Fulton School For The Deaf Durban, Kingdom of Zulu, South Africa   SignWriting In South Africa Literacy Project Begins, February 2000

Teacher Ingrid Foggitt with Deaf students in Durbin, South Africa.

22 December 1999

From:
Principal A. V. Curry
Fulton School for the Deaf
8 Roosevelt Road
PVT. BAG 9002
Gillitts, 3603, South Africa

To:
Valerie Sutton
SignWriting Literacy Project
Deaf Action Committee For SignWriting
PO Box 517, La Jolla, CA. 92038

Dear Ms. Sutton:
One of our Deaf teachers, Ingrid Foggitt, has shown an increasing interest in SignWriting since she happened to read about it on the Internet. From what she has told us about SignWriting and her motivation to experiment in SignWriting, we are convinced that it would be worthwhile to make SignWriting part of the school's Sign Language curriculum. We understand that to join the SignWriting Literacy Project, certain contributions on our part are required. Ms. Foggitt has agreed to take responsibility for this, which I am sure she will do with the usual dedication she expresses in all areas of her job.

At present, Ms. Foggitt will be the only teacher who will initiate SignWriting in her classroom. Ms. Foggitt has expressed that she would like to eventually spread this trend to other classrooms. Ms. Foggitt teaches Sign Language to Grade 8 through Grade 12. While we realise that most of the SignWriting work done so far is aimed at the primary school grades, Ms. Foggitt has said that the benefits of teaching SignWriting at a secondary level could be twofold:

(a) the improvement of students' literacy/comprehension skills
(b) the possibility of these secondary students eventually being

given curriculum time to teach SignWriting in the primary school where it would be beneficial to both the primary and secondary students.

Sign Language has only recently been recognised as a medium of instruction at schools for the Deaf in South Africa. Before that, Sign Language was regarded as being a very primitive language. Sign Language went underground for many years. It is only in recent years that Deaf students have begun to realise that their language is equal to any other language. One of the legacies of the descrimination against Sign Language is that many Deaf students have very little confidence in Sign Language. We do believe that SignWriting would enhance the students' involvement in their own language.

As a school for the Deaf, we are always looking for ways to improve English literacy amongst our students. Due to a variety of reasons, Deaf students in South Africa suffer from severe literacy problems. We do sincerely believe that Sign Language is a bridge to English literacy and that SignWriting would serve to reinforce this bridge.

We are very excited about this new venture. Thank you for considering us for your project. We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

A.V. Curry
Principal,
Fulton School for the Deaf
South Africa