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I am about to graduate from school as an English and a special education majors and I am looking for what teachers who are hard of hearing do to help themselves teach. What are the difficulties and what do they do? How do they manage the classroom if they can't hear what's being said when it's noisy? How do you talk to your students about the situation? I don't want to know about teaching hard of hearing students but rather a teacher who IS hard of hearing teaching hearing students.

2007-03-27 10:34:42 · 3 answers · asked by Heidi H 1 in Education & Reference Teaching

3 answers

By having good discipline you can ensure right off the bat that the kids are not all talking at once. Establish rules so that they know to raise their hand when they want to speak. This way you will not have as much noise.

When it is noisy just stand for a minute and observe. This way you can be sure of who is talking by looking at the kids. Be sure to have rules that remind the students to face forward. If a kid turns sideways and covers their mouth with their hair then they can talk and talk and you would not know. This rule can help you to avoid that.

We had a teacher at our school who used a hearing aid. When the kids were irritated with her then they would whistle to cause problems with her hearing aid. I suggest that when you make the rules you also have the parents sign them. One of the things that you can do is explain that if the students are intentionally making noises such as this that it can be cause for referral to the principal. I feel that it is incredibly disrespectful to do this and perhaps in way discriminatory. You can let them know right off the bat that you are aware of the things that they can do and that you will not tolerate it.

On the other hand... the kids may not know that whistling interferes with a hearing aid so you may want to be careful how you word it.

Also, put 2 or 3 students in charge of helping out when there is a drill or if your in class phone rings. This way you will not miss a drill. I missed a drill once because we did not hear the fire alarm! It was SO embarassing!

Lastly, I would not put pressure on a school to install special lights, etc. for fire alarms. They of course would not tell you, but they may easily hire someone else who does not require this. After you get hired you can ask if it is a possibility. If it is not then you already have a backup plan; the student helpers. Also, the alarms are so loud that even if you are hard of hearing you will likely hear them.

2007-03-27 16:06:49 · answer #1 · answered by Melanie L 6 · 0 0

This depends on the accomdations the teachers need, first, understand that noise is not just noise but vibration and hard of hearing people can sense that. Secondly, they can read lips and body language, They know if the kids are talking, They can SEE. Third if they wear a visible hearing aide or use a "hearing dog" that needs to be addressed. Letters need to go home explaining that phone calls are problematic, but emails, text messaging, and face to face conferences all will work. If a phone call needs to be made then the teacher will have to work through an intermediary. The school needs to made accomodations such as a warning light for fire drills etc or a warning light for incoming messages etc. Give the kids some credit, they will adjust far faster than their parents and administration. If the teacher knows sign language this a golden opportunity to teach their students a valuable language.

2007-03-27 10:42:25 · answer #2 · answered by fancyname 6 · 0 0

My students know I have trouble on my left side. I can tell they are talking, but don't always get the words or hear them correctly. By being honest, I have never had any trouble. I tell them that if I don't say "hi" back to them in the hall, it's because I didn't hear them, not because I don't like them. I also try to move around the room a lot so I am never in one place long, except when I am at the board. (They are not supposed to talk unless they are recognized during a lecture anyhow) I am not big on lecturing anyhow, I would rather have students engaged on hands on activities. They prefer it too.

Truthfully, it hasn't been much of a problem. We just laugh when I hear something wrong. Sometimes, I just say "Did you really say ....or did I catch that wrong?"

Just be yourself. When you have kids respect, they will do anything for you, including overlooking your handicap. . Relax, kids are some of the greatest beings on earth and are always willing to give you a break. Don't be afraid to do the same for them, when the opportunity presents itself..

2007-03-27 17:49:17 · answer #3 · answered by whitebuffalo 3 · 0 0

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