HI, Christine,
I want to warn you that 160 wpm might not be
enough to keep up with the fast talking attys and
the emotionally charged ligitants. But if you're
game, I'm game!! I use lots of briefs to keep up,
which I'm glad to share - but only if you want them.
Briefs can slow you down, too, if you're not used to
using them or they are unfamiliar to you.
Still come when you get a chance, I'm glad to share
what I do and how I do it. You will learn how we
handle the calendar and the cases in our courtroom. Just remember no two courtrooms are
exactly alike, and that's the beauty of sitting out with several different reporters in different courtrooms.
It will be fun! and you will learn something
new - I promise!!!!
Kathy Hettick
I see that you are in the Los Angeles area but if you will be up north here in August, you are very welcome to shadow me. I am in a criminal jury assignment but because my judge is so good at settling cases, we are doing that mostly. Every once in a while, we will take a case to trial. If we get done with our "shake-down" of cases for the week, we will do prelims. So, yeah, let me know when you will be in my area and will be interested in sitting in with me. I'm in the downtown San Jose area of California.
I actually will be off work the first two weeks in August -- well, until August 13, the day after my boys go back to school.
So . . . if the time works for you, I'd love to have you. Just be forewarned, I will probably talk your steno ear off. :)
My office number is : (951) 304-5117. I'm all the way down in Murrieta at the Southwest Justice Center, though, which is a good trek from you, but I'd still love to have you.
Christine,
you may sit out with me any time.
students sit out with me frequently!
my office is 714-834-5527
we start at 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
come for the whole day or half day.
be at my courtroom at those times that's
when they unlock the door and you can
come in and set up. bring your computer!
we'll have fun with realtime!!
Central Justice Center, Santa Ana
700 West Civic Center Dr.
Dept. C65, 3rd floor
kathy hettick
I just pro tem. I don't have a regular court that I go to on a regular schedule. Sorry. Actually, I haven't been in court since January. If you want, I can check around for any freelance jobs I get assigned to in August if you'd like to sit out with me on one of those.
It's a good goal to have. Reaching one goal after the next is how I got through court reporting school, and it's how I progress as a reporter, too. I hope it doesn't look like I'm bragging; just seemed pertinent to list them all because, after all, this is a professional networking site.
thank you so very much for the birthday wish... i go to argonaut court reporting in sacramento. im at speed 200 right now, with one more test to go before im in qualifiers. i think all the advice trevor just posted is really good advice... especially the practicing at higher speeds. it really does help. i look forward to hearing from you again. ttyl.
Well, I was fortunate to not have to work that much while in school, so I could devote a lot of time to practicing. That's good you're goal is to reach 225!! Are you planning on taking the RPR? I would suggest going for it while in school, since that's when your speed is at its peak!
Anyway, because I go to a Mon-Fri school, 8:30-2:00, I have PLENTY of time to practice. But since you work parttime that's not possible for you. I find that practicing at least an hour a day will work. What I do is practice ridiculously fast speeds, like 230-250 wpm for 20 minutes and then slow down the speeds to 200-210 for another 20 minutes. You'll find that writing at fast speeds will make 200 seem very easy!
However, since you're at 160, I would try practicing 180 wpm for a push and then drop it down to 160-170 to pass those 160 tests. That's what I found got me through the speeds quickly.
Also, I would write down multisyllabic words and look them up in Brief Encounters and commit them to memory. Since you're incorporating Mark K's theory w/ yours, this should be easy. Then I would designate at least 20 minutes trying to memorize all the new briefs that you wrote down.
So, with 20 minutes practice writing 10-20 wpm above your current speed, writing 20 minutes at your target speed, and then spending 20 minutes defining and memorizing briefs, you will be able to spend an hour daily devoted to school. Well, this schedule worked for me, anyway. :-)
Oh, CR school was so long ago. I don't know if I can remember any tips that would be helpful. I wish I had made a better choice of what firm to work with when I first got certified 18 years ago. I went through six months of agony and didn't want to be a CR after the first firm experience I had. Luckily, I got out of there and have found great places to work since then. I also wish I had less conflicts in my writing. I learned a lot of conflicts in the CR theory I was taught, and it's hard to change your writing years later after it's so ingrained in your mind. That's probably a moot point with the RT training that is given in CR school nowadays, though. Also, I would recommend getting your NCRA certification. I never thought I would need it but circumstances have changed, and if I had gotten my RPR then I could be reporting right now in the state I have relocated to. Good luck, Christine.
