American Sign Language in Schools Essay Example

There has always been a deaf community around us. “The Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) is one of a few national surveys that regularly collect data identifying the American population of persons with hearing loss or deafness. Estimates from the SIPP indicate that fewer than 1 in 20 Americans are currently deaf or hard of hearing.” (Ross). Sign language has been around since there has been a community of deaf people. Even though it was not an established language until 1817 when the first school for deaf people opened. “In 1817, Gallaudet and Clerc opened the first of their schools in Connecticut. It was called the Connecticut Asylum for the Education and Instruction of Deaf and Dumb Persons (now called the American School for the Deaf) in Hartford. By the end of the first year, there were 31 students from various New England cities which included students from Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, and Henniker, New Hampshire.” (History). A lot of the history around deaf people was that they were treated like they weren’t smart or that their disabilities were too much to overcome. Even now in schools, they are not treating the deaf students like their language is all that important to learn, or important for anyone that isn’t deaf to learn it. Instead, kids ranging in ages from 5 to 8 years are taught how to write using formal cursive. Cursive is an outdated skill that not many children will use in their older years. American sign language is more rewarding and beneficial for elementary students instead of cursive in the public school system.

There are numerous jobs sign language is used daily. Interpreters are needed all around the world and can make a high salary of around “$51,000 annually” (ASLcareers). Interpreters help people daily in a work setting or a personal setting be able to translate whatever they are needing to tell the other party. Interpreter jobs are on an uprise and increasing every year. Deaf people need interpreters for talking to people while on the job, they are needed when using the telephone, as well as when they are at a formal event. Just imagine trying to have a conversation with someone and having to talk through someone else just to get your point across. Another job in sign language is audiology. Audiologists focus on hearing disorders and problems with the ear, their salary being in the “$77,000 range annually” (ASLcareers). Audiologists work in many different places not just in the hospital, they work in the military since soldiers have problems with their hearing being around gunshots, bombs, and jets all day. Audiologists also help their patients with balance issues and dizziness due to being hard of hearing or other diagnoses. Being an American Sign Language instructor or special education teacher, special education teachers use American Sign Language quite a bit since a lot of non-verbal children use asl as their way of communicating what they need. American Sign Language instructors teach hearing-impaired children subjects they might not have been able to learn due to their disability.  Those jobs range from “$60,000 to 70,000 annually” (ASLcareer). Even if the kids decide not to pursue a degree or career from learning sign language it gives them many opportunities to turn it into a career and help others with learning the language. 

Every day there are circumstances where a hard of hearing or deaf person go to the store or a restaurant and have difficulties being helped because no one in the workplace knows of their language. American Sign Language is one of the most widely used languages in the United States. Why aren’t we teaching it to younger children, when it has shown many benefits to those who have learned it against those who haven’t? Before the children have even begun school, they could be learning signs to have a way to be able to communicate while they are too young to speak.  “Studies show long-term cognitive benefits, including +12 IQ point advantage, accelerated speech and emotional development, enables children to communicate effectively, lowers frustration levels and improves child-parent bonding.” (Educational). Even if only basic signs it would be beneficial not only to the child but to the community. If you ever run into a scenario where you must speak with someone who is part of the deaf community, you will be able to help without both people struggling to understand what one another is trying to say.  As an adult there are a lot of ways to get involved in the deaf community, typing American sign language classes near me into your search engine will bring up results all around you, but if you are a child then you don’t have the same opportunity’s. In school they could dedicate 10 minutes each day teaching sign language and the children could become interested and want to know more. Basic sign language isn’t hard, and they would have something they are excited about to show to their parents or guardians. 

Cursive has been around since the 8th century by the ancient Romans. Being most popular in the 1930s, a bigger time for writing and penmanship than in today’s world.  Cursive is considered messy and easy to create confusion for the reader. If children are interested in learning cursive or calligraphy, there are specific classes outside of the common core that can teach them.  Schools have begun to discontinue the teaching of it beginning in the 2000s, as it is seen as an old-style of writing. A lot of schools have replaced that time with typing classes, which are helpful, and useful in today’s world. “Typing is also less error focused than handwriting. If a mistake is made, students can easily undo or delete the problem and start over, and suggestions are given in applications like Microsoft Word. This can help the student master English skills, and the learning process can feel more rewarding.” (Tom). What is not taught in elementary schools are any other languages though. The way of communicating with others is very important, seeing that we are going to be speaking to many people as we grow older. In-person communication with someone who doesn’t speak your language requires a lot of work. For example, a translator, a computer with translator applications, lip-reading, etc., when we could be just more open to learning other languages. American sign language is not the only most common language. As the world grows more there is a lot of other language-speaking people in the United States.

Children of any age will not only have fun learning American Sign Language but will also be able to communicate and help the deaf community in the future. While cursive, a great skill to have, won’t be as important to learn since most ways of communicating are through email, messenger, or discussions boards these days. American sign language can bring so many opportunities for young people. With making friends with people, they might not have been able to before, making people in the community feel their language is important and validated, and have many career opportunities arise from learning the language. No language should be inclusive. American Sign Language isn’t for only the people with deaf or hard of hearing affecting their lives. It can be used by so many people in everyday situations. The benefits and possibilities for children learning sign language are much more rewarding than children learning cursive in today’s world.

Work Cited:

“History of American Sign Language”, 17 August 2016 https://www.dawnsign.com/news-detail/history-of-american-sign-language 

Ross E Mitchell. How many deaf people are there in the United States? Estimates from the Survey of Income and Program Participation. 2006 Winter https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16177267/ 

"American Sign Language (ASL) Careers." Best Accredited Colleges, 20 Oct 2021 published. Web. 25 Jan 2022 accessed.

Educational Play care, “Benefits of Sign Language for Young Children” June 16, 2016 https://www.educationalplaycare.com/blog/sign-language-benefits-for-young-children/ 

Tom, Rachael Kacey Templin “Pros and Cons Series Part 3: Should Cursive Be Taught in School?” 21 January 2017 http://info.thinkfun.com/stem-education/pros-and-cons-series-part-3-should-cursive-be-taught-in-school.