DeafHear

CART: Up-Skills For The Job, And Confidence For The Future,
Part III of III
By Monette Benoit, All Rights Reserved.

Part I was posted on Monette’s Musings: www.monettebenoit.com 2/8/10.
Part II was posted on www.monettebenoit.com and www.CRRbooks.com 2/25/10.

Michelle Coffey, Premier Captioning & Realtime Ltd., entered reporting in 1992. She earned her RPR in 1996, and her CRI in 2001.

Michelle also holds a degree in criminal psychology and diploma in counseling from the University College Dublin in Ireland.

Michelle Coffey and I met in Australia in 2000 when I was keynote speaker for the Shorthand Reporter Association of Australia, SRAA.

In Fremantle, I spoke about reporting to the Internet and also working with deaf/Deaf, oral deaf and hard of hearing, HOH.

My seminars were real-timed to a large screen and sign interpreted in Australian sign language, a first.

Our friendship began the day we spoke on a captioning panel. She has the brightest spirit. Michelle truly enhanced the session with her wisdom and humor. Several days later, we bumped into each other – deep within the Australian Bush. A small world indeed.

Michelle Coffey has been a true leader in Ireland.

She has a wonderful can-do attitude. When I see her name in my e-mails, I smile knowing “this is going to be entertaining and good.”

Michelle was the first captioner in Ireland.

No surprise here that she has led another first in her country.

I am honored to share Michelle Coffey’s first CART path within Ireland.

Part III

Michelle Coffey: We spoke to Irish Sign Language interpreters, to Speedtexters, and to note-takers, and in the process we all learned a lot about the pros and cons of all the services.

Next, we spent some time talking to different interest groups, from the National Association for the Deaf, to DeafHear (a hard-of-hearing association), to Irish Deaf Kids, all the way through to the access officers at educational institutions.

And at each point, when we did our “show and tell” the response was always the same, “This is fantastic, why haven’t we heard of it before?”

But the most important people we met were the students who were with us on this new road of discovery.

And it was never far from our minds as we prepared for the beginning of term, that the weight of expectation on us was enormous; from the students that they would get a service appropriate to their needs; from the colleges that we would provide a suitable access solution for their students; and from ourselves and the up-and-coming CART reporters, that we prove that CART services can, and should, be an integral part of accessibility services for all educational establishments in Ireland.

However, much more telling and – proof that this service is necessary and will be a success is a statement from Emma, the first student to take up the service.

After having only two sessions with a CART provider, she had this to say, “I can’t believe the difference CART has made to my life.

Did you know that I began this degree course four years ago but had to drop out because I couldn’t participate in my PBL (peer-based learning) lectures?”

Well, we didn’t know that, but it certainly makes it much easier to study and up-skill for the job when you hear that what you do can has such a profound effect on someone else’s life!

Another fan of the newly available Irish CART services is Caroline Carswell, founder of Irish Deaf Kids, a charity supporting inclusive mainstream education for deaf children in Ireland.

Caroline was new to CART, and its simplicity blew her away.

She said, “For the first time in my life, I could follow a group discussion word for word and contribute without risking a non sequitur. For lip-readers, the law of multiples applies: the more speakers in a group, the harder a discussion topic becomes to follow. It’s like, Chinese whispers, anyone?”

Now, as we look back on our journey to get CART recognized in Ireland, we think “How did we do it?”

Well, did you ever have the feeling that being a member of an organization, whether it’s CARTWheel or the NCRA, is like being a Musketeer? You know, “One for all and all for one”?

Well, that’s exactly how I felt, but the Athos, Porthos and Aramis to my d’Artagnan were some of the most experienced and supremely talented people in our profession. They each gave of their time, expertise and encouragement, instantly and unstintingly when I needed it.

My eternal thanks, and admiration to Dayette Zampolin, Gayl Hardeman and Monette Benoit for their help, advice, vision, encouragement, and even offers to jump in and help out (remotely of course) if we needed it!

Does that not speak volumes about our profession?

Even though our work can be a solitary job, we know that we will never be alone when there are still so many passionate and generous colleagues out there.

And that gives me confidence for the future of our profession!

Michelle Coffey may be reached: www.pcri.ie and michelle@pcr.ie

Monette may be reached for private tutoring and coaching: Tutoring@CRRbooks.com

Monette Benoit, B. B.A., CCR, CRI, CPE
Coach, Tutor and Multiple Title Author of Books & Test Prep for the Court Reporting & Captioning Industry
Realtime Court Reporter, Instructor, Consultant, Columnist

Court Reporter Reference Books & CDs: www.CRRbooks.com
Blog: Monette’s Musings, www.monettebenoit.com

* Educational/Career Advancement; Private Tutoring/Coaching
All American RealTime/Captioning Services, Inc.: www.ARTCS.com

Have you failed NCRA’s RPR, RMR or a state court reporting exam? I want to help you and others to pass your test and to exceed career goals. http://crrbooks.com/index.php?cPath=61

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About Monette Benoit:

As a 25+year court reporter, CART provider, author of NCRA test prep material and an instructor, Monette Benoit has taught multiple theories, academics, all speed classes and the 225 homeroom within NCRA-approved schools and a community college. She understands the challenges many adults now face in our industry and schooling.

Monette Benoit has worked with thousands of professionals, court reporters, students and instructors. She has also helped create new court reporting training programs, worked with federal grants, and assisted instructors in developing curriculum for both in-class and at-home students.

Her one-on-one tutoring has greatly assisted thousands of students, novice and experienced professionals to privately reach the next level.