Yesterday, in Hebrew class, Mr. Cohen asked Sarah what was new- as in new and in the news.
She said, “I don’t know of anything.”
So, he went and asked the next student.
Apparently, he asks this question with some frequency, and Sarah never has anything to add. I wouldn’t have known this; in fact, I knew nothing at all about it until Sarah told me of this custom, yesterday afternoon. The reason she told me is that, afterwards, the teacher asked her to make sure to have something to tell, tomorrow. Tomorrow being today.
So Sarah gave me an assignment, I was to find something interesting in the morning newspaper for her to share.
Oh, Sarah reads the newspaper, every day. Actually, that is why we subscribe. Long ago, I figured that any time my kids expressed an interest in reading something, I would buy it.
This might sound spendthrift, but it is really quite the opposite.
Very few deaf adults read well. The average deaf high school graduate reads at below a 4th grade level.
I figured that books, magazines, newspapers and comic books were a lot cheaper (and therefore a better investment) than tutoring.
So far, I have been right. Both Aaron and Sarah read at an adult level.
At any rate, Sarah reads the newspaper, every day. But what she reads, which is why we subscribe, is the sports section.
I bet you thought we only got it so that I could read the comics and do the puzzles, but I really only look at that as a fringe benefit. Like the bubble gum you get with the baseball cards, although the bubble gum was so inedible that even the baseball cards ceased including it.
At any rate, after I have read the comics, I actually read the rest of the paper.
Okay, I am lying.
I actually read the comics last. That is because I need to work up to the best part. I read the front section of national and international news, first, and then the metro and state section, and then the obituaries, and then, and only then, the comics.
Except that this is Indiana, so the front section is also almost entirely local news.
On the rare occasion that I find something interesting, I hand it to Sarah, so basically, she was just asking me to make sure that I found something interesting, this morning.
The problem is that there wasn’t. Oh, there is the hurricane, but that was talked about yesterday. And no little additional details about the grocery stores being emptied is going to make quite the right impression since it is “old” news.
But, then, I realized that here was a fascinating piece of news that none of her classmates nor her teacher would already have heard about. You see, the BBC, which is famous for its news broadcasts, just fired Leslie Grange.
They fired her for embellishing and fabricating the news. Apparently, when the earthquake rocked Japan and they had a leaking nuclear reactor, instead of just conveying the facts, Ms. Grange told of how radioactive zombies were roaming the area around the nuclear plant. And that Rebecca Brooks (and I have no idea who that is) raped a monkey, and a variety of other interesting “news” items.
And why have none of her classmates nor her teacher heard a word about this? Because it only affected Deaf viewers of the BBC. You see, Leslie Grange is an interpreter who has been interpreting the BBC news for 7 years. She is shown in the lower corner of their broadcasts interpreting what the newscasters say into BSL – British Sign Language.
Apparently, she started revising the news about 6 months ago. Deaf viewers sent in complaints, but, because they were deaf, no one at he BBC paid any attention to them and didn’t’ investigate.
When it was finally discovered and Ms. Grange was fired, she had this to say:
“I would like to apologise to everyone in the deaf community,” Grange told reporters today, “though when I had Cameron tell Obama “your statesmen-like profile leaves my willy plump” – well, frankly I don’t think that is so very far from the truth.”
Source: http://www.thepoke.co.uk/2011/08/17/bbc-sign-language-interpreter-sacked-for-changing-the-news/
Sarah has decided to tell about this without mentioning anyone’s willy.
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4 comments:
I was so stunned by this infor about BBC, I read it twice! What reason did she give for this horrible departure from civility? I sure hope no one else does this kind of thing, as in monkey see, monkey do!
She was bored...,her life was boring..... and the deaf consumers were complaining for 6 months, but, of course, they dont' count so the BBC didnt' bother checking it out.....
Just for the record this 'story' was first published by The Poke, a website that makes news up. It's not real. It didn't really happen. It was then re-published in several other places as a real story. Lazy journalists not doing their jobs properly.
Thanks for the info, Anonymous; I will go check that out!
I will say, however, that after our experiences with some interpreters, it is entirely believable!
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