Skywalker

Hi All, (this is the first time for me in a chat room so be gentle, Ha Ha)
I am training to be an intervention specialist for the public schools (don't hate me yet) It would help me a great deal to find out about your community, culture and more importantly, your schooling. You don't know me from Jack so I would be glad to answer any questions from you as well...OK within reason... and I would like to have an ongoing discussion so don't feel like you have to answer all these at once.

Some of the things I would love to know are:
In Middle and High Schools, What were your hardest classes? and Why?
What would have made them better?
What were your favorite classes? Why?

Something else I would like (can you tell I am a woman?) More questions will come to me after a few night's of sleep. I hope you will welcome more as we go. I would ask you to write my papers for me too but I 'm afraid my professor will sign on and find out. Thanks (do I sign my user name here..???)

Deafness

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Reba

As an intervention specialist, what would be your duties?

Skywalker

Hi Reba, an Intervention specialist is part of a team who designs an educational plan for a student with learning disabilities. I would work with general education teachers by helping them modify instruction in a lot of diffferent ways to help the student process the information better.
Reba you are my first and it really wasn't that bad. Thanks for breaking me in.

Reba

You're welcome.

Also, welcome to AllDeaf. I hope you get the information that you need.

I'm a hearing interpreter, so I can't answer your questions from a student's perspective. There are many Deaf and HoH members who can though. Our members have lots of experiences to draw upon.

Skywalker

I've always wanted to learn ASL. Have you ever been asked to do interpreting for kids in public schools? What are your thoughts about using hearing interpreters in Middle and High schools?

Tousi

Skywalker, please excuse my intrusion but isn't a "hearing interpreter", especially within the setting you mentioned, a contradiction in terms?

Additionally, the originator of this topic is most probably not an interpreter.

Interpretrator

Reba

I think there's a little confusion here.

I identified myself to Skywalker as a "hearing interpreter", meaning that I'm a hearing person who is an interpreter.

Skywalker is the originator of this topic.

Oh, Tousi!

BTW, you never "intrude"; you're always welcome to make an appearance.

Reba

In what year of training are you? What kind of degree will you receive?

Deaf students receive interpreting services at the public schools from full-time school staff interpreters. I have done substitute interpreting in public schools, mostly for middle school students.

Do you have specific questions about interpreting? "What are your thoughts" is a pretty broad question.

Skywalker

Hi Tousi, I don't know if I am the one to answer your question about the job description "Hearing Interpreter". I just assumed Reba's job was interpreting (using ASL) spoken words for the HoH and interpreting ASL for the hearing (Maybe I should never ass u me any thing). I hope I get better at communication through this format. My question: I wanted to know if Reba was ever asked to interpret for a child in school that was HoH. and basically why we don't see this very often used in MS and HS.

Skywalker

I am in my first year of graduate school and I will receive a masters in Education when I'm finished. I have never worked in a school that had a full time interpreter on staff. I am glad to hear we have those out there. DO you go into every class with the student? Is there more than one student that is HoH in the classroom at a time?

Reba

I think it might be a good idea for you to observe some interpreters and Deaf students in a classroom setting. Then you can see for yourself what goes on. Of course, this is the wrong time of year for that but maybe you can use this summer for finding out where the Deaf students and terps are located in your area.

Yes, terps usually go to every class that has a Deaf or HoH student.

There are as many or as few Deaf/Hoh students in each class that attend the school at any given time. Sometimes there's one, sometimes several. It just depends on what the Deaf/Hoh student population is, and which courses they are taking.

Skywalker

Thanks for answering my questions. I AM real ignorant in this area but making making myself vulerable. I need to learn some best practices to use for kids that struggle in General Ed. and thought this would be a great place to start. I hope I have not offended anyone with my naivete'.

Skywalker

I don't get it? Oh I forgot to mention, I'm blonde too.

PuyoPiyo

I am going to answer your questions Oh feel welcome to AD

In Middle and High Schools, What were your hardest classes? and Why?

Well especially the Physical Science and Biology Science. They are giving me headaches.. The reason why they are the hardest because I actually have to understand what the teacher's theory explains the science while I could have a different theory.

What would have made them better?

Probably more picture hehe! I learn more with the pictures than how people tell me. It's just depends..

What were your favorite classes? Why?

Photography and Pottery, also the Film Reviewer (oddly it was my English class). Reason why I like Photography and Pottery because they show my expression and how I see the world, and of course, it's the art! Also the film reviewer as my english class, I like it because I love to discuss about the movies, and have very good eye on the story of the movie.

