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www.kansascity.com | 02/05/2008 | Odessa students let their fingers do the talking
Even in a world wired for ceaseless chatter, words aren’t everything. Ask the Great American Signers.
A silent, yet vibrant, language blooms from the hands of seventh- and eighth-graders in this Odessa Middle School club. Most have been practicing sign language together since kindergarten.
Laura Scott, 48, the Odessa school district’s deaf educator, founded the club to teach students how to communicate with their deaf classmates. “All those little kids were picking up sign language like crazy,” Scott said.
“For my own students, it’s made their school experience more normal because they have friends they can talk to at lunch, they have kids they can partner with in school assignments. … They aren’t afraid to go try things. They are definitely an integrated part of school. The kids here perceive being deaf as a cool thing and knowing sign language as a cool thing.”
Imagine trying to decipher an underwater conversation. That was how Beth Evatt described the struggle her daughter, who is deaf, faced among her hearing peers. So connecting to this core group of kids was a “blessing,” she said.
Discovering that other parents wanted their children to learn to sign was even more “heart-warming,” she said. “I think it has opened their eyes not just to sign language, but to understanding deaf culture. It’s different, but like anything else, the more knowledge, the better.”
By second grade, the students had mastered the basics and developed into a performance group as they learned to sign songs. The local Optimist Club became their benefactor, donating funds for gloves and music, and sponsoring out-of-town performances. In turn, the children participate in Optimist service activities.
Ranging from a high of 50 to the current 24 members, the Great American Signers have performed in their community and as far away as Branson, St. Joseph and St. Louis.
Accompanied by recordings, their repertoire includes patriotic hymns and popular music. “Sign language evokes a lot of emotion in people,” Scott said. “We go for songs that touch the heart. We have people cry and come up afterward and talk to us.”
Angie Evatt, 13, and Katie Baker, 12, reported through a telephone CSD Video Relay Service interpreter that they love to travel and perform, but the one-on-one fluency of classmates made a big difference early on.
“I felt really isolated and quiet, and once in a while I would try to communicate with my friends,” Angie said. “I changed a lot. I’m signing and speaking both. My friends are signing and communicating, so it seems to be fine.”
“Communicating was hard,” said Katie, “because when I started school, I remember I didn’t know anybody and didn’t know sign language. Sometimes students were brave and approached wanting to learn sign language, and I thought that was great … we became friends.”
Payton Garrison, 13, was one of them. “It’s meant a lot to me. … I wouldn’t have been able to talk to Katie — and I really like talking to Katie.”
Eight-year member Jordan Peek, 13, said inclusion was the club’s highest purpose, simply “so everyone knows there is more than one way to talk.”
Even in a world wired for ceaseless chatter, words aren’t everything. Ask the Great American Signers.
A silent, yet vibrant, language blooms from the hands of seventh- and eighth-graders in this Odessa Middle School club. Most have been practicing sign language together since kindergarten.
Laura Scott, 48, the Odessa school district’s deaf educator, founded the club to teach students how to communicate with their deaf classmates. “All those little kids were picking up sign language like crazy,” Scott said.
“For my own students, it’s made their school experience more normal because they have friends they can talk to at lunch, they have kids they can partner with in school assignments. … They aren’t afraid to go try things. They are definitely an integrated part of school. The kids here perceive being deaf as a cool thing and knowing sign language as a cool thing.”
Imagine trying to decipher an underwater conversation. That was how Beth Evatt described the struggle her daughter, who is deaf, faced among her hearing peers. So connecting to this core group of kids was a “blessing,” she said.
Discovering that other parents wanted their children to learn to sign was even more “heart-warming,” she said. “I think it has opened their eyes not just to sign language, but to understanding deaf culture. It’s different, but like anything else, the more knowledge, the better.”
By second grade, the students had mastered the basics and developed into a performance group as they learned to sign songs. The local Optimist Club became their benefactor, donating funds for gloves and music, and sponsoring out-of-town performances. In turn, the children participate in Optimist service activities.
Ranging from a high of 50 to the current 24 members, the Great American Signers have performed in their community and as far away as Branson, St. Joseph and St. Louis.
Accompanied by recordings, their repertoire includes patriotic hymns and popular music. “Sign language evokes a lot of emotion in people,” Scott said. “We go for songs that touch the heart. We have people cry and come up afterward and talk to us.”
Angie Evatt, 13, and Katie Baker, 12, reported through a telephone CSD Video Relay Service interpreter that they love to travel and perform, but the one-on-one fluency of classmates made a big difference early on.
“I felt really isolated and quiet, and once in a while I would try to communicate with my friends,” Angie said. “I changed a lot. I’m signing and speaking both. My friends are signing and communicating, so it seems to be fine.”
“Communicating was hard,” said Katie, “because when I started school, I remember I didn’t know anybody and didn’t know sign language. Sometimes students were brave and approached wanting to learn sign language, and I thought that was great … we became friends.”
Payton Garrison, 13, was one of them. “It’s meant a lot to me. … I wouldn’t have been able to talk to Katie — and I really like talking to Katie.”
Eight-year member Jordan Peek, 13, said inclusion was the club’s highest purpose, simply “so everyone knows there is more than one way to talk.”