American Sign Language in Schools

The “Learn Sign Language Video Series” team ran across and interesting article recently in SIGNews. In that article, Marvin Miller was arguing for the need to make ASL a required language option for our public schools.  It is an interesting thought.

What if American Sign Language was offered as a language option in every school? It would be offered alongside the old standbys like French, German, and Spanish.  I suspect there would be lot’s of kids willing to learn.

For over 2 million Deaf people in the United States, it could mean that everyday living might get a little easier.  Imagine the scenario where the front counter person at McDonald’s actually understood ASL, ad was able to respond. Think about how much easier that would be.

The public school system as a whole is not there yet.  However, the homeschooling community could be.  Parents who look to provide quality educational material for their homeschool children might want to consider American Sign Language as a teaching option.

There is plenty of quality material available to learn sign language.  The best of the options will provide you with clear video, an ASL dictionary, so you can actually see the signs in motion, as well as a curriculum for which you can follow and test your skills. You can start by learning simple things like the ASL alphabet, ASL numbers, or ASL signs for family members or commonly used phrases.  It would be a great home schooling experience.

The homeschool community has an opportunity to become a fore-runner in teh goal of teaching more people to use American Sign Language.  The skills learned will be applicable for life.  In addition, it may also help to spur the public school systems of the United States into action.  Please consider adding ASL to your home schooler’s curriculum this year.  In addition, please consider sharing a link to this article with your home school friends.

Have a testimony you’d like to share about The Learn Sign Langauge Video Series? Send your written or video taped experience to ayalasigns@aol.com

Be blessed!