Hey girls! First of all I would like to welcome everyone back to Knoxville! I hope everyone had a great break and got lots of nice things from Santa. As everyone knows, spring semester has begun. Some of us dread another semester of papers and 8 a.m. classes, while others are eager to begin the path to their careers here at UT. My freshman year I was the student who dreaded school. Taking gen-ed classes did not interest me in the least, and I woke up every morning in a bad mood.
Well, this semester is not like that at all for me. I am finally taking classes that have to do with my major, Speech Pathology. For those of you who don’t know what Speech Pathology is, it is like therapy for those who can’t talk or have trouble talking. One of my requirements for my major is taking the first two levels of American Sign Language. Because I will encounter many deaf and mute clients in my profession, I need to be able to effectively communicate with them. Though it is only my first week of class, I am learning so much already.
I didn’t realize how hard it is to communicate without sound until I took this class. I have a great respect for deaf and mute people and what they can accomplish with sign. This is definitely something I would encourage you all to learn. There are four courses offered at UT for sign language. Even if you are not a Speech Pathology major, sign language can count as your foreign language, which is a gen-ed requirement anyway. The class size is fairly small (About 20 people), and the professors who teach it are very patient and knowledgeable when it comes to the subject.
I know that learning sign will give me a tool that I can use for the rest of my life, and it could do the same for you. Plus, it doesn’t hurt to take an interesting class that stimulates your mind and makes you think in a way you have never thought before. We are a world full of communication. Why not learn to communicate in one more way with the deaf and mute community?