Denny Voreck
1994
Hi. My name is Denny C. Voreck. I graduated from Fremont School
For The Deaf in 1984, and from Gallaudet in the class of '92,
but I am loyal to the class of '89.
I heard a lot about SignWriting. I think the first time I
heard about it was at Cindy O'Grady Batch's wedding. I met Valerie
Sutton there. She showed me Sign Writing. It looked like Chinese
characters to me. It was really weird. But I didn't say anything.
I thought it was a little bit crazy. Later, I asked Cindy if
she still worked with Valerie Sutton. She said yes, and told
me a little bit about it. I was skeptical. I thought "Who
really cares?"
After I had graduated,I thought "Why not give it a chance?
Work with it a little bit. It can't hurt to try!" So,I talked
with Valerie Sutton and later on she called me and said there
was a position available. I started learning how to write following
the rules. It was a little frustrating getting to know the system.
The palm of the hand is represented by white. The back of the
hand is represented by black. If the symbol is cut, it represents
a different plane to show the third dimension. As I was trained,
I started picking up more and more.
I started working at home on my own computer. I could follow
my own schedule. I really enjoyed that a lot. In the middle of
the night, if I had nothing to do, I could start working on the
SignWriting project. As I became more familiar with the SignWriter
computer program, I was fascinated, and I started to tell my
friends about it.
My suggestion for increasing the use of SignWriting would
be to start a pilot program at a Deaf school, for example, the
Fremont or Riverside Schools For The Deaf. See if it works. Maybe
start at the elementary school level and see if the children
are successful in learning. If it is effective, it may be used
as a model nationwide. It could be used as a model for Gallaudet
University and the world...maybe later the Universe! Who knows?!!
Now, I feel that SignWriting is very innovative and different.
It is unique! All great inventions start with experiments. And
sure...a lot of experiments fail, but great inventions happen
starting with experiments. I encourage you to see how compatible
SignWriting is with ASL. Its success really depends on the Deaf
Schools, educational systems, administration, the Deaf Community,
and politics.
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