A mention in the comments of this blog on the use of sign language brought up some fond memories of my youth.
I was mainstreamed in the Roanoke City Schools in Virginia. This school system includes a designated elementary school, middle school (junior high when I was attending), and high school where there are teachers and interpreters for the deaf providing equal education for deaf kids in the region. Starting at about fourth grade, I was shifted to hearing classrooms with the aid of interpreters/teacher aides for classes that I am strong enough to work in a hearing environment. Those classes include science, history, and math, while I was undergoing intensive training in English and speech therapy.
In those classes, there were some hearing students who became so fascinated with our sign language that some of them went out and learned fingerspelling. A program was set for a large group of 5th and 6th graders to sign the words for “We are the World” song that was the rave at that time. Yes, every single one of them signed that song on the behest of the teachers coordinating this.
I met with a few of my old classmates at a reunion recently, and I can tell you without a doubt that only two people signed to me at the reunion.
Two.
I was not quite an unpopular boy by any means. I was well known, and I still keep in touch with some of the old classmates. I am sure some of them read this blog, so please understand — I am not blaming you, or accusing you of anything. And again, I had a fantastic time catching up with all of the old classmates at the reunion, and look forward toward meeting them again in the near-future. What I am just simply saying is that the motivation to learn sign language is actually very rare, despite the opportunities present in this environment.
Look at RIT as a perfect example of huge integration of deaf and hearing folks. A very small percentage of hearing folks know sign beyond the basic words (hello, thank you, and so on forth), much less fingerspelling, that would lead to folks being able to learn new words by spelling them to us deaf folks (to a fault, we love to show them the signs we have for those words, if only to help them minimize the exhausting nature of spelling the words out.)
There were a lot of opportunities to learn in private — there were bookmarks and calendars provided with the alphabets in sign language. There were presentations, mandated training classes, and more. But the two people that signed to me learned by being our friends throughout junior high and high school. Not one from the elementary school that we were at would still remember the signs.
Granted, there were several others who signed to me in high school that did not attend the reunion. I was sad to not see them then, and really hope that I would be able to meet them soon.
There are many reasons that they do not sign. I can only wish they would for me, but I can not just simply demand that they do so.
Teej, Interesting story! My twin sister and I started learning sign when our mother worked in Special Ed (we were 8). Over the years, we learned more sign and practiced signing with our aunt (when we saw her — infrequently). My parents would get phone calls from the teachers because they thought we had ADD, we couldn’t sit still. Even though we were in different classes, if we could see each other, we could sign. My parents told them we were talking and move us so we couldn’t see each other. In high school choir, it took our teacher 2-1/2 years and a pianist who had a Deaf daughter before he figured out we were talking and not just goofing off. In college, we both took classes to become certified in Sign and both worked as Interpreters at the school. Now we’ve both been told that we’re actually Hard of Hearing. (Both of us have hearing loss in the same ear.)
It’s interesting that our experiences are similar!
Hey TJ. I love reading your blog. I hope I was one of the 2 who signed to you at the reunion even though I was VERY VERY VERY rusty. I have really gotten back into it though – been practicing like you, Stephen and the other TJ told me to. Its all coming back slowly but surely. Next time I see you I’ll be able to say a lot more than what I did at the reunion. LOL