[Blindtlk] The Future Of Braille

Tue Mar 27 11:55:23 UTC 2018

Hi Lloyd,

Wow, such a moving song! Does anyone have a link to a recording, 
or is it on YouTube?

As for my opinion on Braille, I completely agree with everything 
you guys have said.  I use Braille on a daily basis, since I'm a 
college student.  I use my BrailleNote Apex whenever I can, and 
also use it as a Braille display with my iPhone.  I'm also a 
musician, and use Braille all the time to read my music that my 
piano teacher gives me.  I also happen to attend a music school 
for the blind here in my native NY (the only one in the country, 
from what I understand), so they have lots of experience with 
Braille music.

Interestingly, Braille has also actually had an effect on my 
family.  My mom was inspired, by my blindness and everything my 
parents learned about it since I was an infant, to work from home 
as a Braille transcriptionist.  She's been working for the last 
maybe five years, but unfortunately she had to stop due to UEB 
certification issues, as well as her getting a new job as a 
French translator for a company called Helen Keller 
International, an organization that provides materials to blind 
youth from around the world (she's from France).

Thank you so much Roanna for putting together this thread, as I 
believe this kind of discussion is very important for us as blind 
individuals.  Also thank you to Lloyd for the song lyrics, and 
again, I really hope someone can find a recording.

Thanks,

Sami

 ----- Original Message -----
From: Lloyd Rasmussen via blindtlk <blindtlk at nfbnet.org
To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Mon, 26 Mar 2018 22:40:49 -0400
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] The Future Of Braille

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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