[blparent] Taking advantage of parenting classes

Tue Feb 28 18:54:25 UTC 2012

This might be slightly off-topic, and I do appologise if it is, but when I 
reviewed the hadley courses, I found very little if anything of use, as I 
was trying to find a correspondence college that was accessible, so that I 
could pursue my goal of going into i.t. Everything I saw, though mildly 
interesting and would've taken a rainy afternoon or two, were absolutely 
useless towards this goal, though I do not decry their courses for anyone 
who may find them helpful.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Pickrell, Rebecca M (TASC)" <REBECCA.PICKRELL at tasc.com>
To: "'Blind Parents Mailing List'" <blparent at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, February 28, 2012 11:45 AM
Subject: Re: [blparent] Taking advantage of parenting classes


> Can you explain how a class can prepare you? Bridget mentioned something 
> about how that the classes didn't prepare her or maybe I misread.
> In any event, can you explain how some "basic information" helped you?
> And, what value does Hadley have outside itself? I'm being serious, does 
> anybody outside Hadley or NFB really care?
> If the classes were good and useful that's great, but I don't hear anybody 
> outside the blindness community say "You know, I think I'll take classes 
> at Hadley". Why?
> And yes, please explain how a class prepared you for a given senario. You 
> choose both.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On 
> Behalf Of Jo Elizabeth Pinto
> Sent: Tuesday, February 28, 2012 1:38 PM
> To: Blind Parents Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [blparent] Taking advantage of parenting classes
>
> Who said you can't train for being a parent?  I don't think you can
> anticipate every problem or challenge that might come up, but you can
> definitely arm yourself with some basic information.  I especially liked 
> the
> blind-specific info in the Hadley courses.  Besides that, I got a
> certificate that I have in my just-in-case file.
>
> Jo Elizabeth
>
> "How far you go in life depends on you being tender with the young,
> compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant 
> of
> the weak and the strong.  Because someday in life you will have been all 
> of
> these."--George Washington Carver, 1864-1943, American scientist
>
> --------------------------------------------------
> From: "Pickrell, Rebecca M (TASC)" <REBECCA.PICKRELL at tasc.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, February 28, 2012 10:49 AM
> To: "'NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List'" <blparent at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [blparent] Taking advantage of parenting classes
>
>> I'm going to rain on this parade, but if you can't really prepare for
>> being aparent, what's the point of the classes?
>> I'm serious with this question.
>> If you can't train for it, why train at all?
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>> Behalf Of Bridgit Pollpeter
>> Sent: Thursday, February 23, 2012 3:32 PM
>> To: blparent at nfbnet.org
>> Subject: [blparent] Taking advantage of parenting classes
>>
>> Jo Elizabeth,
>>
>> I agree with you. I didn't mean to suggest it was wrong for Hadley to
>> offer parenting classes or for anyone to take advantage of such a class.
>> Like you, even though I have child-care experience, and I have been a
>> second mommy to Penny for more than a year (complicated story with
>> Penny) my husband and I are reading a ton of material and looking into
>> various classes and groups we can participate in. As prepared as you
>> think you are, once baby arrives, so much changes and a lot ends up
>> involving common sense and quick problem solving skills, grin,
>> regardless of a disability or not. My comments were directed solely at
>> societal ideas still buying into the notion that blindness is an
>> automatic risk factor when parenting, and that anyone would insist we
>> "prove" our ability to parent based only on disability. Hadley's course
>> sounds interesting and definitely something to check out.
>>
>> Sincerely,
>> Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
>> Read my blog at:
>> http://blogs.livewellnebraska.com/author/bpollpeter/
>>
>> "History is not what happened; history is what was written down."
>> The Expected One- Kathleen McGowan
>>
>> Message: 8
>> Date: Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:57:37 -0700
>> From: "Jo Elizabeth Pinto" <jopinto at msn.com>
>> To: "NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List" <blparent at nfbnet.org>
>> Subject: Re: [blparent] Child Protective Services & blind parenting
>> Message-ID: <SNT116-DS336E8EBA4E5A59E48CB80AC640 at phx.gbl>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
>>        reply-type=original
>>
>> Congratulations on your pregnancy, Bridgit.  I agree that we shouldn't
>> have
>> to prove our ability as parents just because of our blindness.  But I
>> also
>> believe that, at least for me, I couldn't be too prepared.  The thing I
>> liked about the Hadley courses is that there were tips included from
>> other
>> blind parents, some of which I borrowed for my own box of tricks.
>>
>> I have a file tucked away in a drawer that includes my certificates from
>>
>> Hadley, the documentation from the baby care class I took at the
>> hospital
>> before Sarah was born, the report from Social Services that says nothing
>> was
>> found to be amiss at my house, the letter from the home nurse stating
>> that I
>> finished the visitation program, the notes from our pediatrician from
>> each
>> yearly visit at which everything was said to be fine, and the results
>> from
>> the voluntary test at the health department that told me my daughter was
>>
>> developing within normal emotional and social limits.  If and when I
>> ever
>> have trouble again, from my own family or elsewhere, I'll be well armed.
>>
>> Even Sarah's dad thinks I'm at least a little paranoid.  Once burned,
>> twice
>> shy.
>>
>> One final thing--I fear the day when every parent has to take classes or
>> get
>> certified.  I've heard people suggest that, usually in the context of
>> teen
>> pregnancies.  But I know full well that blind parents would have a devil
>> of
>> a time passing any class or certification that could be proposed, not
>> because of lack of ability, but because it would take proving ourselves
>> to a
>> whole new level.  Scary thought.
>>
>> Jo Elizabeth
>>
>>
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>
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