Happy Halloween!!
I didn't do anything special and I didn't get to hand out candy. :o( Still waiting for the day when I will get to spread chocolaty goodness out to the little becostumed (I just made that word up) children of the world.
Yesterday I had the opportunity of interpreting for a kid while he was being suspended. I always enjoy seeing the deaf kids called on their behavior, mainly because most of the teachers and administrators let them get away with so much. "Oh, it's okay if little Johnny is late to class, he couldn't hear the bell." "Oh, Susie just misunderstood what was expected of her." Excuse me while I go vomit. This kid knew exactly what he was doing, but he plays the innocent fool really well.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Friday, October 26, 2007
Poll
Ohmygosh!! I just found out that you can add polls to your blog. I'm so super pumped. Check out my first poll! I know the question is slightly generic and I can probably predict every person's response (of the people whom I actually know read my blog), but who cares? Do the poll anyway!!!!
Waiver Day
Today we had what is known as a "Waiver Day," which means that the kids didn't have to come to school and that we had to sit through meetings all day. Actually, today's waiver day wasn't too bad. In the morning we had presentations about special ed., in which the interpreters participated. I had to speak about processing time by using the question, "Why is the interpreter still signing even when I've [the teacher] stopped talking?" This was a good one because most teachers don't realize that we have a "lag" or "processing" time when they are speaking. Some teachers are even of the mindset that if they have finished speaking and the interpreter is still flapping her arms, that she must be feeding answers to the deaf students. So, I gave a brief spiel about that. I also mentioned how impossible it is for an interpreter and by default, the deaf student, to keep up with a class if it is conducted in a rapid-fire question and answer format. The deaf student will always be behind and unprepared to answer when called on, until he has been caught up by the interpreter.
We also had a question about disciplining the deaf student: if it is the responsibility of the teacher, the interpreter, or both the teacher and the interpreter. Many teachers answered, "The interpreter." This is not so. It is the teacher's responsibility to uphold classroom and behavior management and that includes any deaf students in their class. Of course, there are times when the educational interpreter has to sit up and say, "Hey, I'm an adult and a staff member," and be a part of the disciplining or monitoring of student behavior.
We also had a question about disciplining the deaf student: if it is the responsibility of the teacher, the interpreter, or both the teacher and the interpreter. Many teachers answered, "The interpreter." This is not so. It is the teacher's responsibility to uphold classroom and behavior management and that includes any deaf students in their class. Of course, there are times when the educational interpreter has to sit up and say, "Hey, I'm an adult and a staff member," and be a part of the disciplining or monitoring of student behavior.
Who doesn't love a good cuckoo clock?
Who? No one, that's who. That's right, I'm speaking for the entire world population when I say that everyone loves cuckoo clocks. How could one not? They're so happy and jolly; one can't help but be cheered by them.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Worst Banking Customers Ever!
Yeah, Mom, you think you would have taught us better than this...but, Mike and I have become some of your dreaded "worst bank customers." Saturday morning (who am I kidding, we all know it was barely morning), Mike and I went to the bank to update our accounts. We both had checks to deposit and then we needed to add Mike to my account and change my name, etc. And we decided to add Mike to my account based solely on the fact that I have my account number memorized and he does not have his memorized. Forget the fact that he actually has direct deposits, etc. That was of no consequence to my way of thinking. Anyway, we get to the bank and we get in line to make our deposits, and I have completely filled out my deposit slip, while Mike has not. Because, as I mentioned just four sentences ago (you're going back and actually counting the sentences now, aren't you?), I have my account number memorized and Mike does not have his memorized. So, there, strike number two against Mike: no account number on his deposit slip. You're probably wondering what strike number one was...it was Mike and me walking into the bank at 11:55 Saturday morning. That's right, we had serious banking business to do, and we waited until five minutes till close in which to conduct it. Mom would be so proud. Not.
But wait, it gets better...once we make our deposits, we still have to meet with a personal banker and set up Mike on my account and do a name change. This actually took a lot of time because the guy we met with seemed to sit and stare at his computer screen a lot while we were there. He would tap on his keyboard for a few seconds and then sit and stare. So, the bank either had a really slow operating system, or a really slow operator, not sure which. Strike number three: Mike and I had to have the doors unlocked for us as we exited the bank at twenty after twelve.
But wait, it gets better...once we make our deposits, we still have to meet with a personal banker and set up Mike on my account and do a name change. This actually took a lot of time because the guy we met with seemed to sit and stare at his computer screen a lot while we were there. He would tap on his keyboard for a few seconds and then sit and stare. So, the bank either had a really slow operating system, or a really slow operator, not sure which. Strike number three: Mike and I had to have the doors unlocked for us as we exited the bank at twenty after twelve.
Monday, October 15, 2007
The Tribe Rocks My World!!
