Miss-Delectable
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2004
- Messages
- 17,160
- Reaction score
- 7
Deaf student finds welcoming situation | Postcrescent.com | Appleton Post-Crescent
Being the new kid at school is bound to cause any student some trepidation.
Being a deaf eighth-grader at a new school really rattles the nerves.
That's the situation Sebastian LaPointe found himself in when he transferred to Greenville Middle School this fall. He was worried about making friends, especially since he doesn't communicate like his classmates.
But he didn't have to worry for long.
When Monica Wilcox-McPherson, LaPointe's interpreter, suggested holding sign language classes for students and staff, the response was positive.
About a dozen teachers and nearly as many students have been meeting after school once a week for the past six weeks to learn how to sign.
"He was very shy in the beginning, but he's very open now," McPherson said of LaPointe. "The kids love him here and he's got lots of friends."
Teachers like Diane Jones and Cari Eggen, who took the class, said learning to sign is more difficult than they thought it would be. There are thousands of signs to remember.
With the help of Dao Vang, one of McPherson's former students who graduated from Hortonville High School, they have picked up the alphabet, simple phrases and objects.
"It's hard to think and sign at the same time," said Jones, who annually teaches sixth-graders about Helen Keller. She typically enlists a specialist to show the students sign language but plans to bring LaPointe to the classroom this year.
Eggen, a computer teacher, wanted to be able to better communicate with LaPointe.
"I have a long way to go," she said. "But I was able to sign 'Happy Birthday' to him and say 'thank you.'
"It shows him we're also trying. We're concerned and we want to help him feel part of the school."
"I love it," LaPointe said, through McPherson, of the sign language class. "It's nice they all want to learn my language so I can communicate with them."
During the first few weeks of school, foreign language students volunteered to learn how to finger spell, or sign the letters of the alphabet, and helped disseminate the information to LaPointe's classmates.
McPherson, who is with LaPointe at school every day, said even if the students don't know sign language, they figure out ways to talk to their new friend.
"I see them writing things down back and forth and they make up their own sign language, a lot of miming, but he understands them," she said.
Vang enjoys working with the students and staff and has served as a good role model and friend for LaPointe. The two share a love of art and drawing.
"We're both deaf and it's nice to talk in our own language and hang out," Vang said through McPherson.
He makes sure to sign slowly during class.
"I want them to know the deaf language," he said. "I try to make it very clear for them."
McPherson said she will hold more classes in the future if interest continues. She felt holding the sign language class in November was appropriate since it is "Deaf Awareness Month."
"Deaf is its own culture," she said. "It's not a disability."
Being the new kid at school is bound to cause any student some trepidation.
Being a deaf eighth-grader at a new school really rattles the nerves.
That's the situation Sebastian LaPointe found himself in when he transferred to Greenville Middle School this fall. He was worried about making friends, especially since he doesn't communicate like his classmates.
But he didn't have to worry for long.
When Monica Wilcox-McPherson, LaPointe's interpreter, suggested holding sign language classes for students and staff, the response was positive.
About a dozen teachers and nearly as many students have been meeting after school once a week for the past six weeks to learn how to sign.
"He was very shy in the beginning, but he's very open now," McPherson said of LaPointe. "The kids love him here and he's got lots of friends."
Teachers like Diane Jones and Cari Eggen, who took the class, said learning to sign is more difficult than they thought it would be. There are thousands of signs to remember.
With the help of Dao Vang, one of McPherson's former students who graduated from Hortonville High School, they have picked up the alphabet, simple phrases and objects.
"It's hard to think and sign at the same time," said Jones, who annually teaches sixth-graders about Helen Keller. She typically enlists a specialist to show the students sign language but plans to bring LaPointe to the classroom this year.
Eggen, a computer teacher, wanted to be able to better communicate with LaPointe.
"I have a long way to go," she said. "But I was able to sign 'Happy Birthday' to him and say 'thank you.'
"It shows him we're also trying. We're concerned and we want to help him feel part of the school."
"I love it," LaPointe said, through McPherson, of the sign language class. "It's nice they all want to learn my language so I can communicate with them."
During the first few weeks of school, foreign language students volunteered to learn how to finger spell, or sign the letters of the alphabet, and helped disseminate the information to LaPointe's classmates.
McPherson, who is with LaPointe at school every day, said even if the students don't know sign language, they figure out ways to talk to their new friend.
"I see them writing things down back and forth and they make up their own sign language, a lot of miming, but he understands them," she said.
Vang enjoys working with the students and staff and has served as a good role model and friend for LaPointe. The two share a love of art and drawing.
"We're both deaf and it's nice to talk in our own language and hang out," Vang said through McPherson.
He makes sure to sign slowly during class.
"I want them to know the deaf language," he said. "I try to make it very clear for them."
McPherson said she will hold more classes in the future if interest continues. She felt holding the sign language class in November was appropriate since it is "Deaf Awareness Month."
"Deaf is its own culture," she said. "It's not a disability."
I'm trying to get better though, and I want to learn more signs so when I go to college in the fall I will be able to communicate with everyone, even if it isn't fast. 