Hands Up for an ASL Club: Linking Reasons in a Blog Post

Why Pinecrest Needs an ASL Club

1Hello, Room 14 readers! Pinecrest Elementary will add one new after-school club next fall, and the student council wants to hear our ideas. The council will read every idea posted on our class blog before it votes in May. Our school already has clubs for art, running, and science. I think Pinecrest should start an American Sign Language club because learning ASL would bring our school closer together. ASL is a complete language with its own grammar, and many Deaf people in the United States and Canada use it every day.

2First, an ASL club would help us talk with more people in our community. In particular, our new classmate Theo is Deaf, and he uses ASL. Right now, most of us can only wave and smile at him at lunch. Consequently, our conversations with Theo are very short. If more of us learned to sign, we could chat with him about soccer, books, or anything else. Theo has already taught our table the sign for the word friend, and we use it every morning.

3Second, learning to sign is a great workout for the brain. Specifically, signers use their hands, faces, and bodies all at once. A raised eyebrow, for example, can turn a statement into a question. ASL even has a hand sign for every letter of the alphabet, so we could start by spelling our names. Learning any new language also takes practice and patience. Those skills help students in every subject, from math to music.

4Some students might want a club about games or cooking instead. However, an ASL club can be just as much fun. We could learn to sign songs, play guessing games, and act out short skits without saying a word. We would plan each meeting so that it feels like a game.

5Since Ms. Okafor already knows ASL, she has offered to lead the club on Thursdays. For all of these reasons, please vote for an ASL club. Leave a comment below with your ideas!