BY RICHARD TYLER
It been a little over a year since I first wrote about an exciting new program that I had the good fortune to be able to help kicked-off . The program is “Be An Angel’s – American Sign Language Class with Sheila Johnstone”. The program aims to teach American Sign Language to anyone who wants to learn and will commit to attend the classes. I said “good fortune to help kicked-off” because the moment this program was born it has been blessed with remarkable success. If you have followed any of my previous writings you know the whole idea started out over a cup of coffee with a longtime friend, Sheila Johnstone. After our discussion I arranged a meeting with Marti Boone, the Executive Director of Be An Angel™. I am currently on the Advisory Board and I am a Past Chairman of Be An Angel™ so I knew Marti would be receptive. Be An Angel’s Mission is to improve the quality of life for children with multiple disabilities or profound deafness. At the meeting Sheila detailed her idea for a 10-week Introductory course in ASL for adults and said she would be happy to offer her time and talent to teach, Marti loved the idea and agreed it would be a great fit with Be An Angel™ and I agreed for Richard Tyler International, Inc.® to underwrite the course.
Fast forward to today. That first group of students went on to graduate and they still wanted to keep learning so Sheila offered to continue teaching. Sheila and Be An Angel™ added an Intermediate 10 week course and started a new Beginner course. When the Intermediate course was complete the graduates asked if there was any way to keep going so Sheila designed an Advanced 10 week program and again offered to teach, so Be An Angel™ added the Advanced program. So in one year’s time the idea has grown into three ASL programs; Introductory, Intermediate and Advanced. Each 10 week program is full and has a waiting list for the next offering. During that same time the original location for the class, T.H.Rogers School began some much needed renovations which put the program class space availability in jeopardy. Another blessing arrived as The Hope & Healing Center most graciously offered their beautiful facility to host the programs. The interest from the community in “Be An Angel’s – American Sign Language Class with Sheila Johnstone” has been so high that the Houston Chronicle has written three wonderful articles detailing the success. I have provided the links to each of the stories below along with the Houston Chronicles most recent article of September 23, 2014.
As I reflect on this past twelve months I am reminded that remarkable things can happen if you associate with the right people. In my case, as it relates to what I have written about here, my two decade association with the people and causes of Be An Angel opened the door for the connection to the talent and giving heart of of my friend Sheila Johnstone. When I asked Sheila how she could give so much of herself and her time to this program she without hesitation gave credit to her four ASL mentors; Kareena Heath, Kathy Walters, Darla Connor and Rachelle Guidry. Sheila stated that without their guidance and giving of time to her that her understanding of the deaf community and culture would not be as complete. From my observation, it is that understanding that makes Sheila’s teaching so engaging.
All this reminds me of a quote from one of the greatest inspirational speakers of all time, Zig Ziglar. He said; “You can get anything you want out of life if you help enough other people get what they want.” I believe it’s an excellent motto to live by.
The articles below are from the Houston Chronicle . The interest in the Be An Angel™ – American Sign Language Course with Sheila Johnstone has been so high that the Houston Chronicle has written three articles covering it’s growth. We are thankful to the Houston Chronicle for their coverage and to Flori Meeks for her reporting. You may read each of the articles as they appeared in the Houston Chronicle by clicking on their respective links below. Our Posts related to the articles have also been provided.
- The Houston Chronicle October 8, 2013: “Sign language instructor eager to share her passion”
- Richard Tyler International related Post October 11, 2013: Be An Angel – American Sign Language Class with Sheila Johnstone – By Richard Tyler
- The Houston Chronicle March 11, 2014: “Interest high in communicating with the deaf”
- Richard Tyler International related Post March 13, 2014: Be An Angel’s American Sign Language Course a Huge Success – By Richard Tyler
- The Houston Chronicle September 23, 2014: “Students keeping hands in to learn advanced sign language”
