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ETHOS: How well do you build credibility, trust, and likeability with a wide audience? With my evidence, interview with my mon, and personal experience, I feel that I connected with my audience and earned their trust.

Do you cite and quote your sources appropriately? Do you introduce their credibility before citing evidence and claims from them? From checking my essay, I did cite and quoted my sources. I introduced the credibilities before citing the evidence and claims very well in the essay.

Are all of your sources credible? From my personal experience and my mom’s interview, its credible. My other sources did meet all the things to be credible to make it as a credible source.

Do you present how you are connected to the issue/any background you have in relation to it? Yes

Have you conducted enough research that your audience feels you are knowledgeable about your subject? From being a part of the deaf and hard of hearing community, I know I conducted enough research and I was already knowledgeable in this subject.

Do you appeal to a wide audience? Do you address and concede to at least one opposing view or reasonable conclusion that differs from your own? I feel that I could have put something where the deaf and hard of hearing community can put more effort on their part, and do their part in order for the employer to be educated and trained.

Are you empathetic, understanding, and respectful in your language to the community that the issue most negatively effects? I think I am. I provided resources to help the employer.

Is your solution ethical? I would think so. It gives an option for the employer to use the tools I provided as solutions.

Is your essay appropriately written for an academic audience (MLA format, correct grammar, appropriate vocab)? Yes, I used grammar check, used Janel’s suggestions, and used a writing tutor to help with this.

Is the essay mostly your own conclusions drawn from your experience and research (vs. a summary of what you’ve read or too much quoting from other authors without providing your own informed and reasoned opinion)? I used mostly my own conclusion drawn from my experience and research.

LOGOS: How well does your message appeal to logic, reason, and (plenty of) evidence and support? I feel that my essay was logical and had appropriate reasoning. I had a lot of evidence and supported it well.

Are all of your claims backed with enough evidence to persuade a critical audience? I’d say most of my claims were.

Is your solution practical and specific? Do you provide evidence that your solution could work? I’d say it could be practical and specific. American Sign Language classes would definitely boost the communication between the deaf and hearing in the workplace and there would not be misunderstandings. The online course solution is already being used by the National Technical Institute for the Deaf.

Does the order of your paper logically (and persuasively) move from one idea to the next? Do your claims build upon each other in support of your thesis and solution(s)? Yes, I did my best to support my thesis and solutions.

Do you avoid fallacies and contradictions? I hope I did.

PATHOS: How well do you appeal to your audience’s emotions in an ethical way? How well do you inspire your audiences to take positive action for the wellbeing of the broader community? I used my mom’s story to appeal to my audience’s emotion. I showed in the presentation the picture of how to properly talk to a deaf/ hard of hearing person. I think I helped my audience to become more aware in a positive way.

Do you appeal to shared values you have in common with your audience(s)? Which ones? Yes, I used the value of equality that people can relate to.

Do you avoid exaggeration and vague, emotionally manipulative language? Yes

Do you connect with your audience? Do you tell include personal anecdotes? Yes, I shared the story with my mom.

Do you show empathy and respect for your audiences? yes

Do you appeal directly to your classmates with a call to action they could participate in? Yes, I think I did.

Do you help your audiences feel empowered (and not overly guilty or sad, for example)? I think I did

Are you caring and passionate about your issue? Have you made an effort for this to be evident in your language? Yes, this relates t my major that I’m going in. American Sign Language Interpreter Studies/ Deaf education

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1HxOiPNmUuzmtHlxfuN6Kidm2RyCBqvx_bujLaf8CZDg/edit?usp=sharing

Caroline Facey

Janel Spencer

Writing 101S

December 10, 2019

Discrimination Towards Deaf Employees in the Workplace

Discrimination towards deaf employees continues to increase in today’s world. It has caused a high unemployment rate for deaf people and discouragement. There is a lack of support for and understanding of deaf culture in the workplace. Some education and training on working with deaf people in the workplace can truly change things around and decrease employment discrimination towards deaf employees. 

