Anna Trupiano is an elementary school teacher at a school that educates deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing students from birth through eighth grade.
In addition to teaching the usual subjects, Trupiano’s job is to help her students succeed in a society that does not sufficiently respond to the needs of the hearing impaired.
Recently, Trupiano had to teach her students a rather personal topic: accelerating in public.
A six-year-old child farted so loudly in class that some of his classmates started laughing. The child was surprised by the reaction because he didn’t know that farts make noise. This was a wonderful and fun learning moment for Trupiano.
Trupiano shared the conversation on Facebook.
Although the discussion Tupiano had with her students was funny, it points to a serious problem facing the deaf community. “I know it started with farts, but the real problem is that many of my students aren’t able to learn these things at home or from their peers because they don’t have the same linguistic access,” she told GOOD.
“So many of my students don’t have families who can sign well enough to explain so many things that it’s incredibly isolating for these kids,” she continued.
Tupiano hopes her funny story about bodily functions will inspire others to become more involved in the deaf community by learning sign language.
“I would love to imagine a world where my students can learn anything from everyone they interact with throughout the day,” she told GOOD. “Whether that means learning about the solar system, the candy selection in a store, or even farts, it would be so great for them to have access to that language everywhere they go.”
Want to learn ASL? Here’s a list of places to start.
This article originally appeared on 14.12.18
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