This year they are combining their interest in and knowledge of signing to teach a 10-week class at Girls Inc. Six young girls show up for one hour, one day a week, to learn basic sign language skills, including the alphabet and simple words and concepts. Later classes will involve signing whole sentences.

Teachers Stone and Bohm use flash cards to help their students learn what each symbol is and then to be able to sign any given word.

“I started learning sign language about four years ago,” 14-year-old Stone said. “I wanted to volunteer and thought teaching would be a good way to start.”

Stone’s interest in sign language developed after attending a summer camp for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Stone was born with significant hearing loss in both ears, but she has no trouble understanding others because she uses hearing aids.

“I’ve had so much fun at Camp Willard in the past, but a lot of the kids there talk in sign language,” she said. “Even though I can hear and speak, I wanted to be able to do sign language too.”

After learning the silent language herself, Stone wanted to share her newly found skill with someone else, so she started teaching Bohm.

“Actually I asked her to teach me,” Bohm said. “I thought it would be neat to know something that most people don’t.”

The girls have been friends for the past three years and began signing to each other in band class.

“We would sit in the back and talk a lot. The teacher didn’t like that so much, so she (Emma) started teaching me sign language. Teachers try to tell us to be quiet, but we just tell them that we aren’t saying a word.”

Although their sign language class only has seven more weeks this session, Stone said she would like to continue teaching sign language.

“I’ll probably see if I can keep teaching it, because I like working with kids,” she said.
But even though the class is meant to be fun, all the girls agree that it can be difficult at times too.

“There is a sign for every word in every language,” Stone said. “So it can be hard to remember them all. We teach the international method because it’s easier and you can use it anywhere.”

“Learning sign language is kind of like learning any new language,” Bohm said. “It takes a lot of study and practice. Personally, I think it should be offered as a class in high school, like Spanish.”

Eight-year-old Emily Loy said she signed up for the class because she knew a little sign language already but wanted to know more.

“I did some in a church class one time,” Loy said. “And my older sister knows it. She can do sign language real fast, and I want to be able to do it like her.”

Megan Patrick, 7, was also glad she enrolled in the class.

“I think it’s a lot of fun,” she said. “But I don’t think I’m going to remember it all. I like signing the letters because they are easier to remember.”

Seven-year-old Kaylynn Jones agreed that signing is difficult.

“Some are harder than others,” she said. “ But it’s fun and good for kids to learn something new.”

By January Wetzel
http://www.tribtown.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=186&ArticleID=18145&TM=36318.45