[il-talk] {Disarmed} Fwd: NFB Imagineering Our Future: Remember our name!
Denise Avant
dravant at ameritech.net
Sat Mar 5 20:55:35 UTC 2011
Begin forwarded message:
> From: Mark Riccobono <JerniganInstitute at nfb.org>
> Date: March 5, 2011 1:30:30 PM CST
> To: dravant at ameritech.net
> Subject: NFB Imagineering Our Future: Remember our name!
> Reply-To: Mark Riccobono <JerniganInstitute at nfb.org>
>
> View this newsletter as HTML in your browser.
> View last month’s newsletter.
>
> Imagineering Our Future
>
> Issue 32
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> March 2011
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> In this issue:
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> Message from the Executive Director
> What’s New
> Education
> Braille Initiative
> Advocacy
> Straight Talk About Vision Loss
> Product and Access Technology Talk
> From the tenBroek Library
> Independence Market
> Parent Outreach
> Spotlight on the Imagination Fund
> NFB Calendar
> Citation
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> Message from the Executive Director
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> Dear Friends,
>
> During the last month I have spent considerable time speaking with members of the media about the work of the National Federation of the Blind. It occurred to me that the name of the organization has been more widely disseminated in the last six weeks or so than maybe any other concentrated equivalent period of time since the beginning of our organization. This means that there is greater potential for the world to know about the programs of the Federation and the tremendous network of resources we make available to the blind.
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> How significant is it that our name has been so widely publicized? David S. Slawson is credited as saying, “Names are an important key to what a society values. Anthropologists recognize naming as one of the chief methods for imposing order on perception.” Our name is simple but holds significant meaning. In fact, I believe the most significant word in our name is the shortest, “of.”
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> Confucius wisely observed that “If names are not correct, language will not be in accordance with the truth of things.” This is true with our name as well. Frequently our name has been printed incorrectly with the word “for” in place of the word “of.” While some may see this as a minor error, it holds great significance in terms of how the blind are perceived and how our organization is valued.
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> I have been impressed over the past six weeks by how often the reporting about our work uses the correct name for our organization. Not everyone has gotten it correctly, but overwhelmingly it has been properly printed and spoken—the National Federation of the Blind. This is one leading indicator of our progress.
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> It is our work as an organization “of” blind people that is significant—the power of individual efforts collectively focused. The impact of our work in every corner of this country is increasingly evident. I was particularly proud when I received word from the University of Wisconsin Alumni Association that they were recognizing the work of the National Federation of the Blind by including me as one of their Forward Under Forty honorees. And the UW Alumni clearly got the name right, which further demonstrates the value of our organization and the growing perception that the blind should lead the way in determining their own future.
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> As we turn to spring, we move into a busy season of programs leading up to our National Convention in Orlando. I look forward to the work we have ahead and to continuing to expand our network by disseminating the name of the National Federation of the Blind.
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> Mark A. Riccobono, Executive Director, NFB Jernigan Institute
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> Featured NFB News
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> NFB Blind Driver Challenge™
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> The hubbub hasn’t quieted down yet about the NFB Blind Driver Challenge™ (BDC) demonstration of a blind person driving an automobile independently, while crowds gathered for the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
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> Federationists in attendance at the Daytona International Speedway on January 29 felt a part of history being made, and you can feel like you were there, too, through this video of the drive from various perspectives.
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> PBS program featuring BDC
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> Stories about the successful drive appeared in local and nationwide broadcasts and print outlets. Wired magazine had an extensive article; an Inside Science News Service report was carried broadly, including on Fox News and in U.S. News & World Report; and the BDC was the topic of the FYI: Blind Driving segment on the PBS TV program “MotorWeek.” Coming up on Sunday, March 6, the NFB Blind Driver Challenge™ is scheduled to be showcased on the weekend “Today” show on NBC. “Today” airs at 8:00-9:00 a.m. eastern time. Tune in or set up your TiVos for this one.
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> 2011 NFB National Convention
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> Preregistration is now open for the 2011 National Convention! The largest gathering of the blind in the world to happen this year will take place July 3-8 in Orlando, Florida. Register online and secure your banquet ticket to save time and take advantage of the “early-bird” discounts on both.
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> The Rosen Shingle Creek Resort
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> The block of sleeping rooms at the host hotel, the Rosen Shingle Creek, will be released on June 1 (if any rooms still remain at that late date!). Make your room reservation now by calling (866) 996-6338.
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> The Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship Fund can provide financial assistance to attend National Convention. For details, contact Allen Harris or consult the convention scholarships article from the Braille Monitor. The deadline to apply is April 14.
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> While you’re attending convention, why not enjoy some of the attractions that Florida has to offer?
