I had to admit, today, to a friend, what was really going through my mind as Sarah was telling me, on Friday afternoon, the first part of the interpreter story.
It wasn’t’ exactly horror, or concern, or that I wanted to bop the idiot terp over the head with a heavy ASL dictionary, it was, “Boy, this is going to make great material for one of Aaron’s stand-up comedy routines.”
Now you know what sort of a mother I really am.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Story of the Day 4/13/2010 #1
I sent the school a short email.
It came after one of my very few moments of insight.
Let me see, I am 50. I think I may have had about 4 of those, so far. A little bit less one per decade.
I said,
“There are really two possibilities, here.
The interpreter is competent / capable of interpreting for a high school health class and this was done on purpose, or the interpreter is incapable/ not competent to interpret for a high school health class.
Of course, the school's response should take those two possibilities into consideration.”
It came after one of my very few moments of insight.
Let me see, I am 50. I think I may have had about 4 of those, so far. A little bit less one per decade.
I said,
“There are really two possibilities, here.
The interpreter is competent / capable of interpreting for a high school health class and this was done on purpose, or the interpreter is incapable/ not competent to interpret for a high school health class.
Of course, the school's response should take those two possibilities into consideration.”
Story of the Day 4/ 11/ 2010
This is really part two of the Story of the Day from Friday ( 4/9/2010), except that I didn’t’ know about it, then.
Lunch today was interesting.
And educational.
In Health class, Sarah’s teacher has been lecturing them about infections, viruses, bacteria and how they are transmitted. Oh yes, and risky behavior.
According to the interpreter, the teacher was very graphic and used rude terms in her description of a blow job and the subsequent ejaculation.
Of course, Sarah is suspicious that instead of the rude terms the interpreter used, the teacher might have been using the term “oral sex.”
What can I say… either the teacher’s lecturing standards have fallen substantially, since my other two children were in high school , or the quality of interpreting just isn’t what it used to be.
And I complained when the public school Science teacher taught Sarah that God made the world in 7 days……..
Lunch today was interesting.
And educational.
In Health class, Sarah’s teacher has been lecturing them about infections, viruses, bacteria and how they are transmitted. Oh yes, and risky behavior.
According to the interpreter, the teacher was very graphic and used rude terms in her description of a blow job and the subsequent ejaculation.
Of course, Sarah is suspicious that instead of the rude terms the interpreter used, the teacher might have been using the term “oral sex.”
What can I say… either the teacher’s lecturing standards have fallen substantially, since my other two children were in high school , or the quality of interpreting just isn’t what it used to be.
And I complained when the public school Science teacher taught Sarah that God made the world in 7 days……..
Story of the Day 4/ 9/ 2010
Apparently, at North Central High school, sex is a bad word. Not only is it whispered, in class, by the teacher, but it is also expressed in a very crude way and there seems to be a strong preference for a specific position.
On the other hand, this could just be the interpreter.
Sarah thinks it is the interpreter.
She thinks that the teacher might have actually said the word “sex” or “sexual activity” or something like that, and the interpreter just decided to use some crude 4-letter word references to specific activities instead.
The first time, Sarah’s eyebrows went up.
It took her a moment to regain her composure.
The second time….
And, remember, this was being done in whispers.
You see, the interpreter was signing things like, :
”Some viruses are transmitted through
(tiny signing)........
And other viruses are…..”
In case you didn’t know it, watching an entire lesson being presented this way is rather annoying. It is also questionable if you could describe it as making the information “accessible” to the deaf student. Unless, the teacher really was whispering each of those words.
But back to the “educational “ terms being used.
Sarah bit back the impulse to ask the teacher or to correct the interpreter, if, in fact, the interpreter was simply mis-using some incorrectly learnt vocabulary.
Sarah knows better than to try to do this.
This interpreter is unable to understand even when Sarah dumbs down her signing and signs as if she were speaking to an 8 year old.
