At St. Louis High School all students must earn two foreign language credits, and one of the options he or she has is American Sign Language with Mrs. Winright.
A decision on what someone wants to do for a living can come at any time. It might come after working in one field for a while and then changing to work in another. This is what happened to the ASL teacher, Mrs. Winright. She said, “Before becoming a sign language interpreter, I worked in the medical field where you’re always educating patients and staff. When I went back to school to be a sign language interpreter and moved up to the advanced classes, I had an opportunity to lead weekly workshops for first and second-year students and did lots of tutoring. I enjoyed it very much!” Going from being in the medical field to teaching ASL and being an interpreter wasn’t easy, but Mrs. Winright did it.
When finding the thing someone wants to do forever there’s so much passion behind it. For Winright, her passion led her to teach and interpret ASL. She says, “When you discover a new passion, you want to tell others; this is how I feel about ASL and Deaf Culture. A lot of people invested time in me when I was learning (and still growing) in sign language and now I have the opportunity to do the same for others. When it comes to a student’s future employment, knowing sign language could make a person a more valuable employee.” Learning a whole new language and teaching it is a feat, but the passion is what makes it worth powering through.
Teaching in a world full of technology is a challenge for students who depend on their interpreter. Winright says her struggles are, “In this digital world, we tend to have our heads down looking at our phones. When using sign language, eye contact is mandatory. As Hearing people, we can draw, write, or message others all while still taking-in information, but a visual language requires your full attention. It’s a process.” Even with the challenges of teaching when everyone wants to be on his or her phone, Winright powers through and keeps teaching what she loves.
ASL will never not be needed and it is such an important language and way of communication for many. Interpreters and teachers like Mrs. Winright are appreciated for the opportunities they provide students at SLHS.
