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West County Journal | Education | Signs of the times: Rockwood credits signing as foreign language
In Eureka High School's Room 102, the hands of teacher Steve Harris and his students were moving faster than their mouths on a recent Friday afternoon.
"My brother," Harris starts saying, simultaneously creating the words in American sign language, as the students try to keep up with him.
"My little brother. My little brother won't eat. My little brother won't eat vegetables."Faster and faster, the sentence becomes more complex.
"Excellent!" Harris tells and signs to the teenagers, starting again.
"When I was little. When I was little, I ate. When I was little, I ate my vegetables."
This is the second school year for the American sign language/ASL 1 pilot class at Eureka.
But the Rockwood Board of Education is set to vote June 5 on final approval to a program curriculum, which would be extended into all four Rockwood School District high schools, effective in August.
Robert Headrick, Rockwood's coordinator of foreign languages, said the curriculum was developed as a result of 2005 changes in Missouri laws, allowing American sign language to be counted as a foreign language credit in Missouri high schools.
He said activities in class are being structured around language needed for common-life situations, and information about deaf culture in the United States is provided.
Total cost for adoption and implementation of the program in Rockwood district high schools, including curriculum implementation workshops, classroom materials, textbooks, etc., is estimated at $64,582, Headrick said.
"We'll have at least two sections of the class at all four schools this fall," he said.
Headrick said that to date, a total of 225 students in the four high schools, already have registered for the 2008-2009 classes. Two teachers assigned to the class, traveling among Eureka, Lafayette, Marquette and Rockwood Summit high schools.
"There was concern among some that this class could pull students away from other foreign language classes," Headrick said. "But we found that's not been the case during the pilot at Eureka. We've found that kids have a reason to take the class, such as a friend or relative being deaf, or want a career where the knowledge would be an advantage."
At Eureka, Harris said the class last school year was almost all seniors. This year, there is a mix of ages.
"And next year, everyone in this class will be in a new ASL 2 class," he said.
Harris already is in Eureka's foreign language department, where he teaches Latin and Greek. He was asked by principal Kevin Keltner to take on the ASL class in 2006.
"I have some deaf friends, so I know sign language, but I'd never made much of an effort to do something with it," Harris said. "So I've been studying myself, over the last couple years, with a professional interpreter and a woman who is deaf. And I've gone to some adult education classes."
Exercises for his class include "speed signing," building up longer and longer sentences, and a finger spelling game.
"There's been a true demand for this class," Harris said. "Student interest has remained high.
"Some of our students are going into education careers. It's a tremendous specialty to be able to handle those with hearing problems. More and more deaf children are being mainstreamed. And federal law mandates more signing services be available in retail stores, courts, hospitals, banks, and so on."
The class, he feels, will help students in other areas.
"Signing is very creative and promotes imagination and expressiveness," Harris said.
A mirror is on a classroom wall to help the students master hand shapes and facial expression, which is important in sign language. Some students already have started using the skill.
Jake DeForrest, a junior from Wildwood, has a part-time job at a restaurant in Chesterfield.
"I was in that restaurant the other day, and I saw him signing to a deaf person in line," Harris said.
Jake said he took the class this year because he has a deaf friend.
"I can communicate with him more now," Jake said. "I enjoy this, getting to learn and interact."
Sophomore Ashley Witte of Wildwood took the class on a whim.
"It's a different language," she said. "A lot of people don't know it. I'm learning where signing comes from. It's fun."
Sophomore Ryan Lueckenotte, a Wildwood resident, is hearing-impaired himself.
"It's possible I could eventually need sign language to communicate," he said.
Junior Riegen Heidbrier of Wildwood said he has learned sign language is a big part of deaf culture.
"I needed a foreign language credit to graduate, but I'm more of a visual learner, and sign language was easy for me to learn," he said.
Some local colleges have strong deaf programs, Harris said.
"You can get an associate's degree in signing at the Florissant Valley campus of St. Louis Community College," he said.
Junior Betsey Williams of Wildwood enjoys signing to classmates.
"We go over phrases we're not sure of, and we have quizzes, with some testing our speed," she said. "There's a lot of memorization in signing. But I want to be a speech and language pathologist, and this will help me later on."
Sophomore Hanna Landgrebe said she "likes the idea of talking with your hands."
"I was surprised to find that in this country, not long ago, deaf people were kept from signing by others trying to get them to (speak), but there was a lot of objection to that not being practical or fair because they can't hear themselves," she said.
Harris said the students are making good grades.
"I had one student this year who took the class last year and opted to repeat it; this year, I included more vocabulary and grammar," he said.
Next year, Eureka will have two ASL 1 classes and one ASL 2 class.
Harris turns to his class, smiles and signs, "Good job!"
You can contact Mary Shapiro at mshapiro@yourjournal.com.
ASL's origins not clear
American Sign Language (ASL) is a complete, complex language that employs signs made with the hands and other movements, including facial expressions and body postures. It is the first language of many deaf North Americans, and one of several communication options available to hearing-impaired people. ASL is said to be the fourth most commonly used language in the United States.
No one form of sign language is universal. Different sign languages are used in different countries or regions.
The exact beginnings of ASL are not clear. Many believe ASL came mostly from French Sign Language (FSL). Others claim the foundation for ASL existed before FSL was introduced in America in 1817. It was in that year a French teacher named Laurent Clerc, brought to the United States by Thomas Gallaudet, founded the first school for the deaf in Hartford, Conn. Clerc began teaching FSL to Americans, though many of his students were already fluent in their own forms of local, natural sign language. Today's ASL likely contains some of this early American signing.
