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December 20, 2005
Interest turns into awareness program
A senior at Washington Township High School has turned her interest in sign language into a school-wide deaf awareness program. This month, 17-year-old Jillian Dean placed identification signs at 15 major areas of the high school including the cafeteria and gymnasium.
On each, hands -- not words -- spelled out the name of the area.
"I took sign language my sophomore and junior years," Jillian said. "It was really interesting, and it didn't seem like a lot of people knew about it."
High School Executive Principal Rosemarie Farrow described Jillian as the kind of student "you want to clone and remake over and over again," praising her efforts.
"She's a generally neat kid who wants to get the news out there about American Sign Language and what it's like to be hearing impaired," Farrow said.
After seeing the signs, some students have tried sign language, according to Jillian, who hopes it will eventually catch on.
"It's not hard to pick up," she said. "But you have to want to do it."
The high school offers American Sign Language as a course which counts toward a student's world language requirements, Farrow said.
Each of the course's two sections are filled to capacity, according to Farrow.
"It truly is like learning another language," Farrow said. "Our kids have taken quite an interest."
Jillian's interest in sign language could come in handy for the career path on which she is embarking. She said she plans to attend Gardner Webb University in North Carolina and eventually become a special education teacher.
By Martin C. Bricketto
http://www.nj.com/news/gloucester/local/index.ssf?/base/news-2/1135070141277810.xml&coll=8
Posted by 4HL on December 20, 2005 9:59 AM
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