[Community-service] getting steered away from a service opportunity.

[Corina Salinas]

Hey Sarian,

This event sounds like a ton of fun but perhaps making a scavenger hunt
game out of it would both help with keeping track of students and also
allowing for the students to be active. The volunteers could be given a
list of plants to find with a description and the students could guide the
volunteer to where they found it so they can check it off the list. I think
making it a game would be more organized and keep the students interested.

On Tuesday, February 11, 2014, Catherine Michele Mitchell <
michmitch66 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Darian, I'm not buying their excuses.
>
> First of all, it seems ridiculous to me to say you can't touch the plants.
> Somebody has to touch the plants to keep them alive, so even though I don't
> see any need for you to touch the plants necessarily, that statement just
> seems ludicrous to me.
>
> Next, I'm sure if they don't throw in a new docent and have them wing it
> as they go along. There must be some kind of training, probably even a
> script about each section of plants that every docent has to memorize. Can
> they possibly think that a blind person is incapable of memorizing some
> plant facts? Also, former docents can easily tell you which plants kids
> usually have questions about so you can be prepared for this. I imagine
> it's more likely that during your presentation you would be asking the kids
> questions, like okay who knows what this is called? Or whatever. It's more
> likely that you will be fielding questions from the kids like hey Mr. if
> you're blind how do you know where you are? How do you know which plants to
> talk about? What's that stick for? Or whatever.
>
> Regarding kitty crowd control, I don't really think that's as much the
> docents responsibility as it is the responsibility of the adults
> chaperoning the groups of kids. Don't they usually come in from schools
> with their teachers? Shirley there aren't random groups of Unruly,
> Unsupervised children storming the botanical gardens demanding tours. You
> are an adult, and if you tell a group of children  to Stay together,
>  follow you, and quiet down, would they be any less likely to listen to you
> than any other adult? I don't see the problem. Besides, my bet is that
> those kids will never Take their eyes off you. They'll be watching you like
> a hawk to see how you do everything.
>
> I'm assuming there are pass through the garden, and, with a little
> orientation training and a little practice, you could easily learn the
> route of the tour, where to stop and talk, and what to talk about at each
> station. Who knows, there may even be auditory clues, such as fountains or
> street noise, to help you Stay on track. I'm also assuming that at least
> some of these plants emit an aroma, so after a while you'll probably be
> able to just follow your nose. This is something the botanical bosses
> probably haven't considered, that the appeal of the garden is more than
> just visual.
>
> So there's my rant. I'm looking forward to hearing other peoples ideas.
>
> Boo, for the botanical bozos! I think you'd be great at this job; those
> Ignorant folks are missing out!
>
> Michele
>
>
>
> Michele Mitchell
> Tupperware Consultant
> 781-790-3627
> www.my.tupperware.com/michmitch
>
> On Feb 11, 2014, at 3:15 AM, Darian Smith <dsmithnfb at gmail.com<javascript:;>>
> wrote:
>
> > Hi all,
> >
> > I recently was  told about volunteer/ service opportunities at the local
> botanical garden. one that particularly interested me was one of a
> children's docent.  When I asked about the position, i was told that  it
> would be difficult because you can't touch the flowers, and the children
> are going to have questions about the particular  plants they find.  Also
>  that one needs to keep up with the children, and they will be running
> around, that you have to basically Herd them around.
> > Basically, I was told of all of the ways that I could not do the job.
> >  how would you  devise non-visual ways to  do the job?  how would you
> approach a volunteerr coordinator when they present  these challenges?
> >
> > Thanks in advance,
> >   Darian
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-- 
Corina Salinas
NFB Community Service, Fundraising Committee Chairperson
Texas Association of Blind Students, Fundraising Committee Chairperson
corina.d.salinas at gmail.com
(281)-745-7576
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