[Blindtlk] Oregon votes to close school for the blind
trishs
slosser at metrocast.net
Sat Jun 13 05:08:52 UTC 2009
Amen, Dianne!
> ----- Original Message -----
>From: "Graves, Diane" <dgraves at icrc.IN.gov
>To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org
>Date sent: Fri, 12 Jun 2009 08:51:32 -0400
>Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Oregon votes to close school for the
blind
>David,
>I was truly impressed by your post. I commend you for having
taken the
>initiative to learn Braille at age 49. Most middle aged adults
who lose
>their vision, very sadly, don't opt to learn Braille.
>You know, when I was a child growing up in Indiana in the 70s, I
was not
>very happy at the school for the blind, and always had these
fantasies
>about how much better my life would be if I could go to a public
school
>like "normal" kids. I too, used to tell these grandiose stories
about
>how I was going to have an operation which would restore my
vision, and
>how I really had some vision, which was untrue. This was a lot
more
>preposterous and difficult for me to pretend, since I was, and am
>totally blind due to retinoblastoma.
>However, having said all that, one thing that I gained from the
school
>that I have always taken for granted, and have learned that I
should be
>eternally grateful for is the gift of literacy. I use Braille
every
>single day of my life, and cannot imagine trying to muddle
through
>without it. How independent can you be if you can't take notes,
can't
>label things, can't even participate in a card game.? There just
are
>not words to express what a tremendous injustice is being done to
>today's blind children. It's horrible!
>I will say though, that even at ISB, I saw injustice being done.
I saw
>peers with very low vision being forced to read print because
they had
>the vision, when Braille would have been so much less
frustrating. I
>was in class with a boy who would get frustrated and throw these
huge
>temper tantrums because he couldn't read his own writing, and
because it
>took him so much longer. I remember we would be taking a
spelling test
>or something, and the teacher would be ready to move on and he
would
>always scream, "I'm not ready yet!!!
>Finally when we were in about the 5th grade, they decided to
teach him
>Braille. I don't know if his parents advocated it or what, but
they
>finally got with the program and taught him Braille. The
transition
>was amazing. I mean, once he mastered the Braille, the temper
>tantrums just stopped.
>I knew others though who weren't as lucky. It was really kind of
sad
>that, even at the school for the blind, it seemed like vision was
the be
>all and end all and was highly was superior. It seemed like the
more
>vision you had, the more responsibility or trust you were given,
and if
>you had any vision at all, by George you were expected to use it.
What
>the totally blind gained in literacy, we often sacrificed in self
>esteem. Sadly, though, maturity has taught me that this would
likely
>have been even worse in public school.
>Anyway, I truly thank God that I did not have to fight to be
literate.
>Literacy is such an integral part of life. Again, I think it is
>wonderful that you took it upon yourself to learn in middle age.
Good
>for you!
>Diane Graves
>Civil Rights Specialist
>Indiana Civil Rights Commission
>Alternative Dispute Resolutions Unit
>317-232-2647
>"IT is service that measures success."
>George Washington Carver
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>-----Original Message-----
>From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org
[mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org]
>On Behalf Of David Evans
>Sent: Thursday, June 11, 2009 5:05 PM
>To: Blind Talk Mailing List
>Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Oregon votes to close school for the
blind
>Dear All,
>There are some facts that need to be stressed here.
>Back before ww-2, most blind children were sent to a residential
school,
>where they were educated and taught all of the skills of
blindness
>including
>some kind of trade skills.
>Regardless of the amount of vision they had, they were taught
Braille as
>well as print , if they had any vision at all and something like
84% of
>all
>blind students were literate in Braille, print or both.
>After WW-2, children were mainstreamed into the Public schools,
mostly
>because some people felt that they would have better social
skills and
>because more parents wanted to keep their children closer to home
>instead of
>sending them off to a remote school some where.
>There are always some blind children who have the need to attend
a
>residential school instead of getting what they can from the
Public
>school
>system, especially Deaf-Blind and those with additional
disabilities as
>examples.
>Since the advent of mainstreaming into the Public schools,
literacy in
>general and Braille literacy specifically have declined
tremendously.
>Today
>Braille literacy is only 8 to 9% and general literacy is not as
high as
>it
>was, even with the increase in the numbers of blind children
alive
>today.
>Along with mainstreaming, into the Public schools, real education
>declined
>sharply and so has employment for the Blind. Employment has
always been
>difficult at best for the Blind, but the lack of teachers who
could
>teach
>Braille and understood how to work with blind students has been
>systematically eliminated and discouraged in the Public schools
and in
>many
>of the rehab agencies because the people in charge held low
expectations
>of
>the blind and had the attitude," they are blind and can't do
anything
>anyway
>so why bother teaching them."
>Public school districts generally lump all of their "special
needs"
>students
>together with an overworked and underserved teacher who is given
poor or
>no
>resources to provide the specialized training that is needed for
their
>students who have a wide variety of disabilities and the ones
that act
>up
>and are the most disrupted usually get most of their attention.
>The teaching of Braille has been discouraged by every fantasy
>imaginable.
>I was fed the same old lines myself, for years, that Braille was
"old
>fashion," "bulky and hard to learn and that all the new
technologies
>were
>going to replace it. I bought into this idea until I was exposed
to the
>outstanding examples I found in the NFB. It changed my belief
and
>attitudes
>and at the age of 49, I taught myself Braille with the help of
the
>Hadley
>School for the Blind. I learned and was using Grade One Braille
for all
>my
>personal written communication in just 3 weeks and learned how to
use a
>slate and stylist, which I carry everywhere with me now. "
>I make good use of technology, but I have also learned that as
long as
>the
>sighted still use paper and pen to write things down and carry
them
>with
>them; there will be a place for Braille in the hands of the
Blind.
