[Blindmath] How many children in America are not taught to read?

Fri Aug 7 04:10:06 UTC 2009

Hi Matthew,

I find the method you describe awkward because I feel that it interferes
with my ability to perceive / connect with the audience. It sounds like it
worked very well for you, and that's great. But I like being able to focus
all of my auditory attention on the group I'm addressing. I'm by no means
suggesting that you should learn Braille before giving a presentation; I'm
just pointing out some problems that I had with this method. I used embossed
and refreshable Braille when I taught calculus and other math classes during
grad school. It felt like this allowed me to engage more with my students.

You referred to the "slow reading and awkward pauses" of many Braille
readers. Rather than highlighting a deficiency that is inherent in the
modality, I think that these problems demonstrate the issues with our
educational system. I can read pretty rapidly myself, but again, I was
lucky. I received daily Braille instruction from the time I was four. 

The fact that I consider myself "lucky" to have received daily reading
instruction in primary school is the problem.

-----Original Message-----
From: blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Matthew_2010
Sent: Thursday, August 06, 2009 11:59 PM
To: Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics
Subject: Re: [Blindmath] How many children in America are not taught to
read?

Now that I've had a little bit of time to think about this a bit more, I 
have indeed used my Braille display a couple of times. For a period of time 
I had to update a group of colleagues regarding business matters. I would 
have improvised the presentations but the numbers and stats were very 
important so I decided to begin using my portable Braille display. It was 
very frustrating and time consuming to navigate through the Braille during 
my presentations as well as when asked questions. Granted I could have 
improved but this meant lots of practice reading Braille, and I simply don't

have the time for that. My solution? I simply typed up my notes in notepad, 
I transferred them to my note taker, and I attached an earpiece to the note 
taker. I was able to use the text reading commands on my note taker to 
quickly read, navigate, and search for all information requested. That 
single $10 earpiece I borrowed from my cell phone saved me hours of time 
learning how to read Braille as well as helping me scan all requested 
information during presentations. The key in my success was making the 
sentences to be read brief and inserting page breaks at points in the text 
where I would naturally pause anyways. These short phrases gave me plenty of

time to store the information in short term memory from line to line 
therefore making my presentations flow without slow reading and awkward 
pauses as many Braille readers often do. I think this supports my contention

that Braille is a must for all under all circumstances is simply not 100% 
true.

Matthew

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Matthew_2010" <Matthew_2010 at charter.net>
To: "Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics" 
<blindmath at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, August 06, 2009 7:48 PM
Subject: Re: [Blindmath] How many children in America are not taught to 
read?

> Is it possible that 70% of blind people not reading raile is not due to 
> lack of proper instruction or incompetence and has more to do with the 
> need simply not being there? I have a Braille display and have never had 
> even the slightest desire to use it. I really don't think I'm missing out,

> but maybe some of you can help me out by informing me of what I'm missing 
> out on. My primary reason for not using my Braille display is that taking 
> my fingers off my keyboard to read the display seems like a time consuming

> additional step to what I can quickly do with the jaws cursor and alike. I

> didn't lose my vision till I was an adult so maybe these posts are more 
> relevant to the issue of blind children first learning to read.
>
> Matthew
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Jason White" <jason at jasonjgw.net>
> To: <blindmath at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Thursday, August 06, 2009 6:07 PM
> Subject: Re: [Blindmath] How many children in America are not taught to 
> read?
>
>
>>> A braille display will give you instant access to a world of
>>> information through your computer. You don't need to wait for anyone
>>> to transcribe the text for you, it's there for the taking. I can't
>>> think of a bigger incentive to get a child to learn braille!
>>>
>>
>> I agree. If I had to name the single greatest braille-related invention 
>> of the
>> last 50 years, it would have to be the refreshable braille display. I 
>> know
>> high-speed braille embossers are also important and valuable, but I think
>> refreshable braille is the technology that really stretches the bounds of

>> what
>> is possible.
>>
>> The Perkins brailler and similar devices are of course fundamental, 
>> dating
>> from earlier in the twentieth century.
>>
>> There is a real need for further advances in the design of braille 
>> display
>> hardware, leading, ideally, to devices that are not only more affordable,

>> but
>> capable of presenting a full page of text and graphics. This would make 
>> many
>> mathematics applications much easier.
>>> I should point out that some people have an irrational fear of
>>> braille based on the notion that it makes them look more blind in
>>> the eyes of the public. So money isn't the only factor.
>>
>> What makes this worse (and I'll take your word for it - I've never met 
>> any
>> such person) is that it involves internalizing negative stereotypes about
>> blindness. this list isn't the place to discuss those issues, however.
>>
>>
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