
Inspired
by
the
thoughtful
acts
of
her
sister,
Montclair
Elementary
School
Third-Grade
Teacher,
Maria
Strnisha
added
daily
American
Sign
Language
(ASL)
lessons
to
her
classroom
curriculum.
Thanks
to
some
creative
thinking,
a
phone
camera
and
her
dedication
to
her
students,
Strnisha
created
a
weekly
video
series
she
calls
"Sign
Language
Sundays"
to
continue
teaching
ASL
during
the
school
closure.
Strnisha's
younger
sister
met
a
fellow
student
at
school
who
is
deaf.
After
noticing
that
many
students
did
not
interact
with
him
because
of
the
disability,
she
took
it
upon
herself
to
learn
some
ASL,
so
she
could
communicate
with
him.
Strnisha
shared
this
personal
story
with
her
students
before
beginning
to
teach
them
ASL.
"They
loved
to
learn
a
new
word
each
day,
so
why
not
continue
encouraging
that
enthusiasm?
Now
is
the
perfect
chance
to
take
a
little
bit
of
time
to
improve
a
new
skill,"
Strnisha
said.
While
earning
her
Bachelor
of
Arts
degree
in
dance,
Strnisha
gained
experience
in
editing
videos
for
performance
reviews.
The
video-editing
skills
have
come
in
handy
as
she
has
adapted
the
ASL
classes
to
a
video
format
for
a
virtual
learning
delivery.
Strnisha
explained
that
sign
language
relies
on
visual
cues,
so
teaching
the
lessons
through
video
is
very
doable.
Her
enthusiastic
students
often
send
emails
asking
if
they
have
made
a
sign
correctly.
Strnisha
shared,
"It's
definitely
the
coolest
thing
ever
because
it
shows
me
that
they're
learning,
which
is
really
just
the
ultimate
goal
of
this
entire
process."
Strnisha
hopes
that
these
lessons
not
only
help
her
students
gain
a
new
skill,
but
also
help
to
build
their
confidence
in
being
able
to
communicate
in
multiple
ways.
"I
want
them
to
know
that
just
because
someone
might
communicate
in
a
different
way
that
doesn't
make
them
different,"
she
added.