Spanish IV. Tuesday. Fourth period.
The teacher's been out for a couple weeks (per doctor's orders), so the classes have kind of settled into "free time mode". (Not ideal, but I've dealt with worse.) They have assignments, but they aren't really doing them.
But fourth period was keeping themselves busy.
One girl was reciting the organs and diseases of the urinary tract. (She had an anatomy test later in the day.) The boys adjacent to her were comparing their astrological sun signs and figuring out what phase the moon was in when they were born.
On the other side of the room, two boys were signing. They were looking down at their computers and making signs in American Sign Language.
I know a smattering of signs. I recognized various letters, like X and J. They did the sign for "home" and "later" and "today". It looked like they were constructing sentences.
Then they laid their left arms over their right. The left hand made horns out of the index and pinky finger. With the right hand, they extended their fingers...
A little over a year ago, I was at the adult transition center and we were waiting for the buses at the end of the day. The teachers were talking. Ms. L was complaining about something, and instead of swearing out loud, she made the sign for bullsh**.
It was at this point in the conversation that Ms. L turned to me and explained the sign. Then she showed me a couple others. Special ed teachers learn to sign as some special ed students do better signing than speaking. Some non-verbal students can sign and communicate that way.
So, I knew what sign the boys were making.
"No swearing in class," I chided.
The boys had the decency to look chagrined.
The rest of the class was confused. The room was pretty quiet, and no one was saying anything terribly inappropriate. (I mean, I'd argue that talking about preventing UTIs isn't terribly appropriate for a Spanish class, but it was curricular.)
So, I explained. "I was telling them I knew what that sign was."
They kept to less controversial signs after that.
(Why were they learning sign language? I noticed various students trying out disabilities, so the annual disability assembly must be coming up. The school has a large special ed population, and they do this to promote inclusion and understanding.)
I mean, I wish they were doing the actual Spanish assignment, but considering the situation, at least they were making a decent use of their time.
It always pays to be bilingual! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks to Ms. L, I now know how to swear in ASL.
DeleteSpanish, I can't even speak English correctly! lol....stop laughing! Since I answered the hotline at times the TBI wanted us to have Spanish. They offered us classes. HAHA....Third class in, I dropped out. I was butchering that language! lol.....At least the girl doing the organs, was preparing for her test. That is good, but should have been something she did the night before, not in Spanish, unless she was doing it in Spanish. As for signing, I can do the ABC's etc. Thank you, eat, but that is about it. I bet those boys were shocked that you knew what they were signing....that is funny. Yep, with you, I think if you are in a class that is the class you should be studying. Not a class that is coming up.
ReplyDeleteThey were surprised. And while I would rather they do work for the class they're in, sometimes I'd rather they're doing some work than no work (and goofing off).
DeleteI wish I would have learned Spanish! Or could I learn Spanish? Ugh. We travel south of the border every year. I even have it in my novel!
ReplyDeleteStupidly, I took French in high school. I was no help to them. I used to avoid Spanish classes, and for the most part I still do, but sometimes if I want to work, I take what's available.
DeleteI wish I remembered the Spanish I once knew. Spanish II and III and 6 months living in Spain in 8th grade... none stuck with me! Oh, and living in an area of CA with a lot of Spanish speakers. If you don't use it, you lose it, is very true.
ReplyDeleteNice so many were doing some sort of school work.
Exactly. I used to be fairly fluent in Spanish, but I’ve lost most of it
DeleteYou both know more Spanish than me. And you've definitely forgotten more than I ever knew. I live in a largely Hispanic area, too.
DeleteSwears are the first thing you learn in any language, including sign language. I'm sure by Spanish IV, they've already mastered the Spanish swears.
ReplyDeleteWe never had color chairs in class.
ReplyDeleteCoffee is on and stay safe
I bet other students ask the boys to teach them the sign ;))
ReplyDeleteI think its a great life skill, to know how to swear in sign. Thanks for this story, it was cute.
ReplyDeleteI learned a couple good ones that day. That's the lesson: talk the the special ed teachers. They know all the good signs.
DeleteI have been trying to learn French using Duolingo, but you need to do it every day and I kept forgetting, I must get back to it again... (would love to speak a second language)
ReplyDeleteGah, I keep forgetting to sign in :(
DeleteI took French in high school. I still remember quite a bit of it, actually. But I'd never be able to converse in it.
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