First, let’s start with the effects of discrimination in the workplace on the deaf and hard of hearing community. A survey created by Total jobs found that 56% of Deaf or Hard of Hearing employees experienced discrimination during their career: 62% was from their colleagues, 53% from management, and 37% during job interviews. Furthermore, according to this survey, about 1 in 4 people have left a job because of discrimination in the workplace. According to Cornell University’s disability statistics, in 2017, 1,499,400 out of 3,847,000 people aged 21 to 64 years with a hearing disability in the United States were employed full-time. That leaves about 2,347,600 people aged 21 to 64 with part-time employment or unemployment (Disability Statistics). This is a problem which leads to mental health issues, low self-esteem, and discouragement (Disability Statistics). Robyn Correll, a Public Health Professional from Very Well Health, reported, “Those in the Deaf and Hard Of Hearing community are already at higher risk for depression and anxiety, but evidence from psychologists and sociologists indicates that inadequate employment can also be linked to a host of mental health issues, as well as chronic conditions and substance abuse. All of this can often complicate efforts to find or hold adequate employment, resulting in a vicious cycle.” 

During the hiring process, deaf job-seekers may be more likely to be overlooked once the employer finds out they will need to get an interpreter or make accommodations. The employer may feel that it is a “burden” to them and will require extra time, so deaf job-seekers are faced with tough decisions on whether to hire their own interpreters or utilize their American Disability Act rights and request the employer to provide an interpreter for them for the interview. If an interpreter is requested for the interview and he/she doesn’t show up, then what happens? What if the interviewer does not have any Deaf awareness? This would be very challenging and uncomfortable for both the interviewer and the Deaf person. Deaf job-seekers who wear cochlear implants and hearing aids may not require interpreters, but they also face challenges. Most of them rely on lip reading. So if the interviewer is not facing them face-to-face or speaking clearly, it can make it difficult for the deaf or hard of hearing person to understand what is being said. At this point, both the interviewer and the Deaf/Hard of Hearing person misses out on getting to know one another better. As a hard of hearing person, I can relate to the stress of going through a job interview. Either you take the chances of telling the interviewer that you are deaf or hard of hearing or don’t say anything at all and hope you understand every question that the interviewer is asking you. 

If it all goes well in the interview phase and the employer decides to hire a Deaf or Hard of Hearing person, they may not even realize that their workplace is not set up for accessibility (Huffpost). Most of the time, the company’s employees are not aware or may not understand the accommodation needs in communicating with a Deaf or Hard of Hearing employee. Some of the common accommodation needs are: closed captioning, CART (Communication Access Realtime Translation)/real-time captioning, an American Sign Language Interpreter, text phones, video relay services and written memos and company communications.    

On November 25, 2019, I interviewed my mom who is deaf about her experiences with employment discrimination. My mom talks and uses American Sign Language at the same time frequently. She shared with me about a time when she had worked as a factory worker. She was talking to a co-worker and she was moving her hands at the same time. Her supervisor at the time was watching her and misinterpreted it as her being upset and having an attitude with her co-worker. So my mom’s supervisor called her into his office. The supervisor asked my mom why was she mad? My mom was confused and told her supervisor that she wasn’t mad at all. He told her that he saw her making hand gestures at her co-worker and she looked mad and she was pointing her finger at her co-worker. My mom tried to explain to him that she wasn’t mad at her co-worker at all and that they were just having a conversation. Her supervisor didn’t believe her and wrote her up. So my mom requested a meeting about the write up. She requested an interpreter to be there as well. They had a meeting to review the write up. The interpreter translated everything that was spoken in English and American Sign Language. My mom’s supervisor realized that he made a mistake and had to apologize to my mom for the misunderstanding and took back the write up. My mom also shared that she has had plenty of times when she was left out of conversations involving many people. Some co-workers would tell her that they would share what was said later to her. They never did. One supervisor redirected her back to work while there was a meeting going on or announcements going on. She wasn’t informed about what went on. This shows that there needs to be more awareness about the deaf community, their needs, as well as more inclusion in company culture.

