Page 36 - issue
P. 36
Bais Yaakov
they are.”
“It gave me more understanding of a relative who has
Down syndrome,” added Devorah Leah. “I learned that she
really wants to do things but isn’t able to. Knowing that gives
me more patience. Before we did our research, when I saw
people with different types of disabilities, I didn’t necessarily
Learning
American
Sign
Language
by Margie Pensak
ASIDE FROM HER ROLE
in the B’More Inclusive work-
shops, Mrs. Zelinger, an expert
in deafness and coordinator of
activities for the deaf at the
Macks Center for Jewish
Education, has been teaching
an elective this year at Bais
Yaakov high school. It hap-
pened through the initiative of
eleventh-grade student Esther
Berkowitz, who had heard of
such a class being given a few years ago.
“My friend and I asked Mrs. Zelinger to teach American
Sign Language, because we were very interested in the
topic,” shared Esther. “I’m so glad she was able to! Mondays
and Wednesdays are my favorite days of the week, because I
know that I have her class. We’ve learned many, many signs
by now, and I can carry on a basic conversation in Sign
Language. We also learn the nuances of ASL, such as rais-
ing one’s eyebrows when asking a yes/no question, and fur-
rowing one’s eyebrows and leaning slightly forward when
asking a regular question. We learned an entire song in ASL
as well as the Pledge of Allegiance and, the most recent addi-
32 u www.wherewhatwhen.com u
they are.”
“It gave me more understanding of a relative who has
Down syndrome,” added Devorah Leah. “I learned that she
really wants to do things but isn’t able to. Knowing that gives
me more patience. Before we did our research, when I saw
people with different types of disabilities, I didn’t necessarily
Learning
American
Sign
Language
by Margie Pensak
ASIDE FROM HER ROLE
in the B’More Inclusive work-
shops, Mrs. Zelinger, an expert
in deafness and coordinator of
activities for the deaf at the
Macks Center for Jewish
Education, has been teaching
an elective this year at Bais
Yaakov high school. It hap-
pened through the initiative of
eleventh-grade student Esther
Berkowitz, who had heard of
such a class being given a few years ago.
“My friend and I asked Mrs. Zelinger to teach American
Sign Language, because we were very interested in the
topic,” shared Esther. “I’m so glad she was able to! Mondays
and Wednesdays are my favorite days of the week, because I
know that I have her class. We’ve learned many, many signs
by now, and I can carry on a basic conversation in Sign
Language. We also learn the nuances of ASL, such as rais-
ing one’s eyebrows when asking a yes/no question, and fur-
rowing one’s eyebrows and leaning slightly forward when
asking a regular question. We learned an entire song in ASL
as well as the Pledge of Allegiance and, the most recent addi-
32 u www.wherewhatwhen.com u
