I fill this small space : the writings of a deaf activist / Lawrence R. Newman ; edited by David J. Kurs.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Newman, Lawrence R., 1925- author.

Contributor:

Kurs, David J., editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Deaf people--Education--United States.

Deaf people.

Deaf people--Means of communication--United States.

Deaf people--United States--Social conditions.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xi, 249 p. ) ill. ;

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Washington, District of Columbia : Gallaudet University Press, [2009]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Lawrence Newman became deaf at the age of five in 1930, and saw his father fight back tears knowing that his son would never hear again. The next time he saw his father cry was in 1978, when Newman received an honorary doctorate from Gallaudet University, his alma mater. Newman was recognized for his achievements as a life-long advocate for deaf education, including receiving California's Teacher of the Year award in 1968. Perhaps his greatest influence, however, stemmed from his many articles and columns that appeared in various publications, the best of which are featured in I Fill This Small Space: The Writings of a Deaf Activist. Editor David Kurs has organized Newman's writings around his passions - deaf education, communication and language, miscellaneous columns and poems on Deaf life, and humorous insights on his activism. His articles excel both as seamless arguments supporting his positions and as windows on the historical conflicts that he fought: against the Least Restrictive Environment in favor of residential deaf schools; for sign language, Total Communication, and bilingual education; and as a deaf teacher addressing parents of deaf children. A gifted writer in all genres, Newman amuses with ease ("On Mini and Midi-Skirts"), and moves readers with his heartfelt verse ("Girl with a Whirligig"). Newman ranges wide in his ability, but he always maintains his focus on equal tights for deaf people, as he demonstrates in his title poem "I Fill This Small Space: "I fill this small space, this time Who is to say yours is better Than mine or mine yours

Contents:

On deaf education

On shared messages : communication and language

On parenting deaf children : communication, education, relationships, and experiences

On a mixed bag : columns and poetry on (a) deaf life

On the light side : humorous approaches to deaf education and experience.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781563684579

1563684578

OCLC:

794700889