"Ethical dilemma" by Federico Quintana

One major challenge of ethical dilemma I faced at my campus regarding to sign language interpreter in classroom issues. Some of deaf students attend to an inclusion class that requires interpreter to be present in the class to provide a full communication access for the deaf students. When instructor gives the verbal lectures and the interpreter’s job is to facilitate and translate from verbal information into sign language information and the interpreter service was accommodated by IEP commission. Most of time, interpreters did not show up class on time, interpreters failed to call in sick and interpreters being pulled out of class for some reason- these issues had significant impact on deaf students’ quality of education, decline in academic performance and missing out the important information from instructor lectures. This obstacle brings a great educational barrier for the deaf students. It is very important to have an interpreter present in the class for deaf students because they deserved education opportunities as any other students. I had discussed this issue with my supervisors, campus principal and school district and we still have not solved this issue because there are not adequate qualified interpreters in our town. The budget is also an issue because they couldn’t open more interpreter positions in our school district.

STC begins deaf interpreter training program - News - Your Valley Voice STC begins deaf interpreter training program

http://www.yourvalleyvoice.com/news/article_1f2942ea-f854-5f72-8448-9bd88be3fd53.html?mode=jqm

“HELP ME !” Short Story By Federico Quintana, 2012
The young 12 years old deaf boy, Tim, and he was thinking about transferring to the oral school because he was shamed of his identity, denying his own culture and language. He was mainstreamed into the public school. His math regular Education teacher found out Tim’s plan and wrote a note to him that he should be transferred to the deaf school instead of oral school and use FULL ASL. Tim laughed at the teacher and thinking the oral is better than ASL because he wanted to be fit in the hearing peers. A few nights before he is officially been transferred to the oral school and while he was deeply asleep on his bed. He felt cold air blew his face as he peeked his eyes open … He was about having the worst nightmare ever he encountered in his life.
The deaf ghost, Laurent Clerc, leaned toward Tim’s face and Clerc signed “ASL USE THIS YOUR NATURAL LANGUAGE  … ORAL SCHOOL GO DON’T …. DEAF SCHOOL YOU GO WILL…HAPPY”. Tim was paralyzed with fear and tried to reach his arm out to touch Clerc’s body but he is waving in the air because Clerc is a ghost. Tim got really frightened and yelled at him to get away and do not want to sign ASL. Clerc’s ghost apparition became red because he is very upset that Tim is rejecting ASL and his own Deaf identity. Clerc signed back to Tim, “CURSE YOU IF USE VOICE BOTH YOUR HANDS EACH FINGER DISAPPEAR WILL”
Tim replied in his frightened and unarticulated voice, “What?!!”, one of his little pinkie disappeared and he became really freaked out. Tim screamed “Why? Why? No, no! Help me! Help me!” and 8 of his fingers were all gone!
Tim only had one last thumb left and he figured a way to break the curse by using sign language. Tim shakily signed “HELP-ME” with his one thumb and other hand without fingers and Clerc smiled back to him. All of the sudden, the door opened, Clerc disappeared and left Tim signed frozenly “HELP-ME” as he sat on his bed. His deaf father signed “YOU OK ? WHAT WRONG?” And Tim signed back “ORAL SCHOOL DO NOT WANT GO … DEAF SCHOOL I WANT GO…. PLUS I THINK…. NOW ASL I LIKE”. “YES FINALLY” signed deaf father as he hugged Tim tightly.