ASL at EHS is a popular class students take to learn the interesting background of the useful ways to communicate with deaf individuals. Not only is ASL helpful for outside-of-school situations involving deaf individuals, but it’s also helpful for students learning the subject.
Since 2007, students at EHS have had the opportunity to take ASL 1 and 2. For the students who wanted to advance their ability to communicate, there were no options to continue their education beyond ASL 2 at EHS. Starting in the fall of 2024, ASL 3 will be offered to those who want to carry on with the love of signing. EHS’s only ASL teacher Julie Montgomery (Staff) gives information on why there was a need to add the class, as well as how it passed as a new class.
“2007 was the first year ASL was offered in Rockwood and started at EHS. It then started at LHS in 2008, and MHS in 2009.” Montgomery says. Not only did Montgomery want this class to be successful, but students did as well.
“ Students have been asking for level 3 since 2014 here at EHS. In (I believe 2015) students got a petition signed with over 100 names and went to a school board meeting asking for EHS to add a level 3.” Montgomery states. With that being said, Montgomery verifies the difficulty level of the class, leading to the expectations she expects while teaching the class.
“ASL 3 will be more challenging as more of the class will be conducted in the target language and expectations will be higher as with any language.”
In addition to Montgomery’s viewpoint of the recently developed class, students around EHS who have taken ASL 1 and 2 state their opinions and predictions about the upcoming course. Eden Southards,11, shares her thoughts and states what she’s most excited about.
“The thing I’m most excited about for this class is singing songs. It’s always fun to sign anything, especially when it’s a song.” Southards said.
She also claims that the class is going to be more difficult than previous ASL classes she has taken.
“I think this class is definitely going to be harder,” Southards said. “I really have to lock in . Stallone Woodbury,11, talks about how the new class will be more invested and acceptable towards students who want to pursue a career in signing.
“The class is more knowledge of the subject, but also because everybody that’s going to be in there is people that are both good at ASL, and genuinely enjoy learning it,” Woodbury said. “It’s going to be a lot more investing and fun.”
He also states that utilizing the ASL skills outside of school would be helpful for life.
“I’ll of course sign to my friends for fun, but I also think it’s useful for college in terms of communication,” Woodbury said. “I also think you can use it for your job space in the future.”.
Kyle Wrather,11, declares that this course is going to increase the amount of enrollment for not only ASL 3 but for the other ASL classes as well.
“I’m not too sure what we are gonna learn in ASL 3 yet, but I hope we have opportunities to show ASL a lot more,” Wrather said. “If we do that, then I think more people will be inspired to take ASL. There is going to be a lot less talking and more signing.”
As expressed, ASL 3 is a new class offered at EHS that will encourage ASL students to take the challenge.
