Introducing myself!

[StaceySeigel]

Hello! My name is Stacey and I currently teach dance at the Mary Hare School, in Newbury, England. In September, I will be starting my Teacher of the Deaf course, which is a 2 year qualification. Joining Mary Hare School, was my dream job and I feel like I am in my element teaching there. I have had an interest in sign language since 2012. At the auditions for the London Paralympic opening ceremony, there were a number of people who were deaf and everything was in reverse for me. All of a sudden, I could not communicate with a large number of people and I felt isolated. I tried to start learning for a short time back then, but ran into difficulties because my left hand is not fully formed and I only have a few fingers. However, since working at Mary Hare and picking up sign language, I have realised I can still do the signs and students can understand what I am saying. At Mary Hare, our ethos is to encourage our students to use their voice, to speak and lip read. However, BSL is used socially by the students. For my Teacher of the Deaf course, I have to pass Level 1 BSL and I thought I would start early!