ASL Classes In The Mainstream.

I recall few years back around 2000; it was a time when a wave of high schools across America began adopting American Sign Language (ASL) classes in their curriculum as their foreign language requisite.

It was awesome. It opened up new jobs for us as instructors. Some of them have gone on to become our interpreters and other deaf related fields. I love it when I bump into a signing waitress, bartenders, or store clerks. Yes, there are few annoying people that approach us and say "look, I can sign" but the benefits far outweighs this annoyance. You get the general idea.

Have ASL classes in high schools hit its plateau? The chatter of new ASL classes popping up in our neighborhood schools has pretty much dissolved after five years. What is apparent to me is that we need to renew our diligence to request and promote schools in having ASL classes.

Over the weekend, I'll come up with a generalized letter draft that you all can copy and paste then send it to your local high schools through e-mail or letters. I will also see if I will find some helpful links out there in the web and add it to my sidebar for future references. If you have any feedback or comments, please do share.