FORSYTH COUNTY, N.C. — A Winston-Salem high school is the first in its county to have an American Sign Language honor society. As more schools offer ASL as a class, one teacher believes he’s finally seeing some representation he wishes he had as a student.
What You Need To Know
Reynolds High School, where Craig Blevins teaches, is the fourth school in N.C. to form an ASL honor society
Blevins experienced hearing loss after battling meningitis at 2 years old
American Sign Language is the third most used language in the U.S. after English and Spanish
Craig Blevins is the deaf and hard-of-hearing teacher at Reynolds High School. He was born able to hear, but battled meningitis at 2 years old, which took away his ability to hear.
Growing up, Blevins thought he was the only deaf person in the world. Now as a teacher, he’s able to teach students who are deaf and hard of hearing how to advocate for themselves.
“I want to teach and show my experiences to the deaf and hard-of-hearing students that didn’t get a chance to experience and learn things I did, show them love, show them how to advocate for themselves, how to be independent, that there is hope as an adult," he said.
American Sign Language is the third most commonly used language in the U.S. Reynolds High School is only the fourth school in North Carolina to add an ASL honor society. Seeing this recognition makes Blevins proud.
“Students here who are learning to sign, these are people who are creating the bridge. They’re the ones who can bridge both worlds between communication. I think it’s beautiful,” he said.
Blevins has faced many challenges as a deaf person, especially working in a professional setting. The one little thing he wants everyone to know is to meet him halfway when communicating. This may take a few extra steps like writing things down.
“I’ve applied for several jobs, and they call me, and they realize I’m deaf. They’re like ‘oh, no, never mind or you’re not qualified for the job,’ but a lot of the times, I’m actually overqualified for, but some employers don’t want to deal with just the communication issues,” he said.
Blevins also says the hearing community has the ability to learn ASL, while the deaf and hard of hearing community don’t have the ability to learn a spoken language. Blevins has worked for years to advocate for the deaf community, but believes there’s still a long road ahead.
“There are families with little kids who have hearing loss, and they don’t know what to do. They don’t know what the resources are that are out there. I think every county should provide something for everyone’s hearing loss, not just children, but elderly who lost their hearing as they get older, so there will be a place for resources for them to access,” he said.