A Silent Voice: How do we "deal with" a deaf person?

In chapter 2 of A Silent Voice, Mr Takeuchi brought up a fascinating maxim. This takes place after Ishida rudely mimicked Nishimiya's speaking voice, and was pulled into his office for the "teacher's lecture", to which he tells him: "There are some things in this world that you just have to deal with". This in part subtly hinting at Nishimiya -- a girl with a hearing impairment -- being "that thing". The verb used is also notable; to "deal with something" implies some degree of tolerance. So what Mr Takeuchi is trying to reveal to Ishida is that there are people with disabilities in this world, and that as functioning members of society who have "morality", we have to tolerate them.

But is this the ideal solution? Tolerance inherently suggests that both parties are involuntarily participating in this relationship. For the class, they were neither asked or given a choice, and hence they tolerate; for Nishimiya, she may desire to connect with them, but is shoehorned into the role of the baggage. Nobody is happy here. But perhaps if we try to observe this issue from a systemic level, we can catch glimpses of why the systems were failing, and what are some potential fixes that could've created a much more ideal classroom environment.

Let us begin with the dichotomy of two teachers -- Mr Takeuchi & Ms Kita. Mr Takeuchi takes on a laissez-faire approach when managing the new classroom addition. When Nishimiya first joins the class, he situated her in the middle, far from his purview. He tells Ueno to speak to her, rather than initiate that dialogue himself. He gives Ueno the responsibility of being Nishimiya's "helping buddy", even though he has neither gathered her support nor guided her on the expectations -- then he scolds her, which sours the relationship between her and Nishimiya. These actions reveal how he passes off responsibility. Anything that doesn't make me look bad isn't my problem; the students can take care of Nishimiya themselves; their parents should've taught them morality, cause I'm just paid to read off the textbook. We hence see his laissez-faire approach of allowing things to run their course while barely intervening. 

The little actions he does take amount to unhelpful scoldings where he essentially just tells Ishida, "this is the way the world works, follow it", without actually explaining to him why. Why should we try to accommodate someone with disabilities? Perhaps because that is how we practice kindness, and how we want others to treat our own foibles. What is deafness, and does it mean that Nishimiya cannot hear at all? No, she maintains some level of hearing with the help of a hearing aid; she can still be shocked, so it is rude of you to shout into her ear. And finally, the difficult question: Should Nishimiya be included in the singing competition?

This is where we can talk about Ms Kita. On the opposite spectrum of the laissez-faire approach is one that is overly-idealistic. To begin with, it is fascinating that she uses the exact same language as Mr Takeuchi, saying that "it's one of those things you just have to deal with". In part, she likely pinpoints the disability instead of the person, and is arguably more inclusive. Still, her language inherently frames deafness as a liability to Nishimiya, something everyone around her has to tolerate, perhaps a shortcoming that she herself has to fix. It is likely that with her mindset, she was the one that encouraged Nishimiya to join singing classes, even though she has not designed the lessons to accommodate for her disability. She also decided that Nishimiya should join a competition, despite not gathering the class' support. She forces sign language lessons on them, even though it takes time away from their homeroom period; and when concerns were raised, she denies Ueno's perspective, guilt-trips her and unnecessarily causes a rift between the students' relationships. These actions reveal how she brute-forces a collective responsibility. This issue is all of our problem; we should all be responsible for Nishimiya; let me preach about what the right thing is to do, and you're just a bad kid if you feel otherwise. This overly-idealistic point of view hence ignores the realities of the classroom, and fails to address the valid concerns of the classmates.

I believe Yoshitoki-sensei presents these two contrasting approaches to highlight that the answer to an ideal classroom has to be more nuanced. And no, I won't try to be vague and throw out a cop-out answer of "balance", but rather try to provide some practical suggestions to what the teachers could've done. Firstly, before Nishimiya even joins, explain to the classroom what deafness is and what is the appropriate/inappropriate ways of interacting with a person with special needs. Explain why it is important to be kind to others, rather than expect them to just "deal with it". Have Nishimiya sit at the front where the teachers can easily attend to her learning needs, rather than just rely on her seating neighbours. Depending on the year this story takes place in, consider employing assistive technology, such as a tablet that can transcribe speech-to-text, rather than forcing others to take notes for her. Students can help out, but a proper buddy system has to be implemented, not implied. Consult the classroom and recruit people who show actual motivation to befriend and assist Nishimiya (Sahara was right there! But Ms Kita had to employ her help in the most awkward way possible.) It is the same with sign language -- make it voluntary. Ask anyone who is interested to learn to stay back after class, rather than try to force it on students like Ueno who has the right to choose how she wants to communicate with others. If Nishimiya doesn't want to join singing classes, there is no need to force her to "fit in". If she wants to, then let her, but explain to her the actual circumstances. It is true that her singing is off-beat and may cause the class to lose the choir competition. One should not shield her from the truth, nor force her into a lie, but rather prepare her for what is reality. Perhaps have her buddy be beside her to tell her to sing at a softer, non-disruptive volume -- literally anything would've been better.

In my special eds modules, I once learnt that an impairment is a dysfunction in a body part, while a disability is the limitations with participating in societal activities which arises from the impairment. Impairment only becomes a disability if the world does not accommodate for their needs, just like how a person on a wheelchair can still travel the world if every single venue was equipped with ramps. But that isn't to say that we have to force unwilling people to push the person up those ramps. Ideally, systems are put into place that delegates these responsibilities to those who desire them, and to alleviate it from those who do not. Sahara should be encouraged and equipped to be the first, while Ueno is allowed to be the latter. Smart accommodations, even something as minute as letting Nishimiya sit at the front, could've resulted in profound improvements to how much assistance she can get, while dodging all the tensions that had otherwise arisen. Accommodating a student with special needs takes careful planning, resources and support from everyone involved, even the unwilling classmates. It takes more than just finding a teacher with a balanced approach between laissez-faire and idealism -- it involves interventions at every layer of the school systems. I once read about a school that involves even the gym teachers and cafeteria ladies, because they too are the everyday faces the student would interact with.

And thus to debunk Mr Takeuchi's maxim: No, I do not believe that we have to force ourselves to merely tolerate those with impairments, nor do we need everyone to huddle together to sing kumbaya. Instead, we should plan for and build up the supportive systems and safety nets, so when the time comes, Nishimiya could still effectively participate as much as she can, not feel left out, not have others be bothered, and yet still have friends who care about her. Is it still idealistic? Maybe, but shooting for the stars and landing on the moon is still a hell of a lot better than what we had.