UK Sign Graphics - UK members question for you...

[Valerie Sutton]

SignWriting List
November 5, 2006

Thanks for the information, Trevor!

Val ;-)

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Trevor Jenkins from the UK wrote:
> I've seen some of Sara Head's materials over the years; delightful and
> nicely drawn line pictures --- her "Signs by Sara" is a useful booklet
> aimed at absolute beginngers in BSL. Met up with her as a guest  
> lecturer
> on a local Teacher of the Deaf course a couple of years ago but no  
> mention
> of any "system" in her lecture on developing literacy.
>
> Sara has been head of primary school at Heathlands School in St  
> Albans for
> a number of years now. There does not appear to be any contact  
> information
> on the school web site other than the postal address. May need a  
> "brute
> force" approach to find (email) contacts through Ofsted reports and  
> the
> like.
>
>> SignWriting List
>> November 3, 2006
>>
>> Jason Hopkins wrote:
>>> In chapter 7 she talks about a system called 'Sign Graphics'
>>> developed by Sara Head when she was a teacher at the Royal School
>>> for the Deaf in Derby.  There is suppose to be an article in
>>> Laserbeam summer 1992 about it.  I cannot find anything on the web
>>> about it, but googleing 'Sign Graphics' is pretty pointless -
>>> unless you need a new sign for your business. Does anyone know
>>> anything about it?  Is it still in use?   It appears the system was
>>> created to help Deaf students learn English, kind of a bridge
>>> between BSL and English.
>>
>>
>> Hello Jason and welcome to the SignWriting List!
>>
>> I have never heard of Sara Head's Sign Graphics system and would like
>> to know about it myself...
>>
>> There are hundreds of notation systems in the world for writing
>> movement and/or signs. As you know, I personally make a distinction
>> between a notation system and a writing system...for me, a notation
>> system is used to write down certain aspects of movement, but is not
>> used to write a letter to a friend in a language...a notation system
>> is used for recording movement for research or preservation or for
>> detailed video transcription, but is not a daily writing system
>> expressing feelings and coming from skilled users of the language
>> wanting to convey their own thoughts about something.
>>
>> The way you describe Sara Head's system above, it sounds more like a
>> specially-developed teaching method for teaching a language...rather
>> than a daily writing system for writing the movements of BSL, that
>> the children actually wrote themselves...but I hope we can find out
>> more...
>>
>> UK members on our List...Do you know about this system in the UK?
>>
>> Val ;-)
>>


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