American Sign Language - Should We All Learn It?  

I learned earlier last year that American Sign Language is the third most spoken language in the U.S. (after English and Spanish, respectively), and since I have always had a passion for sign language, I decided that I really need to learn it.

But it got me to thinking: in today's day and age, it's good to be blingual, and really, it's necessary. When I was in school, I chose to take French (I lived in Detroit and thought at the time that being able to speak with my French-Canadian neighbors was most important...should've taken Spanish), and now I am seriously considering signing up for a local ASL class. I do not personally know anyone who is deaf, but in the event that I meet someone or in an emergency, I would love to be ready and helpful.

Plus, it's a beautiful language.

My question is, do you think that signing is important enough for people to learn in general, and that signing should be offered in schools as a "foreign" (I use this term loosely) language?


I.C. Jackson