SOUTH ABINGTON TOWNSHIP, PA — The movie "Coda" has received some of the biggest accolades this award season, including Sunday night at the Oscars. It won the best picture award, and Troy Kotsur won the award for best supporting actor, becoming the second deaf performer in Academy history to win an acting award.
Teachers at the Scranton School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children near Clarks Summit were beaming with pride for the deaf community.
"When they called his name, and he went up onto the stage and everybody not just clapped but they also, you know, clapped in ASL and were showing their support in ASL," Senoy King said.
"I think that exposure and acceptance and inclusion is fantastic," Kelly Somers said.
Teachers say it's important for children who are deaf or hard of hearing to see people in the deaf community have success at such a high level in their career so they can aspire to be or do anything they want.
"To be able to look up to a person and be able to say, you know, I have a passion, I want to achieve something in the future and to recognize I have abilities as well that that is great," King said.
Sign language is becoming more exposed with "Coda." and even interpreters at concerts going viral online, and the school hopes it encourages people who want to learn sign language.
"I always say if you learn fingerspelling and numbers, really, everything else you can figure it out. Even nonverbal cues of gesturing, writing things down. There's always so many different ways that we can communicate," Emily Lukasavage said.
The Scranton School for the Deaf offers classes for American Sign Language (ASL) to anyone who wants to learn.
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