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Commonplace Book: Cover Sheet

Writer: Jacob Salem
Issue: American Sign Language is not being recognized as a language and is
not included in the recommended list of options for communication between
parents and children.
Overview: History of American Sign Language and Deaf culture; Parents
share personal stories about their children; Motivational speakers advocate
ASL
Main points to research: American Sign Language; Community; Alliances
Potential Discourse Community Audiences: Parents, educators,
professors, and doctors.
Collection Strategy: To educate people about the language itself and
educate them about the Deaf culture through films, interviews, examples,
and so on.
Provide a Table of Contents:
1. Introduction
2. Mediums
a. YouTube Video Through Your Child's Eyes: American Sign
Language
b. Deaf Art ASL Thrives
c. TEDTalk Building an ASL Community
3. Conclusion

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Evaluation Argument: American Sign Language

By Jacob Salem
Imagine if the child was banned from using sign language and forced
to learn how to speak in order to fit in our society. Parents took the doctors
advice to opt-for the risking-life surgery that involves a rigorous-process of
drilling into the skull and installing defective magnets behind it. Hours of
extensive-speech therapy were required after the surgery and the childs
participation in sports was not allowed for more than four years or so. Still,
his parents became so frustrated and, ultimately, forced to enroll their child
in an institution because they couldnt understand him. While these timeconsuming processes do not offer any opportunities for the child to learn how
to ride a bike or read a book, this issue would have been solved immediately
if parents spent these exact amount of time to learn sign language in order
to communicate with their child.
The underlying issue behind this problem is due to the lack of
awareness and exposure towards vulnerable options that can save millions of
children from the risking-life surgery, cochlear implants. The viable option for
parents who want to communicate with their deaf children is to learn
American Sign Language (ASL). Often times, the doctors required parents to
spend a vast amount of time on speech-therapy with their children. This
demonstrates an outstanding example of how much the authorities, or

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established institutions, can influence parents decisions. The next step is

quite challenging and it takes more than one person to educate our
community and provide education for the established institutions, or
authorities. To learn more about the topic, I picked three different mediums
to examine the effectiveness of presenting information, modes of
presentation to create a connection with the audience, and the overall
persuasiveness to present an argument.
Medium I: YouTube Video Through Your Child's Eyes: American Sign
Language
The first medium is a documentary film titled, Through Your Childs
Eyes: American Sign Language, written and directed by DJ Kurs, along with
his film team. This film currently has 268,662 views which can be found on
YouTube. Here is the link to access the video: click here. This film primarily
focuses on the controversial issue and advocacy in regards to the use of
American Sign Language as people shared their opinions. The attention
focuses on the parents and children throughout the film, such as the
classroom-setting filled of children communicating with their parents.
Moreover, the purpose of creating this film was revealed in beginning of the
video by focusing his camera on the interaction between parents and
children. Certainly, these continuous attention on the interaction between
parents and children can reach out to the audience while the second-half of
the film focuses on interview questions and informal panels. This film relies
heavily on the first-hand information which is crucial for presenting an

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argument. Considering the overall-effect of parents and children featuring in

the film, the interview questions and informal panels allowed an open
dialogue between the parents and the audience. Any visual image can create
an emotional connection with the audience such as a series of short-films
featuring parents and children. The duration of this film is thirteen minutes
and seventeen seconds which is considered acceptable for a brief
educational video. Specifically, the continuous focus on facial expressions
and sign language throughout the film was essential in appealing to the
audience as it was provoking emotions. Though the film was essentially
informative and persuasive, there seems to be a constraint in appealing to
different audiences and the duration of this video may restrict the number of
viewers.
Medium II: Deaf Art ASL Thrives
The next medium presented is a pure and provoking portrait filled of
different colors and multiple words painted by Nancy Rourke, the painting
can be accessed by clicking here. Rourke maintains an outstanding
reputation for her expressionist paintings and her purpose for these paintings
is to dispel any stereotypes about the Deaf community. This painting was
being auctioned through the website and sold to the highest-bidder while
using her fame to raise awareness of American Sign Language. Rourkes
painting use visual texts and symbols to send a direct message to our
community. This painting is composed of two sentences words in four lines
with different color being applied to each sentence and several words of

