I took this class in the spring of 2019. This was another amazing American Sign Language class taught by the same professor as before, Emmett Jones PH. D.. This was very similar to the first class, but focused more on conversational ASL than vocabulary and how to use ASL practically. I enjoyed this class and am very excited that Longwood has decided to add a third second of ASL for those who need to take the next level. Once again I participated in the Parent Child Advocate event. This time I was able to interact more with those who are deaf or hard of hearing without feeling as self-conscious because I knew more signs that were geared towards effective communication. I will miss taking American Sign Language and the friends that I made in the full year that I was able to take it. Sadly, I do not have enough room in my schedule to be able to take the third level, but my friend and I made an agreement to continue to sign with each other so that we will be able to remember this beautiful language.

This biggest take away for me is that everyone had a different background and culture. Since this class was smaller than most of my other general education classes I was able to get to know most of the people. Each person had a different reason for taking that class and each life story was fascinating. We would also sign to each other and talk about our lives as a part of the class, which help us become a tight-knit class.

The attached article is about how cultural relativism impacts the deaf community and their culture.