And then ,after Sarah has slowed her signing down and carefully arranged her words into English grammatical order and limited her vocabulary selections to ones an 8 year old should know, the interpreter might very well say, out loud, in spoken English, something that would imply that Sarah was trying to use those words to refer to something- and not trying to correct the interpreter’s vocabulary usage or ask if that is , indeed, what the teacher said.
And, because of her experiences with the other interpreter, Sarah knows not to trust the interpreters to correct any interpreting mistakes that they make.
So, Sarah simply came home and shared this with me. Shared what she had learned in Health Class , today.
This lesson that your tax dollars support.
Addendum: I will have to ask the teacher if Sarah will receive full credit for using these vocabulary words on the chapter test.
On the other hand, this could just be the interpreter.
Sarah thinks it is the interpreter.
She thinks that the teacher might have actually said the word “sex” or “sexual activity” or something like that, and the interpreter just decided to use some crude 4-letter word references to specific activities instead.
The first time, Sarah’s eyebrows went up.
It took her a moment to regain her composure.
The second time….
And, remember, this was being done in whispers.
You see, the interpreter was signing things like, :
”Some viruses are transmitted through
(tiny signing)........
And other viruses are…..”
In case you didn’t know it, watching an entire lesson being presented this way is rather annoying. It is also questionable if you could describe it as making the information “accessible” to the deaf student. Unless, the teacher really was whispering each of those words.
But back to the “educational “ terms being used.
Sarah bit back the impulse to ask the teacher or to correct the interpreter, if, in fact, the interpreter was simply mis-using some incorrectly learnt vocabulary.
Sarah knows better than to try to do this.
This interpreter is unable to understand even when Sarah dumbs down her signing and signs as if she were speaking to an 8 year old.
And then ,after Sarah has slowed her signing down and carefully arranged her words into English grammatical order and limited her vocabulary selections to ones an 8 year old should know, the interpreter might very well say, out loud, in spoken English, something that would imply that Sarah was trying to use those words to refer to something- and not trying to correct the interpreter’s vocabulary usage or ask if that is , indeed, what the teacher said.
And, because of her experiences with the other interpreter, Sarah knows not to trust the interpreters to correct any interpreting mistakes that they make.
So, Sarah simply came home and shared this with me. Shared what she had learned in Health Class , today.
This lesson that your tax dollars support.
Addendum: I will have to ask the teacher if Sarah will receive full credit for using these vocabulary words on the chapter test.
Story of the Day 4/7/2010
My daughter was worried.
About going back to school today.
She was absent on Monday and Tuesday. Today is Wednesday.
And the kids will ask her why she was absent.
She showed me her problem. She demonstrated what she should say.
” I was absent for Jewish holidays.”
I told her not to worry. All of the students at her school knew other Jewish kids and would understand. This wasn’t’ like the Deaf School where being Jewish was akin to speaking Pashto. No one even knew that Pashto was a language, none-the-less which country used it.
“That isn’t’ the problem.”
She signed it again.
Oh.
The problems is that the interpreter doesn’t have the receptive language skills or the vocabulary to turn that sentence into English and she is scared what the terp will say she said.
“Could you fingerspell really slowly?” I suggested.
This was met by a raised cynical eyebrow. She does that very well.
I remembered how well that worked last time.
And shuddered.
About going back to school today.
She was absent on Monday and Tuesday. Today is Wednesday.
And the kids will ask her why she was absent.
She showed me her problem. She demonstrated what she should say.
” I was absent for Jewish holidays.”
I told her not to worry. All of the students at her school knew other Jewish kids and would understand. This wasn’t’ like the Deaf School where being Jewish was akin to speaking Pashto. No one even knew that Pashto was a language, none-the-less which country used it.
“That isn’t’ the problem.”
She signed it again.
Oh.
The problems is that the interpreter doesn’t have the receptive language skills or the vocabulary to turn that sentence into English and she is scared what the terp will say she said.
“Could you fingerspell really slowly?” I suggested.
This was met by a raised cynical eyebrow. She does that very well.
I remembered how well that worked last time.
