By: Alexis Fillinger (Senn Junior)
Students are required to take a language option throughout their school experience, and many wish there were more options. ASL stands for American Sign Language. ASL provides students with an experience that could be extremely beneficial in future career fields.
Jeneen Hatoum, an assistant principal at Senn High School, considers ASL a viable option, despite it not being taught at Senn.
“It would be wonderful to be able to offer ASL as a language choice in high schools. I have not personally had any experience, however, I know that it is the norm when it comes to sharing information widely in press conferences, state of the union addresses, etc. Knowledge of ASL is equally important for general connection and inclusion of all people,” Hatoum said.
Hannah Rose, a Junior at Senn, is learning ASL on her own.
“Whenever it’s convenient for my schedule for the day, I can go on and review lessons at any time,” Rose said. “For me, I would want to take two years of Spanish and then two years of ASL. But online works better for me because in a classroom setting it may be more difficult and too fast-paced.”