[blindkid] Expanded Core Curriculum Feedback

Heather Field missheather at comcast.net
Sat May 12 08:45:55 UTC 2012


Hello Penny,
I really like your description, a "catch all" for blindness skills. 
Unfortunately, I believe this Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC.) has created an 
awful problem for teachers, parents and blind students alike for that very 
reason...It catches "all" the skills.  It is because they have put 
everything together in one document and demanded that teachers implement the 
lessons that we now have a problem.

The idea that teachers should teach reading and writing and literacy skills 
in braille, or braille mathematics, and technology devices using speech and 
braille, and that qualified instructors should instruct blind students in 
orientation and mobility is appropriate. However, daily living skills, such 
as eating, dressing, self-care and basic house cleaning etc. has absolutely 
nothing to do with school teachers. Nor, for that matter, does much of the 
socialising that blind children, just like sighted children, receive from 
day to day. How anyone can imagine that it is the role of the teacher of the 
blind to teach a child to fold their shirts or shine their shoes is beyond 
me. Similarly, how can it be the school teachers' job to introduce blind 
children to people who do various different jobs, in order to give them 
experiences to help them in choosing careers? Children start choosing 
subjects that head them in certain career directions as early as middle 
school these days and, furthermore, many teachers of the blind haven't a 
clue about the sorts of careers that blind people can have. Blind nurses and 
doctors, farmers and pilots, mothers and florists, jeweler makers and auto 
mechanics, scientists, welders, horse trainers, computer programmers, school 
teachers, administrators, and on and on. Blind people are pursuing all kinds 
of careers. Yet, many teachers of the blind do not number blind adults among 
their circle of friends and could count the blind adults they know 
personally on one hand. They are very uninformed about many of the careers 
that blind students might realistically pursue.

And, now, this new Self-determination section has been added to the ECC 
which make things even more murky. Self-determination comes from being given 
choices from early in life and opportunities to live out the consequences of 
these choices under the watchful eye of parents or guardians. Children learn 
that they can make decisions for themselves and/or to advocate for 
themselves by being allowed to do so. Currently, there is a grave shortage 
of qualified teachers of the blind and it's getting worse as the baby 
boomers are retiring. Teachers of the blind have caseloads far beyond 
reasonable in many school districts. They often don't get to see students 
for the proper amount of time they need to teach them literacy and numeracy. 
Where do people imagine that these overworked teachers will find time or 
motivation to teach skills to blind children that, rightly, should be taught 
at home. In some respects, this ECC is a rod for their backs of their own 
creation because they have not done enough to help debunk the "mystery" 
surrounding educating blind children. Many like The Myth Of The Expert 
because it allows them to deny braille and push print etc. School district 
administrators, principals etc. accept the teacher of the blind's 
recommendations because of the perceived expertise. Print readers don't make 
teachers of the blind have to relearn the braille they haven't looked at 
since college and try to find ways to teach it, round up the necessary books 
etc. No need for braille equals no expense for a braille teacher for school 
districts and that saves a lot of money. So, the idea that the teacher of 
the blind is an expert is helpful in many situations. Now, people are asking 
the "experts" to teach blind children everything. Obviously, the school day 
has neither the available time nor environmental opportunities for blind 
children to learn everything at school and the ECC sets an impossible task 
for educators. Many of the provisions, in my opinion, are wrongly labelled 
as being part of a "core curriculum" for blind children and should, 
therefore, not be in this set of teaching requirements. Daily living skills 
and social skills are learned by children in their homes with their 
families. Self-determination is an attitude, a state of mind and a set of 
experientially acquired, situation specific skills which are learned from 
infancy to young adulthood. How can such a thing be taught by an overworked, 
time restricted school teacher?

The reality is that most blind children will never receive most of what is 
mandated by the Expanded Core Curriculum, no matter how many goals are 
written into IEPs. There simply isn't the time, personnel or environmental 
opportunities to implement it. Having the same expectations for blind and 
sighted children and then finding the nonvisual ways to enable blind 
children to reach them is the simple formula that gets blind children 
educated. Teachers do what they can and parents and guardians and other 
family members pick up where teachers can't, or won't, teach them, whatever 
the area of learning. In many cases the ECC. simply muddies the waters and 
gives parents/families the false idea that teachers can teach blind children 
everything. In fact, as it has always been, parents and families will end up 
teaching their blind children most things, for better or worse, and teachers 
will teach reading, writing, arithmetic and, if you're lucky, good 
orientation and mobility skills.

