Throughout all our years in school we’ve wondered why we were never taught sign language and no teachers could ever give us a justifiable answer. That’s because there is no justifiable answer. American sign language should be a core class from kindergarten to senior year, like English and Physical Education.

According to the United States Census Bureau, 11.5 million Americans have some sort of hearing impairment; that’s roughly 1 in every 29 people. Odds are good that everyone knows somebody who communicates by sign language; so it would benefit all of society for everyone to learn it.

It is scientifically proven that younger children learn faster, easier, and more efficiently than adults. So, if schools started implementing sign language as early as kindergarten it will become second nature for all generations moving forward. 

Not only is being able to speak to those who can only communicate with sign language very crucial, it is also beneficial for those who suffer from anxiety. For example, one of our fourth grade teachers taught us the sign language hand symbol for the bathroom. She understood that there were some students who had a fear of public speaking. It also made it more convenient when teaching since zero words had to be spoken when a student wanted to use the restroom.

Others may think that making ASL a mandatory class will not solve the problem because some people might not pay attention and will never become fluent.

That being said, some students already don’t pay attention in their normal classes. So disregarding those students, it’s still better that the majority of the population moving forward will be completely fluent in American sign language than not. 

Administrators should look into making this change, but it might not happen without students also voicing their support. Let’s work together to make our society more inclusive in our communication.