ABSTRACT
As supervising attorney and director of the Disability Rights Clinic, Office of Clinical Legal Education, at Syracuse University College of Law, I held an extended dialogue with Professor Brent Elder of Rowan University’s Interdisciplinary and Inclusive Education Department about disability in the classroom, including how a teacher with a disability navigates the educational setting. 1 Born profoundly deaf, I have taught law students since 2004 and bring a native’s perspective to the classroom, while Professor Elder, possessing typical hearing, has experience teaching Deaf children in California schools and is conversant in American Sign Language (ASL). Our interview took place in Dr. Elder’s Philadelphia apartment where, sitting over notes and coffee over a span of three days, the two of us ranged over a number of topics, and this chapter is organized as an interview probing the nature of “teaching Deaf” (appearing in front of law students as a Deaf teacher and interacting with faculty colleagues). 2 Dr. Elder and I bring our perspective and experiences to the discussion in a way that illuminates the challenges and opportunities for both teacher and student when the teacher in front of the classroom is Deaf. After the interview, we reviewed the transcript and inserted academic references in the narrative where applicable.
