Running head: DEAF GIRL

Mrs. Smith and the Deaf Girl

EDU 3364 Quiz 2: Ethical Scenario
Laurel Anne Dunlap
Troy University

DEAF GIRL

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Mrs. Smith and the Deaf Girl

Enough cannot be said about the essentiality of ethical behavior to

professionalism. Ethics is the very foundation upon which a professional career is built
and maintained. (Ethics, 2009) The seven tenets of the NAD-RID Code of Professional
Conduct (CPC) are confidentiality, professionalism, conduct, respect for consumers,
respect for colleagues, business practices, and professional development. (Code, 2005)
Upon reading Mrs. Smith and the Deaf Girl, I could see several ethical violations.
Upon further analysis, the main tenets violated are professionalism and respect for
consumers.
Mrs. Smith behaved unprofessionally when she showed up only 5 minutes before
class was to start. She also did not sign an important concept correctly, the sign for
war was replaced with the sign for world. Also, when other students ask questions to
the teacher, they were not interpreted. These errors relate to the CPC under tenet number
two professionalism.
The next area that violated the Code of Professional Conduct was in area four,
respect for consumers. Mrs. Smith did not greet the child appropriately, she did not
interpret conversations between classmates, she did not interpret comments between the
teacher and students, and she allowed another student to refer to the deaf student as her
without being corrected.
The violations about not interpreting classroom questions and comments really
come from both Professionalism and Respect for Consumers. Interpreting these
comments and conversations is vital as we see in our text which states:

DEAF GIRL

The limited quantity and quality in peer interactions between the deaf or hard of
hearing student and his or her hearing peers would likely affect more than childs
social development (Winston, 2004, p. 80).
After reading this scenario and reviewing the CPC, this is how I believe the
interaction should have gone. Mrs. Smith should have entered the classroom early, before
the student arrived, to give her time to conference with the teacher and to be seated and
ready to work when the deaf student arrived. Upon entering the classroom, the deaf
student should be greeted warmly by the interpreter. Announcements, content
information, and classroom conversations should be interpreted at all times. The
interpreter should interpret peer conversations. While interpreting, any mistakes should
be corrected and be signed again in the correct way to ensure understanding. All
questions addressed to the teacher should be interpreted as well as the corresponding
answers. Professionalism and Respect for the Consumers go hand-in-hand. If we strive to
be professional in our careers and follow the Code of Professional Conduct as
interpreters, I feel confident that we will be respected individually and collectively as a
profession.

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References

Code of professional conduct. (2005). Retrieved from

http://rid.org/ethics/code/index.cfm
Ethics. (2009, September 7). Retrieved from
http://www.terptopics.com/Ethics.htm
Winston, E. (2004). Educational interpreting: How it can succeed.
Washington, D.C.:
Gallaudet University Press.