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AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL SYSTEM Peggy J. Selover The topic of American Sign Language (ASL) in the high school system has garnered considerable positive response in recent years. The phrase I hear most often is, "I wish it had been offered when I was in high school." We can all relate to time spent in high school studying French, Spanish, perhaps Latin, and wondering when we'd ever use the language. With ASL it's a different story. You can converse within the boundaries of your own town or city. Learning to communicate in another language so unlike those traditionally taught in our schools excites the student. This is new - and different. For such a captive audience, a wealth of knowledge awaits. Through the medium of high school classes, ASL will spread easily through the hearing community. If each hearing person studying ASL and Deaf culture talks with just one other person about their studies, imagine the awareness spreading like wildfire . The inquisitive student will seek out deaf counterparts to talk with to learn more about deafness. Sensitivity, awareness, respect, understanding - that's what this is about. As for deaf education, the deaf student has not previously been presented the opportunity to study her own language in high school. To many deaf individuals, the morphological and grammatical processes of ASL are as much a mystery as they are to hearing individuals. At long last, the deaf student will have a chance to excel in a foreign language; her own native language will be offered as a course of study. Classes in Deaf culture and artistic expression through ASL will further serve to enlighten and empower the deaf student. @ 1988 by Linstok Press, Inc. 205 ISSN 0302-1475 see note inside front cover ASL inthe High School Our hearing society has for years insidiously oppressed the deaf by taking over, "doing for," and "helping." In bringing ASL into the limelight, we present opportunities for empowerment of deaf individuals. We will see more deaf teachers in hearing high schools and colleges and more deaf role models which the students need in their lives. Also, as hearing people learn about deafness - the language and culture - they will feel less threatened when approached by deaf individuals. Ultimately, more jobs will be accessible to the deaf by virtue ofbetter understanding. And, of course, there's always the issue ofmainstreaming to consider. If deaf students continue to be mainstreamed into hearing classrooms, they must be provided with "the least restrictive environment" as mandated by PL 94-142. The existing barrier for the deaf student is communication.A means of establishing free-flowing communication among hearing and deaf students must be provided in order to comply with the law. In teaching ASL to high school students, we present the possibility for real communication among hearing students and those deaf and hearing impaired students mainstreamed into hearing environments. I am the originator and sponsor of California Assembly Bill 51 (AB 51) which requires California high schools to give foreign language credit to American Sign Language courses. The idea for this legislation grew from my experiences with the Deaf community during the past ten years. I've seen the challenges which confront deaf citizens on a daily basis, and believe the communication barrier which exists between hearing and deaf persons is the largest obstacle to be overcome. This barrier prevents access to full participation and freedom by deaf people within society at large. Why legislate rather than work through the educational hierarchy? It seemed more concrete to create a law than continue to bring the subject up for endless discussion. Fifteen years of linguistic research has proven beyond a shadow ofa doubt that SLS 59 Summer 1988 ASL is a language in its own right, separate from English. However, the majority of foreign language teachers know very little about ASL, and thus are very cautious when discussing it as a foreign language. Any progress would be slow, indeed, were we to take the route of change through the educational system. Direct contact with a legislative member who works on educational issues made perfectly good sense to me. Thus, Assemblyman Jack O'Connell, Chairman of the Assembly...

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