So, you've just learned that another mountain of responsibility young, promising mind has been added to your register. Not only does this future world leader come with all the standard kid accoutrements, he also brings to your room an array of complicated and expensive electronic equipment. There is a laundry list of special accommodations that nobody has really explained clearly and reams of difficult-to-correct work that cannot be entered into the school's computerized grading system.
Best of all, this student comes with his own personal grown-up. Or two.
Having educational interpreters in your classroom can be quite an adjustment for even the most flexible teachers. For the first couple of weeks (at least), the students may be more interested in watching the funny lady waving her hands around than in anything educational that you may be doing. You may bump into, or trip over, your new educational interpreter. Often. You may find your classroom disrupted by staffing changes from day to day, or even as interpreters swap during class time. The educational interpreter may interrupt your lecture to seek clarification, ask you to slow down, or ask you to repeat. As interpreters work to support our students, you might at times feel that they are doing too much...or not enough.
We love our educational interpreters. Many of our mainstream teachers come to love them, as well. There are many advantages to having an extra adult on hand, not the least of which is the ability to occasionally use the restroom during class time. This perk alone is one of the reasons I entered Special Education in the first place.
All joking aside, I could probably write a novel on the intricacies of working with an educational interpreter in the classroom setting. This blog entry will focus on a few of the basics and hopefully set us up for future topics.
Here's a few basic things you should know about educational interpreters.
• Educational interpreters are state-certified professionals, and have to pass difficult expressive and receptive examinations to demonstrate their fluency in sign language. While they may take on some classroom support responsibilities during their down time, they are not 'aides' or 'paras', and they are treated differently by the state and by CSEA.
• Most of our interpreters are fully certified. A few of our staff members are "mostly certified" and are allowed to interpret on a waiver from the state while they work to pass the examination.
• A few of the people who will interpret in your room are neither certified, nor on state waivers. They are simply skilled signers who we substitute in for our fully-certified interpreters when they are out.
• Supply-demand for fully certified interpreters is way out of balance right now. Some local school districts have been floating vacancies for years without a single nibble. SCOE presently has three full-time vacancies for fully-certified educational interpreters that are unfilled, with no applicants in the queue. The person sitting at the front of your classroom has an exceptionally rare and awesome specialty. Very few can do it at all, and even fewer can do it well.
• SCOE's job title for educational interpreters includes the word "aide"; this designation is deliberate, and is to clarify that our interpreters are expected to take on some classroom support duties as well.
If you feel like exploring this topic further, this document does a great job of explaining the roles and responsibilities of educational interpreters vs. the role of, say, that guy standing on the stage during the presidential inauguration.
• At this time, I am the primary "point-of-contact" for all matters related to our educational interpreters. If you have any questions or concerns, please ask! For educational / IEP issues, please speak with the student's SDC teacher (either me or Cheryl).
In the next article, I'll try to shed a little insight on our scheduling process and offer some tips on making the most of your educational interpreter. :)
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