Sign language program names a new department director
Dennis Gonsoulin
Issue date: 11/15/08
A flourish of hand movements, body gestures, and facial expressions
accompanied a spoken lesson as students sat in a Theater Appreciation
class listening to their instructor give a lecture.
A sign-language interpreter translated the lecture so that a student
with a hearing impairment could receive all the information just the
same as her classmates.
With a brand new department chair and a revised curriculum planned
for next fall, no one can say the TJC Sign Language Interpreting
program is all thumbs.
With an estimated 8.8% of the Texas population suffering from some
kind of hearing loss, according to the Texas Commission for the Deaf
and Hard of Hearing, the demand for sign-language interpreters is
ever-increasing.
As the TJC Interpreting program is the only one of its kind from
Shreveport to Dallas, it is fitting that the program is continuing to
grow.
Rhonda McKinzie, who has been an instructor at TJC since 2006, became
the head of the department in August when former Chair Dr. Judy Barnes
retired. Having over 30 years of experience in American sign language,
McKinzie is a level three and court-certified interpreter for the
deaf.
“I’ve been doing this since I was about 13 years old, so now I get to
teach other people how to interpret for the deaf,” said McKinzie.
While many students were halfway through their training when Barnes
retired, McKinzie’s leadership has so far been greeted with approval
from students.
“We’re really lucky that we had the tutelage of Dr. Barnes, and Ms.
McKinzie stepping in has been just wonderful as well. She is a great
asset to the program,” said sophomore Karla Watts. “She’s a really
good leader. It’s like ducks following their mama.”
With the change of leadership in the program comes a revitalization
of the program of study. In the future, a new curriculum is slated to
be implemented, possibly including advanced American Sign Language
courses.
While nothing is set in stone yet, McKinzie hopes to have the new
curriculum approved in time for the changes to be in effect by next
fall semester.
But even before any curriculum changes have been made, interpreting
students are already experiencing new aspects in their training.
McKinzie recently kicked off Sign Language Story Time Saturdays at
Barnes and Noble, a program to reach out to deaf and hearing-impaired
children in the community, while giving the students real-world
experience in working as interpreters for the public. The program,
where children’s stories are read aloud as well as signed, is being
held at 10 a.m. every other Saturday at the Barnes and Noble in Tyler.
“It’s fantastic to be able to share something with the kids and also
use it as a learning experience. It was a really good idea,” said
Watts.
Once students graduate from the Interpreter Training program, there
are many options where they can apply their preparation. in education
and professional fields.
The number of interpreter positions are expected to increase by 24
percent over the next decade. The median hourly salary for
interpreters was $17.10 in 2006.
Source:
http://media.www.tjcnewspaper.com/media/storage/paper1314/news/2008/11/15/News/Sign-Language.Program.Names.A.New.Department.Director-3542013.shtml
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