Day One

So far so…yeah. Oof..so exhausted. Today was day one of the 2015-2016 school year and it seems like we have been back for months.

Four, 90-minute blocks per day can wear out an interpreter. Please, if you are a teacher that has an interpreter in the classroom, be aware that even though you are talking incidently, we still have to interpreter it so the students have equal access to all information.

I know that the first couple of weeks everyone is trying to get their groove going and this is honestly one of the roughest times for an educational interpreter. So much information that seems like it all need to put out during the whole 90-minutes.

I want to shout it out to the universe that I appreciate the teachers today that had short writing activities to break up the 90-minute lectures. Even though you continued to talk and I still interpreted everything that was going on, it allowed the students to take a break from attending to me, and do what you needed them to do. The students get visually tired watching me for those 90-minutes too. Please remember that.

Looking forward to the upcoming year. Met some really cool teachers and look forward to interpreting for them.

Last weekend of summer…

Lazily, I woke up this morning.  As I meandered through the house, making coffee, letting the cat go out on the patio, reading the news.  It hit me.  Today was the beginning of the last weekend of summer vacation.  Whoa…where did the summer go?

Actually, I know where it went.  I have been very busy attending workshops to “hone my craft”.   I wish I could have traveled more for pleasure.  Sure the week in Omaha, NE was worth it, I learned a lot, but I only ventured out one night.  I really need to get out of my comfort zone more often and do things, even if I’m by myself.

Things I’m going to work on this school year:

• Doing my job, and only my job
• continuing my professional development
• letting things go, I don’t have to do it all
• try to get that Clerk designation changed to interpreter in the district
• be open to new opportunities

So bring on the younglings/padawans and let the force guide me. Well…in a week..I’m going to enjoy this last week of no students a little bit longer.

 

 

RID Announces Moratorium on Credentialing

What does this mean?  All certificates, even Ed:K-12 which the testing, both written and performance, are not done via RID (Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf)  for will be part of this moratorium until things can be “figured out”.  For those of us who are working towards National Certification, this confused me.  How can I get certified if governing body of interpreters isn’t giving out certifications.

The good news for me is that because I am an Educational Interpreter I choose to be tested via the Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment (EIPA).  It won’t be until December until I find out my results and I still have to take the written portion of the test.  So while I’m not totally freaked out about this, it still makes me weary as an interpreter to see our profession in such flux.  Change is good..right?

For more information on RID’s decision, click HERE.