At this point you are probably asking “What can I do to help change this?,” or you may be wondering what are some solutions that can help bring more deaf awareness in the workplace.  Lydia Callis who is a nationally certified sign language interpreter, advocate, and ally for the deaf community suggests that welcoming a deaf individual who uses sign language to the workplace is to offer American Sign Language classes to any interested supervisors, managers, and co-workers. This is a great way to take the initiative to communicate with a deaf co-worker. Callis says,“If a person who is deaf feels like they are a valuable part of the workforce, they are likely to perform better and feel more invested in the success of the company.” Another solution is to reach out to different organizations that can give you free resources. Ashley Derrington from HearingLikeME reports that the National Technical Institute for the Deaf provides online courses that are designed to help employers develop the sensitivity and skills to communicate effectively with deaf and hard of hearing employees. Derrington also reports that this course enables deaf and hearing colleagues to work together more productively and assist in fostering a workplace culture of diversity and inclusion.  

There are benefits for employers hiring deaf employees. E. Gold from Medium reports that employers can receive a tax credit for up to $5,000 for having deaf and hard of hearing people work for them. This allows for the employers and deaf/hard of hearing employees to not only reap financial benefits in the company, but to also reap societal and social benefits, as well as that deaf and hard of hearing communities have rights, as well. 

Now that you have some information and understanding about discrimination towards deaf employees in the workplace, it’s time to decrease/eliminate the discrimination towards deaf employees. It’s time to be more supportive towards your deaf or hard of hearing co-worker in the workplace. Now that we know that there are organizations out there that carry resources to help the employer understand, communicate and work with deaf/hard of hearing employees, we can make a difference, be more productive and change the stigma towards deaf/hard of hearing people.  

Works Cited

LUSSIER, ROBERT N., et al. “Need Satisfaction of Deaf and Hearing Employees.” Mid-Atlantic Journal of Business, Mar. 2000, p. 47. Gale Academic Onefile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A62003511/AONE?u=pima_main&sid=AONE&xid=5cb4e41c. Accessed 20 Nov. 2019.

Morris, Amanda. “Deaf And Unemployed: 1,000 Applications But Still No Full-Time Job.” NPR, NPR, 12 Jan. 2019, https://www.npr.org/2019/01/12/662925592/deaf-and-unemployed-1-000-applications-but-still-no-full-time-job.

Callis, Lydia. “How to Create Opportunities For Deaf Employees.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 7 Dec. 2017, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/creating-opportunities-fo_1_b_12661312.

Berke, Jamie. “What Can Deaf People Do If They Are Discriminated at Work?” Verywell Health, Verywell Health, 9 May 2019, https://www.verywellhealth.com/job-discrimination-against-deaf-and-hoh-1048713.

Publisher, Stuart Gentle, and Stuart Gentle. “1 In 4 Deaf People Have Quit Their Job Due to Discrimination.” Onrec, 25 Aug. 2016, http://www.onrec.com/news/statistics-and-trends/1-in-4-deaf-people-have-quit-their-job-due-to-discrimination.

Hubbard, Rachel. “OK - What’s It like to Be a Deaf Person Trying to Find a Job?” Medium, Medium, 26 Feb. 2019, https://medium.com/@rachelhubbard/ok-whats-it-like-to-be-a-deaf-person-trying-to-find-a-job-11f8e33012ab.

Disability Statistics. http://www.disabilitystatistics.org/reports/acs.cfm?statistic=4.

Derrington, Ashley. “Top Benefits of Hiring Deaf and Hard of Hearing People.” Hearing Like Me, 16 May 2019, https://www.hearinglikeme.com/top-benefits-of-hiring-deaf-and-hard-of-hearing-people/.

