was my primary degree in college. That’s what I did the first 15 years I was here in the public school system and I truly do love teaching because ASL is just a beautiful language,” she said.
The school district’s Deaf & Hard of Hearing Program has several other resources available to students as well.
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The Link LonkNovember 14, 2020 at 04:41AM
https://www.wcjb.com/2020/11/13/deaf-and-hard-of-hearing-students-adapt-to-learning-during-covid-19-pandemic/
Deaf and hard of hearing students adapt to learning during COVID-19 pandemic - WCJB
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