Qualitative Inquiry 17(7) 639–652 © The Author(s) 2011 Reprints and permission: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1077800411414006 http://qix.sagepub.com Something is Fishy Here: Fieldwork in a School for the Deaf By mid-August, I’d been visiting deaf early education schools throughout the country, making contacts in my search for potential research sites to study the impact of cochlear implants on early childhood education. As I was raised oral deaf 1 and mainstreamed, I’d been wondering what schools for the deaf were like. Doing this fieldwork was a way to satisfy my curiosity about deaf education. During one such visit, I arrive at a small brick building that houses an infant-toddler program and preschool for deaf children. Noticing the sign that reads “Birth to Age 3 Program,” I follow in the direction of the red arrow pointing eastward. As I approach the preschool classroom door, I see a mother come out signing to a woman I take to be the teacher because of the identification card hanging from her neck on a lanyard. I wait patiently and watch this exchange in wonderment because this is one of the few times I’ve come across a Deaf parent— most parents of deaf children are hearing. I am cautiously excited that this program uses American Sign Language (ASL) because the teacher obviously knows how to sign. When the woman teacher and parent finish signing, the teacher looks to me and with her mouth and hands moving in chorus, she asks, “Can I help you?” “Yes, my name’s Joe. I’m from the university, and I’m here to meet Pam, 2 the director.” 414006QIX 17 7 10.1177/107780 0411414006ValenteQualitative Inquiry © The Author(s) 2011 Reprints and permission: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav 1 Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA Corresponding Author: Joseph Michael Valente, Pennsylvania State University, College of Education, 157 Chambers Building, University Park, PA 16802, USA Email: jvalente@psu.edu Cyborgization: Deaf Education for Young Children in the Cochlear Implantation Era Joseph Michael Valente 1 Abstract The author, who was raised oral deaf himself, recounts a visit to a school for young deaf children and discovers that young d/Deaf children and their rights are subverted by the cochlear implantation empire. The hypercapitalist, techno- manic times of cochlear implantation has wreaked havoc to the lives of not only young children with deafness but also the parents themselves are indoctrinated into a system that first strips them of their competency through the diagnosing ritual to finally stripping the parents of their own rights to make fully informed choices for their children. The genre of this exposé is DeafCrit, drawing on journalistic traditions of muckraking and the methods of new journalism to report on, deconstruct, and critique the involvement of audist/ableist medical, business, welfare, and education stakeholders in the rise of cochlear implants in young children and how this operation is altering the landscape of deaf education. Keywords DeafCrit, deaf education, deaf children, cochlear implants, counter storytelling We exchange pleasantries as she takes me around the corner, to the other side of the school, and into a small office. The teacher tells me, again both in English and sign, to sit in the waiting area, and she disappears around the corner. A few minutes go by and I am uncomfortable. Finally, a woman comes from around the corner who I presume is the director I’m here to meet. She approaches me with a hurried look, “Hi, Joe, sorry, I’ve had meetings all morning. Are you ready?” Pam leads me around the corner to her office a few doors down. Her office is like the main office, small in size, and we squeeze into chairs near her desk. She leans in real close and says, “How can we help you?” “Well, first of all, I want to thank you for making time in your busy schedule to meet with me,” I say. “I appreciate you traveling to visit us. . . we are excited about what you’ve told us about your project so far.” Pam seems to realize I’m wearing a hearing aid and makes no effort to conceal that she is looking at it. She looks at me, “How much of a loss do you have?”