Deaf Student Observation Paper

For my first observation assignment, I visited a high school in the Jackson County School District of Mississippi on February 2, 2017. The interpreter that I observed interprets for a female senior Deaf student as she moves through her daily class schedule. During my pre-visit interview with the interpreter, I learned that this student was born Deaf and has a Baha Cochlear Implant. The interpreter indicated that her assignment is not to act as a language model but to support the student in becoming more independent by helping her communicate and interact with the hearing world. The school is on a block schedule, and the Deaf student’s first and second blocks are in a special education classroom. Along with the Deaf student, the class consists of five additional specials needs students. However, two were absent on this day. Because it was ground hog’s day, the teacher’s lesson focused on ground hogs, their habitat, their physical characteristics, and the history of Ground Hog’s Day. The teacher gave students a packet of written information with supporting pictures. The students took turns reading the information aloud. The interpreter used simultaneous signing, looking at the packet and interpreting as students read aloud. The Deaf student did take a turn reading. Although the Deaf student has some level of hearing, the majority of communication with the Deaf student came through the interpreter, who sat in front of the deaf student …show more content…
The interpreter had actually prepared lunch for the special needs students prior to the beginning of first block. Evidently, the special education teachers take turns preparing lunch for their classes. Special education students have the option of eating the lunch that their teachers make or eating a cafeteria lunch. The students did eat in the cafeteria, sitting with their peers, and socializing as they ate. The interpreter was not required to be with the Deaf student during this