Alone in the Mainstream: A Deaf Woman Remembers Public School

by Gina A. Oliva

When Gina Oliva first went to school in 1955, she didn’t know that she was “different.” If the kindergarten teacher played a tune on the piano to signal the next exercise, Oliva didn’t react because she couldn’t hear the music. So began her journey as a “solitary,” her term for being the only deaf child in the entire school. Gina felt alone because she couldn’t communicate easily with her classmates, but also because none of them had a hearing loss like hers. It wasn’t until years later at Gallaudet University that she discovered that she wasn’t alone and that her experience was common among mainstreamed deaf students. Alone in the Mainstream recounts Oliva’s story, as well as those of many other solitaries.

In writing this important book, Oliva combined her personal experiences with responses from the Solitary Mainstream Project, a survey that she conducted of deaf and hard of hearing adults who attended public school. Oliva matched her findings with current research on deaf students in public schools and confirmed that hearing teachers are ill-prepared to teach deaf pupils, they don’t know much about hearing loss, and they frequently underestimate deaf children. The collected memories in Alone in the Mainstream add emotional weight to the conviction that students need to be able to communicate freely, and they also need peers to know they are not alone.

Genres: School, Nonfiction, Memoir

224 pages, Paperback

First published April 30, 2004

Reviews

[Kimberley Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the kind of book I wish existed back when! I highly recommend it to all past and present "alone" kids. You are most definitely NOT alone.

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for a class on Special Education - as a prospective music teacher, it was a shock to me that deaf children often attend public school alone. My grandmother was deaf and I was, as an outside observer of the Deaf community, a little frustrated by its apparently insular nature. Now I am just embarrassed that my whole family didn't learn ASL -- she was not a fluent English writer, and it is sad and ... cruel... that we only ever communicated at superficial levels. I am sure there was much more to her that I never accessed.

My only complaints are stylistic: some of the autobiographical information goes into a little bit into the minutiae of who-what-when (e.g. I did not need to know whose offices she worked in on x y z dates) without really delving into the ramifications of her research. There were also some portions that were obviously written for her community and felt a little vague and confusing for me, right alongside portions that are very much written to HoH individuals.


After I finished, I went looking for some updates from her perspective. I wondered if things have been improving now that texting is so pervasive, and technology is better. What I found was another book with a similar subject written in 2014, called Turning the Tide: Making Life Better for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Schoolchildren, which may be better for my purposes - haven't read it yet, though.

[Becky Radke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting look at Deaf/Hard of Hearing students mainstreamed into the regular education classroom. As a teacher who has had Deaf/HOH students I was interested in her experience. Some parts were repetitive but overall it was an eye opening look at why we need to help Deaf/HOH students find a way to socially interact with hearing students, and find a balance between both the hearing and Deaf communities.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an important book to read for any SLP or TOD working in the public schools. It is also a good book for parents to read. Some of Gina's experiences are things students in public schools continue to face today.

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Although my experience was not as difficult as that of some in this book, it was amazing to see such a similar experience as written by others. I highly, highly, highly suggest that every parent of a deaf/Deaf/HOH kid read this. I am not a huge proponent of being a solitary in the mainstream. Reading this was validating. One thing I wish she had addressed was how hard it can be to join the Deaf community as an adult. I haven't been able to find a way to learn ASL. For me this echoes so much of my experience, as well as that of others I know, where we passed for normal. I didn't have the negative connotation of other deaf kids the way some seemed to, likely because I never knew another deaf kid or adult.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gina's story parallels my own. Given the time period of our stories, the experience of feeling lost in the mainstream was common and in some ways understandable. (We didn't call it "mainstream" in those days. We merely called it going to school.) Many of us "survived" the system and managed to earn our degrees and establish professional lives. But what about the many who fell through the cracks and today lead less than fulfilling lives? And what is even more sad is that this continues to happen today when we should know better!

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think that this book was very good because of how eye-opening and truly honest it was. I definitely learned a lot from reading this. My only criticism is that it sometimes felt a little long (even though the chapters were not too long). However, I could have felt this way because I read it in such a short period of time (2 days). In the end, however, this book is worth reading and I think that people should take some of their time to learn about this very real problem and the people who experience it.

[Jessica Moore · Rating 2 out of 5]

As an ASL major this book was pretty useful. I would recommend it to people interested in learning of the struggles that face deaf children/adults who are put in public school. I will admit it was a bit of a slow read for me because I knew most of the information prior to reading it. It was also slightly repetitive. It also isn't as up to date as I would've liked. I would say if you have interest in the deaf world then go ahead and read it though.

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's more an essay about "mainstream" education for HoH individuals than an actual memoir that I thought the book would be based on the "A d/Deaf woman remembers public school" byline. That and the fact the the Solitary Mainstream Project study isn't included in the back of the book with responses makes it a little... less impactful than I hoped.

[Gina Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING perspective!!

[Gaile · Rating 4 out of 5]

How NOT to educate the deaf! I felt very sorry for the writer of this book.