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Early bird registration for The 3rd Annual National Sign Language & Interpreting Conference on April 30-May 1, 2010 at the Anaheim Convention Center (Near Disneyland)ends December 31, 2009. Don't miss out on this fantastic rate!

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To see the information about the presenters, workshops and for early bird registration online or for the flyer, visit http://www.ohsoez.com.

EARN UP TO 1.9 CEUs IN 2 DAYS! SPREAD THE WORD!

See you there!
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Dear Brenda,

I've been there: College Chemistry, Master's level Public Financial Policy,
Philosophy taught by a teacher who'd recently arrived from Poland (try to cut
through that accent!)...  I agree with you that your level of knowledge does not
have to match the instructor's but, if you don't understand what the teacher is
saying then it's likely that neither is the Deaf student.  I believe, vocabulary
aside, it is critical that you understand the teacher's meaning.  Here's why:

When we do not understand the English source message we tend to hold form and
interpret at a lexical level.  This is not interpreting in its true sense, for
we are just substituting signs for spoken words.  That means we're putting
English on our hands and much more likely to misrepresent the speaker's message.
A simple example: Say you are overwhelmed by the source message and interpreting
at the lexical level, maybe concerned you'll fall behind as you struggle to
match the source with the target and the words "run" and "show" pop up.  Well
there are several ways to sign both of them.  If you aren't comprehending the
speaker's meaning you likely will use whichever sign comes first into your head,
not necessarily the correct one that clearly conveys the message.  You are doing
a disservice to the Deaf student and the hearing teacher and yourself when this
happens.

Luckily the educational setting is a forgiving one and encourages discussion. 
More than once I've waited til the teacher was done talking and raised my hand
to ask (simcom so the Deaf student has equal access), "just so I understand this
and interpret it correctly, do you mean... yadda yaddda yadda" and I've put it
into my own words which I find are a lot easier to interpret into ASL.
Requesting clarification is a wonderful tool when applied appropriately. 
Teachers will respect you for it means you are paying attention and showing
interest.

Now, what about your interpreting team?  From the sound of it I'm guessing you
don't have a team in these classes.  Perhaps a team could provide you good
support and you should request one. Perhaps when prepping for the class take 10
minutes here and there to email or approach the teacher and ask for a
simpler/condensed version of that day's lesson.  Or find someone else who knows
the material (maybe another interpreter who did this class before), and ask for
help reviewing the coursework.  Lacking an interpreting team, the teacher should
be your closest ally and someone you can be honest with about how you are
managing the interpreting demands of the instruction.  I'm sure you have support
resources (whether human or otherwise) and I encourage you to avail yourself of
everything you can to be sure you are not compromising the student's education
or your reputation and by extension, that of all other interpreters.

Good Luck-- you have my empathy and support :)


--- In educationalinterpreters@yahoogroups.com, brenda <dollm8kr2002@...> wrote:
>
> I am struggling with the content in science class right now. I have spent way
too much time trying to learn the info myself, or so it feels since it is on my
own time. I feel that prep is really important. However, how important is it
that I fully understand the content to interpret it? I don't have to teach it,
so my level of knowledge does not have to be the same as the instructor...right?
>  
> what are some opinions?
>

The many suggestions of getting the teachers' goals for this, or any material,
to 'match'/compliment the learning goal is sound advice and how I have been
taught. However, it has been made clear to me that I have not right to interfere
with the educational choices and processes, I am just to interpret. And I was
told that I should be able to sign anything and everything when I walk into all
situations regardless of my personal background knowledge or lack of matching
experience.

I am including some snippets of our conversations and addressing these individually.

Keep in mind - I still need answers on this matter if anyone can help.

1. IEP (504 Plan) may not be the place to take the interpreter into "consideration" . What an IEP (504 plan) is

   Exactly what is an IEP (504 plan)?? What goes into those papers?
2. chain of command

    unfortunately, the chain of command is not clear...

3. union member

     We do not have a union.

4. who is the person I need to approach to ask?

     WHO is the person I need to approach with this need?? 

5. will have a team

     We do not work in teams for regular classroom duties. There are not enough of us as it is, and to take any time off is to search for a sub from an agency.

6. floating interpreter

    Again, not enough of us to have a floater.

Now back to square one: how do I get help?

I have put together snippets on this topic and answered them separately.

1. talking to the teacher to see how they will be handling the wording;talk to the teacher; to the teacher about this and find out the intent of the lesson; discussed this with your TOD; ifyou know the overall goal

     For details I cannot go into, I can only stay in my role and I may not question the educational choices of the teaching staff.

 2. interpreting for someone else it should not be changed due to the preference of the interpreter; as an interpreter we cannot make decisions about the classroom content; my job is to interpret; we may personally find offensive;  personally are offended by . .;  not to point out my own personal opinions

   I am finding this continued comment frustrating and offensive. Please do not imply that I am whining about my job. My need is not to change the curriculum, but to handle the situation with as much tact as possible.

   ALSO, I need the signs for this crude speech. It is not my everyday vocab choice personally; henceforth, I do not have the signs needed to adequately convey the whole message that is being heard. Masturbation is not the only crude choice the writer uses.    

