Katie Tan, Reporter
@KtanCourant
Communication is one of the most important tools because it allows us to connect with one another, but for some this is not that easy. For 0.38% of the U.S. population, communication is not as easy as speaking to others. This 0.38% of Americans suffer from hearing loss, and many use sign language to express themselves. Sign language incorporates physical gestures and signs to form sentences. It is used all over the world and is a great skill for communicating with others, who are unable to hear.
Recently students at NCHS have decided to create a sign language club in order to learn more about this unique language. Sign language club will teach students how to communicate through physical gestures and signs. It not only enables communication with friends, but also, and more primarily, with people who are deaf. While it may seem complicated, the sign language club uses fun and simple techniques so club members can pick up the basics of sign language and begin to build their knowledge from there.
The club’s advisor, Ms. Vita, said, “We usually go over the ABC’s and the numbers, which is really important to be able to finger spell and understand a sign someone is doing,” Ms. Vita was always interested in sign language, and took it as a foreign language course in college. She then went on to take sign language classes at Norwalk Community College.
Now, she uses sign language at NCHS. “I worked with cross country over the summer, so I met Noah Levine and we signed a little bit, and then he came to me asking if I could advise,” Ms. Vita said. Since she is a special education teacher, she thought it would be helpful to become an advisor. “Being a special Ed teacher too, sometimes a lot of our kids use sign language,” she said.
Junior Noah Levine, who has used sign language all his life, started the sign language club to share this useful skill with others. “It would be a good way to show the kids in the community about sign language, and there were a lot of kids that I talked to, including my friend’s, that said they’d like to go and that it’d be fun to be able to talk to each other without using words,” he said.
Noah’s personal experience with sign language stemmed from his mother’s hearing loss. “She has some hearing and she has a cochlear implant, but she really can’t hear and she mostly does lip reading,”he said. Because Noah’s mother has been deaf her whole life, she taught Noah sign language from a young age, and he uses it everyday.
Using sign language was very beneficial to Noah’s life. “It’s something useful that I can use in life. I’ve met people and I can speak with my family because I know sign language,” he said. Knowing sign language is great for enhancing your academic performance. Signing enables you to expand your social life, and interact with other people who sign. Being bilingual is crucial to broadening your horizons.
Sophomore Andrew Malling is another member of the club. Before the club, Andrew had no experience with sign language. “I personally joined for more of the experience. I get to come into each class after school, learning intelligent subject matter while still being able to converse with friends,” he said. The club time is convenient for his schedule because it takes place between school and sports, which allows him to commit to both. Although he does not find use for sign language in his own home, he has found himself using it in other situations. “I had to use sign language with club member Gray Farley at a home football game, where I, on the other side of the stands, had to tell him when we were leaving the game over the never ending chants of the student section,” Andrew said.
The club has a fun yet productive environment. Each meeting focuses on a different topic, such as sports and politics. “Bringing in children’s books in sign language so that the class, the kids, and the members can read together is something that everyone enjoys.” Noah said.
