Katie Bentley

Kellie Stewart
IPP 240-Ethics Final
Spring 2013

Case Study Essay #1

You work as a qualified, full-time interpreter in a high school, mainstream setting. School
started about a month ago. There have been several new interpreters hired to work with the
growing number of deaf student at this school. A deaf student for whom you interpreted last
year approaches you in the hallway. She tells you that she cannot understand the interpreter
working with her this year. The student is falling behind and is afraid that the school principle
will ignore her complaints about the interpreter, learning her vulnerable when working with this
interpreter the rest of the year.

This young deaf student uses primarily ASL. The interpreter working with her is very new and
inexperienced. He is not screened or certified and has taken a few interpreting courses and
workshops at the local community college. The student is desperate. She is planning to go to
college next year and needs to keep her grades up. Her parents do not sign well and are not that
involved in her education. This student is asking for your help.

Summary

A student approaches an interpreter who is not the interpreter she is currently working
with now, but did in the past. She explains to the interpreter how she cannot understand her
current interpreter that she is working with this year. She explains that she is falling behind but
is afraid that the school principle will ignore her complaints. Her parents do not sign well and
are not that involved in her education. Therefore, this student is asking the interpreter for her
help.



Facts

You are a qualified, full-time interpreter in a mainstream high school.
School recently started one month ago.
Several new interpreters hired to work at the school.
A Deaf student approaches you in the hallway to explain her concerns.
The student cannot understand the current inexperienced interpreter she is working with.
The student primarily uses ASL.
The current interpreter is new, inexperienced, and not certified.
The students parents do not sign well and are therefore not involved in her education.
The student is asking the interpreter for help.



Lenses

There are many people involved in this case. One of them is you as the interpreter who is
not currently working with this Deaf student. Another person involved is the Deaf student. A
third person involved is the current inexperienced interpreter who is working with this student.
A fourth person involved is the school principle. A fifth party involved would be the Deaf
students parents even though they are not very involved in her education. Finally, future Deaf
students, future interpreters, and the field of interpreting would all have involvement in this case
as well.

Issue(s)

Should you step in and be active in assisting this Deaf student and help in this situation?
Is the inexperienced interpreter qualified for this work?

Analysis

This case would be considered a Right versus Right moral temptation according to
Kidder (Kidder, 1995). This case would fit into the paradigm of short term vs. long term. In the
short term, the interpreter would be affected by the decision they decide to make but in the long
term it would affect future interpreters and future students who may be involved in similar
situations. If the interpreter decided to take action, it may affect them in their workplace in the
short term by the inexperienced interpreter or principle getting on them as to why they got
involved. On the other hand, it would affect the long term so that the principle would see how
important it is that future students have highly skilled interpreters and also future interpreters
would feel compelled to only accept the job if they felt qualified for it. There are a few tenets
from the RID Code of Professional Conduct that would apply to this case as a Right vs. Right
moral temptation.

One tenet that would apply to this case is tenet 2.6 under professionalism. It states
judiciously provide information or referral regarding available interpreting or community
resources without infringing upon consumers rights (Code of Professional Conduct, 2005).
The interpreter could choose to act by referring some possible resources that are available to the
Deaf student such as speaking with the principal, a school counselor, or even disability support
services. Instead of the interpreter getting directly involved by going with the student to talk to
the principle or talking directly to the inexperienced interpreter, the interpreter could suggest the
student take responsibility and encourage them to speak their concerns. The interpreter could
explain to the student that they have every right to speak their concerns and encourage them to
do so.

A second tenet that applies to this case is tenet 5.2 under respect for colleagues. This
tenet states maintain civility toward colleagues, interns, and students (Code of Professional
Conduct, 2005). This tenet protects the inexperienced interpreter. If the interpreter decides to
approach the inexperienced interpreter to explain the students concerns that have been brought
to their attention, the interpreter must ensure that they maintain civility toward them. The tenet
of 5.0 in general is respect for colleagues (Code of Professional Conduct, 2005). This means
that no matter what the given situation or concerns brought to your attention, you must act with
respect toward another interpreter.

