[blindlaw] Tone and more on notes

Sun Oct 11 23:14:50 UTC 2015

Thank you Rod.  I do see your point and I did write them in a rush.  Like you, I am a nice person.  I am from the south and find that when I interact with grumpy people they usually are very pleasant when I am done.  

Here is a little bit of background.  The note taker is a student in the class of which I have other concerns about that I will mention later.  So they are getting paid to go to class.  The note taker talked to other students about my notes accommodation and divulged how much she was getting paid which managed to get back to me.  Let me say it is not close to minimum wage which was the pay for the undergrad note takers.  I do not think that means I should not be appreciative of them at all.  You talked about the administrative help with making your book accessible.  I have been having issues with functionality with my books in pdf.  They have readable text but I can only navigate by character, word, or line.  I was told that the publishers are not required to make them accessible because it is post secondary education and that was that.  I just feel as if I have to wage war sometimes to get things manageable.  

Back to the note taker,  I requested to the note taker and to the gentleman overseeing accommodations at my campus that I would like for the note taker to put whatever the professor says regarding homework at the end of the file and that they include any announcements that the professor gives.  Every time I talk to the gentleman about my notes he diverts the question and asks about my notes and if I am taking them.  

My concern mentioned above was that the note taker is a classmate.  I am concerned that I may be getting altered notes possibly because of the whole competition aspect of law school.  I am concerned that fighting for accommodations and struggling with the issues related to my disability not the material is setting me up for a lesser performance than I am capable of,

So  here we are :-) I really do appreciate you guys' input and want to make sure I am doing right by people.  

Aimee
Sent from my iPhone

> On Oct 11, 2015, at 6:29 PM, Rod Alcidonis, Esquire via blindlaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Aimee:
> 
> I would not dare to comment on your tone but since you have expressly asked for feedback, let me suggest a few things moving forward:
> 
> Without addressing your e-mail specifically, I believe saying please, thank you, I appreciate your help, let me know if you need anything can go a long way. You are dealing with human beings. Regardless of what the law say, people don't like to be treated like shit. Your messages can be interpreted as being a bit demanding. In law school and in the practice of law, you need to make friends and not enemies. I only get tough with people after it becomes clear that saying please and thank you will not do. Let me modify one of your e-mail to illustrate:
> 
> "Hello omitted name:
> 
> Today was a good class. I hope you were able to get everything. She was going really fast... Did you type the notes yet? I would really really appreciate it if you can get them to me later on today. Please try to send them before you leave for the day. I appreciate your assistance. If I also can be helpful, please do not hesitate to ask!"
> 
> These people are getting paid just enough to simply put gas in their car. So, you need to make it a bit more appealing to them by being nice and courteous. Eventually, you make a friend. By being demanding and feeling entitled, you will get people to resent you and not like you. When that happens, people only do the minimum for you. You will need more than the minimum to succeed in law school and in the practice of law.
> 
> You don't need to apologize but if I were you, I would approach the administrator and say something like: "I reread my e-mail and I can see how it could have been misinterpreted. I typed this in a rush. I understanding you guys are helping me and I appreciate that. Being bossy is not who I am."
> 
> When I left law school, I had administrators in tears because I treated them like human beings and for most of them, it was not just about complying with the law, it was a motivation to see that Rod actually succeeds. I am good friend with the people who were getting paid to scan my books, and coordinate with publishers. There are times when I needed to be tough and I was, but by then, I had already established credibility and a reputation of being a nice guy.
> 
> good luck with your studies.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Rod Alcidonis, Esq.
> 215-821-6015
> -----Original Message----- From: Aimee Harwood via blindlaw
> Sent: Saturday, October 10, 2015 9:43 PM
> To: Blind Law Mailing List
> Cc: Aimee Harwood
> Subject: [blindlaw] Tone and more on notes
> 
> Hello everyone.
> 
> I have two issues I would like feedback on in this message. (1) I have made some requests regarding notes that just so happens to be in one of the emails that was mentioned in a discussion about the tone of my email this Friday.  (2) I would like some feedback on some emails to make sure I am not doing things inappropriately.
> 
> Issue (1) I requested in an email to the individual handling accommodations that notes be sent by the end of business that day because I had received some late and sometimes I had received Friday's notes on Monday.  Is this an unreasonable request? Notes are typed by the person in class and sent directly to the person that sends them to me.
> 
> (2) While in the office talking about dropping a class, the person handling accommodations informed me that I had done a bad thing for myself.  This comment was in reference to an email I had sent to the county BAR Association in reply to an email that was an image containing information of some kind.  I had apparently come across bossy and the association was unhappy with me.  He also said that the secretary that sends my notes felt I was being bossy in reference to an email I had sent to her.  I think the accommodations person also felt that an email I sent him was also bossy but made it sound as if the email I sent went to the secretary when in fact it went to him.  When I went back to check (because I never delete email) I verified that email actually went to him.  I was reminded at this meeting that these people can make life easy for me or they can make it hard for me.
> 
> Below are the emails I sent in order of date.  I can see where someone could take the one to the BAR Association a little bit in the wrong way but am not so sure about the other two.  I would like some objective opinions on the tone of my messages.
> 
> My email I sent on September, 17 to the secretary that sends my notes to me;
> "Hello omitted name. I have not yet received my notes for today. Please send them before you leave for the day.
> 
> Aimee Harwood"
> 
> This is the email I sent to the person handling accommodation which was sent on September, 30..
> "I would like to request that notes be delivered by the end of the day. There have several times when Friday's notes showed up next Monday and others have showed up the following day.  Also I am working on something regarding books. I haven't forgotten our conversation.
> 
> Aimee"
> 
> Email sent to BAR Association  on October ,7 as a reply to an email that was an image.
> 
> "When sending PDFs or any other image with text, please make sure the text is available for access with scream reading applications. I have no clue what you want me to get from this message because it is not accessible.
> 
> Aimee Harwood"
> 
> If I am in the wrong in any way please let me know.  I don't want to appear that way but also want to be able to advocate for myself as well.  There were no all caps words or exclamation points in any of the emails.  I am in Pennsylvania if it matters.  I really appreciate anything you guys have to say regarding this.
> 
> So one last thing.  Has anyone ever been told that they would be more approachable if they did not wear their sunglasses?  If so, how did you respond to that?
> 
> Aimee
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
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