Deaf preschooler asked to change name sign, sign looked like gun

forgot to add , the gun "hand gesture" was added as a threat, because how can cops or judges, arrest you for making a threatening act if its not a law, now when you don't like something and you would normally show the gun sign like your dead im gonna kill, or id kill if i could,, can be an arrest-able offense
which unless you actually physically harm someone shouldn't be arrested or even looked at funny but it is and that is basically what its going to come down to,,, arresting people before they commit a crime, call it PRECRIME if you will or thought/thinking crime what ever yah want , but that is what its coming down to, and of course they will tell us its for our own good, and mention tons of cases where it "could have helped" and yet well continue to read in the paper 50 million killed this year, and arrests being made left and right locking up innocent people before they commit a crime ^^ but somehow they will keep missing all those people shooting other people lol

The school district has apparently backpedaled in the wake of angry phone calls, emails, & even death threats that were received regarding this issue, according to this article

They released a statement:
"Grand Island Public Schools has not changed the sign language name of any student, nor is it requiring any student to change how his or her name is signed. The school district teaches American Sign Language (“ASL”) for students with hearing impairments. ASL is recommended by the Nebraska Department of Education and is widely used in the United States. The sign language techniques taught in the school district are consistent with the standards of the Nebraska Department of Education and ASL."

Nice to see a little daylight (and sanity) find its way into the school district's duh-cision-making process.

reply to post by thisguyrighthere




This is so sad to see. That little boy is so happy just saying his name. I'm sure what happened is one of the parents pissed someone on the school board off and so they are taking revenge or something similar. How disgusting what we're willing to do to children in the name of "safety."

reply to post by BuzzCory


Its great that the public outcry has caused the County to rethink the situation but 2 things stand out to me. First they repeat that they teach ASL stile of sign language in the schools and Hunter is using SEE style. My question on this is, are the differences considered a separate language like English and French, where English is required? or is it more like a different dialect like Yooper dialect compared to the Southern Drawl?(both forms of American English) or like American English vrs Queens English?

The Second thing that stands out to me is the multiple uses of the word "current" in the school boards statement in regards to not changing the way a student signs their name. Are they setting up to force a single style where names are concerned by passing a law?

For a language, I can understand, but in the "Pronunciation" of ones name it is harder for me. In todays day and age there are many names the have the same spelling and very different pronunciations, a couple that come to mind are Tonia and Aimee. Tonia can be pronounced as Tahneea or Tonya and Aimee can be pronounced Amy or Ahmae. Hunters parents even altered his names "Pronunciation" by teaching him to cross his fingers, making it distinctly his own. I see ones name as personal, not guide lined by standard language rule sets and just as it changes in the spoken word, so too should the variables exist in sign.

Agarta

This kind of thing is a result of the BS anti-gun rhetoric the MSM pumps out on a regular basis.

Looks like the school district is back peddling now: www.1011now.com...

reply to post by Ironclad


What you describe isnt "zero tolerance." You're describing repeated harassment.

"Zero Tolerance" would have had that person fired just for standing in line behind you at the ATM if you said it made you uncomfortable.

One is reasonable. The other is insane overkill.

reply to post by Agarta


Who cares he can say/sign his name however he wants to its none of the schools business.

I wonder how these zero tolerance idiots would feel if someone laughed at their stupid policy and came and started shooting them? They might want to revise the policy in a hurry so someone with a brain could have the means of self defense and shoot the criminals before they kill a bunch of people.

What part of "criminals don't give a damn about zero tolerance policies and anti-gun laws" do these idiots not understand?

reply to post by hawkiye

Who cares he can say/sign his name however he wants to its none of the schools business.

That was kind of my point, sorry I wasn't clear.

Originally posted by HandyDandy
reply to post by thisguyrighthere

 

Don't forget the letter "G".

I wonder if a def black kid who calls himself "G" would get the same treatment?

edit on 28-8-2012 by HandyDandy because: (no reason given)

That Gingerbread man just got shot in the head!

Need to learn the sign language for up yours. Cross arm and thrust fist upwards. Hows that for freedom of speech??

Originally posted by Agarta
reply to post by BuzzCory

 

Its great that the public outcry has caused the County to rethink the situation but 2 things stand out to me. First they repeat that they teach ASL stile of sign language in the schools and Hunter is using SEE style. My question on this is, are the differences considered a separate language like English and French, where English is required? or is it more like a different dialect like Yooper dialect compared to the Southern Drawl?(both forms of American English) or like American English vrs Queens English?

The Second thing that stands out to me is the multiple uses of the word "current" in the school boards statement in regards to not changing the way a student signs their name. Are they setting up to force a single style where names are concerned by passing a law?

For a language, I can understand, but in the "Pronunciation" of ones name it is harder for me. In todays day and age there are many names the have the same spelling and very different pronunciations, a couple that come to mind are Tonia and Aimee. Tonia can be pronounced as Tahneea or Tonya and Aimee can be pronounced Amy or Ahmae. Hunters parents even altered his names "Pronunciation" by teaching him to cross his fingers, making it distinctly his own. I see ones name as personal, not guide lined by standard language rule sets and just as it changes in the spoken word, so too should the variables exist in sign.

Agarta

edit on 30-8-2012 by Agarta because: spelling and punctuation

I found a comparison of SEE & ASL here. According to the paper, hearing parents of deaf children prefer learning SEE, as ASL is more like another language from their point of view. It doesn't exactly answer your question, but seems to point toward the 2 methods being almost like 2 different languages.

I also noticed that they pointed out the use of SEE by the child as opposed to ASL being taught in the school. My take on that is that they're possibly setting up an "out" for themselves in case of litigation (the ACLU is supposed to be getting involved in the matter).

They could be planning to suggest that the child learn ASL in order to "standardize" his use of sign with the school curriculum, thereby changing the way he signs his name after all (assuming it would change)
I suppose they could also use this fact as an excuse for the original "misunderstanding".
Of course, all this is just speculation on my part, based on a hard-won, healthy distrust for any school district, thanks to my years as a youngster within the American public school system.