--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: From the first two-hour class on, I had…" description: "\"“From the first two-hour class on, I had not said a word. I wanted them to know a little bit of what it is like to be deaf: lost, confused, unable to c..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63c/lou-ann-walker-11436_language_from-the-first-two-hour-class-on-i-had-n_2036823.jpg" --- # From the first two-hour class on, I had not said a word. I… ![“From the first two-hour class on, I had not said a word. I wanted them to know a little bit of what it is like to be deaf: lost, confused, unable to communicate.” quote by Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63c/lou-ann-walker-11436_language_from-the-first-two-hour-class-on-i-had-n_2036823.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63c/lou-ann-walker-11436_language_from-the-first-two-hour-class-on-i-had-n_2036823.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63c/lou-ann-walker-11436_language_from-the-first-two-hour-class-on-i-had-n_2036823.jpg) > ““From the first two-hour class on, I had not said a word. I wanted them to know a little bit of what it is like to be deaf: lost, confused, unable to communicate.”” [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Silence can be a powerful teacher, revealing the isolation and confusion of those without hearing, urging empathy through shared vulnerability. **In simple terms:** Silence shows how deaf people feel lost and misunderstood. Key Takeaway Listen with empathy, not just ears. Themes deafness communication empathy Mood empathetic thoughtful Type personal educational When to use this quote - classroom settings - public speaking - family discussions Key Concepts social inclusion identity education Questions to Reflect On - How can you convey empathy without words? - What experiences bridge hearing and deaf worlds? A Different Perspective Assuming silence is just lack of sound ignores deeper needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Class Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class-said-971455/) [Deaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deaf/) [Deaf Lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deaf-lost-3770174/) [Hour Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hour-class-3568066/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Like Deaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-deaf-740441/) [Unable Communicate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unable-communicate-1556985/) ## Related quotes > [But so many Christians are like deaf people at a concert. They study the programme carefully, believe every statement make in it, speak respectfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-underhill/but-so-many-christians-are-like-deaf-people-at-a-concert-they-study/) [Evelyn Underhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-underhill/) > [You know, we should have cards like the deaf have. "Can't talk, I'm writing today."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/you-know-we-should-have-cards-like-the-deaf-have-can-t-talk-i-m/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [We were like deaf people trying to dance to a beat we couldn't hear, long after the music actually stopped.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/we-were-like-deaf-people-trying-to-dance-to-a-beat-we-couldn-t-hear/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [When I was 11, I knew that I wanted to write a kid's book and tell the world what it was like being deaf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlee-matlin/when-i-was-11-i-knew-that-i-wanted-to-write-a-kid-s-book-and-tell-the/) [Marlee Matlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlee-matlin/) > [And, anyway, no matter how much you may behave like the deaf adder of Scripture which, as you are doubtless aware, the more one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse-2/and-anyway-no-matter-how-much-you-may-behave-like-the-deaf-adder-of/) [P. G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse-2/) > [Student is #1. If a student comes to me and needs an hour after class of my time, I am going to give him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-anderson/student-is-1-if-a-student-comes-to-me-and-needs-an-hour-after-class/) [Jake Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-anderson/) > [That moment you wish there was another hour in class just so you could get more sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-campbell/that-moment-you-wish-there-was-another-hour-in-class-just-so-you/) [Mike Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-campbell/) > [Someone who cannot stop his outer flow of words will soon be unable to communicate with other human beings at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-metzinger/someone-who-cannot-stop-his-outer-flow-of-words-will-soon-be-unable/) [Thomas Metzinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-metzinger/) > [They walked along, two continents of experience and feeling unable to communicate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/they-walked-along-two-continents-of-experience-and-feeling-unable-to/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [“Throughout the performance Levin felt like a deaf person watching a dance. He was quite perplexed when the music stopped and felt very tired…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/throughout-the-performance-levin-felt-like-a-deaf-person-watching-a/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Those who hear and do not understand are like the deaf. Of them the proverb says: "Present, they are absent."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heraclitus/those-who-hear-and-do-not-understand-are-like-the-deaf-of-them-the/) [Heraclitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heraclitus/) > [Being preoccupied with our self-image is like being deaf and blind. It's like standing in the middle of a vast field of wildflowers with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/being-preoccupied-with-our-self-image-is-like-being-deaf-and-blind-it/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [Historians are like deaf people who go on answering questions that no one has asked them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/historians-are-like-deaf-people-who-go-on-answering-questions-that-no/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“Pure intuitive faith differs as much from fanaticism as fire from smoke, or music from mere noise; those who confuse the two are like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-rizal/pure-intuitive-faith-differs-as-much-from-fanaticism-as-fire-from/) [José Rizal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-rizal/) > [I always call and whisper your name even though Im so tired of your stupid game. When I needed you most you weren't even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-nodo/i-always-call-and-whisper-your-name-even-though-im-so-tired-of-your/) [Michael Nodo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-nodo/) ## More by Lou Ann Walker > [“From 1963 through 1965, a nationwide epidemic of rubella—German measles—caused thousands of women to deliver babies who were handicapped in some way:”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/from-1963-through-1965-a-nationwide-epidemic-of-rubella-german/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“there are signs that are parodies of actual objects and that retain a cleverness even for deaf people. Indeed, these signs are to sight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/there-are-signs-that-are-parodies-of-actual-objects-and-that-retain-a/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“I was the only student she’d taught who’d actually known any deaf people. Most of the students in my courses were there because they’d…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/i-was-the-only-student-she-d-taught-who-d-actually-known-any-deaf/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“It was like the old joke: the operation was a success but the patient died. Theories and goals of education don’t matter a whit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/it-was-like-the-old-joke-the-operation-was-a-success-but-the-patient/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“One story was about a deaf man who was driving in the country, when safety bars were lowered across the road at a railroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/one-story-was-about-a-deaf-man-who-was-driving-in-the-country-when/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“Mom turned to me, puzzled. In sign language, she asked, “What was Grandpa saying in the kitchen?” My heart froze.