AW: My meeting with Stefan W=?iso-8859-1?Q?=F6hrmann_?=and his students in Osnabruck

[Stefan Wöhrmann]

Hi Elena, Valerie and sw-list members, ... 

Sorry for the delay of my comment. Yes we have had a wonderfull time with
Elena and her family. 

Of course I feel proud of my students. Over time they will achieve their
goals and they will be able to read, write and understand spoken German ... 

There is still a long way to go. 

While Elena showed her App to the class my students loved to play the game
again and again .. and every teacher in the world who is experienced with
using SignWriting as a tool in his curriculum will know and exspect and
understand that their eyes and faces smiled while they were able to solve
the task to match the signwriting signs and the pictures and the english
words so easily. 

Erika should be able to confirm that. 


... well and as I mentioned before - they could not stopp to tell us that
the words in the App should be written without capital letters in the
beginning. ( smile) 

Too kind of Elena and her family to come to our classroom with big baskets
full of gifts for the students and for me. (big smile) ... and so much
interest in our method. We will not forget this friendly and openminded
family.

Elena`s mother talked to Tima in Russia. I asked to speak some simple
multiplication problems: twenty-six times twenty-four  ... 
Now it is important to know that the order of the numbers is different in
German and Russia - 
It consumes a lot of memory in the brain to process the different counting.-
smile - 
Compared to his speed to solve this kind of problems at the blackboard he
had difficulties to switch between German and Russia. 

We could demonstrate our new precious tool .... the delegs -Editor a
wonderful software for any teacher of deaf children in the world. I cannot
immagine to teach a single day without this program that allows to bridge
the worlds of deaf and hearing people so smooth.

Nevertheless the students demonstrated that they can read
GebärdenSchrift-documents at high speed, that they can write the German and
the English translation, that they understand to create own excercises with
the delegs-Editor, that they understand to pick the perfect alternative
among several sign-options...  and that is what we have in mind. 

Thank you Elena for your kind words and I will send my students your
greetings. 

All best

Stefan 

(PS I love to wear your SAN DIEGO  T-shirt --- ;-)) ) 


-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: SignWriting List: Read and Write Sign Languages
[mailto:SW-L at LISTSERV.VALENCIACOLLEGE.EDU] Im Auftrag von Elena Eroshkin
Gesendet: Samstag, 21. September 2013 09:22
An: SW-L at LISTSERV.VALENCIACOLLEGE.EDU
Betreff: My meeting with Stefan Wöhrmann and his students in Osnabruck

Hi Everyone! I apologize for not posting anything about my meeting with
Stefan Wöhrmann in Osnabruck. I caught a very bad cold but I am much better
now!

While I was visiting Germany, I had the honor of coming to the all deaf
school in Osnabruck and present the App which Jake Chasan and I developed. I
fell in love with the school right away. The teachers of this school have
experience in every area, including the education of special children in
need. I could tell that they work very hard collaborating with each other to
provide the best education for their students, making the school environment
very safe and enjoyable for all students. It is crucial to find an
environment where deaf children receive real care, the right support,
specialist attention, as well. I had the honor of meeting Stefan Wöhrmann,
an amazing teacher with great skills and expertise to challenge and nurture
his students and help them lead the fullest and most fulfilling life
possible. He works with enthusiasm and inspiration so well and effectively,
using his knowledge of languages, math, science, and psychology. Everybody
at school knows, loves, and respects him, and I got to meet him! Good luck,
Stefan Wöhrmann, in any ways of your life!

When I walked into the classroom, there were six children proudly displayed
their abilities to speak out loud, to share memorized poems, draw a figure,
and show their brilliant math skills. When I brought presents for everyone,
their smiles of joy and gratitude were poured out upon me. One particular
student really amazed me with his talents. I met a Russian boy named Tima
who was a lot younger than the other kids. He was very kind and very smart.
When Stefan asked him to answer a problem involving the multiplication of
two digit numbers, he would calculate faster than a computer. I tried to
find a moment to communicate with each student... shaking their hand, having
eye to eye contacts, smiles, and just share mutual respect for a moment. How
could I not be attached to this unbelievable miracle, and my role in it?! It
is really rewarding to be a part of something bigger then yourself, being
able to touch these kids' lives for one day and be there and talk to them
and help them learn about this new App as a game or activity, even a small
challenge to overcome. All of the students’ emotions and smiles showed me
that our App was doing something to improve the learning of SignWriting and
the education of the individuals learning it.

My parents and I are very thankful that Valery Sutton was able to contact
Stefan and give us his name and address. Stefan gave a lot of great advices
for the improvement of the App and make the American SignWriting App easier
to learn and easier to use. I noticed that the children enjoyed answering
the questions on the quiz function of the App and I was astonished how
quickly they were picking up the new English signs and words. Still today my
heart glows at the memory of my intimate moments with these rare people, a
moment located in the Osnabruck school.

Thank you Stefan for your time and energy, and thank you Valerie for making
this meeting possible!
 -Elena Eroshkin