>It is a well known axiom among the Blind that 96% of all working
Blind
>People know and use Braille in their work and their lives.
>Something else that the residential schools did was they taught
>employable
>skills to the Blind, i,e, chair caning, piano tuning, sewing,
>weaving,and
>other such manual skills that the Blind could always sell as
personal
>services.
>The Blind of China invented the first trade unions back 2,000
years
>before
>the birth of Christ to set prices, standards and to regulate
Blind
>trades
>that included basket weaving, pottery, massage and even
prostitution,
>which
>were considered common Blind trades back then.
>The parents of Blind children have had to fight alone with the
Public
>schools systems to get them to provide the education and help
that their
>children need and have to keep fighting the entire time their
child is
>in
>school for what the Law says is their Right to a Free and Equal
>Education
>that evidence shows they are not getting in Public school.
>They use excuses such as "well, the child has too much vision to
be
>taught
>Braille, inspire of the fact that maybe the child has RP and will
lose
>their
>ability to read or even see print as a young adult, as happened
to me.
>As a former resident of Roseburg Oregon, now living in Florida, I
can
>say
>that the legislature of the State of Oregon does not care about
the
>lives of
>Blind children and likely has political motives behind their vote
to
>close
>the Oregon School for the Blind.
>They have wanted that land for some time and de-funding the
school is
>the
>way they intend to kill it and steal the land and the birth right
of all
>Blind children in their State. This whole thing Bothers me, the
whole
>situation stinks and I hope the smell comes back to haunt each
and every
>one
>of these legislators who voted to close this school.
>Shame on them and a pox on their House for doing this unnecessary
and
>despicable act of murdering the School for the Blind of Oregon.
>David Evans, NFBF
>Nuclear/Aerospace Materials Engineer
>Builder of the Lunar Rovers and the IF-117 Stealth Fighter
>Legally blind since age 16 due to RP.
>Without a good education they doom blind children to a life of
idealness
>and
>little potential.
>Lucky for me, I got a good education and have done many things
people
>thought impossible.
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Steve P. Deeley" <stevep.deeley at insightbb.com
>To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org
>Sent: Thursday, June 11, 2009 11:54 AM
>Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Oregon votes to close school for the
blind
>> You are maintaining a complete campus for 31 students. There
is
>> something
>> known as cost efficiency. I believe the days for schools for
the
>blind
>> are
>> just about over. In the 1960's, the Kentucky School for the
Blind had
>a
>> census of 150 or more. Now, there are very few blind students
on the
>> campus. In the day, KSB had one of the most respected wrestling
teams
>in
>> the state of Kentucky. Those days seem to be gone, sadly.
>> Steve
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "T. Joseph Carter" <carter.tjoseph at gmail.com
>> To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org
>> Sent: Thursday, June 11, 2009 8:39 AM
>> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Oregon votes to close school for the
blind
>>> Full time students? 31.
>>> Served each year in some capacity? About 400.
>>> Twenty years ago? I don't know, it was a lot more-but Oregon
has
>>> changed its laws in the interim to forbid placement at the
school
>>> unless there is no other placement possible.
>>> The school is being closed for students that are only allowed to
be
>>> there because there is no other placement possible.
>>> The first argument to close the school was that the buildings
needed
>>> substantial maintenance, including seismic upgrades. We
countered
>>> this by pointing out that funding for this maintenance has been
>>> secured time and again, but the Oregon legislature has
consistently
>>> redirected it over the past 20 years to efforts to close or
relocate
>>> the school, rather than maintain it. Consistently, as in every
>>> single time. They dropped that argument.
>>> The next argument was that enrollment was down and the cost per
>>> student was extremely high. They argued that Least Restrictive
>>> Environment forbade placement at the school. It would save
money,
>>> too! We gave the correct definition of LRE and pointed out that
>>> counting costs for 400 and dividing them by 31 is outright
deception.
>>> We also pointed out how much closing the school would cost
elsewhere.
>>> They mostly dropped that argument.
>>> The following argument was an empassioned plea to save these
poor
>>> children from a life of seclusion. Those poor children came and
told
>>> the legislature that they were not secluded, that they had no
other
>>> chance at the same education anywhere else in Oregon, and that
they
>>> needed this school. Another argument down.
>>> Finally, the legislature abandoned any pretense of arguing that
this
>>> was "for the sake of the children" because we'd proven it was
not.
>>> They stopped pretending that it would save money, because it
would
>>> not.
>>> The effort to close the school was put forward by Oregon
Democrats,
>>> and they maintain a strong majority in the Oregon legislature.
So
>>> they crammed it through with little public comment, offering
>>> minimally required time for an amendment to be published before
it
>>> was voted on (without public comment, of course), and then they
>>> pulled every shenanigan they could to try and escape public
notice,
>>> since the public almost unanimously opposed this bill.
>>> Joseph
>>> On Thu, Jun 11, 2009 at 07:18:26AM -0400, Steve P. Deeley
wrote:
>>>> How many blind children were currently enrolled in the school in
>2008?
>>>> How many blind students did the school have 20 years ago?
>>>> Steve
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>> blindtlk at nfbnet.org
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>>> blindtlk:
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deeley%
>40insightbb.com
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