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> Thanks to our convention sponsors who have already signed on: eBay, HumanWare, UPS, Oracle, Freedom Scientific, IBM, National Industries for the Blind, GW Micro, and Toyota. There’s still time to add your company to this honorable list. Businesses or NFB state affiliates must reserve Exhibit Hall tables by Friday, May 27. Sponsorship and Exhibit Hall information is available through the National Convention Web page. Please contact Melissa Kobelinski for details.
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> Education
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> A Teacher of Tomorrow
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> Mary Robinson and Mark Riccobono
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> The NFB’s TeachBlindStudents.org initiative, a resource for those interested in exploring what it would be like to be a teacher of the blind, includes a mentoring program. The Teacher of Tomorrow program connects students who are preparing to teach blind children with the support, resources, and positive blindness philosophy of the National Federation of the Blind. The result is bound to be a high-quality education for blind students.
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> A member of the initial cohort, Mary Robinson, is an enthusiastic public school teacher from Fremont, Nebraska. Mary traveled to the Blind Driver Challenge™ in Daytona Beach as part of the Teacher of Tomorrow program. Here is the article her hometown paper published about her journey, “FPS teacher watches blind man drive.”
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> You should keep watching in upcoming months as application materials for our next Teacher of Tomorrow class become available, or submit this short form indicating your interest now.
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> Braille Initiative
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> Onkyo Braille Essay Contest
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> The Onkyo Corporation and the Braille Mainichi newspaper, both of Japan, are again sponsoring a Braille essay contest for people of all ages. Contest winners receive cash prizes. Please help us spread the word!
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> The Onkyo Braille Essay Contest is administered by the National Federation of the Blind on behalf of the North America-Caribbean Region of the World Blind Union.
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> Essays must be written by contest participants, in English or their native language, in Braille, and must be completely original in nature. Entries should be no fewer than 800 words and no more than 1,000 words in length. There will be two groups of competitors—one Junior group, aged 25 and under; and one Senior group, aged 26 and up, and prizes range from $500-$2,000.
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> Choose from these essay topics:
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> How do you acquire knowledge and information through Braille or audio devices?
> How can blind persons become independent by learning Braille or music?
> Individual concept about world peace from the viewpoint of persons with disabilities.
> All essays must be received by April 30, 2011.
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> Please visit the Onkyo Braille Essay Contest Web page for more information and an application, and contact Trisha Tatam, (410) 659-9314, extension 2510, if you have any questions.
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> Advocacy
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> Jacobus tenBroek, founding President of the National Federation of the Blind, was also an important constitutional law scholar and champion for all minorities in their struggle to achieve equality of opportunity. His scholarship on the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was utilized by lawyers for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund during the re-argument of Brown v. Board of Education before the United States Supreme Court.
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> In addition, Dr. tenBroek was responsible for the concept that civil rights should apply to disabled Americans, thus making disability rights a civil rights issue rather than an issue of entitlement. His seminal article, “The Right to Live in the World: The Disabled in the Law of Torts,” published in 1966 in the California Law Review, helped to lay the foundation for modern-day American disability law. The Model White Cane Law, which Dr. tenBroek developed from this article, served as the model for the civil rights provisions of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which, in turn, served as the model for portions of the Americans With Disabilities Act.
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> Jacobus tenBroek
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> Since 2008, the Jernigan Institute has hosted the Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium as a forum in which today’s disability rights advocates can continue Dr. tenBroek’s civil rights work. We invite leading disability rights advocates to discuss their cutting-edge litigation and advocacy work before an audience of lawyers, government officials, legal scholars, and students from throughout the United States and Canada.
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> The organizations represented at the first three tenBroek symposia have included: American Airlines; ARCH Disability Law Centre; the American Association of People with Disabilities; Brown, Goldstein & Levy, LLP; Jacksonville Area Legal Aid; Harvard University School of Law; Maryland Department of Disabilities; Disability Rights Wisconsin; WalMart; the National Children’s Center; UC Hastings School of Law; and the Legal Aid Society Employment Law Center. Bringing disability rights advocates together to consider the future of disability law is one of the ways that the National Federation of the Blind is working to achieve equality of opportunity for all blind Americans.
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> Go online for more information about the 2011 Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium, “Bridging the Gap between the Disability Rights Movement and Other Civil Rights Movements,” which will be held at the Jernigan Institute April 14-15, 2011.
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> Straight Talk About Vision Loss
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> Jim Gashel
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> The Jernigan Institute’s video series Straight Talk About Vision Loss presents its first episode of the spring. In Straight Talk Episode 36 Mark Riccobono welcomes returning guest Jim Gashel, Vice President of Business Development for K-NFB Reading Technology, Inc. Jim demonstrates the new Blio free e-book reading application. Over three million accessible books are available for the blind to enjoy in the Blio bookstore.