I hope one day, after the ECC has been recognised as the failure that it was 
doomed to be from its creation, that we will be able to come up with a 
better and more realistic tool to undergird solid skills education for blind 
children.

Regards,
Heather Field




-----Original Message----- 
From: Penny Duffy
Sent: Friday, May 11, 2012 2:34 PM
To: Blind Kid Mailing List,(for parents of blind children)
Subject: Re: [blindkid] Expanded Core Curriculum Feedback

  ECC includes things like braille instruction, O&M  and other blindness
skills.  For some reason I have a hard time getting it. I think its with
the wording. It seems to be a catch all of all the extra stuff a blind
child needs to learn from school and home.

I found the following at the Perkins website.
The Nine Components of the Expanded Core Curriculum

Compensatory and functional academic skills, including communication
modes Compensatory
skills involve the adaptations necessary for accessing the core curriculum,
which can include: braille, tactile symbols, sign language, and recorded
materials.
Orientation and MobilitySkills to orient children who are visually impaired
to their surroundings and travel skills to enable them to move
independently and safely in the environment.
Social Interaction Skills

Since nearly all social skills are learned by observation of the
environment and people, this is an area where students with vision loss
need careful, conscious and explicit instruction.
Independent Living Skills

This area includes the tasks and functions people perform in daily life to
optimize their independence - skills such as personal hygiene, food
preparation, money management, and household chores.
Recreation & Leisure Skills

Skills to ensure students' enjoyment of physical and leisure-time
activities, including making choices about how to spend leisure time.
Career Education

Students with vision loss benefit most from an experiential learning
approach. Structured visits to community sites and discussions with people
who perform various jobs, enable
them to understand concepts and specific skills that are needed to be
successful in those jobs. Considering the national rate of unemployment or
underemployment
of working-age adults who are blind is 70% -75%, this area needs attention
throughout the school years to help students with vision loss develop
marketable job skills.
Assistive Technology

Assistive technology is a powerful tool that can enable students with
vision loss to
overcome some traditional barriers to independence and employment.
Sensory Efficiency Skills

Skills that help students use the senses – including any functional vision,
hearing, touch, smell, and taste – to access skills related to literacy and
concept development.
Self-Determination

Skills to enable students to become effective advocates for themselves
based on their own needs and goals.
--------

Most of it is blindness skill wrapped up in a different sounding package.

Does Christopher get a lot of O&M in the community?  Abby made cookies in
O&M yesterday (I think it was a step and listening activity since her
instructor didn't do anything).  They go to the shopping a lot and she
works with Abby to ask for help when she needs that. Now a lot of things
can be done at home but I think it reinforces those things to have someone
else following up with it.  I would guess the more he gets out the better
he will learn.  (I know you keep Christopher busy at home)

ECC is in Abby's IEP and its what they use to pay for the programs Abby's
has gone to at the Perkins School for the Blind.  I will hopefully adjust
it as she gets older when she can go to programs at some of the NFB
centers.

Abby's O&M instructor has TVI students too and depending on the age is she
has them call the state to ask for supplies for NH AIM.  She always at
having the student do thing for themselves.

I found an article that mention ECC in future reflections.
http://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/fr/fr26/issue3/fr260304.htm

Beyond that I am still confused but it helps me to call ECC  blindness
skill.
-penny

On Fri, May 11, 2012 at 8:18 AM, <SCDUFFLEY at aol.com> wrote:

> Hello Everyone:
>
> I am having a struggle with ECC goals that are meaningful and  specific. 
> I
> have asked my team to evaluate his current strengths as it  relates to
> these goals.   Does anyone know of any specific resources  of IEP sample
> statements for ECC for a 5th grader?  The real struggle  is in the
> self-help,
> independent and self advocacy area.  No one seems to  want to touch
> teaching him
> home skills (other than four to five tasks a year -  like opening a jar).
>
> Thanks for your input,
>
> Christine  Duffley
> _______________________________________________
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-- 
--Penny
----------
A lucky mother to two amazing children - visionfora.blogspot.com
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