Thesis: Discrimination towards deaf employees continues to increase in today’s world. It has caused a high unemployment rate for deaf people, and discouragement. There is a lack of support for and understanding of deaf culture in the workplace. Some education and training on working with deaf people in the workplace can truly change things around and decrease employment discrimination towards deaf employees.

Claim 1: Discrimination towards deaf employees continues to increase in today’s world.

Evidence: Numeric, statistics, interview with my mom

Claim 2: It has caused a high unemployment rate for deaf people, and discouragement.

Evidence: Expert opinion, Names, Specialized knowledge, individual stories/examples.

Claim 3: There is a lack of support for and understanding of deaf culture in the workplace.

Evidence: Interview with my mom, Names

After evaluating of my essay, I need to correct how I cited my sources so it’s easier for my audience to find the source I cited.

Caroline Facey

Janel Spencer

Writing 101S

November 27, 2019

Discrimination Towards Deaf Employees in the Workplace

Discrimination towards deaf employees continues to increase in today’s world. It has caused a high unemployment rate for deaf people, and discouragement. There is a lack of support for and understanding of deaf culture in the workplace. Some education and training on working with deaf people in the workplace can truly change things around and decrease employment discrimination towards deaf employees. 

Stuart Gentle from Onrec says that a survey created by Total jobs found that 56% of Deaf or Hard of Hearing employees experienced discrimination during their career. 62% were from their colleagues, 53% from management, and 37% during job interviews. This has led to about 1 in 4 people leaving their jobs because of discrimination in the workplace. According to Cornell University’s disability statistics, in 2017 1,499,400 out of 3,847,000 people aged 21 to 64 years with a hearing disability in the United States were employed full-time. That leaves about 2,347,600 people aged 21 to 64 with part-time employment or unemployment (Disability Statistics). This is a problem which leads to mental health issues, low self-esteem and discouragement. Robyn Correll from verywellhealth, who is a Public Health Professional reported “Those in the deaf and Hard Of Hearing community are already at higher risk for depression and anxiety, but evidence from psychologists and sociologists indicates that inadequate employment can also be linked to a host of mental health issues, as well as chronic conditions and substance abuse. All of this can often complicate efforts to find or hold adequate employment, resulting in a vicious cycle.” 

Beginning with the hiring process, deaf job-seekers are more likely to be overlooked once the employer finds out they will need to get an interpreter or make accommodations. They feel that it is a “burden” to them and will require extra time, so deaf job-seekers are faced with tough decisions on whether to hire their own interpreters or utilize their American Disability Act rights and request the employer to provide an interpreter for them for the interview. If an interpreter is requested for the interview and he/she doesn’t show up, then what happens? What if the interviewer does not have any Deaf awareness? This would be very challenging and uncomfortable for both the interviewer and the Deaf person. Deaf job-seekers who wear cochlear implants and hearing aids may not require interpreters but they also face challenges. Most of them rely on lip reading. So if the interviewer is not facing them face to face or speaking clearly, it can make it difficult for the deaf or hard of hearing person to understand what is being said. At this point, both the interviewer and the Deaf/Hard of Hearing person misses out on getting to know one another better. As a hard of hearing person, I can relate to the stress of going through a job interview. Either you take the chances of telling the interviewer that you are deaf or hard of hearing or don’t say anything at all and hope you understand every question that the interviewer is asking you. 

If it all goes well in the interview phase and the employer decides to hire a Deaf or Hard of Hearing person, they may not even realize that their workplace is not set up for accessibility (Huffpost). Most of the time, the company’s employees are not aware or may not understand the accommodation needs in communicating with a Deaf or Hard of Hearing employee. 