Ack, I don't want to type too much about the Tribe right now, since the game is still in progress, not like I really have the power to jinx them...even if I believed in jinxes...(but they're pounding the Redsox right now!!)
School was all right today. One of the students was absent, so I don't have any good social studies stories. No, wait, I'm lying, I can share a story from last week. True Story: There are seventh grade students in this world who do not realize the difference between Zeus and Jesus. And when I say this, I mean, one of the teachers was trying to tell the students that Greek mythology was a bit like religion because there were gods and goddesses and people worshipped and prayed to them. But Zeus was not a real person. Jesus was. (Or as the billboard I pass on my way home to Mom and Dad's proclaims: "Jesus is real.") For some reason, this concept was really difficult for some of the kids to understand. Jesus was a real person. He really lived on this Earth. He walked around. He spoke, ate, slept, etc. Zeus (and the other Greek gods/esses) were never living, breathing beings. Some of the kids couldn't quite grasp this difference. And then, some of the kids kind of understood this, but they kept asking how the teacher could say, "Jesus was real," when you're not allowed to teach religion in school. So then the teacher had to explain that she was not preaching religion, that she was merely stating a truth. Regardless of your religious convictions, people like Jesus, Siddhartha, and Muhammad really lived. And it's okay to talk about them in a historical context when we are in school. This was an intriguing conversation for the kids. It was a good social studies class, because the kids were really thinking critically about how you can speak about religions without preaching and that (at least) three of the world's major religions were founded by the ideals and teachings of people who really lived.
It was good, too, because so much of social studies class is so distant for the kids. Meaning, they know that when we discuss Pericles or Julius Caesar, that these were real people. But they can't relate to stories about the Peloponnesian War or life in Sparta. This is how I hear students ask how the ancient Romans connected to their MySpace page if there was no electricity back then. The events that we discuss have no personal meaning for them. These are kids who have never known a lack of technology. But, for some reason, the teacher emphasizing the realness of Jesus forged a connection with some of the kids. Perhaps it is that they have so separated church and school, that for these kids, to take someone from the church realm and insert Him into the school realm made it real. I don't know. It was like the Helen Keller "water" experience. The light bulb came on for some of the students.
School was all right today. One of the students was absent, so I don't have any good social studies stories. No, wait, I'm lying, I can share a story from last week. True Story: There are seventh grade students in this world who do not realize the difference between Zeus and Jesus. And when I say this, I mean, one of the teachers was trying to tell the students that Greek mythology was a bit like religion because there were gods and goddesses and people worshipped and prayed to them. But Zeus was not a real person. Jesus was. (Or as the billboard I pass on my way home to Mom and Dad's proclaims: "Jesus is real.") For some reason, this concept was really difficult for some of the kids to understand. Jesus was a real person. He really lived on this Earth. He walked around. He spoke, ate, slept, etc. Zeus (and the other Greek gods/esses) were never living, breathing beings. Some of the kids couldn't quite grasp this difference. And then, some of the kids kind of understood this, but they kept asking how the teacher could say, "Jesus was real," when you're not allowed to teach religion in school. So then the teacher had to explain that she was not preaching religion, that she was merely stating a truth. Regardless of your religious convictions, people like Jesus, Siddhartha, and Muhammad really lived. And it's okay to talk about them in a historical context when we are in school. This was an intriguing conversation for the kids. It was a good social studies class, because the kids were really thinking critically about how you can speak about religions without preaching and that (at least) three of the world's major religions were founded by the ideals and teachings of people who really lived.
It was good, too, because so much of social studies class is so distant for the kids. Meaning, they know that when we discuss Pericles or Julius Caesar, that these were real people. But they can't relate to stories about the Peloponnesian War or life in Sparta. This is how I hear students ask how the ancient Romans connected to their MySpace page if there was no electricity back then. The events that we discuss have no personal meaning for them. These are kids who have never known a lack of technology. But, for some reason, the teacher emphasizing the realness of Jesus forged a connection with some of the kids. Perhaps it is that they have so separated church and school, that for these kids, to take someone from the church realm and insert Him into the school realm made it real. I don't know. It was like the Helen Keller "water" experience. The light bulb came on for some of the students.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Hooray! No School Today!
Ahh, the best part of my job...days when we don't have school. Oh, yeah, there are those days that I help the deaf kids actually learn something new. Those are good days, too. But, let's face it, I work in a middle school. I have to put up with, listen to, and observe a lot of nonsense before we can actually learn anything new or exciting. And, don't worry, we may not have school today, but I'm still learning. I have Sesame Street on as I type. So far, I've learned about the letter "D" and the number "17." I've also learned about feelings with Dr. Phil and the muppet Dr. Feel; and right now Oscar is busy grouching about something (have you ever noticed that Oscar is like the Andy Rooney for the four-year-olds of the world?). They just had Evelyn Glennie on, which was cool because she is deaf, but it was a little discouraging because when Oscar and Telly asked her how she knew what they were saying, she said that she could read their lips. Now millions of little children are under the impression that deaf people can read their lips. Very, very few deaf people can accurately read lips.
Speaking of deaf people, you should check out this short film. It's in BSL, but some of the signs are similar to ASL. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=8NoOKcpZzGE
Speaking of deaf people, you should check out this short film. It's in BSL, but some of the signs are similar to ASL. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=8NoOKcpZzGE
Saturday, October 6, 2007
But ours goes to 11...
I interpret in two social studies classes: seventh grade and eighth grade. The seventh grade class is the one where the kids are currently studying ancient Greece (big test on Monday); the eighth grade class is currently studying the events leading up to the Revolutionary War. When I was in eighth grade our social studies class was all about Ohio history, which they no longer study. This makes me a little sad, because the kiddies should know about the cool stuff George Rogers Clark and Simon Kenton did and it ticks me off, because the kids should have to memorize all 88 Ohio counties like we were forced to. Not like I seriously remember all 88 counties...one time Sis and I were on a road trip and we tried to name all 88 and failed miserably. I believe we could remember about 45 of them. And back in the day before Ohio went to number stickers on the license plates to identify the county, when one could still read the name of the county on the bottom of the plate, I can recall being surprised every now and then by one of the counties that I had forgotten about.
Nowadays, the eighth grade kids are supposed to learn the states and capitals. I find this to be laughable, mainly because this is something pupils in my time had to learn in the fourth grade. Also, it's slightly upsetting to realize that the eighth grade students cannot find most of the states on the map, let alone their capitals. I mean, is America becoming the land of the idiots? Now, I admit, I do confuse Vermont and New Hampshire; at times, forgetting which one is west of the other (although, thanks to me vicariously repeating eighth grade, I've learned which one is which). But, some of these kids have difficulty finding Pennsylvania and Kentucky; these are states that border Ohio and they can't locate them. Thankfully, these students CAN locate Ohio.
Anyway, right now we're studying the events leading up to the Revolutionary War and the students participated in an activity where they had to pick up different cards describing the events (i.e. The Stamp Act, the Boston Massacre, the Proclamation of 1763), read the cards, and then fill out a chart with summaries of each event. On the chart, the students had to rank how upset they would feel about each event, on a scale of 1 to 8 (one being not upset, eight being upset enough to revolt), and then provide an explanation for their ranking. Some of the rankings were interesting, such as the kid who put down a 1 for the Boston Massacre, explaining that the colonists were the one who provoked the British. And then there was the deaf student with whom I work, who put down an 8.5 for one of the events. When I saw that one, I was like, "M------, the scale is only one to eight. It doesn't go any higher." I think he thought it was a 1 to 10 scale. But when I was saying that to him, the whole time I was thinking, "But ours goes to 11..."
Nowadays, the eighth grade kids are supposed to learn the states and capitals. I find this to be laughable, mainly because this is something pupils in my time had to learn in the fourth grade. Also, it's slightly upsetting to realize that the eighth grade students cannot find most of the states on the map, let alone their capitals. I mean, is America becoming the land of the idiots? Now, I admit, I do confuse Vermont and New Hampshire; at times, forgetting which one is west of the other (although, thanks to me vicariously repeating eighth grade, I've learned which one is which). But, some of these kids have difficulty finding Pennsylvania and Kentucky; these are states that border Ohio and they can't locate them. Thankfully, these students CAN locate Ohio.
Anyway, right now we're studying the events leading up to the Revolutionary War and the students participated in an activity where they had to pick up different cards describing the events (i.e. The Stamp Act, the Boston Massacre, the Proclamation of 1763), read the cards, and then fill out a chart with summaries of each event. On the chart, the students had to rank how upset they would feel about each event, on a scale of 1 to 8 (one being not upset, eight being upset enough to revolt), and then provide an explanation for their ranking. Some of the rankings were interesting, such as the kid who put down a 1 for the Boston Massacre, explaining that the colonists were the one who provoked the British. And then there was the deaf student with whom I work, who put down an 8.5 for one of the events. When I saw that one, I was like, "M------, the scale is only one to eight. It doesn't go any higher." I think he thought it was a 1 to 10 scale. But when I was saying that to him, the whole time I was thinking, "But ours goes to 11..."
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Speaking of soccer injuries...
During the varsity game, the deaf kid for whom I interpret got knocked down by someone from the other team. He was down for a little while and so the coach and I started to run out onto the field. (Once again, on the outside, I was projecting a cool and in-control persona, but on the inside I was like, "Yikes! I'm running onto the field!") I had thought that once we came up to the deaf kid we would see blood pouring out of his nose or something, but he looked okay, and he actually got up before the coach and I reached him. But, since we had run out, according to the rules, this student had to leave the game (he went right back in after he reached the sideline). Apparently someone's elbow connected with his jaw when they were going after a ball and it knocked him down.
But this whole experience, coupled with the earlier experience of the ambulance carting some other kid off, actually made me wonder: what happens if that WAS the deaf student? Am I supposed to go with him in the ambulance? What about when we reach the hospital? I'm not trained in medical interpreting. What if I signed something wrong? Would I be liable? But seriously, I'm not going to NOT go with some deaf kid if they're injured. I asked our lead interpreter and she said that she would check into it, but as of right now, I don't think that our district has a policy outlining our (interpreter) role in that situation.
But this whole experience, coupled with the earlier experience of the ambulance carting some other kid off, actually made me wonder: what happens if that WAS the deaf student? Am I supposed to go with him in the ambulance? What about when we reach the hospital? I'm not trained in medical interpreting. What if I signed something wrong? Would I be liable? But seriously, I'm not going to NOT go with some deaf kid if they're injured. I asked our lead interpreter and she said that she would check into it, but as of right now, I don't think that our district has a policy outlining our (interpreter) role in that situation.
Say it with me, "I'm the adult here."
Yes, I am the adult. No, I probably shouldn't be as hyper as the kids with whom I'm working when the ambulance pulls up to the soccer field.
True Story: Last Thursday I was interpreting for a soccer game. Actually, there were two games, JV and varsity, with the JV game being first. So, I was sitting with the varsity team, watching the JV game, when one of the kids on our JV team went after a corner ball. A kid from the other team kicked it and it ricocheted off of our kid's upper leg. Our kid then proceeded to let out a horrendous shout and fell to the ground, screaming. Well, the varsity team and I at first thought that this kid was just making a big production out of getting hit with the soccer ball. I mean, shoot, I've been hit with a soccer ball about fifteen times in the past three years that I've been interpreting for the team (knock on wood, I haven't been hit yet this year). Sure, depending on how hard the ball was kicked, it can sting; but, I've never screamed about it. Mostly, when it happens to me, I just turn around and give the kid who kicked the ball the evil eye. And, I'm a 27 year old female and therefore have a way higher pain-tolerance threshold than some 15 year old boy, but still, we were baffled as to this kid's screaming. Well, this kid remained on the ground, screaming for several seconds, when we figured out that something else must have happened. Apparently this kid landed on his ankle wrong and broke it. THANK GOODNESS I didn't hear the snapping of bone and cartilage. I can take a lot as an interpreter (True Story: I once had a girl throw a mouse on me), but I don't think I would have been able to handle that. Needless to say, the coach called 9-1-1 and an ambulance came. The varsity team, including the deaf student, and therefore me, were totally sucked into the drama of it all. It's times like those that I have to remind myself that I am the adult and therefore cannot let myself get carried away. Just like the other day at the middle school when the electricity went out. On the outside, I'm projecting a cool and in-control persona, but on the inside I'm saying, "Oh my gosh, maybe we'll be sent home early!!"
True Story: Last Thursday I was interpreting for a soccer game. Actually, there were two games, JV and varsity, with the JV game being first. So, I was sitting with the varsity team, watching the JV game, when one of the kids on our JV team went after a corner ball. A kid from the other team kicked it and it ricocheted off of our kid's upper leg. Our kid then proceeded to let out a horrendous shout and fell to the ground, screaming. Well, the varsity team and I at first thought that this kid was just making a big production out of getting hit with the soccer ball. I mean, shoot, I've been hit with a soccer ball about fifteen times in the past three years that I've been interpreting for the team (knock on wood, I haven't been hit yet this year). Sure, depending on how hard the ball was kicked, it can sting; but, I've never screamed about it. Mostly, when it happens to me, I just turn around and give the kid who kicked the ball the evil eye. And, I'm a 27 year old female and therefore have a way higher pain-tolerance threshold than some 15 year old boy, but still, we were baffled as to this kid's screaming. Well, this kid remained on the ground, screaming for several seconds, when we figured out that something else must have happened. Apparently this kid landed on his ankle wrong and broke it. THANK GOODNESS I didn't hear the snapping of bone and cartilage. I can take a lot as an interpreter (True Story: I once had a girl throw a mouse on me), but I don't think I would have been able to handle that. Needless to say, the coach called 9-1-1 and an ambulance came. The varsity team, including the deaf student, and therefore me, were totally sucked into the drama of it all. It's times like those that I have to remind myself that I am the adult and therefore cannot let myself get carried away. Just like the other day at the middle school when the electricity went out. On the outside, I'm projecting a cool and in-control persona, but on the inside I'm saying, "Oh my gosh, maybe we'll be sent home early!!"
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