American Sign Language, widely known as ASL, is a language used by the hard of hearing and the deaf community. It is only taught in certain schools, but I think it should be an option or a mandatory class in every school.

Consider if ASL was made to be a mandatory class from the start of a child’s education. This would produce a variety of new skills such as stronger communication among young children while also expanding the interaction between the deaf and hearing communities.

In the workplace, there is a 3.8 percent rate of unemployment within the deaf community. A portion of this percentage is due to hearing people that cannot use sign language. As a result, the deaf community faces discrimination over a disability they have no control over. 

Some benefits of learning sign language include being able to widen the range of people you can communicate with, enhancing the ability to interpret body language, developing a stronger bond between parents and child, improving spatial awareness, and better reaction times with finer peripheral vision.

In short, teaching ASL in schools would not only help to lessen the academic barrier that exists between people who can hear and people who are hearing impaired, but also reduce the stigma that surrounds those who are hearing impaired.