By Caitlin V. Reidy — Correspondent
Ella June Salzman got the idea for a new club during a school fire drill when everyone had to keep quiet.
The Sanborn seventh-grader has a deaf aunt who speaks American and Italian Sign Language.
“It’s a way to communicate,” Ella said. “It’s a language that doesn’t need to be spoken.”
Now, her classmates in Sanborn’s American Sign Language (ASL) Club are learning to communicate with the Deaf community and understand the culture associated with the language. They want to combat stereotypes and educate others on the value of learning ASL.
In the early days of the idea, Ella teamed up with another seventh-grader, Emily Huston Fuller: “Emily helped me to take action; it’s a team effort,” Ella said.
They went to Sanborn Principal Justin Cameron, Emily said, and asked if they could start their group. With the green light, ASL Club has been meeting on Mondays since January.
Signs of deeper understanding
Ella’s mom, Maria Caterina Ferretti, is the advisor of the club and founder of Concord Scholars Institute for Arts and Language, which offers courses in languages including ASL, Italian, Spanish, and German.
Ferretti and her eldest sister were born in Italy. Her sister was born profoundly deaf, and Ferretti also has progressive hearing loss in one ear.
“Deafness is a culture,” Ferretti said. “Sign language is a matter of expression.”
In addition to studying ASL, the club has watched movies and documentaries to learn about Deaf culture.
“We don’t just learn how to sign; we learn about the Deaf community,” says seventh-grader Kate Huston Fuller. “Sign language is not the same in every country. Language is a reflection of many things.”
Another seventh-grader in the club, Tessa Gagna, drew parallels with her own experiences with dyslexia and the need to connect with people who receive information differently.
“American Sign Language is a much easier language for me to learn,” Tessa said. “I’m a visual learner, so it helps me to connect with things and put the puzzle pieces together.”
And seventh-grader Eleanore Kocher says hearing is something most of society takes for granted, making ASL even more important to learn.
Tessa and Eleanore said their favorite ASL sign is “family,” and Ella said she likes signing the word “dance.”
Sanborn’s ASL Club has been an immersive experience for the middle schoolers. “This has brought a lot of conversations home,” Emily said.
Growing community
Cameron said once the ASL Club started, its activities inspired a special visit: Matthew Hayes, a deaf author, spoke to the staff and club members on his personal experiences.
Assistant Principal Olive Bradford he offered a new perspective on learning about the Deaf community: Hayes lost his hearing throughout his life until he became completely deaf.
Bradford said his talk was important because he “experienced both sides” of hearing and deafness.
His experience helped “teachers to understand all identities,” she said.
