Cardozo has many different language opportunities for students to explore. From Spanish to Korean to Mandarin, there is a wide variety of programs to offer. However, what most students aren’t aware of is Cardozo offers a language program that doesn’t involve speaking at all; American Sign Language. This program is taught by Ms. Gottlieb, who shows incredible passion for the language she teaches.
Ms. Gottlieb has revived the sign language program here at Cardozo High School with the help of Principal Colby. Through unlikely circumstances, her birthday happened to be the day her life changed forever.
“She (Principal Colby) reached out to me, saying we have this position, would you like to interview it? And I said okay sure that would be great, and next thing you know i’m in an interview and, what happened to be my birthday was the day I accepted the job, because they offered it to me pretty much on the spot and said ‘we have not had sign language here in a good 10 years or so, and we would like to bring it back,'” she explained.
Although she loves her job, teaching is not the life Ms. Gottlieb had originally anticipated for herself. In fact, she didn’t know what to do after finishing her career working at Disney World, which is a franchise Ms. Gottlieb is particularly fond of. This can be seen in her Disney-decorated classroom.
“A friend of mine who was my sign language teacher back in high school needed a long-term sub, and she could not find anyone who knew the language well enough,” she recalled. “She begged the school because I didn’t have my teaching certificate at the time and they said fine she has a bachelor’s she can be the stand-in sub.” Five years later, she is still teaching.
“I haven’t stopped teaching and I realized I’m very good at it, I enjoy it, and I want to stick with it for my career,” the sign language teacher confessed.
Ms. Gottlieb is incredibly passionate about her career. She puts a lot of effort into her lessons and classroom activities which students enjoy participating in, helping them further their American Sign Language knowledge.
When it comes to accomplishments, Ms. Gottlieb shares that her students are what she is most proud of. “Students’ progress is my biggest accomplishment, and just in general watching people pick up a language they might have only seen in movies or never even seen at all and really using it properly within the deaf community, and just acquiring a skill they thought they’d never have, is very meaningful to me,” she shared.
Ms. Gottlieb’s students have shown appreciation for her enthusiasm and efforts in teaching ASL in a lot of ways. Although not many students are aware of the sign language program, those who make sure Ms. Gottlieb knows she’s appreciated. “I’ve gotten beautiful notes and cards from students thanking me for my effort and my time and I do keep them in a special box,” she gushed.
She also claims, “(sign language) has been an enormous part of my life, and as I got more and more into the deaf community I realized I want to pass on what I learned so I can inspire other people and kind of encourage the new generation.” Showing her appreciation of the language she teaches. She continues by saying “While I’m not a member of the deaf community I consider myself an ally of them, and I’d like to demonstrate that by passing on this language that I’ve studied and learned about for over a decade.”
Ms. Gottlieb also shows her appreciation by exposing students to deaf culture in her lessons, often through videos made by deaf people. Learning the history of a new language, especially one like ASL, can be so important in learning the actual language.
“I love my students, I love my colleagues, I never thought I’d be so happy in a job,” she shared, with a big smile on her face.