<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#000000"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">SignWriting List</span></font></font><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#000000"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">August 27, 2008</span></font></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#000000"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><br></span></font></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#000000"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">Hello Andre!</span></font></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#000000"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">I am sooo happy to receive this wonderful email report from you. Thank you for sharing this information with the SignWriting List. I am very impressed with your research on using SignWriting with Deaf children in French-Canada. And your presentation, which you describe so well below, sounds like it was a real success...I have made my comments in-between your writing below....so please scroll down and read....smile...</span></font></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#0000FF"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><br></span></font></font><div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#0000FF"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">Andre Thibeault from French-Canada wrote:</span></font></font></div><blockquote type="cite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div bgcolor="#000000"><div><strong><font><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#0000FF"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">Hi Val and everyone,</span></font></font></span></font></strong></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: -1px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#0000FF"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">One Deaf teacher-researcher and I gave our SignWriting (SW) presentation at the conference in Calgary (Western Canada) on July 23rd. Most participants attending this conference were Deaf. Although we knew that most were against the SW, we showed some video clips to them. They had different reactions and saw the different behavior and facial attitude towards written French and written (SW) LSQ. Another video clip showed that when one Deaf student read written LSQ, raised his hand, stood up, walked up to the wallboard, and told the story of written LSQ to 10 Deaf students while his body showed pride and self-esteem. One Deaf teacher-researcher gave one example of self-esteem to Deaf participants. When he read written French, he never showed pride and self-esteem because he never raised his hand and never gave a story of the written French to Deaf students. After finishing our presentation, two Deaf Californians met us. One was a professor at the CSUN and supported us. The other one, who was a preschool teacher at the school for the Deaf in Fremont, CA, admitted that he insisted on using the SW and said to us: "video clips impact me". He told us that our SW presentation was wonderful. He will try to be open-minded using the SW.</span></font></font></span></div></div></span></blockquote><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">Val writes:</span></font></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; ">This is a very positive experience, Andre! Your story above, about the Deaf student showing pride and self-esteem when showing the writing of LSQ (the Sign Language used in Quebec), in SignWriting, is the same kind of experience that Dr. Cecilia Flood, in the Albuquerque Public Schools experienced with her Deaf students there, who sign in ASL. Some Deaf students who use sign language everyday find writing their language inspiring...</span></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">I am very happy about the CSUN professor supporting you. Did you know that is where Adam Frost goes to school? Adam is working towards a degree in Deaf Education at CSUN (California State University at Northridge...near Los Angeles)...And it is great to know about the the teacher from Fremont...(Fremont is in the northern section of California, and I live in southern California, in San Diego, near the Mexican border...California is a large state). The California School for the Deaf in Riverside, is nearer to me, and the other branch is in Fremont up north...</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">Nice to hear that people are open-minded...Writing sign languages is still a new idea and most people don't realize yet how important it will become...As there is more reading material for students, it will be easier for teachers because they will have more books written for them...that is why we are working on Snow White right now...We are about 1/3rd done...but take a look at this new page I have been working on...please know it is only partially finished:</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><br></span></font></div><div><b><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">Snow White Home Page</span></font></b><div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><a href="http://www.signwriting.org/library/children/SnowWhite.html"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">http://www.signwriting.org/library/children/SnowWhite.html</span></font></font></a></div></div></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">Many thanks to Kelly Jo Boal for her hard work in writing Snow White from video, and to Adam Frost for helping with editing...</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">Andre...</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><br></span></font></div><blockquote type="cite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div bgcolor="#000000"><div><strong><font><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#0000FF"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"> However, 4 Deaf teachers have been teaching Deaf students at the school for the Deaf in Milton, in Bellevue, in London (province of Ontario, Central Canada). They will learn a Sign Font this fall because Dr. Sam Supalla (Deaf professor at The University of Arizona) will show them how to teach a Sign Font using reading and writing. They believe that a Sign Font is better than a SignWriting because Deaf students learn a bridge between Sign Font and written English if they gain sufficient vocabulary of English words, and then they don't use Sign Font anymore and are skilled to read and to write English. They told us that learning SignWriting is a waste of time because the Deaf community doesn't use it and Deaf people who are skilled to read and to write SW cannot obtain jobs in a hearing society.</span></font></font></span></font></strong></div></div></span></blockquote><div><br></div><div><br></div>Val writes:<br><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">Ha! I am smiling ;-))</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">Yes, I know Dr. Sam Supalla...and I admire Sam's whole Deaf family. His brother Ted Supalla has always been very kind to me, and the Supalla family has been a leader in the Deaf Community here...