On November 25, 2019, I interviewed my mom who is deaf about her experiences with employment discrimination. My mom talks and uses American Sign Language at the same time frequently.  She shared with me about a time when she had worked as a factory worker. She was talking to a co-worker and she was moving her hands at the same time. Her supervisor at the time was watching her and misinterpreted it as her being upset and having an attitude with her co-worker. So my mom’s supervisor called her into his office. The supervisor asked my mom why was she mad? My mom was confused and told her supervisor that she wasn’t mad at all. He told her that he saw her making hand gestures at her co-worker and she looked mad and she was pointing her finger at her co-worker. My mom tried to explain to him that she wasn’t mad at her co-worker at all and that they were just having a conversation. Her supervisor didn’t believe her and wrote her up. So my mom requested a meeting about the write up. She requested an interpreter to be there as well. They had a meeting to review the write up. The interpreter translated everything that was spoken in English and American Sign Language. My mom’s supervisor realized that he made a mistake and had to apologize to my mom for the misunderstanding and took back the write up. My mom also shared that she has had plenty of times when she was left out of conversations involving many people. Some co-workers would tell her that they would share what was said later to her. They never did. One supervisor redirected her back to work while there was a meeting going on or announcements going on. She wasn’t informed about what went on. 

At this point you are probably asking “What can I do to help change this?,” or you may be wondering on some solutions that can help bring more deaf awareness in the workplace. There are benefits for employers hiring deaf employees. E. Gold from Medium reports that employers can receive a tax credit for up to $5,000 for having deaf and hard of hearing people work for them.  Lydia Callis who is a nationally certified sign language interpreter, advocate, and ally for the deaf community suggests that welcoming a deaf individual who uses sign language to the workplace is to offer American Sign Language classes to any interested supervisors, managers, and coworkers. This is a great way to take the initiative to communicate with a deaf coworker. Callis quoted “If a person who is deaf feels like they are a valuable part of the workforce, they are likely to perform better and feel more invested in the success of the company.” Another solution is to reach out to different organizations that can give you free resources. Ashley Derrington from HearingLikeME reports that the National Technical Institute for the Deaf provides online courses that is designed to help employers develop the sensitivity and skills to communicate effectively with deaf and hard of hearing employees. Derrington also reports that this course enables deaf and hearing colleagues to work together more productively and assist in fostering a workplace culture of diversity and inclusion. 

Essay 1:

Error: “Truthfully, I was trying to figure out how to get her to go away because she made me uncomfortable. I didn’t realize it that day, but the situation would change my life forever.”

Correct: “Truthfully, I was trying to figure out how to get her to go away because she made me uncomfortable, I didn’t realize it that day, but the situation would change my life forever.”

Essay 2:

Error: Transformed by his Love

Correct: Transformed by His Love

Error:  I was trying to leave a seven year relationship that was failing more and more each day.

Correct:  I was trying to leave a seven-year relationship that was failing more and more each day.

Error:  Tomi was about fifteen years older than me. She was a plus size woman, She was about 5’3.

Correct:  Tomi was about fifteen years older than me. She was a plus size woman and she was 5’3.

Caroline Facey

Janel Spencer

Writing 101S

November 21,2019

Discrimination Towards Deaf Employees in the Workplace

Discrimination towards deaf employees continues to increase in today’s world. It has caused a high unemployment rate for deaf people, financial burdens, and discouragement. There is a lack of support for and understanding of deaf culture in the workplace. Some education and training on working with deaf people in the workplace can truly change things around and decrease employment discrimination towards deaf employees. 

On Onrec.com, it says that a survey created by Total jobs found that 56% of Deaf or Hard of Hearing employees experienced discrimination during their career. 62% were from their colleagues, 53% from management, and 37% during job interviews. This has led to about 1 in 4 people leaving their jobs because of discrimination in the workplace. According to Disabilitystatistics.org, in 2017 1,499,400 out of 3,847,000 people aged 21 to 64 years with a hearing disability in the United States were employed full-time. That leaves about 2,347,600 people aged 21 to 64 with part-time employment or unemployment. This is a problem which leads to financial burdens, low self-esteem and discouragement. 