And shuddered.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Story of teh Day 3/ 26/ 2010
Sarah’s TOR ( resource teacher) told Sarah that she needed to let her teachers know that she will be missing school for 2 days for the end of Passover. So, yesterday morning, after the interpreter, who showed up late, came, Sarah explained very carefully and clearly that she would be absent from school on April 5th ad 6th, Monday and Tuesday , after spring break was over. She also asked if he had any make-up work he could give her for those days.
She got an odd look from her teacher, and then a response that made no sense. Apparently, the interpreter told the teacher that Sarah was absent on Monday and Tuesday and wanted make-up work from 5th and 6th periods….although Sarah never said anything about periods, and has this class during 1st period.
Of course, Sarah is now a pro at this and repeated, even more slowly and carefully, that she would be absent on April 5th and 6th, the Monday and Tuesday after spring break, and did he have any make-up work she could do for those days.
Since, this time, his response was appropriate, she knows the basic information was relayed, but she is concerned that the interpreter did not explain that it was the interpreters’ mistake and that the teacher now thinks that she is incredibly stupid.
Yes, this is the same unethical interpreter who previously refused to even interpret the correct information, after she had erred.
My husband thinks we should make a t-shirt for Sarah to wear to school. It should say, “I am not retarded, the interpreter is.”
The problem is that this would be insulting to the ethical and hardworking students who are intellectually challenged, even if the basic message is the Gospel truth.
She got an odd look from her teacher, and then a response that made no sense. Apparently, the interpreter told the teacher that Sarah was absent on Monday and Tuesday and wanted make-up work from 5th and 6th periods….although Sarah never said anything about periods, and has this class during 1st period.
Of course, Sarah is now a pro at this and repeated, even more slowly and carefully, that she would be absent on April 5th and 6th, the Monday and Tuesday after spring break, and did he have any make-up work she could do for those days.
Since, this time, his response was appropriate, she knows the basic information was relayed, but she is concerned that the interpreter did not explain that it was the interpreters’ mistake and that the teacher now thinks that she is incredibly stupid.
Yes, this is the same unethical interpreter who previously refused to even interpret the correct information, after she had erred.
My husband thinks we should make a t-shirt for Sarah to wear to school. It should say, “I am not retarded, the interpreter is.”
The problem is that this would be insulting to the ethical and hardworking students who are intellectually challenged, even if the basic message is the Gospel truth.
Story of the Day 3/ 14/ 2010
It is almost report card time.
This will be a big change for Sarah.
At ISD, she wasn’t’ guaranteed it, but there would often be the following comment “participates well in class.”
Of course, we are not expecting any of the teachers to write anything vaguely resembling that, this quarter.
Actually, as of last week, we are kind of expecting to get a note that she was sent to the Dean’s office or had earned detention because of her lack of classroom participation.
During science class, and do not ask me why, the teacher became upset with the class and said that if some hands didn’t’ go up, he was sending them to the Dean’s office.
Yes, this is the same Sarah who is overly concerned with having good behavior and takes pride in never having been sent to any office, at the Deaf School or at the public school for any behavior problem. But since Sarah lives in grave fear of what the interpreters will tell people that she said, she sat there with her hand down.
Apparently , enough students raised their hands to save the day, but it really does open up an entire new batch of potential problems.
The least of which is her report card.
This will be a big change for Sarah.
At ISD, she wasn’t’ guaranteed it, but there would often be the following comment “participates well in class.”
Of course, we are not expecting any of the teachers to write anything vaguely resembling that, this quarter.
Actually, as of last week, we are kind of expecting to get a note that she was sent to the Dean’s office or had earned detention because of her lack of classroom participation.
During science class, and do not ask me why, the teacher became upset with the class and said that if some hands didn’t’ go up, he was sending them to the Dean’s office.
Yes, this is the same Sarah who is overly concerned with having good behavior and takes pride in never having been sent to any office, at the Deaf School or at the public school for any behavior problem. But since Sarah lives in grave fear of what the interpreters will tell people that she said, she sat there with her hand down.
Apparently , enough students raised their hands to save the day, but it really does open up an entire new batch of potential problems.
The least of which is her report card.
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