Cognitive and Language Development

We will be talking about Cognition & Language in class on Monday.  Additionally we'll be talking about models of language development - HOW does language develop.  Be prepared to work in groups, THINK and discuss your thoughts!

Hey!!

I am so excited to learn more about everyone in this class! I hope everyone has a good weekend, and I will see everyone on Monday:)

"School asks deaf preschooler to change his sign language name"

Three-and-a-half  year old Hunter Spanjer, who is deaf, signs his name by crossing his forefinger and index finger and moving his hand up and down.

To his family, friends and those who know the Signing Exact English (S.E.E.) language that the Grand Island, Neb., boy uses, that gesture uniquely means "Hunter Spanjer."

But to Hunter's school district, it might mean something else. The district claims that it violates a rule that forbids anything in the school that looks like a weapon, reports KOLN-TV.

And Hunter's parents claim that Grand Island Public Schools administrators have asked them to change their son's sign language name.

"Anybody that I have talked to thinks this is absolutely ridiculous," Hunter's grandmother Janet Logue told the TV station. "This is not threatening in any way."

Hunter's father Brian Spanjer said, "It's a symbol. It's an actual sign, a registered sign, through S.E.E."

The family told KOLN that lawyers from the National Association of the Deaf may push for Hunter's right to sign his name at the school.

Jack Sheard, Grand Island Public Schools spokesperson told KOLN, "We are working with the parents to come to the best solution we can for the child."

One Grand Island resident said she disagrees with the school.

"I find it very difficult to believe that the sign language that shows his name resembles a gun in any way would even enter a child's mind," Fredda Bartenbach said in the news report.

About Me :)

Hi, my name is Stephani Ray.  I am from Richmond so I really didn't travel far for college!  I am a junior here and I am a Dear Education major.  I absolutely love my major.  I feel like this is the perfect major for me and I get to be around children and ASL!  As I continue my journey with this major,  each day I feel more and more certain that this is the major for me :)

An interesting lecture from my SED 104 class

Good evening everyone! I hope everyone had a good labor day weekend. In my SED 104 class today, we were learining about students, who were bilingual and were from different cultures. We also discussed about how different cultures communicate differently than others. For example, a Japanese person crossed their arms and closed their eyes indicated that the person was listening, but to others it indicated that the person was asleep.

Hey!

Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed the day off on Monday, I know I sure did. It gave me the oppurtunity to read over chapter 3 which is packed full of a lot of information. Hope everyone is having a great week!

Does this make anyone else furious?

PORTERVILLE, CALIF. –  A California family who was not allowed to board their cross-country flight said Tuesday that they were discriminated against because their son has Down syndrome.

Robert Vanderhorst, his wife Joan and 16-year-old son Bede, who is disabled, were flying on American Airlines from Newark to Los Angeles on Sunday when the boy and his parents were not allowed on the plane.

The family, who had upgraded to first class tickets at an airport kiosk, asked the airline to seat the boy and one of his parents together, Vanderhorst said -- a request with which the airline complied.

When the family was ready to board, they were stopped by airline personnel, told their son was a "security risk" and would not be allowed on the flight. They protested, but were rebooked on another later flight in coach.

American Airlines spokesman Matt Miller said the disabled boy was agitated and running around the gate area prior to boarding -- a claim his parents dispute. The airplane's pilot observed the boy, Miller said, and made the call based on his behavior.

"He was not ready to fly, that was our perspective," Miller said. "We rebooked the family out of concern for the young man's safety and that of other passengers as well."

But Vanderhorst said his son did not run at any time, did not make any loud noises and didn't display any other offensive behaviors. The boy walked around with him or sat quietly in the gate area, Vanderhorst said.

A cell phone video captured by the boy's mother shows Bede sitting and quietly playing with a baseball cap.

Vanderhorst said Bede is very charming in contact with other people. The family has flown more than two dozen times with him, without any difficulties.

"Usually my son gets his snack and falls asleep, just like most people," Vanderhorst said. "The problem is this pilot thought my son might not be like most people. He didn't want a disabled person disturbing other passengers in first class."

The family says the pilot might have also been affected by the disabled boy's size -- Bede is 5'1 and weighs 160 lbs.

On the second airplane, the family was placed in the last row and no passengers were allowed to sit within two rows of them, Vanderhorst said.

He hoped that airlines would change their mentality when dealing with the disabled.

"It's ridiculous and groundless to claim that this kid created a security risk," he said. "It was the pilot's insecurity. I paid for those seats and there was nothing that should have prevented us from taking that flight."

American Airlines' Miller said the company will reimburse the family for the upgrade fees.

Hey, I am fixing to dive into Chapters 3&4. I hope everyone had a great long weekend off. See everyone on Monday pm .. See you

A Little Inspiration :)

Hi guys :) I just want to say that I really enjoy this class and I can't wait to see what else is in store for this great semester. I really like how engaged we have to be. I just switched to special education this semester and I'm taking three special education classes so all the information is kind of the same just different depending on teacher prospective and my other classes just make me regurgitate the information from the text and is sometimes difficult to understand but this class helps me get it! I'm a shy person, but this class makes me get out of my shell and I learn best by being engaged in what we are learning because I am a visual and hands-on learner and that is exactly what we do in this class. I can't wait to continue you to meet you all and learn with you all this semester!
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