Linda Raymond, director of the mainstream program for the Clark County School District, annually hosts an all-morning “transition workshop” for the Deaf and hard-of-hearing students that attend her district. More than 200 students from the 6th to 12th grade went to this workshop which will help them learn more about life outside of school and how to better prepare themselves, and we were there to observe them. The workshop was hosted at the Community College of Southern Nevada, a beautiful school with the exception of their pink and orange buildings that really clashed with their other red-brick buildings.

Dennis Matthews, a 2003 Gallaudet graduate, works at the Southern Nevada Center for Independent living as a Deaf services Manager/Advocate. He kicked off the workshops with a speech on empowerment. He told the kids that they were the only ones that could control their dreams and that the only barriers that they had in their way was communication. Once we get past that barrier, there is nothing else in our way to stop us. While we were watching that speech, we quickly noticed something odd in the front.

Sitting in front of a group of students was an interpreter. Bearing in mind that all of the students there were Deaf or hard-of-hearing, I was puzzled to see why this interpreter was not signing. I then saw that the interpreter was speaking with her mouth making large and deliberate motions while speaking. Her mouth opened wider than normal and her tongue stuck out further than anyone else does when they speak. Still confused, I asked Jed what this was and he said that it was an oral interpreter. I looked back and figured it out for myself. The interpreter listens to what the voice interpreter interprets for Dennis Matthews and the oral interpreter repeats what she hears. All the interpreter does, really, is allow the students a more clear way to lip-read what the speaker says. This is a very, very flawed philosophy. Students who use voice interpreters or ASL interpreters are at least developing language skills which are applicable all throughout their lives. Now, when you are talking about using an interpreter who simply amplifies lip motions, something that you will hardly ever find later in life, you are forcing the students to become dependant on something that will not exist as soon as they leave the classroom. Jed, familiar with the Clark County School District because he lived in Las Vegas for five years at one time, explained to me that it has one of the few remaining oral programs in the nation.

The 200 kids in the auditorium were then divided into three groups: 6th, 7th, and 8th graders, Deaf students, and oral students. We followed the oral kids to one workshop given by Todd Bader who wanted to explain the benefits of Sprint’s new Cap-Tel phone. Oral interpreter on hand, Todd asked the students how many of them had a TDD. None raised their hands. When he asked how many used the telephone to make their phone calls 100% of the time, they all raised their hands. “Then the Cap-Tel phone is for you,” said Todd. The students were mesmerized when they saw that they could still speak into the phone to their friends as well as hear what their friends said to them, all while an “invisible” relay operator types everything their hearing counterparts says, enabling them to read as well as hear what is being said. By the time a live demonstration was given and some students called their parents with 40 others crowded around the phone, everyone wanted one. It perfectly fit their needs.

We then went to a second workshop with the 6th-8th graders, hosted by Michelle Romjure. The workshop, titled “What Color Are Your Feathers?” helps students find their working niche. There were six different tables with six of the major occupational fields and different activities for each that students could experiment with to see what they were most interested in. The working ‘niches’ is called CRAIES by Michelle.

Conventional- Clerical work
Realistic- Mechanic, Firefighter
Artistic- Literary, visual arts; Television production
Investigative- Doctor, Dentist, Police
Enterprising- Business
Social- Teacher, psychologist

The workshop was a fun one for the kids, and many kids went around different tables before finally sitting down and really having fun at the one they were most interested in. It was a good way for kids to get a feel for what they might want to do in the future, and get more information about how to better prepare themselves.

The next workshop was a panel of four Deaf and hard-of-hearing adults who answered questions regarding their work experience all through their lives. This includes first jobs at carwashes and McDonalds, all the way up to their first professional jobs. They talked about their collegiate experiences, and gave kids advice as somebody who has been in their exact shoes before. After the panel, more than 50 pizzas were on hand to feed everybody and the kids, acting their normal ages, crowded around each other for an impromptu dance competition while nearby teachers freaked out and tried to maintain control. It was a fun sight to see while eating our pizza lunch, and we left to go back to Virginia and Harold, Jed’s parents’, home so that we could work on updating the internet. Kevin, thrilled that he didn’t have any driving to do today, left to spend the day with his mom and go shopping as well as spend quality time with her.

Since the Pacers played tonight, I refused to go anywhere except where there was a television and I was perfectly content with watching it Virginia and Harold’s home. Jed and Branic, good sports, decided to put off going to the Strip until tomorrow night.

It made no difference. The Pacers lost.