</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">SignWriting is not a theory in Deaf Education, as you know. SignWriting is an alphabet for writing any Sign Language in the world, and technically has nothing to do with Deaf Education. Reading and writing any language has value for society in general, whether it is used in education or not...</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">Ironically, SignWriting does seem to help Deaf kids learn to read and write English and other spoken languages, and I have never known anyone to isolate themselves, just because they can read and write two languages...just the opposite...learning to read and write two languages opens the door to more communication not less...so SignWriting would never take away jobs from Deaf people...in fact it can make reading and writing English that much easier, because reading and writing in general becomes more inspiring when you have pride in your own written language too...</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><br></span></font></div><div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">Meanwhile, SignWriting is preserving languages by writing them, so whether Deaf Education uses it or not, SignWriting still has a purpose....namely to provide written literature in Sign Languages, so that generations to come can read the language and will remember how people signed long ago etc...</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><br></span></font></div></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">With Sam's educational system (which is not a real writing system), the kids are left with only one written form for English, and they are essentially not allowed to really read and write their own language...it is "taken away from them" before they start to like it...which seems a little sad to me ....but they use it in the beginning, because they realize that written English is hard for some Deaf kids...so in that sense, they are acknowledging that reading and writing signs does have some value in Deaf Education...it is strange that they are so afraid of learning to read and write both languages well...oh well!</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">Imagine if there was no way to read and write English, but there was a way to read and write French....would it be so bad to try to write both languages? no...we know that it is useful to have a written form for both...whether we use both in our daily lives or not.</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><br></span></font></div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">Andre....<br></span></font><blockquote type="cite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div bgcolor="#000000"><div><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#0000FF"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><font></font></span></font></font></span></strong><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#0000FF"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"> </span></font></font></div><div><strong><font><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#0000FF"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"> Although the Deaf community in general does not support SW and (I believe) SF (Sign Font) neither. One Deaf teacher-researcher keeps teaching SW to Deaf kids. We tried to persuade Deaf and hearing participants to spread SW, however we weren't successful and we keep fighting.</span></font></font></span></font></strong></div></div></span></blockquote><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">Val:</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">Well, one is better than none! smile...</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">I think you are very brave and thank you for your hard work and pioneering efforts!</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><br></span></font></div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">Andre -<br></span></font><blockquote type="cite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div bgcolor="#000000"><div><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#0000FF"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><font></font></span></font></font></span></strong><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#0000FF"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"> </span></font></font></div><div><strong><font><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#0000FF"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"> Val, don't be upset. I believe that you have gained a lot of your experience in the past and the present about/through insisting on and struggling for a SW. Good news for you, Steve who has been developing a Sign Puddle stays hard at work. Also, Adam who supports you keeps up lots of energy creating animated GIFs. I am always looking forward to learning Sign Puddle 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, & 9 in the future.<br></span></font></font></span></font></strong></div></div></span></blockquote><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">You are so sweet, Andre! I am not upset...quite the opposite. I am inspired by your report....</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">First, you presented SignWriting in Canada - wow - we are blessed!</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">Second, you had positive reactions from a teacher from CSUN and an open-minded teacher from Fremont...That is great to hear my fellow Californians keeping an open mind ;-))</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">Third, you have inspired a young Deaf person to be proud and feel positive self-esteem when discussing writing LSQ, and that is the most important information of all...</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">Fourth, you are absolutely right...we are blessed with the ingenious software of Steve Slevinski...I thank the Universe for SignPuddle everyday...because of Steve's work, we are creating lots of SignWriting Literature now and I am very happy about that...and Adam's animated GIFs are terrific, you are right, and I love his article about "Why SignWriting?"...</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">Have you read that Andre?</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">When you meet skeptical people, tell them to read this article:</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">Why SignWriting? by Adam Frost</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><a href="http://www.signwriting.org/archive/docs6/sw0526-US-Why-SignWriting-Frost.pdf">http://www.signwriting.org/archive/docs6/sw0526-US-Why-SignWriting-Frost.pdf</a></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">Thanks again for your report - It meant a lot to me -</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">have a wonderful day!</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">Val ;-)</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><br></span></font></div><div><br></div></div></body></html>