skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, July 16, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

New video shows Police were warned of Trump rally shooter at least 86 seconds before gunfire; Ohio group voices caution about Vance's record for helping working class; Report: CT government pay equity, representation needs work; NH duckweed study aims to counter impacts of manure, farm runoff.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Donald Trump is formally put up for GOP nomination and picks Ohio Senator J.D. Vance as his running mate. Former presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy and swing state delegates consider ticket.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Enticing remote workers to move is a new business strategy in rural America, Eastern Kentucky preservationists want to save the 20th century home of a trailblazing coal miner, and a rule change could help small meat and poultry growers and consumers.

Wayne State Adds American Sign Language to Teaching Curriculum

play audio
Play

Thursday, October 20, 2022   

Deaf people say they sometimes feel like they're living on a different planet from those who can hear, but when both learn to use American Sign Language (A-S-L), it can open up a new world of communication.

In Detroit, Wayne State University is taking notice. The school's College of Education recently included A-S-L instruction to its curriculum, and the classes are filling up. As the program grows, the school is actively recruiting people who are deaf or hard of hearing as teachers.

Kathryn Roberts, interim assistant dean of teacher education at Wayne State, said it would not make sense to teach ASL without instructors from the deaf culture.

"It was really important to our division that we had people from the deaf community working with us, because deaf culture is a huge piece of what we wanted to be teaching," Roberts explained. "And education programs, particularly Wayne State's education program, we have a huge focus on the community."

Roberts added there are an estimated 400,000 deaf people in Michigan, which means the program potentially affects one out of every 20 people in the state. She pointed out the college offered eight sections in ASL this past semester, and expects the program to expand as demand increases.

Emily Jo Noschese, assistant professor of bilingual and bicultural education at Wayne State University, was one of the first instructors the school recruited. Noschase, who is fourth-generation deaf, not only teaches ASL, but has helped identify and hire five part-time ASL instructors.

Noschese, who spoke in sign language through an interpreter, said there's value in communicating with those who cannot hear.

"Anybody that's working in a business, somebody who might own a business or a company, they are guaranteed to have a deaf person that might want to come in and work for them," Noschese emphasized. "They learn sign language; that could benefit the rapport between them and the client, because they will be able to communicate with them."

Noschese stressed part of learning ASL is understanding the ways of the "deaf culture," because they sometimes express themselves in very different ways from the hearing population.

"We are very blunt and direct. That's a cultural norm of deaf people," Noschese stated. "There's no wishy-washy. There's no sensitivity, beating around the bush, around a certain topic that we might care about. So, hearing people sometimes are a little bit thrown off about that."

Disclosure: Wayne State University contributes to our fund for reporting on Civic Engagement, Education, Environment, and Health Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
Wyoming's Bighorn Basin is located between mountain ranges that block the flow of moisture-laden air from both the east and west, making it one of the driest places in the state, according to the Water Resources Data System and State Climate Office. (BLM Wyoming)

Environment

play sound

Wyoming's irrigation infrastructure is aging and the state gets regular requests to update it but in some cases, project benefits may not outweigh …


Social Issues

play sound

The Republican National Convention is underway in Milwaukee and the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump is a focal point. Voters …

Environment

play sound

University of New Hampshire scientists said a common aquatic plant called duckweed could help filter polluting runoff from dairy farms and so-called m…


Water parks are a good way to keep cool in the summer but the public health experts reminded parents to always supervise children playing in or near the water. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Summer is usually a fun time to enjoy the outdoors with family and friends, but experts said Missourians should be taking precautions to keep a day …

Environment

play sound

Colorado is calling on solar energy entrepreneurs to put $156 million in Inflation Reduction Act funding to work accelerating rooftop and community-ba…

Sen. J. D. Vance, R-Ohio, is Donald Trump's vice presidential pick. Before his recent entrance into politics, he was perhaps best known as the author of a memoir about growing up in poverty in Appalachia. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

As the party announced Monday Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, is the vice presidential candidate on the GOP ticket, progressive groups said they are …

Social Issues

play sound

Plenty of political and social leaders are calling for unity and condemning political violence after this weekend's assassination attempt on former Pr…

Health and Wellness

play sound

Until the pandemic, telehealth and telemedicine were still outliers in health care but they have gone mainstream, especially benefiting underserved …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021