Yes, it is very cool being able to see my grandson every day. Pretty awesome. Thanks so much for the birthday wishes. Good luck with school. I hope you don't have carpal tunnel and are able to continue pursuing your certification.
Thanks for the b-day comment, Christine! Everyone on this site seems so friendly. lol. Yes, I was soooo excited to finally meet THE Mark Kislingbury in person and go to one of his seminars.
I have tried to incorporate some of his theory into my Sten Ed/ Brief Encounters theory to write short. Some of his briefs work and some don't for me. It's good that you're learning his theory right from the beginning, so you won't have to "unlearn" strokes to conform to the new strokes.
Thanks also for the congrats for passing my qualifier! I'm soo excited to be taking the state exam!! :-) Just keep working on it, and you'll get there too!! If you have any questions, feel free to ask me! Well, have fun writing!!
I go to Sage College in Moreno Valley, but I just checked out your school yesterday. Very different from what I'm used to. I love how they teach realtime at your campus, and the staff seemed very friendly. How do you like it?
Hi, Christine. Thank you for posting my article and you're very welcome. Thanks for making it look very good with the font and all. Love the briefs joke, haha. And yes, my better half, Lily, is the one that convinced me to go to CR school. I actually had just quit law school after a year and a half of that not long before I met her, so I didn't want to go back to school and it took her two years to get me to go. Glad I finally did. I love it! If only I had known about it earlier.
I went to Chatt State Tech in east TN, and even though I did not attend any other schools or do any online stuff, I'm willing to bet that it's one of THE, if not THE, most affordable school out there. The first year, we only had to pay $750 a semester plus a few books. That first year is all about immersion in the machine. We went from 8-2:30 every day and were on the machine for at least 4 of those hours learning the StenEd theory. The next year, the classes were more like college classes; the speed class was 10-10:50 one semester, 2-2:50 the next, etc. There were some academics to take, but since I have a bachelor's from the Univ. of TN, I had most of those covered, thank goodness. One semester's cost in that second year was about $1400 plus books. Extremely reasonable from what I've heard and read about!
Closed captioning is great fun. With Capt CO, we mainly do local news, weather, and sports shows from many different states. I do love it a lot. Since I prefer the night, I have a few more hours to pick up since many like to work during the day. Being relatively new, I don't have as many options when it comes to hours, but that's fine. I'm willing to work my way up until they have a daytime sched if I even want one at that point. I usually work from 4 p.m. EST til 3 a.m. est. That's not all in a row, but those are my hours of availability. Being part-time, I work an average of 65-70 hours a month.
I graduated school in two years, which is the "right" and "on time" time that one needs to do it going to Chatt. State. However, no one else I started with has graduated yet or has a job in captioning. :( I started in Aug. 2006 and grad. Aug. 2008. I was hired by Capt CO in late Nov and started Jan 2.
Christine (Steno Nerd)'s Comments
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I want to warn you that 160 wpm might not be
enough to keep up with the fast talking attys and
the emotionally charged ligitants. But if you're
game, I'm game!! I use lots of briefs to keep up,
which I'm glad to share - but only if you want them.
Briefs can slow you down, too, if you're not used to
using them or they are unfamiliar to you.
Still come when you get a chance, I'm glad to share
what I do and how I do it. You will learn how we
handle the calendar and the cases in our courtroom. Just remember no two courtrooms are
exactly alike, and that's the beauty of sitting out with several different reporters in different courtrooms.
It will be fun! and you will learn something
new - I promise!!!!
Kathy Hettick
I see that you are in the Los Angeles area but if you will be up north here in August, you are very welcome to shadow me. I am in a criminal jury assignment but because my judge is so good at settling cases, we are doing that mostly. Every once in a while, we will take a case to trial. If we get done with our "shake-down" of cases for the week, we will do prelims. So, yeah, let me know when you will be in my area and will be interested in sitting in with me. I'm in the downtown San Jose area of California.
