Train go sorry

"Train go sorry" is the American Sign Language expression for "missing the boat." Indeed, missed connections characterize many interactions between the deaf and hearing worlds, including the failure to recognize that deaf people are members of a unique culture. In this intimate chronicle of Lexington School for the Deaf, Leah Hager Cohen brings this extraordinary culture to life and captures a pivotal moment in deaf history.

We witness the blossoming of Sofia, a young emigrant from Russia, who pursues her dream of preparing for her bat mitzvah, learning Hebrew in addition to English and ASL. Janie, a history teacher who participated in the Deaf President Now movement at Gallaudet University, leads a field trip to the campus; there we experience the intense pride of deaf people who have won the battle for self-determination and leadership. And we feel the pounding vibrations of a bass line as James, a student from the Bronx, loses himself in the pulse of rap music as he dreams of life beyond Lexington's safe borders. As a child, Leah Cohen put pebbles in her ears as pretend hearing aids. Herself hearing, she grew up at Lexington, where her father is currently superintendent, and where her grandfather was a student. Animating the debate over the controversial push toward mainstreaming and the use of cochlear implants, Cohen shows how these policies threaten the very place where deaf culture and students thrive: the school. With her enormous sensitivity, Leah Cohen offers a story of the human will and need to make connections.