Do you belong in front of an ASL class or are you an imposter?
Definition: "impostor syndrome"
The persistent inability to believe that one's success is deserved or has been
legitimately achieved as a result of one's own efforts or skills. (Source:
Lexico)
There is a difference between "impostor syndrome" versus being legitimately and
appropriately aware of one's shortcomings as an instructor.
How can an ASL instructor know if they are experiencing "impostor syndrome" or
if instead they are an actual impostor experiencing the pangs of insufficiency
or the righteous guilt of having taken a job that perhaps should have gone to
someone else?
Let us consider the case of a "young lady" who has been deaf from early
childhood and is now teaching college but experiencing "impostor syndrome."
There a number of questions or considerations that can be considered such as:
1. Deaf from birth often doesn't mean "signing from birth"
2. Deaf from birth often doesn't mean growing up in the Deaf Community.
3. Being a language user doesn't qualify you to be a language teacher. Signing
and teaching are two different skills.
4. It is rather common for unqualified Deaf people (with little or no experience
in teaching and with no pedagogical training) to be hired to teach college level
ASL classes.
5. An untrained Deaf ASL signer in front of a college ASL class is about as
appropriate as picking some random Hearing person off the street and asking them
to teach a college English class. Just because the Hearing person grew up
speaking (some version) of English doesn't mean they know how to effectively
teach and discuss English.
So, yes, it is quite possible that a "Deaf from birth" individual can be an
imposter playing the role of a "qualified" college-level ASL instructor.
If that "young lady" grew up in a Hearing non-or-barely signing household -- then
being Deaf from birth isn't necessarily even a qualifying factor. If she learned
to sign in her teens from someone who signed pidgin or Signed English -- her
signing "ability" would not be a qualifying factor either.
How can ASL instructors avoid the "impostor syndrome?" Below are a few
qualifications to consider. While it is possible to be a wonderful teacher
without having all of these accomplishments--the more qualifications you
legitimately hold -- the less inclined you will be to feel like an impostor.
1. Have several thousand hours of signing experience prior to stepping into an
ASL classroom. Around 4,000 hours would along the lines of a very dedicated ASL
learner who has gone through 4 years of an immersion-style ASL program, chose to
turn off their voice every chance possible (including during "hallway"
discussions and interactions with other students), attended several Deaf events
per week and actively signed with a variety of adult native Deaf signers,
watched dozens of ASL videos per week, and kept all that up for four years
(including during the summers). A preferable number of hours of experience would
be 10,000 (which would be on the level of living "in" the Deaf community for
many years -- using ASL as your primary mode of interactive communication.
2. A degree in Deaf Studies or a related field -- including courses in Deaf
Culture, Deaf History, and ASL linguistics.
3. A significant amount of coursework in "teacher education"-related courses.
4. Experience having attended, visited, observed, or served as a "teaching
assistant" for a "significant" number of other instructors' ASL classes.
5. Hold ASLTA certification or similar credentials.
6. Read dozens of books on ASL and have become "very" familiar with ASL
terminology.
7. Review and/or teach from several different ASL curricula so as to have become
familiar with a variety of views and opinions from (so called) experts as to
what the (so called) right sign(s) are for various concepts.
8. Review and or analyze several old ASL dictionaries (and/or have spent many
hours talking to older Deaf signers) so as to have developed a deep repertoire
(mental bank) of sign versions and an understanding of how various signs have
developed over time.
9. Have or develop a personal library of ASL material (including various
textbooks and dictionaries) and also have
bookmarked a number of Deaf-sponsored online ASL dictionaries that you can
reference for additional insight regarding various sign versions.
10. Develop and maintain mutually supportive relationships with a variety of
currently socially active native Deaf adult signers with whom you can discuss
signing trends and emerging new signs.
If you find that you are missing more than a few of the above characteristics or
accomplishments then perhaps you are indeed an impostor and not merely suffering
from a syndrome.
On the other "hand" -- there are many ASL teachers who started out as impostors
but stayed in the profession long enough and worked hard enough to become legit,
wonderful ASL teachers.
If that is you then you then give yourself a break. You
are not an impostor. You got your credentials from the school of hard knocks.
Notes:
Notes: