I am proud to have been published in the VIEWS, the periodical for the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, which is now published online in a bilingual format. Check out this edition, starting on page 19, for my article about Servant Leadership!
Friday, October 20, 2017
Saturday, May 28, 2016
My reply to a question from a novice interpreter on Facebook who asked, "do you remember how you got started after graduation? Did you feel ready? What did you do?"
You will never feel ready. So you do what's ethical and enlist the help of seasoned people and those that you want to emulate. Networking is key, so getting to know other interpreters and finding someone who is willing to mentor you (formally or informally) is critical. And I'd go one step further with that advise--ask a respected, culturally Deaf person who THEY like working with as their interpreter, and seek that person out for advise. Deaf people know quality when they see it, not just in signing skills but also in professionalism and allyship. Learn from someone that Deaf people think has that 'it" factor. Also, when you see an interpreter doing something that makes your spidy-sense of ickyness go off, figure out what they are doing that you think isn't ethical or professional and file it away on your "what not to do" list. You can learn from others by not making their mistakes. As far as jobs are concerned, beware of agencies that will hire anyone regardless of their experience or credential; if you accept jobs from an agency like that, be sure it's a job you can handle and don't take everything you are offered. Agencies like that will have a bad reputation with your area's Deaf people and it will reflect badly on you if you are lumped in with the new terps that will take any job.
You will never feel ready. So you do what's ethical and enlist the help of seasoned people and those that you want to emulate. Networking is key, so getting to know other interpreters and finding someone who is willing to mentor you (formally or informally) is critical. And I'd go one step further with that advise--ask a respected, culturally Deaf person who THEY like working with as their interpreter, and seek that person out for advise. Deaf people know quality when they see it, not just in signing skills but also in professionalism and allyship. Learn from someone that Deaf people think has that 'it" factor. Also, when you see an interpreter doing something that makes your spidy-sense of ickyness go off, figure out what they are doing that you think isn't ethical or professional and file it away on your "what not to do" list. You can learn from others by not making their mistakes. As far as jobs are concerned, beware of agencies that will hire anyone regardless of their experience or credential; if you accept jobs from an agency like that, be sure it's a job you can handle and don't take everything you are offered. Agencies like that will have a bad reputation with your area's Deaf people and it will reflect badly on you if you are lumped in with the new terps that will take any job.
Sunday, January 19, 2014
My 'Takeaways'
I have been digging into my internship phase in pursuit of my Bachelors of Science in Interpreting, and I'm coming up with some nuggets of realization that I am labeling as 'Takeaways'. I poached this term from somewhere so I don't take credit for it, but it accurately describes the phrases that I use in my journal to sum up what I have learned during a particular scenario. These might be similar to the suggestions found in Jack Hoza's 'The Interpreter's Guide to Life: 365 Tips for Interpreters,' but they are all takeaways that I have written spontaneously during my own work. Future posts will include other takeaways as I continue learning every day from every interpreted interaction.
Takeaway: the interpreter will make decisions during the interaction regarding critical information that needs to be included versus expendable details. We hope that we can make an educated guess as to which is which, and that we can judiciously and ethically edit if we cannot include both.
Takeaway: knowing about the clients' interests will help add to your ELK (extra linguistic knowledge) for an assignment because you never know when personal interests or vocabulary from those activities will appear in conversation.
Takeaway: No interpreter catches everything that is said/signed in a given interaction, and team members can assist each other to fill in the gaps either by temporarily taking the floor or by feeding the missed information. If you have a team, rely on them when in doubt, and the two of you can figure it out.
Takeaway: some assignments will require you to pull out all the techniques you have stashed in your ASL tool box.
Takeaway: there are rarely assignments that are solely 'single settings', and usually there are aspects of multiple setting norms in each assignment.
Takeaway: no matter what the circumstances are, there should be open communication between the interpreting team members regarding expectations, actual experience during the assignment, and there should be post-conferencing especially whenever there is a multi-day assignment.
Takeaway: the interpreter is the 'expert' in the room when it comes to matters of interpretation, and we have a right and responsibility to ensure that effective service is delivered to the best of our ability.
Takeaway: be flexible with your positioning so that you maintain sight lines. Don’t get stuck in one spot, and always be analyzing whether you are positioned optimally.
Takeaway: evaluate the impact of 'liberal' choices (see Demand Control Schema by Dean and Pollard) before you commit to them. Your actions may be judged by others involved in the interaction, so my feeling is we should always monitor our professional behavior regardless of how familiar we are with the setting. Every day on a regularly scheduled assignment is a new day in itself, and maintaining professional boundaries over the long haul will reflect well on you most of the time.
Takeaway: if you are able to let your mentor be 'on' first in an assignment, you will have a model to work from. Then you can monitor the client’s feedback to make sure you are both on target.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Seabeck Spirit
In August 2012, I traveled to Seattle, WA, in order to volunteer at Seabeck Deafblind Retreat which is run by the Seattle Lighthouse For the Blind. This is a short summary of my experience there, but words can't really do it justice...
I arrived at the airport and used the excellent tips provided to me by the camp organizers to find the designated waiting area for interpreters and support service providers (SSPs) to gather for the bus taking us to Seabeck, WA. I of course knew I was in the right place because from a distance I could see people signing to each other, with the group increasing in number as it got closer to time to leave. As we checked in, we introduced ourselves to each other and chatted, but the last person to arrive, an interpreter from Boston named Rachel Judelson, ended up being the lady who sat behind me on the bus, and we struck up a conversation and an instant friendship.
When the group arrived at Seabeck, we started a crash course in responsibilities, procedures and information regarding our roles as interpreters and SSPs for the Deafblind campers that would be arriving the next day. There was much anticipation and nervousness about the coming week, especially from the new volunteers (like me).
The week unfolded flawlessly, with the Director, Team Leaders, and organizers (most of whom were themselves Deafblind) working together to ensure that all the interpreters, SSPs, and Campers had a fantastic experience. The campus of the Seabeck Conference Center was roped off so that Campers could navigate with or without sighted guides. There were daily activities scheduled from early in the morning until late at night, with everything from tubing to painting. There was tandem biking, an elaborate maze to crawl through, crafts, dances, hot-tubbing, hiking, ice cream making, workshops, shopping trips, and most importantly socializing for the Campers who many of them go an entire year without meeting another person like themselves. They chatted, hugged, cried, and laughed together all week, and I was privileged to be a tiny cog in the wheel of the volunteer effort that empowered them to have such wonderful freedom. As my new friend Rachel put it, "All things are possible through Seabeck Spirit."
I arrived at the airport and used the excellent tips provided to me by the camp organizers to find the designated waiting area for interpreters and support service providers (SSPs) to gather for the bus taking us to Seabeck, WA. I of course knew I was in the right place because from a distance I could see people signing to each other, with the group increasing in number as it got closer to time to leave. As we checked in, we introduced ourselves to each other and chatted, but the last person to arrive, an interpreter from Boston named Rachel Judelson, ended up being the lady who sat behind me on the bus, and we struck up a conversation and an instant friendship.
When the group arrived at Seabeck, we started a crash course in responsibilities, procedures and information regarding our roles as interpreters and SSPs for the Deafblind campers that would be arriving the next day. There was much anticipation and nervousness about the coming week, especially from the new volunteers (like me).
The week unfolded flawlessly, with the Director, Team Leaders, and organizers (most of whom were themselves Deafblind) working together to ensure that all the interpreters, SSPs, and Campers had a fantastic experience. The campus of the Seabeck Conference Center was roped off so that Campers could navigate with or without sighted guides. There were daily activities scheduled from early in the morning until late at night, with everything from tubing to painting. There was tandem biking, an elaborate maze to crawl through, crafts, dances, hot-tubbing, hiking, ice cream making, workshops, shopping trips, and most importantly socializing for the Campers who many of them go an entire year without meeting another person like themselves. They chatted, hugged, cried, and laughed together all week, and I was privileged to be a tiny cog in the wheel of the volunteer effort that empowered them to have such wonderful freedom. As my new friend Rachel put it, "All things are possible through Seabeck Spirit."
It is a profound experience to witness another person live up to their full potential.
To get information on how to volunteer at Seabeck, email
DBRetreat@seattlelh.org
Mea Culpa
No, I didn't pass away, or get trapped under something heavy, or fall into a deep sleep that could only be counteracted by a handsome prince (although I'd take a prince if you have one to spare.) I have simply been extraordinarily busy, and keyboard-shy. Somehow it's difficult to determine what is blog-worthy, and what is just, well, not. So many times I have thought "I should update my blog" and then talked myself out of it.
My hope is that I will become more regular with these postings if only so that I have an archive of my activities, and eventually other people might want to know about them too. Baby steps, people, baby steps...
My hope is that I will become more regular with these postings if only so that I have an archive of my activities, and eventually other people might want to know about them too. Baby steps, people, baby steps...
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
That first step's a doozie...
As an interpreting student graduating from my training program, I felt like I had just enough knowledge to be dangerous. I had studied for several years, and taken several assessments of my book smarts and my hands-up skills, and scored well enough to be acceptable to work in an educational setting but not high enough that I felt comfortable working out in the community with adults.
Wait, what? You mean the standards are different? Yes, they are. Paradoxically, many states don't have firm and stringent standards of aptitude for interpreters working in the public schools. Wouldn't you think that the standards would be higher for interpreters who are working with children and young adults during the time of their lives when they are acquiring language (both sign and English) while they are simultaneously expected to learn all of the information they will need to pass their SAT's? Not so. Many first-year, inexperienced interpreters start out their careers in the public schools. In my case, thankfully I had a background in childcare, elementary education, and understood the gravity of my assignment, so even though I was (and am still) new, I felt that I could provide competent service to my pint-sized clients. But many interpreters cut their teeth in the school systems and then move on to community work once they become comfortable with the job of interpreting. This phenomenon causes problems, two of which are the fact that educational interpreting is looked down upon by some inside the industry because of the lack of consistent qualification requirements, and the fact that often the most experienced interpreters don't work in the schools because they have moved on to other settings.
The educational interpreting setting was examined by Elizabeth Winston in her book Educational Interpreting: How it Can Succeed, in which she compiled research into the field. As part of my degree work, I conducted a small scale, cursory survey in an attempt to determine if conditions and attitudes inside the industry had changed over the decade that has passed since Prof. Winston published her book.
Here is a copy of my (informal) research findings.
What I've said here should in no way imply that educational interpreters are not skilled, or that they are less qualified than community interpreters. I have seen quite the opposite. The interpreters that I've observed and worked with are dedicated professionals who strive every day to provide access to education for all their clients. But like their educational counterparts, public school teachers, they are mostly undervalued and underpaid. I would love to see that change, for both teachers and interpreters, because in the end it will be the students who benefit.
Wait, what? You mean the standards are different? Yes, they are. Paradoxically, many states don't have firm and stringent standards of aptitude for interpreters working in the public schools. Wouldn't you think that the standards would be higher for interpreters who are working with children and young adults during the time of their lives when they are acquiring language (both sign and English) while they are simultaneously expected to learn all of the information they will need to pass their SAT's? Not so. Many first-year, inexperienced interpreters start out their careers in the public schools. In my case, thankfully I had a background in childcare, elementary education, and understood the gravity of my assignment, so even though I was (and am still) new, I felt that I could provide competent service to my pint-sized clients. But many interpreters cut their teeth in the school systems and then move on to community work once they become comfortable with the job of interpreting. This phenomenon causes problems, two of which are the fact that educational interpreting is looked down upon by some inside the industry because of the lack of consistent qualification requirements, and the fact that often the most experienced interpreters don't work in the schools because they have moved on to other settings.
The educational interpreting setting was examined by Elizabeth Winston in her book Educational Interpreting: How it Can Succeed, in which she compiled research into the field. As part of my degree work, I conducted a small scale, cursory survey in an attempt to determine if conditions and attitudes inside the industry had changed over the decade that has passed since Prof. Winston published her book.
Here is a copy of my (informal) research findings.
What I've said here should in no way imply that educational interpreters are not skilled, or that they are less qualified than community interpreters. I have seen quite the opposite. The interpreters that I've observed and worked with are dedicated professionals who strive every day to provide access to education for all their clients. But like their educational counterparts, public school teachers, they are mostly undervalued and underpaid. I would love to see that change, for both teachers and interpreters, because in the end it will be the students who benefit.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
You Gotta Start Somewhere...
This is my first official blog post. I have had several false starts, and managed to write something only my mother would love (but even she would not understand), and so here I am, attempting to write something worthy of sending out into the world.
This blog is being created in order to give me central place to post my thoughts and observations as I begin my career as an American Sign Language-English interpreter. I am a fledgling interpreter, and am currently working on my Bachelors in Interpreting from Troy University. During my years in school, I have become an avid hoarder of information especially in regard to language, culture, anthropology, and the process of learning. This blog will be the repository for all the links, articles, and advise I gather on my way toward competency in my chosen profession. Some of it will be my own work that I have developed during my education, and some of it will be recommendations to read other people's stuff (yes, stuff is a technical term). All credit will be given for references and sources wherever possible.
As my first trick, I will post this lesson I created on Educreations.com which uses a little Seuss to get the party started. No copyright infringement is intended.
This blog is being created in order to give me central place to post my thoughts and observations as I begin my career as an American Sign Language-English interpreter. I am a fledgling interpreter, and am currently working on my Bachelors in Interpreting from Troy University. During my years in school, I have become an avid hoarder of information especially in regard to language, culture, anthropology, and the process of learning. This blog will be the repository for all the links, articles, and advise I gather on my way toward competency in my chosen profession. Some of it will be my own work that I have developed during my education, and some of it will be recommendations to read other people's stuff (yes, stuff is a technical term). All credit will be given for references and sources wherever possible.
As my first trick, I will post this lesson I created on Educreations.com which uses a little Seuss to get the party started. No copyright infringement is intended.
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