Deaf preschooler told to change the sign for his name, because his name is Hunter, and the sign for it kinda looks like a gun. (The school district responded in a letter that doesn't seem to me like it clears up anything at all.) [link]

I don't know the language details. When the school board says this:

Grand Island Public Schools has not changed the sign language name of any student, nor is it requiring any student to change how his or her name is signed. The school district teaches American Sign Language (“ASL”) for students with hearing impairments. ASL is recommended by the Nebraska Department of Education and is widely used in the United States. The sign language techniques taught in the school district are consistent with the standards of the Nebraska Department of Education and ASL.

And the article mentions that the boy uses SEE--is there an implication that if he was using ASL this wouldn't be an issue?

I just randomly grabbed a pair of sandals before running errands today, and I grabbed a pair I haven't worn in at least two years--because I've gotten away without wearing sandals that long. But 5 years ago, I didn't just wear a range of sandals, I also wore high heeled ones. It was weird being an extra two inches taller to go to Walgreens.

But then I jacked up my knee overtraining with kettlebells, and I was down to just a couple pairs of heels once I'd finally recovered--and those were boots.

I'm just trying to remember the me that used to swan around in those, and it's way peculiar. Mild summers, me not liking how my feet look, the mess that are my permanently bruised shins...I hadn't realised how for granted I was taking my black tights and boots.

And the article mentions that the boy uses SEE--is there an implication that if he was using ASL this wouldn't be an issue?

That part was confusing me. But the main differences between ASL and SEE are in the grammar, not the vocabulary. The sign for "hunt" is the same in both. SEE is Signing Exact English, which is basically using English grammar with signs. (There are debates about how useful it is in an academic context, with some people saying that it helps deaf kids learn English better and others saying that it just confuses them; I haven't read enough of the studies to be able to say anything about that issue.)

My best guess is that the teacher told the parents to come up with a new name sign, and then the district heard about it and heard all the objections and overruled the teacher, but these articles really don't give enough details to figure all that out.

My condolences to you and your family, Theo.

Speaking of things with culture (as in diabetes doesn't have one, but Deaf certainly does)--are there detractors of SEE who feel its too much mainstreaming?

Totally unrelatedly--Jason Momoa has been cast as an evil werewolf leader in a movie called Wolves. I'm googling for details, and I find an article which includes this:

Momoa will certainly look the part as the leader of a pack of werewolves

What does that actually mean?

SEE is Signing Exact English, which is basically using English grammar with signs. (There are debates about how useful it is in an academic context, with some people saying that it helps deaf kids learn English better and others saying that it just confuses them; I haven't read enough of the studies to be able to say anything about that issue.)

Grace uses SEE because we don't know ASL and SEE means we can just sign what we say. This year, my school has an ASL teacher who I can sort of sign with but I'm sure my SEE annoys the fuck out of him.

We have had the worst blood draws ever during this trip to HospitalLand. They lost an IV on Grace less than 24 hours after placing it. Then, using that same arm last night, a phlebotomist fucked up a draw and after 3 sticks, we kicked her out. This afternoon, new phlebotomist wanted to try again, but the charge nurse said no. She tried a site on her right arm, but nothing -- it was scar tissue only from her babyhood. So instead of trying to find another one, the charge nurse did a toe-stick and pressured the blood out (the stick is like when you donate blood and they check the iron levels). It took much longer, but Grace did not fit.

Then Grace and I sat and watched the Food Network. Now I'm tired and so is she. I need to order dinner though.

Poor Gracie. I hope she doesn't have to be in too long, Kat.

Momoa will certainly look the part as the leader of a pack of werewolves

Seriously?

Speaking of things with culture (as in diabetes doesn't have one, but Deaf certainly does)--are there detractors of SEE who feel its too much mainstreaming?

Probably some. The main objections I've heard is that that it's not a natural language. ASL developed over a few centuries as Deaf people used it, and changed the way a language usually does, but SEE was invented in the 1970s or so, and there's a set way that it's supposed to be done, and there are some things that end up not making too much sense to someone who uses ASL. Like, idiomatic uses of words like "make" or "break" -- make a bed, make someone do something, break up with some, break a promise -- all get the same "make" or "break" sign in SEE, because the general rule is one word = one sign. In ASL, each of those phrases would have different signs, because they have different meanings. It ends up looking kind of weird to an ASL user, since the sign for "make" is clearly meant to represent building something, and the sign for "break" is meant to represent breaking something like a stick, and those sorts of idiomatic uses can seem nonsensical.

and those sorts of idiomatic uses can seem nonsensical.

Which is a odd kvetch because, idioms, by definition ARE nonsensical.