[Blindtlk] The Future Of Braille

[Lloyd Rasmussen]

Does Braille have a future? This question has been asked for at least the 
past 30 years. It's why the ACB formed the Braille Revival League and the 
NFB formed the National Association to Promote the Use of Braille, both in 
the early eighties. I'm not going to put forth any arguments that you 
haven't already seen on this list or the NAPUB list.
But are you familiar with the Ode to the Code? This is one of many songs 
that are part of the history of the NFB, written up in a July 2013 Braille 
Monitor article and more extensively in the NFB 75th anniversary book. 
Recordings can be found at
https://nfb.org/nfb-songs

We started writing this while waiting in a line for a restaurant at the 1990 
Dallas NFB convention. Debbie Brown finished it after getting home from that 
convention. It's composed by a digital communications consortium because 
braille is a digital code and you read it with your digits. The song goes 
like this:

                         ODE TO THE CODE
                           SLIGO CREEK DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS CONSORTIUM
                       Copyright (c) 1990,
                National Federation of the Blind
                  To The Tune of "Jingle Bells"

1. Going to the school to write an I E P,
The teacher says "Use print, because your child can see."
Th' equipment is too big, and large print is too rare,
And fifteen words a minute will not get you anywhere!

Chorus: Braille is here, Braille is here, Braille is here to stay!
We will keep on using it, we don't care what you say!
Braille is here, Braille is here, we will sing its praise.
It's the system for the blind to get a job that pays.

2. They say that Braille's too tough to teach the newly blind.
Its codes and its contractions discombobulate the mind.
Contractions we've learned all, and codes we've mastered, too,
For blindness has no negative effect on our IQ!
Chorus.

3. They say that Braille's complex. They say that it's too slow.
They say that new technology's the only way to go.
But we'll keep using Braille, because it is the key
To making sure that blind folks will be literate and free.
Chorus.

------

Lloyd Rasmussen, Kensington, MD
http://lras.home.sprynet.com
-----Original Message----- 
From: Roanna Bacchus via blindtlk
Sent: Monday, March 26, 2018 1:08 PM
To: blindtlk at nfbnet.org
Cc: Roanna Bacchus
Subject: [Blindtlk] The Future Of Braille

Dear Members,

I hope all of you are doing well. Next week I will be attending a conference 
titled "Working With The Experts- A Passport To The Future Of Braille For 
Visually Impaired Students". During this conference we will be discussing 
the Oeb system, transcribing in Unified English Braille, and lots of other 
aspects about braille. We will also be discussing the future of the braille 
code. What are your thoughts about the future of braille? How has braille 
allowed you to excel in your studies? How do you use braille in your daily 
lives? When did you first learn braille? How has braille impacted your 
family lives? I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic.

Sincerely,

Roanna Bacchus
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