https://minutesbeforesix.com/wp/poetry-by-michael-manjeet-singh/

Eyes That Hear
By Michael Singh

History ignores the unheard voice. Case in point: On an international stage, a man faked being a sign language interpreter (SLI) in Africa, while signing for U.S. President Barack Obama. There was no pre-speech verification of the man’s credentials, the self-purported SLI’s translation – for all intents and purposes – was visual gibberish. The intended audience of the SLI were the only ones who could – in real time – see that it was not a translation of anything for the deaf or hard-of-hearing. More was made of the imposter having made it onto an elevator, than perhaps the biggest mockery of sign language ever.

Based on the reading, I whole heartedly agree with a broadening in audism defined as “an attitude based on pathological thinking which results in a negative stigma toward anyone who does not hear; like racism or sexism, audism judges, labels and limits individuals on the basis of whether a person hears or speaks.” Janice Humphrey and Bob J. Alcorn, So you want to be an interpreter? : an introduction to sign language interpreting (Amarillo, TX : H & H Publishers, 1995), p.85. Audism defined serves as a great prelude to “5 Examples to Learn and Avoid” in the class packet. For example, “1. Not making the effort to communicate” manifested itself to me when a prison guard refused to engage in “written notes”, when my hearing aid batteries were dead, because it consumes “too much time.” Behind prison walls, the largest form of discrimination experienced by the deaf and hard-of-hearing is communication discrimination, when staff don’t exercise due diligence, because no one can make them.

I further agree with the expansion of the definition by Harlan Lane and others to, “include institutional and group attitudes, practices, and oppression of deaf persons.” It goes right to the hears of “2. Assuming deaf people can’t do things” and “3. Approaching deafness as a tragedy”.

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A high-class act, diverse: black, white, Hispanic, and Punjabi
Solving correlation equations, in a streak hotter than wasabi

A jury of my peers locked me up and threw away the key
Now the California Racial Justice Acct will statistically set me free

Intelligence found where its thought not to exist
Thie real rehabilitation talk must continue to persist

Statistics, a language so universal
Dr. Mac helps math anxiety be a full reversal

Taking this class behind prison walls while doing time
It’s a mental Mount Everest you will climb

Answering questions in class, a dopamine rush
Along the way, every self-doubt I crush

The Doc knows as a minority you must
Push 2 times as hard to achieve and kick up dust

To life the entire team up is a very skilled trait
Only done by all the ones who are great

Here today this correlation is causation
As we’ve been pushed to a self-vindication

You’ve show me math is more than a grade
Looking at all of life’s squared progress I made

Teaching at a riveting pace, then says, ‘Letit sink in’
We’ve learned standard deviation, psychological link-in

Dr. J. McNeal, thank you for the inspiration, you are
a real-life action hero, statistical superstar

To overcome math anxiety, so deeply rooted
I’m mentally stronger now, so well suited!

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We are now in a statistics habitat

This is the Dr. pharmaceuticals go to see
McNeal teaches math as best as can be

His style of lecture is both intense and humble
It makes mind’s empire of doubt crumble

The Dr. you go and see, McNeal’s the name
He puts you light years ahead in the statistics game

A precise surgeon with statistical math
So great a professor, he makes class a mental mind bath

Statistics is a language with its own native tongue
Completing the course takes you to the highest mental rung

His teaching style is the Stanford Experiment in reverse
Your mind can overcome the thought most adverse

Teaches you how to conquer a self-doubting mind
To be blessed with a prof like Dr. McNeal is hard to find

You actually learn stats and it’s beyond a reasonable doubt
We’ve been taught ‘How can I figure this out?’

He’s helped the entire class learn and inherit
Compassionate math rehabs the mind and repair it

The prof put us on teams and watched the show
Then pushed us to learn, work, and grow

Formulas exponentially accumulate, like really compound
This Dr. made us our best pound for pound

He’s guided us to statistically fit in with the best of ‘em
We can now blend in college with the rest of ‘em