2 minute read
FROM THE PRESIDENT
Ritchie Bryant, MS, CDI, CLIP-R Board President
In the current RID Views, you will find various discussions related to education.
When I see the word “education,” it has a broad meaning. It could mean my receiving an education, providing an education, and advocating for an education. It could also mean many more things.
RID has started being active in making a change; frequently, people feel hesitant and fearful of any change. This fear often could inhibit change, and education helps to reduce anxiety. Through education, we can find many potential paths toward achievement. Once we learn about something, our fears ease and even fade away. It is crucial to have education, which will help us,
the board, start planning toward change. However, before any change can happen, we must learn, research, and discover the information out there. The more we research, the more we understand that the RID’s vision of change is not unique. Indeed, many other associations, including similar certification-granting associations, are doing the same things as RID. Their change process parallels what RID is doing now. We cannot dismiss that,
remaining solely focused within ourselves and experiencing what I call an “echo chamber.” An echo chamber causes vicious cycles of conflicts and problematic issues.
If other associations went through the process of change and succeeded, we owe ourselves to step out of our box, investigate and learn from them. We can bring their experience and knowledge into our organization. When the process has already been done elsewhere, there is no point in reinventing the wheel. We must be more aggressive in seeking ways we can learn to build our foundations solidly, which occurs through education. We should not limit our focus to changes in our organizational structure but also learn more about our interpreting profession as a whole since it’s constantly changing.
There is emerging research showing that our interpreting profession is continuing to evolve. There are no longer fixed ways of doing things; instead, methods are starting to blend, borrowing from each other to do what’s best for their area. So that means we, as interpreters, must seek out education, which will only help us develop and make outstanding contributions to the development of our profession. Technology, for instance, has a significant impact on the interpreting field. It has reached the point where interpreters can work from their homes. They can take online courses and better themselves. Online education will contribute toward the transformation of how we provide our services. Indeed, we must improve our ability to deliver our services.
That shows the value of education.
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