Beginning with the hiring process, deaf job-seekers are more likely to be overlooked once the employer finds out they will need to get an interpreter or make accommodations. They feel that it is a “burden” to them and will require extra time. So Deaf job-seekers are faced with tough decisions on whether to hire their own interpreters or utilize their American Disability Act rights and request the employer to provide an interpreter for them for the interview. If an interpreter is requested for the interview and he/she doesn’t show up, then what happens? What if the interviewer does not have any Deaf awareness? This would be very challenging and uncomfortable for both the interviewer and the Deaf person. Deaf job-seekers who wear cochlear implants and hearing aids may not require interpreters but they also face challenges. Most of them rely on lip reading. So if the interviewer is not facing them face to face or speaking clearly, it can make it difficult for the deaf or hard of hearing person to understand what is being said. At this point, both the interviewer and the Deaf/Hard of Hearing person misses out on getting to know one another better. As a hard of hearing person, I can relate to the stress of going through a job interview. Either you take the chances of telling the interviewer that you are deaf or hard of hearing or don’t say anything at all and hope you understand every question that the interviewer is asking you. 

If it all goes well in the interview phase and the employer decides to hire a Deaf or Hard of Hearing person, they may not even realize that their workplace is not set up for accessibility (Huffpost). Most of the time, the company’s employees are not culturally competent and may not understand the accommodation needs in communicating with a Deaf or Hard of Hearing employee. 

On November 25, 2019, I interviewed my mom who is deaf about her experiences with employment discrimination. My mom talks and uses American Sign Language at the same time frequently.  She shared with me about a time when she had worked as a factory worker. She was talking to a co-worker and she was moving her hands at the same time. Her supervisor at the time was watching her and misinterpreted it as her being upset and having an attitude with her co-worker. So my mom’s supervisor called her into his office. The supervisor asked my mom why was she mad? My mom was confused and told her supervisor that she wasn’t mad at all. He told her that he saw her making hand gestures at her co-worker and she looked mad and she was pointing her finger at her co-worker. My mom tried to explain to him that she wasn’t mad at her co-worker at all and that they were just having a conversation. Her supervisor didn’t believe her and wrote her up. So my mom requested a meeting about the write up. She requested an interpreter to be there as well. They had a meeting to review the write up. The interpreter translated everything that was spoken in english and American Sign Language. My mom’s supervisor realized that he made a mistake and had to apologize to my mom for the misunderstanding and took back the write up. My mom also shared that she has had plenty of times when she was left out of conversations involving many people. Some co-workers would tell her that they would share what was said later to her. They never did. One supervisor redirected her back to work while there was a meeting going on or announcements going on. She wasn’t informed about what went on.

Some employers may not agree with hiring deaf employees because it may be a burden or they feel deaf employees are not qualified to work.

There is a growing population of deaf job seekers who are qualified and eager to work. There are many organizations who are willing to work with the employer to educate and train them on how to communicate with the deaf employees. With some education on the background of deaf culture, I believe that most employers would not be as hesitant to hire deaf employees. Also with small business owners, employers may earn tax credits up to $5,000 just for having a deaf or hard of hearing employee. There are more gains then disadvantages to having a deaf or hard of hearing employee.

I learned that the audience that I spoke with were a sympathetic audience. Most of my audience didn’t realize the issue with employment discrimination towards the deaf community. I learned that I need to add more information about my topic. I was able to persuade my audience with my solutions. a member of a hostile audience might ask why doesn’t the American Disability Act team deal with the discrimination that goes on in the workplace. That’s what the ADA is for. The ADA has already enforced rules, but the problem is that a lot of the discrimination doesn’t get reported. So, my solution is a mandatory training/class for the employer and its employee on informed education on how to communicate with a deaf person, instead of being intimidated or stand-offish towards them.

Argument: Deaf Employees are not treated the same as regular employees in various jobs.

Fallacies of emotional argument: Deaf Employees are not stupid and shouldn’t be treated as stupid.

Fallacies of ethical argument: There should be a mandatory training at the job by the American Disability Act team to know how to communicate with deaf employees.

Fallacies of logical: The Deaf community has one of the highest unemployment rate due to discrimination or lack of accommodation in the workplace.

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