Good luck with your ASL learning

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Silentwolfdog

1. In high school, the hardest classes for me was math and chem. Too many thing to remember, lol.

2. I had a good teacher for math class, she was willing to help me catch up where I got behind because of the deaf school I came from did not teach what they should have. She did a lot of one-on-one with me during lunch and free period and after/before school.

If possible, have some time with teacher outside the class is one of the best methods, not just for deaf students but for hearing students.

3. Favorite classes? I don't think I have any, they were all boring. Maybe English in high school and science in middle school.

I was in public school full time the last two years of my high school years. Before that, I was in both school for the deaf and public school. I prefer public school over deaf school any day.

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gnarlydorkette

The most important question for me is:
Are you an intervention trainer for D/HH students only?

I am refraining my answers for your survey until you answer this question. :-)

jillio

Reba meant that she isn't deaf. She is an ASL interpreter for the deaf. In the middle and high school classes, students need interpreters, notetakers, extended time for tests, assistance with writing assignments, interpreted instructions for tests, alternate location (as in no distractions) for testing, tutoring services, and I might that terps are needed not just for classes, but for extracurricular activities,meetings such as IEP, etc. And terps should be certified as educational interpreters.

jillio

Good advise, Reba.

Skywalker, as a parent of a deaf son who spent many years negotiating the public school system, I would HIGHLY recommend that you observe a classroom in session. And just for the future, deaf students are not learning disabled, and usually do not require the assistance of special ed teachers. You cannot, under any circumstances, lump deaf children into a special ed classroom with students with other disabilities and still serve them under the ADA. One of the biggest problems with mainstream settings is exactly that practice. As well, the fact that the majority of teachers and adminsistrators have no experience in educating the deaf, and therefore are completely unaware of the issues involved that are specific to deaf students. If you are working on your master's degree, I would suggest as well that you take advantage of a few classes in deaf studies and interpreting, or a class in Deaf Ed.

Skywalker

Hi sorry I did not get back to you sooner, I was on a cross country trip to New Mexico. It was pretty fun!

After I finish my schooling I will work with a team of teachers and parents (and child) to develop modifications in their general education classes to help faciliate learning. Sometimes the child will be HoH and sometimes not. I will work mainly with kids that have trouble learning in their classrooms and something needs to be tweeked. I work in a high school now but there are no deaf students in my school.

shel90

I am a teacher and I have experiences in working in a public school that had a deaf/hoh program and working in a Deaf School. The needs of deaf students are very different from the needs of hearing students who have additional special needs. That's something u need to be aware of if u do ever get a case study involving a deaf student. Word of advice, if the child is oral only, dont assume that just because the child can speak well, he/she can hear everything being said in the classroom. Also, many times teachers think by sitting the deaf child in the front is the best thing..it is not cuz the child cant see the rest of the classroom and dont know what is being said behind him/her. Better to arrange the class in a circle or rectangle so all the students can see each other...that would make life for the deaf/hoh child so much easier.

Hope that helps!

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~Shel~

"A child educated only at school is an uneducated child." -George Santayana

Skywalker

Hi I am going to take Reba's advice. Advice is what I need right now. I would never lump anyone into anything. I don't think I said that and if I did I am truly sorry because I don't feel or think that way. I would only work with students who have some kind of learning problem such as trouble reading at their present level and then I could modify the learning in many ways.
I have witnessed the struggles that parents go thru trying to work together with teachers and administrators. It is not always a win win situation and I feel it should always be 100%. I would love to be a part of the solution and not a part of the problem. What do you see as some of the major issues surrounding trying to educate the students who are deaf?

Skywalker

It helps a lot thanks. I will probably be moved next year to a different school and I hope to get more experience with Kids who are deaf. I am a little intimidated by learning ASL. I failed miserably at Spanish and my teacher told me I would never be good at any languages (even English). I would love to see her again to see if she is still a mean old B*&^#.

Skywalker

What made public school better? and you said that you had a good teacher that helped you in math. Did the other teachers NOT help you? and do you think you would have had a different outlook on school if they did. stupid question strike that one WHat would you have changed to make the classes more exciting?

Skywalker

I love movies too. All kinds that make you think about things that you have never thought about before. I just watched the movie "The Secret Life of Words" Real sad but there were issues in there that I had not thought of or I saw it in a different light. Are you still taking classes? I am not familiar with Film Reviewer. What is that? In your Physical science classes are you able to debate with the teacher? Or does he just lecture the whole time?

Sugarpuff

*Itches my head*

258, I recommend you to teach deaf students the english because teachers didn't teach them to write the proper english stucture in deaf campus.
Deaf students learned late until they entered college to improve their writing.

shel90

Oh yes..we, teachers, teach deaf children proper English..trust me. The problem is that many of them come to school with little or no language and have to start building their expressive and receptive languages first before teaching them reading and writing.

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