Dawson Mullins

Writer

Some Marlow students of the new ASL (American Sign Language) class signed the national anthem at the Life Center on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022.

“We have been working on the National Anthem for almost a month,” said the ASL teacher Gloria Conner. 

They spent weeks learning the hand signs for the national anthem, spending some of their lunchtime to do so.

According to Conner their inspiration for signing the National Anthem came from Ann Field.

“We got inspired when Mrs. Field asked me if my ASL students would be interested in signing a song for the STUCO Officers Training,” stated Conner. “I wanted to show off my students and how much they have learned in a few weeks.”

According to the Census Bureau, there are around 11.5 million people that are deaf or hard of hearing in the United States, which is roughly 3.5% of the population.

This is much more than just ASL though, as learning other languages is an important skill that people should know.

“Learning another language can open many opportunities to communicate with people that speak that language,” said Conner.

Not only can learning more languages be beneficial for communicating but it can also make simple life necessities easier to access.

“Not to mention it can open up opportunities to get a job easier. In other words you become more marketable,” said Conner.

Students at Marlow will continue to have the opportunity to learn this unique language that will help better their future.