Pet Peeves

I know I am a grouch. I am a lovable grouch, but I like to gripe and complain about anything that happens to get people to listen to me. That’s just who I am. There are some things that get under my skin however. Things that really get my ire up. So you might think of this blog as the diary of a raving lunatic.

PET PEEVES:

I use the term pet here for a reason. We like our pets. Generally we nurture and feed them. My pet peeves are like that. I like having them as items to gripe about in the absence of any real complaint. These are things that I actually like to complain about.

Language:

Okay, If you have not read and agreed to the disclaimer, then you probably need to turn back now.

First off. I am a lover of language. I worked hard to learn Spanish and I truly believe that language is the best way to connect with people. Making that connection makes it possible to learn about people and become their friends.

That being said, I do not understand why a person would move to a country and not bother to learn the language of that country.

When I was headed back to Germany in 1991, I made a point of learning a basic vocabulary. I believe it is a basic courtesy. I didn't try to become fluent. I was visiting for a month. I did however try to be sure that I could communicate on some basic level. I did not simply expect the country to want to talk to me in my language.

Is it right that I have to consider whether my employees are bilingual because it is assumed that the client is not?

Why would someone handicap themselves by limiting their own ability to function within a society in which they choose to live? They limit their own options for employment. Thy restrict the areas they can shop. In short, they short-circuit the very opportunities they have come to America to enjoy. I know this is not the "politically correct" point of view, but try to follow my logic here. (Such as it is)

These people have made a decision to isolate themselves. I have little regard for their lack of respect for themselves, My country, and me.

There is a group who have a hard time communicating however, for whom it is not a choice. A group of people who modern business make little - if any - attempt to ensure a clear line of communications. -- The Deaf.

We live in a society where employers are excited about having an employee who speaks Hindi, Spanish, Urdu, etc. We are interested in appeasing those who have come to our country and not yet learned the language. (I am making the assumption that they will in fact be learning the language. Does that make me naive?)

Why is it that our public schools have a language requirement and Sign Language is not an option? We teach Latin, (dead language) French, Spanish, German. We even teach Russian and Japanese in some places. My son's school has even begun a program offering Mandarin Chinese. We offer all these choices yet don't see the value in teaching our children Sign Language?

We claim to be inclusive. We claim to be forward thinking. We claim to be sensitive to the needs of others, but we fail this one basic test. We fail to make the attempt to be inclusive and sensitive to a group of people who are marginalized by their disability. The person who makes America their home but fails to learn the language has isolated themselves by choice. The person who can not hear or speak due to a handicap are isolated by a society who chooses to ignore them. They are marginalized by a business community that appears to value the immigrant over the handicapped.

I know there is not a conscious movement afoot to alienate the deaf. I simply see that the education system and business community have simply "let it slide". The ratios are better for them if they focus on the other languages. It in no way however, is of any use to those who have no choice in their inability to communicate normally.

I can teach language to a person who cannot speak it. I cannot teach he deaf to hear.

So... Who has the responsibility to to bridge the communications gap? If language is a requirement for students, should we not be giving them the option to learn something that will help them? should we not be help them actually be the world citizens we claim we want them to be?  Should we not give them the chance to demonstrate the sensitivity and inclusion we focus on?

Shouldn't we teach them to speak?