In our Ethics & Decision-Making class, I have assigned the students to read a chapter out of Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers book. Chapter two is entitled "The 10,000 Hour Rule." The concept is that it takes 10,000 hours to master a skill or talent. Gladwell says,
"Achievement is talent plus preparation. The problem with this view is that the closer psychologists look at the careers of the gifted, the smaller the role innate talent seems to play and the bigger the role preparation seems to play." (p. 38)
He talks about the amount of hours that world-class musicians invest.
"The idea that excellence at performing a complex task requires a critical minimum level of practice surfaces again and again in studies of expertise. In fact, researchers have settled on what they believe is the magic number for true expertise: ten thousand hours." (p. 39-40).
Gladwell defines practice as "purposefully and single-mindedly [practicing] with the intent to get better" (p. 39). He also goes on to add more about how the practice happens - "... the people at teh very top don't work just harder or even much harder than everyone else. They work much, MUCH harder" (p. 39).
He also goes on to talk about other master achievers, like Bill Gates and the Beatles, who were provided significant and unique opportunities that they maximized to develop their skills. Gladwell says,
"These are stories, instead, about people who were given a special opportunity to work really hard and seized it...." (p. 67)
Reading this chapter made me think about how we, as interpreters, achieve our 10,000 hours. I think it would be helpful to aspiring interpreters to hear stories about how more experienced interpreters have earned their 10,000 hours. I'll share my story and would ask that you all comment with stories of your own - how have you earned your 10,000 hours ? Acquiring ASL, developing interpreting skills or in anything?
My story
I started learning ASL at age 16 in my high school which happened to be in Northern Virginia right outside of Washington D.C. I became "hooked" to such an extent that I pursued additional practice and opportunities as much as possible. I ate lunch with my ASL teacher, looked for tutoring opportunities, volunteered in my 2nd year to be a teachers aid, etc. I seized the opportunity of location and went to Gallaudet for "field trips." I saw plays, went and hung out on campus, volunteered at Kendall and MSSD. I also started attending the mass that had interpreters, volunteered in the Deaf sunday school class with the little kids, offered to help the interpreter out on special occasions working on translating static texts (prayers, songs, etc.). Additionally, I seized the opportunity of being at the Deaf magnet school in our district where I had opportunities to have Deaf friends and observe interpreters regularly.
In my senior year of high school, I made the decision that I wanted to be an interpreter and decided to get a head start on college credits by taking an ASL class at the local community college, in addition to my high school ASL 2 class. I chose the University of New Mexico as my first college where they did not accept my ASL courses from the community college so I again took the initial coursework in ASL, AGAIN - Introduction to ASL and ASL I. I lived on campus and attended any and every opportunity to interact with the Deaf students. I attended Deaf club events and socials.
When I left UNM, I moved back to Kansas and enrolled in a Sign Language II course at the local community college, volunteered at the public schools with Deaf students in the self-contained classroom, I even did some sub interpreting for extracurricular activities at the school (after being evaluated for minimum qualifications).
Then, I started my interpreter training program at Johnson County Community College where I was in language and interpreting courses for a minimum of 4 hours on a daily basis (M-F). My coursework required additional lab (practice) hours outside of class time and attending Deaf social events. I began doing some assignments on campus (after being evaluated for minimum qualifications) with teams and gaining experience.
Between my first and second years in the program I became state certified and working on a more regular basis during the remaining year in the program. So, the interpreting hours I was working were on top of the hours I was putting into my coursework and "out of class" requirements. I took every opportunity I could to team with more experienced colleagues an get interpreting experience throughout that year.
Once I graduated, I gained more hours working at the community college and another local college. I took sub hours and additional random hours as much as possible. I just LOVED interpreting and wanted more and more opportunities to polish my skills.
That's how my story begins and it continues to this day with gaining as much experience possible ...What's YOUR story!?!
