In March, the American Sign Language Society hosted an event, “Visual Vernacular with Justin Perez”. This event was a poetry event that showcased the unique way that poetry is told in the form of sign language. Though this event looked a little different due to the nature of it being virtual, it was still a very fun, interesting, and informational event.
When this event started, I was honestly so confused. However, as it started progressing I started to figure it out, and was so intrigued. Justin would give us a category and would start describing it through the use of sign language, and we would have to guess what he was describing. It was very neat to see how expressive he was, how many movements and signs he performed, and just how elaborate and interesting he was. It was something new that I have never seen before, and it was something that I honestly didn’t expect to see.
After watching his whole presentation, I was mesmerized by how even without spoken words, I knew exactly what he was trying to say. Thinking about this on a bigger level, you never know when you are going to encounter someone who is deaf or hard of hearing and use sign language as their main or only form of communication. As a future educator, I won’t know if I will ever encounter a student who is deaf, but it is always good to be prepared. After attending this event, I believe that I will be able to better understand where these certain individuals come from. I will now be more aware in looking to recognize and help those who use sign language as their main form of communication.
Samantha McDonald 