ASL teacher is more than just a teacher outside of the classroom
The Newbury Park High School [NPHS] American Sign Language [ASL] teacher, Brigid Ryan Keady, took a turn in her education after high school; she decided to take an ASL class, where she fell in love with the language.
When Keady decided she wanted to continue her educational career after high school, she chose to major in psychology. After taking a Deaf Studies class, she decided to switch her major and pursue ASL. “I thought I wanted to be a psychologist, but I’ve always wanted to learn sign language. […] It was the first time ever that I was excited to keep learning,” Keady said.
Keady has developed a lot as a teacher in her 21 years of teaching. She has taught at three different schools before landing at Newbury when the job opened up after the previous teacher left. “I had applied for Newbury Park before I got Golden Valley, and they chose somebody else. And so I was heartbroken, but I feel like I really needed that experience at Golden Valley to make me a better teacher and a better fit for Newbury Park,” Keady said.
Not only is Keady an ASL teacher, but she also sells her crafts. Keady has been creating for about 15 years and dreams of having her own antique shop. “Rather than [the used items] ending up in a landfill, I get to create something fun. And I love when somebody connects with the piece, and they stop to actually look at all the little pieces of the creation, and they appreciate it, and they see what I was going for. I love sharing that with others. I feel like a piece of me ends up in that piece of art,” Keady said.
Keady’s goal when teaching ASL is to prepare her students for their first real-world conversation. “I want them to feel comfortable and confident approaching a deaf person and starting up a conversation. I try to role-play with my students, and brainstorm how that conversation would go,” Keady said.
Although ASL is not the most common language around the world, Keady thinks it is still very important for people to learn ASL. The part that she loves about teaching this language is the joy the students get. “Obviously, we don’t run into deaf people all the time, but it’s such a unique gift. And I see how a student’s face lights up when they’re able to converse with someone, or they see somebody signing out in public. I really feel like that sets the students apart from others,” Keady said.
