SignWriting List
September 22, 2013

Hello Elena and Stefan!
Thank you, Elena, for this touching report. My eyes filled with tears at the end. You are a very good writer and you explained your experiences so well. Thank you for traveling to Germany to meet with Stefan and his students at the Osnabruck School for the Deaf, and for telling us of your experiences.

I hope members of our SignWriting List will take the time to read Elena's report below. It portrays the picture of a rare and special classroom, where Deaf children are encouraged to be the best they can be … Thank you, Stefan, for teaching your Deaf students SignWriting all these years … and for developing Mundbildschrift (Woehrmann's SpeechWriting) to help with learning to speak … You have contributed much to the world.

And thank you to your students, for testing the new SignWriting App and giving us all feedback for improvements … We will make the improvements later this Fall.

Next message I will attach photos of Elena's visit to Stefan's classroom -

Val ;-)

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On Sep 21, 2013, at 12:22 AM, Elena Eroshkin <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Hi Everyone! I apologize for not posting anything about my meeting with
> Stefan Wöhrmann in Osnabruck. I caught a very bad cold but I am much better now!
>
> While I was visiting Germany, I had the honor of coming to the all deaf
> school in Osnabruck and present the App which Jake Chasan and I developed. I
> fell in love with the school right away. The teachers of this school have
> experience in every area, including the education of special children in
> need. I could tell that they work very hard collaborating with each other to
> provide the best education for their students, making the school environment
> very safe and enjoyable for all students. It is crucial to find an
> environment where deaf children receive real care, the right support,
> specialist attention, as well. I had the honor of meeting Stefan Wöhrmann,
> an amazing teacher with great skills and expertise to challenge and nurture
> his students and help them lead the fullest and most fulfilling life
> possible. He works with enthusiasm and inspiration so well and effectively,
> using his knowledge of languages, math, science, and psychology. Everybody
> at school knows, loves, and respects him, and I got to meet him! Good luck,
> Stefan Wöhrmann, in any ways of your life!
>
> When I walked into the classroom, there were six children proudly displayed
> their abilities to speak out loud, to share memorized poems, draw a figure,
> and show their brilliant math skills. When I brought presents for everyone,
> their smiles of joy and gratitude were poured out upon me. One particular
> student really amazed me with his talents. I met a Russian boy named Tima
> who was a lot younger than the other kids. He was very kind and very smart.
> When Stefan asked him to answer a problem involving the multiplication of
> two digit numbers, he would calculate faster than a computer. I tried to
> find a moment to communicate with each student... shaking their hand, having
> eye to eye contacts, smiles, and just share mutual respect for a moment. How
> could I not be attached to this unbelievable miracle, and my role in it?! It
> is really rewarding to be a part of something bigger then yourself, being
> able to touch these kids' lives for one day and be there and talk to them
> and help them learn about this new App as a game or activity, even a small
> challenge to overcome. All of the students’ emotions and smiles showed me
> that our App was doing something to improve the learning of SignWriting and
> the education of the individuals learning it.
>
> My parents and I are very thankful that Valery Sutton was able to contact
> Stefan and give us his name and address. Stefan gave a lot of great advices
> for the improvement of the App and make the American SignWriting App easier
> to learn and easier to use. I noticed that the children enjoyed answering
> the questions on the quiz function of the App and I was astonished how
> quickly they were picking up the new English signs and words. Still today my
> heart glows at the memory of my intimate moments with these rare people, a
> moment located in the Osnabruck school.
>
> Thank you Stefan for your time and energy, and thank you Valerie for making
> this meeting possible!
> -Elena Eroshkin
>

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Valerie Sutton
SignWriting List moderator
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