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

Tue Sep 24 15:41:10 UTC 2013

Yes, I can confirm both Stefan's observation about how the students enjoy
recognizing written signs and Elana's enthusiastic observations about how
great it is to see a classroom boldly put this writing system to daily use
:)

On Tue, Sep 24, 2013 at 10:43 AM, Stefan Wöhrmann <
stefanwoehrmann at googlemail.com> wrote:

> 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
>
>

-- 
Erika Hoffmann-Dilloway
Assistant Professor of Anthropology
Oberlin College
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