Building Strengths

Hello and welcome to my Blog. Everything about Learning will highlight personal stories and current educational practices. I’m eager to know your thoughts and opinions.

My proudest academic moment.
I earned my B.A. in Deaf Studies

I’ve been teaching, developing curriculum, and spreading American Sign Language LOVE-IT (translation: love) for over eight years. My journey with the beautiful and naturally occurring language begins in my fourth grade classroom. The aide in my class was a charismatic, kind-hearted, white-blonde haired woman who taught my class one hundred words in American Sign Language (ASL). She provided us with a list of words and she showed us them one by one. I can still imagine the list- I and YOU were at the top. I don’t even remember writing any notes down. The visual learner in me was beaming with excitement. The aide was spirited and energetic while showing us each word. This was one of the only moments I recall from elementary school that wasn’t challenging or brought demoralizing emotions of work I didn’t understand or could accomplish on my own. For once, I felt able to achieve something. The finale was presenting sentences in front of the class. Being a shy blonde girl, I would normally run at the sight of the spotlight. This was a proud moment for me as a young student. This was different. I felt empowered by my ability to produce each sign correctly. We presented in pairs, to be less intimidating I would assume, and we rocked our sentences. This experience has driven my learning process. School highlighted my weaknesses, where the athletics I played worked towards my strengths. Though school was a hardship, now I realize how my educational experience has shaped the teacher I am today. I see my learning form as an adult far more than when I was a child. In high school, I knew I was a kinesthetic and visual learner- I took those modality tests. As a child, I didn’t have the skills to use these as tools to build on my strengths. Finally, it all “clicked” when I arrived at my first ASL class at my community college. That was my moment when everything seemed effortless and I started using my tools to encourage my strengths.