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

Fri Aug 7 15:07:57 UTC 2009

Mary you have a point with regard to education. I don't know what grants 
are available in the states but in the UK there are various schemes to 
help fund these extra costs like Braille production.

Where I will take issue is that certainly here in the UK should you not 
fall in to the categories covered by the various schemes (IE. the main 
one being that you may not be in work or education) then grants are as 
good as non existent. Although you may have been taught stuff like 
Braille and so able to read, write and spell, if you don't use it you 
will certainly become less efficient with it or even start to loose that 
ability. To continue using Braille you are likely to encounter some of 
the costs of production and unfortunately individuals have to meet that 
cost. Now for those out of education and out of work they are likely to 
be on state benefits and these are certainly limited when compared with 
some Braille equipment, so for this case it does have some impact.

OK, to get to the latter then we do need to deal with the initial 
education step and may be more has to be done to convince those inc 
charge of the various funds that Braille is something worth the extra 
cost. However the second point regarding cost is important for the cost 
of the education to be worth while as we shouldn't be spending money on 
something people won't be able to afford to use in the future.

Michael Whapples
On 07/08/09 14:59, Mary Stores wrote:
> You know, I don't think social security has much to do with elementary 
> school kids learning to read Braille from the start. I know I am 
> lucky, but my parents advocated for reading Braille in the public 
> school that I attended. Braille production has come a long way in some 
> cases since the 80s when I was in school. My teacher for the visually 
> impaired found grants during the 80s and 90s, and even now, she still 
> finds grants to help deal with Braille production costs.
>
> The thing is, interpreters for people who are deaf or hard of hearing 
> also cost a lot of money, and even remote transcription is costly. But 
> I believe the deaf community in general seems a lot more organized 
> about advocating for the things they need.
>
> We really need to stop whining and moaning about production costs, 
> because there seems to be money available all throughout K-12 and 
> higher ed if you can find it. Literacy is vital. If you can't spell, 
> you look stupid - even if you aren't - and that can prevent you from 
> being hired.
>
> Mary
>
> Quoting Michael Whapples <mwhapples at aim.com>:
>
>> The cost of Braille production is such a problem. I am speaking as
>> someone with a Braille display, something which I probably would
>> never have bought out of my own funds (even if I had the money
>> available to buy it) but got through my disabled student allowance.
>> Also the Perkins Brailler I have is something which has been passed
>> down to me through my family.
>>
>> However all is not quite that gloomy on the price of Braille
>> production if you are prepared to do a bit of work, how about Braille
>> frames? You can get one which can do a4 paper for £20 from RNIB
>> http://onlineshop.rnib.org.uk/display_item.asp?n=11&c=86&sc=334&id=837&it=1&l=3&d=0 
>>
>> <http://onlineshop.rnib.org.uk/display_item.asp?n=11&c=86&sc=334&id=837&it=1&l=3&d=0>. 
>>
>>
>> And if all that writing back to front and having to turn the page
>> over is too much (although it does a lot for making you concentrate
>> on what you are writing) then help is at hand with the upwards
>> writing Braille frames, which RNIB do for about £30. More info at
>> http://onlineshop.rnib.org.uk/display_item.asp?n=11&c=86&sc=335&id=4049&it=1&l=3&d=0 
>>
>> <http://onlineshop.rnib.org.uk/display_item.asp?n=11&c=86&sc=335&id=4049&it=1&l=3&d=0>. 
>>
>>
>> Also if you only want to produce smaller pages then the smaller
>> frames are cheaper and more portable.
>>
>> By the way, before people ask does anyone still use a Braille frame
>> to write stuff, yes I do, they are so much more portable than a
>> Perkins Brailler. In fact the one I have (first of the two links) is
>> hardly more than a sighted person would have to carry if they carried
>> a pad of a4 paper for writing notes.
>>
>> Michael Whapples
>> On 06/08/09 22:17, P. R. Stanley wrote:
>>> You forgot the high cost of braille production. Braille displays,
>>> embossers, and even the old fashioned mechanical braillers are still
>>> far too expensive for the average blind person who has to live on a
>>> meagre income on social security.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>> --------
>>>> From: Marc Maurer [mailto:outreach at nfb.org]
>>>> Sent: Thursday, July 30, 2009 3:14 PM
>>>> To: Maurer, Patricia
>>>> Subject: How many children in America are not taught to read?
>>>>
>>>> The answer is 90 percent if the children are blind. Most Americans
>>>> are shocked to hear this statistic. And we should be. The blind
>>>> read and write using Braille, so why is our educational system
>>>> failing to teach Braille to so many children? Why are these
>>>> children being denied the opportunities that come with a proper
>>>> education? What if you could not read and write? Where would you be
>>>> today?
>>>>
>>>> There are three primary reasons for this educational crisis: (1)
>>>> there are not enough Braille teachers; (2) some teachers of blind
>>>> children have not received enough training; and (3) many educators
>>>> do not think Braille instruction is even necessary.
>>>>
>>>> To bring critically-needed attention to this educational crisis,
>>>> the United States Congress authorized the minting of the 2009 Louis
>>>> Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar with a portion of the sale of
>>>> each coin going toward a revolutionary and comprehensive Braille
>>>> literacy campaign.
>>>>
>>>> Learning to read and write is fundamental to education, which in
>>>> turn is paramount to full and equal participation in American
>>>> society. This coin, the first U.S. coin to have proper tactile
>>>> Braille, symbolizes independence, opportunity, and the potential of
>>>> blind people to make significant contributions to society when they
>>>> are taught to read and write using Braille. To learn more, read our
>>>> report
>>>> <http://www.marchforindependence.org/site/R?i=yeymcYhMheQ-y7-mcNDRWg..>The 
>>>>
>>>> Braille Literacy Crisis in America, or watch our video
>>>> <http://www.marchforindependence.org/site/R?i=8AWBxYZpjpELqegcgZlFhg..>Making 
>>>> Change with a
>>>> Dollar.
>>>>
>>>> <http://www.marchforindependence.org/site/R?i=oU7TznrVm6kt3P1O7AWYDg..>Please 
>>>> purchase this unique and beautiful coin now and help solve this 
>>>> educational crisis for blind children in
>>>> America.
>>>>
>>>> The law authorizing this 2009 silver dollar requires that any coins
>>>> not sold by midnight on December 31, 2009, be melted down. Time is
>>>> of the essence--a 90 percent illiteracy rate is not acceptable and
>>>> the opportunity to purchase this coin will soon be gone.
>>>>
>>>> Be part of the solution. Give the gift of literacy. Create new
>>>> opportunities.
>>>> <http://www.marchforindependence.org/site/R?i=nMVjIeI1iave6Nk717B4dA..>Buy 
>>>>
>>>> the Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar today.
>>>>
>>>> Marc Maurer, President
>>>> NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Blindmath mailing list
>>>> Blindmath at nfbnet.org
>>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindmath_nfbnet.org
>>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info
>>>> for Blindmath:
>>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindmath_nfbnet.org/prstanley%40ntlworld.com 
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Blindmath mailing list
>>> Blindmath at nfbnet.org
>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindmath_nfbnet.org
>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info
>>> for Blindmath:
>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindmath_nfbnet.org/mwhapples%40aim.com 
>>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Blindmath mailing list
>> Blindmath at nfbnet.org
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindmath_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> Blindmath:
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindmath_nfbnet.org/mstores%40indiana.edu 
>>
>>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Blindmath mailing list
> Blindmath at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindmath_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
> Blindmath:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindmath_nfbnet.org/mwhapples%40aim.com 
>