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> Product and Access Technology Talk
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> For those in access technology, March is all about CSUN (the 26th Annual International Technology & Persons with Disabilities Conference in San Diego), and the team at the NFB Jernigan Institute is no exception to that rule. On March 16, the team will make CSUN presentations on making tactile graphics and comparing notetakers and mainstream alternatives. March 18 the presentation topic will be the use of social networks. We look forward to sharing some of our knowledge and to learning about the latest and greatest in access technology. Watch our blog for updates, interviews, and other news.
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> Congratulations are due to Quantum Simulations—they have added yet more items to their suite of accessible math and science tutors. The Ratio and Proportions tutor has been re-certified, and the Percentages and Metric Units tutors have been added to the lineup.
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> This past month, Access Technology teamed up with the NFB of Maryland affiliate for a visit to the Ginger Cove retirement community in Annapolis to participate in their Wellness Fair and to show some of the International Braille and Technology Center’s low vision and blindness technology. Portable digital magnifiers, bookreaders, digital talking book players, and the like can enable seniors to stay independent for longer, and to enjoy their favorite activities.
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> Later in the month, the team hosted a training for blind entrepreneurs seeking to establish a business on eBay. This promising cooperation with eBay has the potential to create many jobs and start some brand new careers.
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> Finally, on the Access Technology Blog, we reviewed the new Kindle for PC app for nonvisual and low vision accessibility and did see some positive changes—we hope that Amazon will extend some of that accessibility to its groundbreaking Kindle reader.
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> From the tenBroek Library
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> Jernigan in Iowa (and what he built there)
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> The Web site of the Iowa Department for the Blind tells us that its programs “experienced a dramatic and positive conversion” in 1958 when Kenneth Jernigan became Director of the Iowa Commission (the Agency’s name at the time).
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> Drs. Jacobus tenBroek and Kenneth Jernigan
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> One of Dr. Jernigan’s first acts was to convince the state legislature to purchase a building recently vacated by the Des Moines YMCA. This was to be the home of the Commission and its new Adult Orientation and Adjustment Center.
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> Last July, leaders of the Iowa Department honored Jernigan’s achievements by having the building entered on the National Register of Historic Places. As their press release states, “The building became an integral part of the visionary philosophy of the Commission’s new director, Dr. Kenneth Jernigan, who transformed services for blind Iowans into what became known as the Iowa Model for rehabilitation services. This model was revolutionary in that its core belief was that with the proper training and opportunity, blind individuals could live lives as productive and successful as their sighted peers.”
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> Achieving this listing affirmed the impact of Jernigan’s work on Iowans. Understanding that Jernigan had a much wider, national impact, the Iowa Department won a grant from the Iowa State Historical Society for additional research to demonstrate the national significance of Jernigan’s work.
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> This February, the tenBroek Library at the Jernigan Institute hosted a researcher working for the Iowa Department. As a result of our own grant-funded project on the Jacobus tenBroek papers and ongoing work on the organizational archives of the Federation, we were able to provide supporting documents that are otherwise unavailable. The Jernigan Institute is pleased and proud to help the Iowa Department for the Blind remind the general public of Iowa and the entire nation of Kenneth Jernigan’s important role in history.
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> Independence Market
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> Not only did Kenneth Jernigan shape the National Federation of the Blind’s empowering approach to blindness, he also had a significant impact on the blindness system itself. Kenneth Jernigan served as NFB’s President from 1968 to 1986 and played a formative role in the organization both before and after his presidency. We still learn from his writings spanning more than thirty-five years how to view blindness as simply a characteristic among many that does not have to limit our capacity to live productive and fulfilled lives.
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> Blindness: Handicap or Characteristic from 1963 and The Nature of Independence from 1993 are two among the many speeches we still frequently distribute. Numerous of Jernigan’s writings can be found online via our Literature and National Convention Banquet Speeches and Other Major Speeches pages.
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> After his death, a sampling of Jernigan’s work was collected in the book: Kenneth Jernigan: The Master, the Mission, the Movement, edited by Marc Maurer. James Omvig later wrote The Blindness Revolution: Jernigan In His Own Words, which recounts the story of the transformation of the Iowa Commission for the Blind to an effective service agency in a span of ten years.
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> Copies of these and many other Jernigan writings can be obtained from the NFB Independence Market in various formats. For further information send an e-mail to IndependenceMarket at nfb.org or call (410) 659-9314, extension 2216.
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> Parent Outreach
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> Deadline Approaches for College Scholarships
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> The National Federation of the Blind recognizes achievement by blind scholars in the United States and Puerto Rico every year with thirty national scholarships ranging from $3,000 to $12,000. This year’s winners will also be assisted to attend the 2011 NFB Annual Convention in Orlando, Florida. For further information, including eligibility requirements, the online application form, and the checklist detailing all required documents, go to the 2011 Scholarship Program page. The deadline is March 31, 2011.