A third tenet that could apply to this case is tenet 6.3 under business practices. This tenet
states promote conditions that are conducive to effective communication, inform the parties
involved if such conditions do not exist, and seek appropriate remedies (Code of Professional
Conduct, 2005). This would apply seeing as the student has come to the interpreter to explain
that they are unable to understand the inexperienced interpreter. Therefore, it is known that
effective communication is not taking place and some sort of action needs to be taken to resolve
this matter. The choice is how the interpreter chooses to do so. The interpreter could go directly
to the interpreter and let them know that the student has come to them. They could also go
directly to the principle or disability services to inform them that the student is falling behind.
Finally, the interpreter could encourage the student, due to the ineffective communication, to
speak their concerns to an administrator.

All of the parties involved in this case would perceive this issue through a particular
lense. The interpreter may feel compelled to act in this situation, knowing that this student has
come to them with their concerns. On the other hand, they may feel it is not their place to get
involved and that this is a situation that the student needs to take care of and it is not their
responsibility. Although it also would not be appropriate for the interpreter to pretend they
did not hear the complaints of the students. If the interpreter does decide to act, it depends what
actions they take. If they decided to go to the interpreter directly, the inexperienced interpreter
may perceive the interpreter as being rude or stepping on their toes. If the interpreter were to go
to the principle and discuss this matter, the principle may feel like the interpreter got involved in
something that was not their place to do so, since they are not interpreting for the student this
year. The principle may also decide that the inexperienced interpreter is not fit for the job and
decide to let them go. If the interpreter decided to take action, the Deaf students parents may
also question why the interpreter is getting involved. Seeing as the parents are not very involved
in the students education, they may not understand the students concerns and why any changes
need to be made. Lastly, the field of interpreting, future interpreters, and future Deaf students
would be affected by this decision. Future interpreters and the field of interpreting could realize
how important it is that students have highly skilled interpreters. Deaf students would not have
to run into these situations in the future.

Overall, this interpreter needs to consider what Stewart & Witter-Merithew explain as
resolution strategies, which they state as techniques, ideas, methods, and principles that can
result in a course of action to reduce or eliminate conflict (Stewart & Witter-Merithew, 2006,
pg. 61). This situation and what the interpreter chooses to do can be seen as an ethical dilemma,
a situation that requires a choice between two or more evenly balanced ethical (right vs. right)
options (Stewart & Witter-Merithew, 2006, pg. 61). Whether the interpreter chooses to act by
encouraging the student to take responsibility and offer them some suggestions how to do so, or
whether the interpreter decides to take action by speaking directly with the inexperienced
interpreter or principle, by explaining the concerns that have been brought to their attention in a
very respectful and professional manner, neither choice would be wrong.




Action and Justification

Overall, I feel that this interpreter must take some course of action. They cannot pretend
they did not hear the students concerns or complaints and act like they are invisible. I feel
that the best option for the interpreter to take first is to try and encourage the student to take
action and speak on their own behalf by going to an administrator, etc. to talk with them. I do
not think it would be wrong to approach the inexperienced interpreter to discuss how they feel
the student is doing in their classes. I feel that this could be done in a very professional and
respectful manner by not directly saying the student does not understand you but instead by
trying to get at what that interpreters perception is on the situation. If the issue did not resolve
itself or the student kept coming to the interpreter to explain their complaints to them, I feel it
would be okay to approach the principle or a staff member to explain what is going on. We as
interpreters are not invisible and if we are going to foster the most effective communication, we
must be active. Hopefully, any action taken would enlighten the administrative staff to see the
importance of highly skilled interpreters working in the educational systems. If the
unsuccessfulness of the interpretation for this student continued, maybe the need to replace the
inexperienced interpreter would be necessary.