Lily
I actually will be off work the first two weeks in August -- well, until August 13, the day after my boys go back to school.
So . . . if the time works for you, I'd love to have you. Just be forewarned, I will probably talk your steno ear off. :)
My office number is : (951) 304-5117. I'm all the way down in Murrieta at the Southwest Justice Center, though, which is a good trek from you, but I'd still love to have you.
you may sit out with me any time.
students sit out with me frequently!
my office is 714-834-5527
we start at 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
come for the whole day or half day.
be at my courtroom at those times that's
when they unlock the door and you can
come in and set up. bring your computer!
we'll have fun with realtime!!
Central Justice Center, Santa Ana
700 West Civic Center Dr.
Dept. C65, 3rd floor
kathy hettick
Thanks for the birthday wishes.
Anyway, because I go to a Mon-Fri school, 8:30-2:00, I have PLENTY of time to practice. But since you work parttime that's not possible for you. I find that practicing at least an hour a day will work. What I do is practice ridiculously fast speeds, like 230-250 wpm for 20 minutes and then slow down the speeds to 200-210 for another 20 minutes. You'll find that writing at fast speeds will make 200 seem very easy!
However, since you're at 160, I would try practicing 180 wpm for a push and then drop it down to 160-170 to pass those 160 tests. That's what I found got me through the speeds quickly.
Also, I would write down multisyllabic words and look them up in Brief Encounters and commit them to memory. Since you're incorporating Mark K's theory w/ yours, this should be easy. Then I would designate at least 20 minutes trying to memorize all the new briefs that you wrote down.
So, with 20 minutes practice writing 10-20 wpm above your current speed, writing 20 minutes at your target speed, and then spending 20 minutes defining and memorizing briefs, you will be able to spend an hour daily devoted to school. Well, this schedule worked for me, anyway. :-)
Hope these suggestions helped!!
JD
Thanks for the wishes! Tricia
I teach all classes, with a special focus on real-time for captioning.
And good luck with your Court Reporting classes.
I have tried to incorporate some of his theory into my Sten Ed/ Brief Encounters theory to write short. Some of his briefs work and some don't for me. It's good that you're learning his theory right from the beginning, so you won't have to "unlearn" strokes to conform to the new strokes.
Thanks also for the congrats for passing my qualifier! I'm soo excited to be taking the state exam!! :-) Just keep working on it, and you'll get there too!! If you have any questions, feel free to ask me! Well, have fun writing!!
I went to Chatt State Tech in east TN, and even though I did not attend any other schools or do any online stuff, I'm willing to bet that it's one of THE, if not THE, most affordable school out there. The first year, we only had to pay $750 a semester plus a few books. That first year is all about immersion in the machine. We went from 8-2:30 every day and were on the machine for at least 4 of those hours learning the StenEd theory. The next year, the classes were more like college classes; the speed class was 10-10:50 one semester, 2-2:50 the next, etc. There were some academics to take, but since I have a bachelor's from the Univ. of TN, I had most of those covered, thank goodness. One semester's cost in that second year was about $1400 plus books. Extremely reasonable from what I've heard and read about!
Closed captioning is great fun. With Capt CO, we mainly do local news, weather, and sports shows from many different states. I do love it a lot. Since I prefer the night, I have a few more hours to pick up since many like to work during the day. Being relatively new, I don't have as many options when it comes to hours, but that's fine. I'm willing to work my way up until they have a daytime sched if I even want one at that point. I usually work from 4 p.m. EST til 3 a.m. est. That's not all in a row, but those are my hours of availability. Being part-time, I work an average of 65-70 hours a month.
I graduated school in two years, which is the "right" and "on time" time that one needs to do it going to Chatt. State. However, no one else I started with has graduated yet or has a job in captioning. :( I started in Aug. 2006 and grad. Aug. 2008. I was hired by Capt CO in late Nov and started Jan 2.
Keep me updated on the progress!
Katie
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