In Eureka High School's Room 102, the hands of teacher Steve Harris and his students were moving faster than their mouths on a recent Friday afternoon.
"My brother," Harris starts saying, simultaneously creating the words in American sign language, as the students try to keep up with him.
"My little brother. My little brother won't eat. My little brother won't eat vegetables."Faster and faster, the sentence becomes more complex.
"Excellent!" Harris tells and signs to the teenagers, starting again.
"When I was little. When I was little, I ate. When I was little, I ate my vegetables."
This is the second school year for the American sign language/ASL 1 pilot class at Eureka.
But the Rockwood Board of Education is set to vote June 5 on final approval to a program curriculum, which would be extended into all four Rockwood School District high schools, effective in August.
Robert Headrick, Rockwood's coordinator of foreign languages, said the curriculum was developed as a result of 2005 changes in Missouri laws, allowing American sign language to be counted as a foreign language credit in Missouri high schools.
He said activities in class are being structured around language needed for common-life situations, and information about deaf culture in the United States is provided.
Total cost for adoption and implementation of the program in Rockwood district high schools, including curriculum implementation workshops, classroom materials, textbooks, etc., is estimated at $64,582, Headrick said.
"We'll have at least two sections of the class at all four schools this fall," he said.
Headrick said that to date, a total of 225 students in the four high schools, already have registered for the 2008-2009 classes. Two teachers assigned to the class, traveling among Eureka, Lafayette, Marquette and Rockwood Summit high schools.
"There was concern among some that this class could pull students away from other foreign language classes," Headrick said. "But we found that's not been the case during the pilot at Eureka. We've found that kids have a reason to take the class, such as a friend or relative being deaf, or want a career where the knowledge would be an advantage."
At Eureka, Harris said the class last school year was almost all seniors. This year, there is a mix of ages.
"And next year, everyone in this class will be in a new ASL 2 class," he said.
Harris already is in Eureka's foreign language department, where he teaches Latin and Greek. He was asked by principal Kevin Keltner to take on the ASL class in 2006.
"I have some deaf friends, so I know sign language, but I'd never made much of an effort to do something with it," Harris said. "So I've been studying myself, over the last couple years, with a professional interpreter and a woman who is deaf. And I've gone to some adult education classes."
Exercises for his class include "speed signing," building up longer and longer sentences, and a finger spelling game.
"There's been a true demand for this class," Harris said. "Student interest has remained high.
"Some of our students are going into education careers. It's a tremendous specialty to be able to handle those with hearing problems. More and more deaf children are being mainstreamed. And federal law mandates more signing services be available in retail stores, courts, hospitals, banks, and so on."
The class, he feels, will help students in other areas.
"Signing is very creative and promotes imagination and expressiveness," Harris said.
A mirror is on a classroom wall to help the students master hand shapes and facial expression, which is important in sign language. Some students already have started using the skill.
Jake DeForrest, a junior from Wildwood, has a part-time job at a restaurant in Chesterfield.
"I was in that restaurant the other day, and I saw him signing to a deaf person in line," Harris said.
Jake said he took the class this year because he has a deaf friend.
"I can communicate with him more now," Jake said. "I enjoy this, getting to learn and interact."
Sophomore Ashley Witte of Wildwood took the class on a whim.
"It's a different language," she said. "A lot of people don't know it. I'm learning where signing comes from. It's fun."
Sophomore Ryan Lueckenotte, a Wildwood resident, is hearing-impaired himself.
"It's possible I could eventually need sign language to communicate," he said.
Junior Riegen Heidbrier of Wildwood said he has learned sign language is a big part of deaf culture.
"I needed a foreign language credit to graduate, but I'm more of a visual learner, and sign language was easy for me to learn," he said.
Some local colleges have strong deaf programs, Harris said.
"You can get an associate's degree in signing at the Florissant Valley campus of St. Louis Community College," he said.
Junior Betsey Williams of Wildwood enjoys signing to classmates.
"We go over phrases we're not sure of, and we have quizzes, with some testing our speed," she said. "There's a lot of memorization in signing. But I want to be a speech and language pathologist, and this will help me later on."
Sophomore Hanna Landgrebe said she "likes the idea of talking with your hands."
"I was surprised to find that in this country, not long ago, deaf people were kept from signing by others trying to get them to (speak), but there was a lot of objection to that not being practical or fair because they can't hear themselves," she said.
Harris said the students are making good grades.
"I had one student this year who took the class last year and opted to repeat it; this year, I included more vocabulary and grammar," he said.
Next year, Eureka will have two ASL 1 classes and one ASL 2 class.
Harris turns to his class, smiles and signs, "Good job!"
You can contact Mary Shapiro at mshapiro@yourjournal.com.
ASL's origins not clear
American Sign Language (ASL) is a complete, complex language that employs signs made with the hands and other movements, including facial expressions and body postures. It is the first language of many deaf North Americans, and one of several communication options available to hearing-impaired people. ASL is said to be the fourth most commonly used language in the United States.
No one form of sign language is universal. Different sign languages are used in different countries or regions.
The exact beginnings of ASL are not clear. Many believe ASL came mostly from French Sign Language (FSL). Others claim the foundation for ASL existed before FSL was introduced in America in 1817. It was in that year a French teacher named Laurent Clerc, brought to the United States by Thomas Gallaudet, founded the first school for the deaf in Hartford, Conn. Clerc began teaching FSL to Americans, though many of his students were already fluent in their own forms of local, natural sign language. Today's ASL likely contains some of this early American signing.