Crap People Say to Teachers of the Deaf & HOH

• "Wow, how sweet of you!"

• "You teach deaf kids? How noble of you."

• "You work on their speech and stuff?" 

• "Oh, like a speech teacher." 

•  "Must be nice having quiet students." 

• "Why do deaf people [insert question]?"

• "Aren't you concerned that sign language will keep the student from talking?" 

• "Since you work with him on speech, do you have any suggestions on how he can improve his articulation errors?" 

• "How do you teach deaf students to talk?" 

• "Can you interpret?" [for something that requires a certified sign language interpreter, like a formal evaluation/interview with a deaf signing student].

• "This is the speech teacher." 

• "Do you work on other things beside speech?"  

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