Though it is less than 30 minutes long, lunchtime in the interpreting office is usually the highlight of my day. There are only four EDCO interpreters for mainstreamed students, so they each have a desk in a small office room. Lunch blocks are broken down into three periods, and I eat in the interpreting office with whomever has the same scheduled lunch period. Unless there is a conflict, on Mondays and Tuesdays I eat with Jody and Cheryl during 2nd lunch, and on Wednesdays and Fridays during 3rd lunch, Krystal is also there.
Though it’s nice to talk to them one on one, my favorite moments are from times when they are all present, because it is such a collaborative environment. Whether the question is “How would you interpret this line in the song ‘Proud Mary’? I have a show this weekend,” or “how would you show a 3D cone rotating clockwise?” or “how would you sign Act One, Scene One for Hamlet?” the hands go up. Each of them instantly goes to a land of their own, staring blankly into space as they work through the signs they might use. They are thinking out loud in ASL. Finally the three reconnect and discuss which way would be best and why, each sharing different ideas, suggestions and perspectives. They learned ASL from different people in different places, have interpreted in a variety of fields and are always better when they work together. In my ASL 2 class this morning, we walked in the room to find a GIF on the board along with, “What’s happening here? Work with a classmate.” After bouncing ideas around, moving our hands in all sorts of different ways, trying to classify a panda on top of a snowman, personifying the snowman and then using facial expression to role shift to the panda as it falls off, we share our best ideas with the class. We do this every single day. Like lunchtime with the interpreters, ASL 2 is founded on collaboration. It is comforting to know that my basic ASL class is already preparing me for interpreting, which is much further down the road. These recent experiences have led me to believe that the field as a whole is collaborative, and the love for learning ASL never stops. Like my ASL classmates, on a greater scale, the EDCO interpreters seem to be genuinely fascinated by ASL as a language and want to do it justice (in addition to meeting each students needs), which requires extra practice, discussion and collaboration during lunchtime. I wish I had ASL class three times a day. I do best when I work with others. I think I’ve found my home.
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In ASL class we are learning the history and evolution of the ASL alphabet and the many complexities of lexicalized fingerspelling. My teacher said that many interpreters find understanding what a Deaf person is fingerspelling at the speed of light extremely challenging. So, during lunch in the interpreting office, I asked the big question: What is the hardest part of interpreting?
Krystal’s initial response was unexpected, though totally understandable. She said that working in EDCO, each student has a preferred means of communication and there is a wide variety across the board. The hardest part is negotiating with the student so she can best meet their needs. Some students with hearing aids can hear more and might want the signing to more closely match spoken English so it is easier to follow along, while others might prefer pure ASL. Some speak for themselves, some prefer that the interpreter voices. Some have a limited English vocabulary and understand better if the interpreter uses signs they know. Some might want to know the exact English word being said and ask for a definition so they can expand their vocabulary. It is an EDCO interpreter’s job to adjust to fit what each student needs to best understand what is happening in class, but it can certainly be a challenge! Jody’s response was more general, explaining that as an interpreter in any situation, you are there for both consumers: the Deaf person and the hearing person. You’re hearing spoken English, understanding what was said, translating to ASL (or vice versa) and making sure both consumers understand and are on the same page. That is a huge responsibility. Not to mention conveying mood, tone, demeanor, and register in your signing and voicing. The discussion that followed reinforced my understanding that interpreting is complex on many different levels. I clearly have a lot of work, learning and growth ahead of me, and I am so incredibly thankful to have the opportunity to learn from experienced interpreters early on. The bustling physics classroom was slightly overwhelming on the Monday morning after a week long vacation. I knew the school, the students and the interpreters, but I still felt unsure walking into the room. Would there be any room for me to sit? Would the teacher be alright with me joining his class? Would the many kids I knew in the class start to talk to me even though I was supposed to be a shadow only noticeable to the interpreter? Would they be confused when I started to sign as I talked to them, because that’s what interpreters do when a Deaf person is nearby?
All these chaotic thoughts and nervous energy faded when the EDCO student offered me the empty seat next to him. There had been a few changes to my internship schedule and what classes I was allowed to observe, but after a moment of confusion and surprise, the interpreter and I were on the same page: today was the first day of my internship! For the first few days my plan was to take notes on class structure and how that affects interpreting. I found that since physics is an AP class, the pace is fast, the room is full and students can easily get lost if they miss one little exponent in an equation. This means that the interpreting needs to be succinct, precise and clear. For the majority of class, the teacher shows his work to solve a problem on the board and the students copy it down. The teacher speaks as he writes, but the interpreter simply points to the board, because signing, “radius is 4 centimeters, initial angle is 45 degrees, effective mass is…” when the equations are being written on the board is pointless. With many demos and independent work, the interpreter usually signs to add information that isn’t represented in a diagram or equation, student’s questions, and teacher’s explanations. All other time is spent referencing the board. Don’t get me wrong, interpreting an AP physics is no easy task! I will explore what makes it so challenging later on, but for now I was furiously taking notes on class structure. Sitting in her chair at the front of the room, with the EDCO student and I sitting at the front, middle table, the interpreter points behind her. Our gazes follow her finger to the board to see what part of the diagram the teacher is pointing at now. As she told me during lunch, “sometimes the board is the best interpreter.” More than doing some job for the 2nd semester of senior year, my CAPS Internship is an investigation of the industry I will be taking part in. Before my internship starts in a couple of days, I would like to record my preconceived idea of EDCO’s interpreting industry at Newton North, so that I can look back at the end and see all that I have discovered since week 1.
As a student at North, I have been in a few classes with EDCO students and ASL interpreters before. Though it was fascinating to watch the interpreters, I had to continuously remind myself that listening to what my teachers were saying was very important to understanding the material. Regardless, I became used to seeing EDCO students and interpreters as a pair in the classroom. Later, when I had a gym class with an EDCO student without an interpreter, I was shocked. I soon realized that an interpreter wasn’t needed, because the class was highly visual and consisted mostly of us attempting to follow the teacher as they demonstrated ridiculously challenging yoga poses. In this class, the student, let’s call him Tim, was very quiet and kept to himself. He was able to keep up with the class, but he did not often interact with other students. When I ended up in an English class with Tim and an interpreter the following year, it was a different story. With complete access to language, he chatted with another EDCO student and I before class, contributed often to group discussions and dropped jokes seamlessly when our class was off on a silly tangent. This experience has led me to believe that the EDCO interpreting industry at North is a crucial service for deaf students by providing access into class conversations, ensuring they understand everything the teacher says and carrying their voice to others. (I say that last part purposefully, because I believe interpreters do not give a voice to deaf people. They already have a voice when they sign, it just isn’t usually audible. The interpreters simply translate a deaf person's voice to be audible for hearing people, hence my decision to say interpreters forward or carry a message or voice, but I’m getting ahead of myself). I believe the EDCO interpreters at North help deaf students be the best learners, classmates and self advocates they can be, because that is what school is all about! I’m sure every teacher would hope for all of their students to develop these skills, and access to language should not be the ultimate barrier. Let’s see what I think in 3 months! |
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