Federico Quintana, the person behind ASL MacGyver wanted to ensure the practices of George Veditz’s video, “Preserving of Sign Language” continued into the future generation especially with the incorporation of technology. The birth of ASL MacGyver was through frustration of not being able to get the jobs that he wanted and believed he was fully qualified for. As a new father of a deaf child, Federico found himself wanting more for the world. He had received unfortunate news one day and finally, after being faced with frustration after frustration, he decided to take his destiny in his own hands. This sounds like something out of a movie, but it happened to Federico for real.
As a man with artistic skills, he is able to draw out everything he’s imaging for lessons he writes out, uses his natural instinct to create lesson plans, and his latest project is a High School ASL Curriculum book. With this hefty project ahead of him, he’s been working long hours, posting some of his work online for people to copy (crediting him) and use in their classroom. The only rule he has is not to sell his work for profit, use it as an educational tool in classrooms or personal use, and instead of contacting him for permission be sure to cite information that is used in materials that he created so he can get credit where it’s due. His life-long dream is to work as a L1 ASL teacher.
Federico and Hunter Quintana. (Courtesy of Federico) Obtained 4/25/2015.
Federico is fully confident that his latest project will be a hit because it is designed for 21st century learners without emphasis of linguistic style teaching. His reasoning for placing less of an emphasis on linguistics is because many ASL teachers aren’t properly trained for areas of education which leads to real struggles. Federico has passions in both pedagogy (the method and practice of teaching, especially as an academic subject or theoretical concept) and the linguistic worlds of American Sign Language but the requirements in K-12 classrooms have shifted from linguistics and become more focused on the practices of pedagogy. As an actual ASL practitioner, he believes his perception is able to benefit the everyday teacher.
To not fully ignore the fact that Interpreter Training Programs (ITP) programs along with linguistics of ASL undergrad programs also utilize ASL teachers, Federico has experience as an ASL 1 teacher at the college level and as an adjacent instructor, he has experienced and seen how each role varies. “Higher education ASL professors seem to live in their own world where they can do with their courses while we cannot do with our classrooms. They produce all kinds of research telling us K-12 secondary teachers how to teach, while still standing in front of their students and lecturing for hours at a time.” (Federico)
With twenty pages of independent funded research on the newer concept of ASL pedagogy and the structures behind it, Federico believes his work is very modern and will help teachers because he is one himself, not some glorified researcher that believes they know what’s best without experiencing it.
With his new research he has discovered very real “methods of delivering the ASL contents without geeking out or brain-numbing for HS kids.” Hunter Quintana, know that your father’s work is dedicated to you. He is leaving you a legacy and it’s up to you to continue his work or not but ASL is your language!
The lesson Federico wants everybody to learn is, don’t take anything for granted and look at each rejection as a challenge to better yourself. “Every rejection I get and stronger & more equipped I get to help with teachings”
