Members of ASL pose for the school yearbook photo. Photo Credit: Hadley Woods and Addison Parker, Watauga Yearbook
American Sign Language (ASL) is mostly used by the deaf or hard-of-hearing community. That being said, there is a growing interest among hearing people to learn ASL so they can better communicate with their friends, family, or even strangers. Here at WHS, the ASL Club, founded and led by senior Alexandra Newmark, is educating the student body on how to speak American Sign Language.
Newmark’s interest in ASL was inspired by an inside joke with her friends, stemming from the app Duolingo.
“Last year, a couple of my friends got into ASL and I had started taking Duolingo [courses] for French,” she said. “One of the phrases it asked me was ‘Are you a horse?’ I thought that was hilarious, so I learned how to say it in French. The next logical progression was obviously learning how to say it in ASL.”
After learning a couple of things in ASL with her friends, they realized there was an opportunity here at WHS to share their knowledge. After some encouragement from her friends, Alex talked to Ms. Lowrey and formally started the club.
“We meet every other Tuesday at 8 AM in the media center,” she said. “We have probably 15-20 active members right now. We don’t take attendance, show up when you can. We’re just happy to share our knowledge and learn!”
Senior Mirium Spaulding, the Vice President of the ASL Club, works with Newmark to organize and teach at most of the meetings.
“I joined because I knew some ASL from my previous NCVPS classes,” she said. “I wanted a space where I could practice and solidify my knowledge and help other people learn.”
Some of the signing activities she helps to lead include learning to introduce yourself, numbers, foods, and different holidays. Recently, they began to learn how to sign the song “When Will My Life Begin” from the Disney princess movie, Tangled.
“My favorite activity so far this year was when we learned food signs and got to eat muffins afterwards,” Spaudling said. “The signs we learned that day were fun because they were what everyone wanted to learn.”
Emma Salee, a senior and active member of the club, has had a passion for the unspoken language ever since she first heard of it.
“I think sign language is very important for hearing people to learn and it's unfortunate how uncommon it is,” Salee said. “Ever since I learned of its existence, along with its lack of awareness, I have slowly endeavored to learn as much as I can. I was so excited when I heard an ASL Club formed at the high school and I signed up as soon as I could.”
Salee loves being a member of the ASL Club and appreciates the space to learn. One of her favorite things about the club is the other people learning with her.
“I enjoy being around such a great group of students and learning about such a cool topic,” she said. “I also love the inclusivity! There's a good mix of beginners, intermediate, and a few experts on the subject of ASL, so anyone can come and fit in.”
Freshman Lucille Dees appreciates the speed she can learn during one of the club meetings. The club goes over anywhere from 9 to almost 20 words or phrases in one meeting!
“I joined ASL club because I have always wanted to learn sign language,” Dees said. “I hope to become conversational, and already I have learned so much.”
Senior Kenny Broce is a very passionate member of the ASL club. As he prepares to leave WHS, Kenny has taken his newfound interest in ASL to events outside of the high school that he probably wouldn’t have known about otherwise.
“On top of being able to learn signs, being in ASL Club allows us to receive information concerning any news in the world of ASL, organizations, and events,” he said. “A few weeks ago, one of the club members and I attended a Deaf History Event at App State. It was a presentation given by Kathleen L. Brockway, an author who has done extensive research on the first deaf schools and communities in America. Her presentation (which was entirely delivered in sign and interpreted in real time) included her most valuable findings in her research on the deaf communities in Baltimore, Detroit, and Lantz Mill.”
The ASL Club welcomes anyone who is willing to learn. If you haven’t been to any meetings yet, it’s never too late to start. Newmark and Spaulding have some exciting plans in the works for the near future.
“I’d just like to see it continue and grow,” Newmark said. “We’re pretty big, considering it’s our first year, but I’d really like to see us get a lot bigger. Miriam and I are working on doing some stuff with another sign language club at App State. I just want to see it continue after I’m gone.”
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