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/mom-turned-to-me-puzzled-in-sign-language-she-asked-what-was-grandpa/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“Less and less we were freaks. More and more we were curiosities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/less-and-less-we-were-freaks-more-and-more-we-were-curiosities/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“By the time we got back to his house, Grandpa couldn’t reproduce the two signs he’d learned, but he hurried inside to describe to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/by-the-time-we-got-back-to-his-house-grandpa-couldn-t-reproduce-the/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“her parents had no way of telling her she was going away to school.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/her-parents-had-no-way-of-telling-her-she-was-going-away-to-school/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“And then she made a sign that sent a chill up my spine. It was a slang sign meaning “I’m deaf,” but it’s crudely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/and-then-she-made-a-sign-that-sent-a-chill-up-my-spine-it-was-a-slang/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“Like virtually all schools for the deaf at that time, the Indiana State School emphasized oral skills: speaking and lipreading.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/like-virtually-all-schools-for-the-deaf-at-that-time-the-indiana/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“So much had been lost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/so-much-had-been-lost/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“Over the centuries people have blamed everything from eating a green chestnut to being cursed by a gypsy. Others have cited being frightened by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/over-the-centuries-people-have-blamed-everything-from-eating-a-green/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“to leave a child without language for a moment longer than is absolutely necessary seems cruel to me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/to-leave-a-child-without-language-for-a-moment-longer-than-is/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) > [“This work was throwing me into the intimate functioning of people’s lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-ann-walker/this-work-was-throwing-me-into-the-intimate-functioning-of-people-s/) [Lou Ann Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) [Explore all 60 Lou Ann Walker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-ann-walker/) ## More Deaf quotes > [In the hearing world, I'm constantly having to lip-read and trying to understand what's going on. Sign language is so beautiful. It gives you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-ayling-ellis/in-the-hearing-world-i-m-constantly-having-to-lip-read-and-trying-to/) [Rose Ayling-Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-ayling-ellis/) > [“A man who saw has turned blind, A hearer deaf, A leader now leads astray!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-lichtheim/a-man-who-saw-has-turned-blind-a-hearer-deaf-a-leader-now-leads-astray/) [Miriam Lichtheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-lichtheim/) > [If you are the master be sometimes blind, if you are the servant be sometimes deaf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/if-you-are-the-master-be-sometimes-blind-if-you-are-the-servant-be/) [R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) > [“The rich eat life, the poor eat death; so what is the problem they ask?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/the-rich-eat-life-the-poor-eat-death-so-what-is-the-problem-they-ask/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [My girlfriend and I went to a dinner party the other night and we ended up playing charades. There was another couple there that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-galifianakis/my-girlfriend-and-i-went-to-a-dinner-party-the-other-night-and-we/) [Zach Galifianakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-galifianakis/) > [In other restaurants you'll see employees signing to each other, since we also hire many deaf men and women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-karcher/in-other-restaurants-you-ll-see-employees-signing-to-each-other-since/) [Carl Karcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-karcher/) > [Must whales and dolphins be subjected to deafening noise that will cause more than 3.5 million instances of temporary and/or permanent hearing loss? For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brosnan/must-whales-and-dolphins-be-subjected-to-deafening-noise-that-will/) [Pierce Brosnan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brosnan/) > [I will love you till a mute women tells his deaf friend about a blind women that saw a girl with no legs walking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-will-love-you-till-a-mute-women-tells-his-deaf-friend-about-a-blind/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“And the blind man said to the deaf man, "Do you see what I hear?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/and-the-blind-man-said-to-the-deaf-man-do-you-see-what-i-hear/) [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) > [So the blind will lead the blind, and the deaf shout warnings to one another until their voices are lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/so-the-blind-will-lead-the-blind-and-the-deaf-shout-warnings-to-one/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Despite my mentors advice that I would never go to heaven fishing with a weighted nymph and a float, I took it up. (As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-bishop/despite-my-mentors-advice-that-i-would-never-go-to-heaven-fishing/) [Tony Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-bishop/) > [Most profoundly deaf people have speech that is very difficult to understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-masur/most-profoundly-deaf-people-have-speech-that-is-very-difficult-to/) [Richard Masur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-masur/) > [But people who think they can project themselves into deafness are mistaken because you can't. And I'm not talking about imagining what a deaf…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-masur/but-people-who-think-they-can-project-themselves-into-deafness-are/) [Richard Masur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-masur/) > [There's none as deaf as those who won't listen. I get letters. 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