Bill Gates features WSD teacher Dana Miles
Bill Gates learned some signs from Dana Miles, the 2023 Washington State Teacher of the Year. Miles teaches at the Washington School for the Deaf in Vancouver. Gates chose to feature and honor Miles in his blog, “GatesNotes.” There was also a video produced by Gates’ team that was posted on Bill Gates’ YouTube account.
Here are some clips.
[Clip showing Dana Miles teaching Bill Gates how to sign “thank you.”] Credit: X/@BillGates
Gates wrote in his blog that when he was 17 years old and a senior in high school, he grew up near Vancouver but had no idea that WSD existed.
Gates said he was impressed with Miles winning the teacher of the year award and when he met her, he was “blown away” by Miles’ thoughtful, compassionate and practical approach to teaching. Gates highlighted Miles’ teaching approach, which uses real-world applications in her classes.
[Clip showing Dana Miles teaching in a classroom] Credit: YouTube/BillGates
Miles explained to Gates that it is very important for children who are born deaf to be exposed to sign language because it is accessible and one can learn ASL and English at the same time.
[Clip showing Dana Miles telling Gates, “It’s important to start young with exposure to language, as early as possible because of the accessibility. Once you give that access to language, you can immediately start teaching English at the same time.] Credit: YouTube/BillGates
—-------
[Sponsored video from Convo: www.convorelay.com]
—--------
[Advertisement from Disaster Distress Helpline: After a disaster, you may be at risk for emotional distress. Warning signs can include feeling isolated, anxious, having trouble sleeping and more. If you or someone you know is Deaf or hard of hearing, the Disaster Distress Helpline offers a direct videophone option.
This free service for ASL users is answered 24/7 by trained crisis workers fluent in ASL and can be accessed using any videophone-enabled device and dialing 1-800-985-5990 or at https://bit.ly/3CEwnNT
—--------
Miles showed Gates some of the technology that deaf people use, such as an app that uses large text and transcribes spoken English. She also showed a VRS app and called an interpreter to demonstrate.
Gates said he is surprised that there’s no app that can translate ASL to spoken English yet and that he believes it’s “doable.”
Many WSD students and the school itself were a part of the featured video, so this is a very nice honor for Miles and WSD. The links to Gates’ blog and the video feature are in the transcript.
“Daily Moth” reporter Renca Dunn did an interview with Miles last year after she won the Washington Teacher of the Year award. The link to that interview is in the transcript as well if you want to watch it again.
GatesBlog: https://www.gatesnotes.com/Dana-Miles-teaches-Deaf-students-how-to-advocate-for-themselves
“ASL Lesson”: https://twitter.com/BillGates/status/1688659769312292864
Daily Moth Interview: https://www.dailymoth.com/blog/interview-with-dana-miles-washington-teacher-of-the-year