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these sentences were crossed off with a piece of the blue-tape which
symbolizes elimination of the mental barriers. Originally, the sentence
stated, With no ASL, a Deaf mind is a terrible thing to waste, and the bluetape crossed off several of these words as it compressed to With ASL, a
Deaf mind THRIVES. Rourke uses catchy-phrases to symbolize her purpose
of the painting which is to eliminate mental barriers that were established in
general about the Deaf community. The size of this painting appears to be
appropriate for the classroom-setting that it can reach out to a large-scale
audience. Rourke maintains her credibility below the image on the website
through her brief description about the painting and different sections on the
website. More importantly, the painter uses her strength to display a portrait
in order to send a clear message through visual texts and color. The
constraint of this medium seems to restrict the audience of this painting and
the color usage of this painting because the foreign countries may not
understand the painting because the sentences are in English and some
people are color-blinded.
Medium III: TEDTalk Building an ASL Community
The last medium is titled, Building an ASL Community, a motivational
speech addressed by Marvin Miller. While American Sign Language is
primarily the language of the Deaf community, the use of this medium is
maximized by the fact that the keynote speaker himself is Deaf. Miller
presents in American Sign Language through a sign language interpreter
which is compelling to present a strong argument. His keynote speech was

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given in Austin, Texas and can be easily accessed by clicking here. Miller
delivers his valid points through rhetorical techniques such as creating a
visual image during his speech as he guides the audience throughout the
sequence of the events which is essential for presenting information. This
conference was hosted at school which means the audience can range from
professors, students, to parents. Another element that stands out the most in
this conference is the fact that the audience can ask questions. Miller
maintains a professional stance to demonstrate his credibility through
appearance and knowledge. In addition to his credibility, Miller provides
statistical information in beginning of the speech and proceeds with bulletinpoints to address. Noticeably, his constant use of anacoluthon which allows a
relief for the audience from listening to his speech through a sign-language
interpreter. Millers strength is evident in his motivational speech as he has
the full-control of the presentation and can appeal to the audience in many
ways.
While different mediums have unique features and various attributes to
present a strong argument, the effectiveness of techniques and overall
persuasiveness of an argument are essential for appealing to the audience.
The educational video may create a powerful impact but the classroomsetting, or academic audience, is perfectly suitable for this medium. Theres
a constraint of using this medium to present a valid argument such as the
duration of the film can reduce in the number of viewers. On the other hand,
the paintings, or artistic materials, produce such a powerful visualization and

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receive credibility since its solely painter with the artwork. This use of this
medium may reach a large-scale audience but the paintings, or artwork, can
leave open for an interpretation. Motivational speech allows the person to
take the full control and can decide which techniques to use for appealing to
the audience in which presentation and appearance are important. Though
these different mediums can affect the audience in many ways, each
medium has its own techniques in which can maximize the effectiveness of
the argument.

WORKS CITED

Rourke, Nancy. Nancy Rourke Paintings Deaf Art/ASL: ASL Thrives. Digital
image. Nancy Rourke Paintings Deaf Art/ASL: ASL Thrives. N.p., 8 Sept.
2011. Web. 19 Oct. 2013.
< http://www.nancyrourke.com/aslthrives.htm>

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TEDxIslay - Marvin Miller - Building an ASL Community. Dir. Marvin Miller. Perf.
Marvin Miller. 2010. Speech. 22 June 2010. Web.
< http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAmnGqjSB4M>

Through Your Child's Eyes: American Sign Language. Dir. DJ Kurs. 2011. YouTube.
< http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FV69iJuXwP4>