Students stepped back to the time of peace signs and bell bottoms last Thursday and Friday in Michelle Wilkinson’s American Sign Language classes. ASL classes wore groovy threads while using their vocabulary skills to sign songs from the ‘70s.
“I was a child in the seventies so I remember the music, it’s fun,” Wilkinson said. “It’s great for beginner interpreters because of its slow tempo. I also found a number of songs that included the vocabulary we are working on.”
Wilkinson has used this teaching method before with younger students who would interpret the song “We are Family” when she taught family related signs.
“For high school, I thought it would be fun to do more and celebrate in lieu of a Halloween party,” Wilkinson said.
On the ‘70s signing day, everyone was asked to dress up. Wilkinson even went and bought a hippie outfit.
“I got it from Goodwill, my favorite store,” Wilkinson said. “You wouldn’t think you’d get in trouble with your husband for spending too much at Goodwill, but I’ve done it before.”
The students stood together in class, signing the songs and moving with the music.
“On ‘70s day a bunch of us became closer,” junior Marissa Realy said. “We all worked together, like a family.”
A misconception among hearing culture is that the deaf do not enjoy music.
“The deaf love music,” Wilkinson said. “The way we show music while interpreting is through our body language; the way we move and our facial expressions help interpret the tempo, the rhythm, and the mood.”