Reba

Think about it this way.

Suppose a student or parents don't like the school teachers. Can they hire their own teachers?

Parents can complain to the school if the interpreting services are not meeting the needs of the child as enumerated in the IEP. Also, they can report unethical interpreter behavior to the principal, school board, and/or district.

Sadly, not all parents know what constitutes good or bad interpreting.

Deafness

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Arthaey

Thanks, Reba! When put that way, that makes perfect sense. Thanks for your patience.

Persephone M

What if it is because he has an undiagnosed disability? I have some invisible disabilities that make me do similar things. People are easily frustrated with me because I seem not to be trying or paying attention. One example is, I am focusing on what they are saying, and the mention hobbits, and I remember all those endless descriptions of trees, and the debate between my friend and I about Harry Potter vs. Lord of the Rings, and crap, they've been talking for a while and I have no idea what they just said. Other times I am listening and suddenly it's like I am re-entering reality, (even though I wasn't really thinking about anything), or like time stopped for a moment just for me. I can concentrate and remember a few key words or the last few words, as if I heard them from a great distance, or a dream that is mixed with reality, or an echo of the sound after the fact. (It's a little hard to describe.)

For me it's every day, many conversations- it can be frustrating for both of us and sometimes I just pretend I've been there the whole conversation and just carry on for various reasons. So when someone says some kid is just being rude- but not defiant- I wonder what the cause is. If he did have something ADHD or whatever- I guess the teacher would be responsible for accommodating, but what if the interpreter were the first/only one to notice it existed? Would they be able to talk to the kid? The parents? The teacher? It seems like it should be anyone's/everyone's responsibility to call attention to it. And I can see how an interpreter might be the first to notice- depending on his environment, people may brush odd indicative behaviors off as "because he's deaf," or never even notice because of already difficult (and possibly avoided) communication otherwise.

In all other regards, I generally agree with everyone else. I am not trying to say it's the interpreters job to make them pay attention- I would have little to no right to an opinion in such an area, anyway. But since no one seemed to think of disabilities as a possibility, I wanted to toss it out there. At the very least, if it is a disability, then he is not being rude. I have no idea where the lines lay for interpreters in cases of noticing disabilities or even abuse of children they interpret for. I am curious about all the intricacies, but seem to have typed too much already.

Mountain Man

I'm a little late to this thread seeing how it was started at the beginning of the year, but I have to disagree with the notion that it's the interpreter's job to just stand there and relay information, and anything else is outside of their job description.

The full job description of an interpreter is "communication and cultural mediator". In the case of a Deaf student not paying attention to the interpreter, it may not be realistic in that scenario to expect the hearing teacher to pick up on it. As long as the student is not being disruptive or obviously not paying attention (for instance, reading a comic book hidden underneath his text book) then the teacher may simply not be aware of the fact that he isn't paying attention. In her world, a student can still receive information even if not looking directly at the speaker, and it may simply not dawn on her that this is not the case in the world of sign language.

In this situation, I think it would be appropriate for an interpreter to act as a cultural mediator and say to the teacher, "I'm not sure if you realize this or not, but Billy is not paying attention to what I'm interpreting, and I'm not certain he is receiving the information being presented in the classroom." This could open up an opportunity to educate the teacher about Deaf culture, the interpreter's role, and to discuss strategies for encouraging the student to stay engaged in the classroom instruction.

Of course there is no one-size-fits-all solution to any dilemma an interpreter faces. Depending on the constellation of demands, what might be an effective control in one situation will not be in another. It's best not to think in terms of rigid boundaries.

Reba

Good points.

Yes, the interpreter can inform the teacher that the student is not paying attention (during private discussion before or after class). The interpreter can also make some suggestions or provide some cultural/linguistic insight. However, it is still the teacher's responsibility to act on that information. Only the teacher has that authority. If teachers perceive (rightly or wrongly) that the terp is usurping that authority, it can cause a rift in classroom team cooperation, and that can ultimately harm the student.

Mountain Man

I agree. I was not suggesting that the interpreter usurp the teacher's authority. I was simply making note of the fact that an interpreter's responsibility in any given situation is often larger than the actual job of interpreting and that invoking the "It's not in my job description" excuse may be inappropriate and even unethical, depending on the circumstances.

shimo

You could try to have him seated in the front of the classroom so that he sees less of the classroom and is less distracted, but it isn't your job to keep him on-task

(or if it is, it shouldn't be. Your job is to interpret, unless specified by an IEP or other school-pupil agreement that the student needs someone to keep him or her on task. In which case, student needs a health aid in addition to an interpreter... ideally, anyway).


I guess I am concerned about what the other parents would think of they saw that one student was getting a lot of support (reminders to stay on task, spoon-feeding... etc) and their kid was not getting that kind of individualized attention. It would seem unfair unless there was strict documentation explicitly stating the student needed these kinds of interventions according to their condition.

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Mountain Man

Honestly, I doubt hearing students would think that the Deaf child was gaining an unfair advantage. Most likely they would pity him for his "disability" and his need for someone to "help" him understand what is being taught.

shimo

For parents, not at all!
pity would be the last thing on their mind.

if anything they would see it as special treatment or favoritism to argue the teacher is incompetent or biased. parents are only concerned that their child (not other children) is treated "fairly".


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Mountain Man

Tell me, have you met many hearing parents encountering a Deaf child for the first time? My son is Deaf, so I have a lot of experience in this area. Invariably the reaction is, "Ah, the poor thing." For that matter, even Deaf adults get this response. It's not the least unusual for hearing people to think the interpreter is there because the Deaf person is unable to function on his own.

BookTard

I have asked him before.. he just smiles and shrugs...

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BookTard

.

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needsleep

It's your job to interpret. You're not his babysitter or his teacher.

Harder said than done, I know. I would have a hard time with that too. How frustrating!

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afifan91

Interpret anyway... It's not your fault if the client doesn't pay attention..


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shel90

Children are different from adults. It is hard for them to watch a terp all day.

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BrittBritt

Its hard for me to watch a terp for an entire 2 hour class. I can't imagine being 9 and having to watch a terp all day long. But watching a terp is at least better than reading an RTC screen. That's what really pushed me into learning ASL. I knew I couldn't function in my life without a language. RTC is soooooooo boring. But sorry, I digress. Anyways yeah, it would be really hard for a 9 year old to pay attention all day. I bet a lot of the hearing kids aren't even paying attention. They just don't have on person dedicated to paying attention to them, like he does, so people don't notice as much when they aren't paying attention.

dereksbicycles

I remember when I was 16 and in driving education class. I fell asleep in class. WHen I woke up, I saw that the interpreter had left. It must be hard to be the only student using interpreter in classroom. That would probably explain why I got few speeding tickets.

Foxrac

When I was in elementary and middle school, the interpreter makes me to pay attention at all time, if I didn't so the interpreter forced my head and scold at me for not pay attention.

That's not in case anymore at high school and college.

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Foxrac

Same here, I have a hard time to pay attention, more than 1 hour.

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