When most people think of language courses offered in schools, they typically list spoken languages like Spanish, French, or German. But do they include American Sign Language? At Sharon High School, ASL teacher Ms. Ashwell helps students and even some faculty learn this complex language. 

Ms. Ashwell attended Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., a college that specializes in deaf education. Once she learned about the history of the “Deaf President Now” protest, in which the university’s students had advocated for a deaf president to be appointed to the school, she was inspired to join their community as a person who was deaf in one ear and passionate about change.

Ms. Ashwell learned ASL when she was 20 by taking classes in her free time, and she quickly fell in love with the language. When she was required to complete community service for her degree, she decided to teach ASL classes for the hearing community. She started teaching at her local library in Washington, D.C. and adored it. 

Why should SHS students take ASL? Ms. Ashwell answered, “If you’re a student who doesn’t do well in learning auditorily, or you think in pictures and don’t feel comfortable expressing yourself verbally, then this class is a good class for you. You use a lot of hand and 3D motions, and lots of eye contact along with facial expressions.”

 “If you want to learn how deaf people communicate or even just about the Deaf community, then you should take this class,” she added. “We have lots of fun, and it is a very good learning experience I think everyone should know of.” 

While ASL classes at SHS focus on the language itself, students also learn about deaf historical figures and about ear anatomy. “Not only is it my responsibility as someone who has been involved in the deaf community to teach the language,” said Ashwell, “it’s also my responsibility to teach the whys and hows of ASL and [the] Deaf community. It’s been a roller coaster of this journey for them to get all the same rights as everyone else.”