From STEPHEN COLEMAN
Gail Vines’s story on sign language emphasised that signing is a language
(‘Signs of change’, 27 October). Minneapolis schools have taken this view
the next step. Children in Minneapolis who are deaf attend Seward elementary
school along with the neighbourhood children. At the school, sign language
has the status of a second language in the curriculum; that is, like French
or Spanish. All children at the school learn sign language as their second
language, so they can communicate with each other. This has been very successful,
and the school attracts children who are deaf from the metro region. Normal
studies have not been neglected; the school is noted for its strong writing
programme.
Stephen Coleman Minneapolis Minnesota, US