> More Education Articles
>
> The February 2011 Braille Monitor brings several articles on education issues that will affect your blind students:
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> “Blind Immersion: A Proposal for a New Approach to the Education of Blind Children” by Frederick Driver and Oriano Belusic; and
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> “A Crisis in Instructional Technology in Higher Education” by Jim Marks.
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> Spotlight on the Imagination Fund
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> Virginia Jacobs
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> One of the programs that the Imagination Fund helps support is the Braille Enrichment for Literacy and Learning (BELL) program. The NFB BELL program provides Braille instruction to low vision children during the summer months.
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> Virginia Jacobs participated in the 2010 BELL program in Maryland. She had a great learning experience and thoroughly enjoyed participating in the program. She learned about Louis Braille, contracted and uncontracted Braille, and how to write Braille using a Braille writer. Virginia is excited about the BELL program and said, “I love to read Braille, and in the BELL program I got to learn and practice, practice, practice! Plus, I won prizes and got to ring a bell when I did really good!”
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> Learn more in this article about Virginia and what she learned in the BELL program.
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> NFB Calendar
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> March 1, 2011 Pre-registration begins for 2011 NFB National Convention. (Pre-registration ends May 31.)
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> The Spring Convention Season The yearly meetings of the NFB’s state affiliates cluster in the fall and the spring. These states will meet in convention assembled in March: Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, Missouri, and Massachusetts. To look up when the NFB of (insert your favorite state) meets or for more information, see the State Conventions page on the NFB’s Web site.
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> March 31, 2011 Deadline for 2011 NFB college scholarship applications.
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> March 31, 2011 Deadline for Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award nominations.
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> April 8-12, 2011 Leadership and Advocacy in Washington, DC (LAW) Program, Baltimore and D.C.
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> April 14, 2011 Deadline to apply for financial assistance to attend National Convention. For details, contact Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship Fund chairman Allen Harris or read “Convention Scholarships Available,” February 2011 Braille Monitor.
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> April 14-15, 2011 Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium, National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute, Baltimore. Register online!
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> April 30, 2011 Deadline for Onkyo Braille Essay Contest, administered by the NFB for the North America-Caribbean Region of the World Blind Union.
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> May 1, 2011 Blind Educator of the Year Award nominations close. Details are in the December Braille Monitor article.
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> May 15, 2011 Distinguished Educator of Blind Children Award nominations close. Details are in the December Braille Monitor article.
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> May 31, 2011 Pre-registration ends for 2011 NFB National Convention.
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> June 1, 2011 National Convention block of rooms released. Rooms are filling up fast. To make your reservation, call (866) 996-6338.
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> July 3-8, 2011 The 71st Annual NFB National Convention, Rosen Shingle Creek Resort, Orlando, Florida; More details are found in the 2011 Convention Bulletin.
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> The National Convention draws approximately three thousand people each year. Become a sponsor or exhibitor for the largest gathering of the blind this year!
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> July 17-23, 2011 The 3rd Biennial NFB Youth Slam, Towson University, Maryland.
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> Citation
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> The part of the brain thought to be responsible for processing visual text may not require vision at all, researchers report in the journal Current Biology.
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> This region, known as the visual word form area, processes words when people with normal vision read, but researchers found that it is also activated when the blind read using Braille.
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> “It doesn’t matter if people are reading with their eyes or by their hands,” said Amir Amedi, a neuroscientist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and one of the study’s authors. “They are processing words.”
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> The research counters the textbook belief that the brain is a sensory organ, in which various regions govern activities of the different senses, like sight, sound and touch.
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> Instead, Dr. Amedi said, the brain is a task machine.
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> “What we suggest is that what this area is doing is building the shape of the words, even though we call it the visual word form area,” he said.
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> —Sindya N. Bhanoo, “Brain’s Reading Center Isn’t Picky About Vision,” New York Times, February 17, 2011
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> Back to Top
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> Thank you for reading the NFB Jernigan Institute’s Imagineering Our Future.
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> Support the Jernigan Institute through the Imagination Fund
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> Interesting links:
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> Archive of Straight Talk about Vision Loss videos
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> National Center for Blind Youth in Science
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> Access Technology Tips
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> Blogs:
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> Access Technology
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> Voice of the Nation’s Blind
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> Publication archives:
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> Future Reflections
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> Braille Monitor
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> Visit us at nfb.org
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> Jernigan Institute, National Federation of the Blind
> 200 East Wells Street at Jernigan Place, Baltimore, MD 21230
> (410) 659-9314 Fax (410) 659-5129 E-mail JerniganInstitute at nfb.org
> Visit us at www.nfb.org
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> The National Federation of the Blind meets the rigorous Standards for Charity Accountability set forth by the BBB Wise Giving Alliance and is Top-Rated by the American Institute of Philanthropy.
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