• When deaf kids are placed in a classroom full of hyper kids that won't stop talking, even with the teacher still speaking, it can be a nightmare for them. I have been hearing impaired since I was two years old. I have been in classrooms with non-hearing impaired kids since kindergarten. The first two were full-time public schools then I switched to home school/public school. No matter where I have been I find the same problem. Kids don't think about others. I have had to become courageous enough to stand up for myself in order to get the education that I have been promised. There are three problems that I have had to overcome in classrooms. Some dealing with students and some with teachers. First, I have to fight to be able to hear in class. Second, teachers often force kids like me to sit in the back or in the middle of the noise. And finally, Teachers do not understand that deaf students need more help and a quiet learning environment so they can learn like other kids.
    Having to fight everyday to hear becomes tiresome and frustrating. While the teacher may be speaking, the other kids may talk over the teacher's voice without much care. Students may not be kind enough to think about the problems they may be causing to anyone that is hard of hearing like me. It would be in the best interest for me and anyone that has the same problem as me if the teacher found a way to keep the kids quiet or find a way to explain how it is from a deaf person's point of view. I did something like this. I had the teacher make the boys in my classroom that were loud wear earplugs for an hour. It isn't quite the same as it is for me: the ear plugs are much softer then my earmolds which are rock hard, but it gets the point across.
    It is annoying when a teacher forces me to sit in the back or the middle of the noise. When being forced into sitting in the middle or the back of the classroom, it limits the ability to be able to understand fully of what the teacher is saying. By placing me in those spots, it's easy for the noise to overwhelm me and make it harder to understand what's going on. So, another good way to keep this from happening is listening to the student in need and asking what is the best place for us, a place where we can hear better than anywhere else in the room. I had this problem. Instead of my drama teacher asking me how was my seating position was in drama class, I had to tell her that I cannot sit in the back with my back to everyone. My hearing aids are made to not hear from behind, only the front. I'm still in the very back, but we're figuring out a way for me to be able to hear in and have fun in class.
    Most teachers don't understand that a student that is hard of hearing may need more help and quiet in order to be able to learn like other kids.Some usually don't know about the problems that the hard of hearing student is having until it is almost too late. When I was in first grade, my teacher didn't do anything to help me, and that left me failing the class. She didn't go to the headmaster and ask if I could have a note taker when my parents asked her to or just anyone that would help me not fail in class. Because of this, I had to leave the school and go into home schooling. Most kids won't speak up because they feel too scared or dumb to say anything. I was in the same position. When I was still in public school, I kept not understanding what was going on and what I was supposed to do for school that I started copying other kids work. I kept getting trouble because of this. What the teacher failed to understand is that I wasn't copying because I was too lazy to write my own work, but because I had no idea what I was supposed to do because I couldn't hear her. Also, even if my parents or I explained it the best way we could to the teacher, they may still continue with teaching the way that is not helping me, not really understanding how much I am suffering. That may be because hard of hearing is a disability that you can't see, unlike a person in a wheelchair, who you can tell has problems. What I did is to try to show people what deafness is; I had someone that was a professional about the human ear come for a day to show everyone how the ear works when I was in kindergarten. You'd be surprised on how much you don't know.
    Anyone that has a disability of some sort should always stand up for themselves, no matter if you're in school, work or anywhere that has you unable to do what others are doing. If you feel scared for wanting to stand up for yourself, don't be. At my school, I was so shy and terrified of standing up for myself. But then, after three years of being with the same classmates, I got tired of being tired and worn out by the end of the day because the boys didn't want to be quiet for me or the teacher. I finally told my teacher what was going on and the problems I was having with the class. I had to be mad enough to be able to stand up for myself, and in return, I hope that my actions will help anyone else that was in my position.
    If you do stand up than not only are you being brave for doing so and making a change for yourself, you're helping someone else that may have what you have in the future and making life a little bit more easy for them, even if it wasn't for you.