3. adult sexual education signs the "hearing" students take the opportunity to mock the sign they have learned by watching the interpreter and this is uncomfortable for the Deaf/Hard of Hearing student; it could draw unwanted attention to the Deaf student or interpreter; everybody looks at the interpreter to see what she or he will do), this could occur in a group setting of adolescents; he was embarrassed. I agreed to fingerspell and ...

    I realize there seems to be two camps on this issue: whether or not to interpret the exact content or to modify the sign choices as to not embarrass the deaf student. My feelings are to match, not to 'clean up'. Realizing the deaf student is embarrassed, one must also consider that the hearing students could be as embarrassed as well!

  Now the plan to position myself in such a way as to not be fully visible for hearing kids to copy, that is a great idea. (may change the seating arrangement a bit). But to hide from embarrassing language for one set of student(s) is not fair or equal either.   

5. not the predominant theme of the book

    Whether or not it is the predominant theme or not, it  IS included. Also, this is only the most uncomfortable section. Continued conversational use of such terms as boner, elephant-sized balls, holding onto my crotch, I am rock hard, kick ass, etc is just as awkward and inappropriate. If this vocab choice is 'ok', then why are students disciplined for using them in their own everyday speech?!

6. obviously raising some concerns among some groups of parents as a choice for a class room text

      In some school districts, a permission slip has to be sent home to parents for their student to participate in this book.

10. On the subject of finding another book

   I never suggested this idea.

13. more careful about the assignments we choose per the Code of Professional Conduct; sticking to Elementary or Middle school

      When one works in community, you have the choice to refuse an assignment for whatever reason you want AND you don't have to explain and justify yourself. This is not realistic in education!

Ok here is my long winded response to this problem.

First, I personally would never allow my child to read this book and personally
feel this is inappropriate for anyone below college level. However, this is not
a personal but professional issue.

As an interpreter we cannot make decisions about the classroom content only do
our best to interpret the message to our students and make certain they
understand it.

Another issue with education is that some interpreters have noticed that when
they use appropriate adult sexual education signs the "hearing" students take
the opportunity to mock the sign they have learned by watching the interpreter
and this is uncomfortable for the Deaf/Hard of Hearing student.

A couple of ways to deal with this are:

1) Talk to the teacher and find out if the two of you could talk to the student
privately, explain the meaning of the specific word(s) you are uncomfortable
with, show the student the correct adult sign(s) for the word(s), and then
establish non-descript initialized sign(s) to use in the classroom.

2) Talk to the teacher and/or interpreting supervisor to see if there is someone
else who can interpret this class (if that is an option).

3) Talk to the teacher and/or H.I. Teacher to see if the student could be pulled
for this subject (Not the best and mostly a very grey area choice and not one I
recommend).

There is really no way to get out of having to interpret this information but
you can hopefully reduce the harm that could possibly be caused.

I have over 6 years of Educational Interpreting and several more years of
Community Interpreting. I do understand how difficult it can be to interpret
content that you personally are offended by . . .

I wish you the best and please let us all know what you decide :)

--- In educationalinterpreters@yahoogroups.com, brenda <dollm8kr2002@...> wrote:
>
>
http://thebookladysblog.com/2009/06/01/book-chat-the-absolutely-true-story-of-a-\
part-time-indian-by-sherman-alexie/
>
> I include the website because the language in the book is too uncomfortable to
print in an email.
>

Per new IEP specifications, the possible over use of hands during the day has
increased. I realize it doesn't do much good to complain, so what is some
successful documentation and strategies you all may have used to show that the
IEP should take in to consideration the interpreter?
thx

Hello!

I am very happy to announce the opening of the new website: www.shonnapareja.com

Here, you can keep track of and register for upcoming workshops, purchase new
study materials, request interpreting services, and more! Don't forget to click
on the green laser pointer on the Professional Development page to meet the NIC
Masters who have come through the MASTER THE NIC training workshops!



STUDY MATERIALS

"Master the NIC: Written Workbook" (ISBN: 978-0-615-30437-3)
Written by a nationwide interpreter trainer and former ITP instructor. Rather
than give you the answers, this workbook challenges you to seek out answers
while working through it. The hundreds of questions contained in the workbook,
along with the various activities, will give anyone a good foundation of the
necessary knowledge to be successful on any interpreting knowledge exam.

"Practice Ethical Scenarios" DVD
One of the best things a candidate can do to prepare for an exam and reduce test
anxiety is to practice under exam-like conditions. In this practice DVD, you
will be given ten sticky situations (signed and then in written form) and five
minutes to answer each. This format is comparable to the NIC Interview and will
help youbecome comfortable with the format of the interview portion of the NIC.
Can you answer the questions entirely before the time runs out?





2010 WORKSHOPS
Currently, we're working on the 2010 workshop schedule so if you'd like to
request a workshop in your area, please fill out the contact form. Should there
be multiple requests from an area, we will make every effort in bringing
workshops to you! Also, if there are specific topics you'd like to see, please
don't hesitate to tell us what you need! We'll work hard to help you in any way
that we can.


We are currently working on other materials for enhancing your skills as an
interpreter. If there are any specific requests, please let us know. We will
make every effort to meet your professional development needs. Thank you!



Warmly,
Shonna




Shonna M. Pareja
NIC: MASTER, CI & CT, OTC


Shonna Pareja LLC
www.shonnapareja.com