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http://www.oregonlive.com/metrowest...e/metro_west_news/1139277338292680.xml&coll=7
Tom Wills teaches students about the deaf community as they learn American Sign Language
Name: Tom Wills Age: 42 Job and school: American Sign Language teacher at Southridge High School Signing as world language: The hum of fluorescent lights echoes throughout the classroom, where students sit in stony silence, eyes fixed on Wills' constant flow of hand gestures.
In Wills' class, a "voices off" policy means only occasional giggles punctuate the silence, and even side conversations are signed.
"When there's sound in the room, it disrupts the learning process," Wills says. "Almost every day, it's completely silent."
For the past six years, Southridge High School has offered American Sign Language as a world language, similar to Spanish or French. The difference, in Wills' class, is that students communicate with their hands, body language and facial expressions. They also get a rare glimpse into a world few people experience.
"There's definitely a culture behind it," Wills says.
The course, says junior Travis Beardsley, has helped many students reach out to a community they otherwise wouldn't touch. Befriending deaf people has inspired Beardsley to consider a career as an ASL interpreter.
"Most of my friends are taking Spanish, but I thought ASL was something different, something cool," Beardsley says. "I went out into the community and met deaf friends, and that keeps me in touch." Friendships spawns vocation: Born in California, Wills originally went into teaching to become a music and band teacher. In 1986, he moved to Hawaii, where he became friends with a deaf man who taught him sign language and introduced him to the deaf community.
"Out of that friendship eventually grew my vocation," Wills says. "I kind of just ran into it, and it became part of myself and my life."
Wills advocates for ASL to be taken seriously by colleges, many of which don't offer American Sign Language.
"I'm a very strong proponent that ASL teachers be highly qualified," Wills says. "But there's a lot of preconceived notions that it's not really a language, even though it is." Regional accents: During an exercise in Wills' class, students work in pairs to describe their dream home. They learn vocabulary and facial expressions that connote different ideas.
Throughout the year, students also learn that signers from different areas of the country have regional "accents," and that, as with speech, everyone signs a little differently. Sentences in sign language take on a different grammatical structure than those in spoken English.
For junior Chelsea Johnson, learning to sign comes in handy at her job at Old Navy. On several occasions, she's helped a deaf customer.
"It's my favorite class," Johnson says. "A lot of my friends take it, too, and we can sign to each other."
Tom Wills teaches students about the deaf community as they learn American Sign Language
Name: Tom Wills Age: 42 Job and school: American Sign Language teacher at Southridge High School Signing as world language: The hum of fluorescent lights echoes throughout the classroom, where students sit in stony silence, eyes fixed on Wills' constant flow of hand gestures.
In Wills' class, a "voices off" policy means only occasional giggles punctuate the silence, and even side conversations are signed.
"When there's sound in the room, it disrupts the learning process," Wills says. "Almost every day, it's completely silent."
For the past six years, Southridge High School has offered American Sign Language as a world language, similar to Spanish or French. The difference, in Wills' class, is that students communicate with their hands, body language and facial expressions. They also get a rare glimpse into a world few people experience.
"There's definitely a culture behind it," Wills says.
The course, says junior Travis Beardsley, has helped many students reach out to a community they otherwise wouldn't touch. Befriending deaf people has inspired Beardsley to consider a career as an ASL interpreter.
"Most of my friends are taking Spanish, but I thought ASL was something different, something cool," Beardsley says. "I went out into the community and met deaf friends, and that keeps me in touch." Friendships spawns vocation: Born in California, Wills originally went into teaching to become a music and band teacher. In 1986, he moved to Hawaii, where he became friends with a deaf man who taught him sign language and introduced him to the deaf community.
"Out of that friendship eventually grew my vocation," Wills says. "I kind of just ran into it, and it became part of myself and my life."
Wills advocates for ASL to be taken seriously by colleges, many of which don't offer American Sign Language.
"I'm a very strong proponent that ASL teachers be highly qualified," Wills says. "But there's a lot of preconceived notions that it's not really a language, even though it is." Regional accents: During an exercise in Wills' class, students work in pairs to describe their dream home. They learn vocabulary and facial expressions that connote different ideas.
Throughout the year, students also learn that signers from different areas of the country have regional "accents," and that, as with speech, everyone signs a little differently. Sentences in sign language take on a different grammatical structure than those in spoken English.
For junior Chelsea Johnson, learning to sign comes in handy at her job at Old Navy. On several occasions, she's helped a deaf customer.
"It's my favorite class," Johnson says. "A lot of my friends take it, too, and we can sign to each other."