Have you ever visited a country where they spoke a language you did not understand? It feels frightening and vulnerable. Sure, you may have memorized the most important words and phrases. You can get by and survive a quick trip. You know how to find the restroom, how to order a beverage, you have a translation app on your phone, and you survive for a week or two. When you get home, though, you are mentally exhausted from the strain of the language barrier.
Parents and caregivers who speak a language other than English can feel frightened and vulnerable when they need to make educational decisions about their children. The difference for them, however, is that this is not a quick trip. They want to support their children through high school and beyond, and the language barrier can feel burdensome.
Sometimes the best way to understand someone’s needs is to walk in their shoes. Let’s go for a walk together, and do a little role playing.
You just got a call from your child’s teacher. She said:
“O seu filho está com dificuldade em entender inglês. Está muito atrasado nos estudos. Precisamos de o ajudar para que comece a ganhar confiança na escola. Precisamos da sua ajuda.”
Ah, you do not understand Portuguese? No problem. Let’s try again:
“Votre enfant a du mal à comprendre l’anglais. Il a un retard scolaire important. Nous devons lui apporter de l’aide afin qu’il commence à prendre confiance en lui à l’école. Nous avons besoin de votre aide.”
You don’t speak French? No problem. German! Surely, you must speak German. Here you go:
“Ihr Kind hat Schwierigkeiten, Englisch zu verstehen. Es hinkt schulisch weit hinterher. Wir müssen ihm helfen, damit es in der Schule Selbstvertrauen gewinnen kann. Wir brauchen Ihre Hilfe.”
The parent or caregiver who has to understand this feels vulnerable and frightened. He or she so desperately wants to help his child, but he doesn’t understand what the teacher is saying.
And all along, the teacher has been saying:
“Your child is struggling to understand English. He is far behind in academics. We need to provide help for him so that he can begin to gain confidence in school. We need your help.”
Success Begins with Parents
Helping our students begins with involving their parents and caregivers. To truly engage parents, we must provide them with information about their children in a language they can understand. This becomes even more critical when we are discussing an IEP (Individualized Education Plan).
The law requires that we translate certain critical documents (such as prior written notices and procedural safeguards) in the language parents understand. The law requires the minimum, but educators never settle for the minimum.
There is tremendous power in providing the IEP in a language parents understand. Accommodations suddenly make sense, assessment data becomes transparent, and goals move from the school’s responsibility to the entire team’s responsibility (including the parents). The parents genuinely become engaged participants in the IEP process.
When parents become active members of an IEP team, the students win. Every child who has an IEP relies on educators to help them succeed. As educators, we can become fatigued from the challenge of managing IEP teams and the outcomes. It is beneficial for the students when educators share the IEP goals with the entire team, even members of the team who speak a different language.
Translating IEPs is the next best step toward ensuring the entire IEP team is ready to chip in and help our students. The good news is that there is an easy way to accomplish this task. At 806 Technologies, we believe that every special education student deserves a well-informed IEP team that can work together to ensure student success. That’s why we created our translation service. With more than 50 million words translated for schools and districts, we’ve become a trusted partner for educators who want to translate IEPs in a language parents understand. Contact us today to learn more. And one more thing… ¡Marcas la diferencia cada día en la vida de los niños! ¡Gracias!
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