Spanish Students Learn Sign Language to Include Deaf Classmate from Morocco

Zacaria, 12 years old, lives in Bologna. He became deaf-mute after contracting meningitis, which prevents him from communicating with his classmates. The teachers, gathered in a council, then decided to teach sign language to the other students in the class to allow Zacaria to converse with his classmates, reports aleteia.org.

Thus, a teacher will teach sign language to Zacaria’s classmates every Thursday, a rich experience for these minors who were able to immerse themselves in the difficulty of the hearing impaired to communicate with their entourage.

The students learned how to designate body parts, colors, family members, etc. "We are not looking for grammatical precision or optimal mastery of sign language. The fundamental goal of the initiative is to allow students to communicate with their classmate Zacaria, who is also in the learning phase," explained teacher Marta Miazzi.

In a year, Zacaria will go to high school, and this experience will help him to socialize better and no longer be afraid to engage in "dialogue" with others. Let’s hope that other schools will follow this beautiful example of integration.