01-05-2025
Joplin students embrace ASL to connect with their peers
JOPLIN, Mo. — Students at Joplin's McKinley Elementary embrace their differences and brighten each other's day.
These students are part of the school's ASL club—American Sign Language—and they're helping lead the Pledge of Allegiance.' Joplin Schools' teacher for the deaf and hard of hearing, Erin Geeding says the students brought the idea of the club to her as a way to connect to their peers.
'They're very grateful. They'll see me again, you know, after a class, or, like, specialist time, or whatever, and they'll say, 'Did you know that this person knows sign language? They were talking with me!' it's been really, really cool to see,' said Erin Geeding, a teacher for the deaf and hard of hearing.
'I have a deaf friend, and I wanted to be able to communicate with her. She was really happy,' said Heaven Childers, McKinley Elementary fourth grader.
'It's a different language, so there's lots of different people that speak it, and so you can speak with people that you don't know, too,' said Iris Allgood, McKinley Elementary fourth grader.
American Sign Language is the third most common language in the United States behind English and Spanish. It's used by between half and three-quarters of a million people.
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