[nabs-l] professors and disability services

Tue Dec 2 22:42:14 UTC 2008

Hey Valorie
   First thing, wellcome to the list, and glad you have come seaking help.
   Now to your issues.  As far as the DSS office not getting the papers to 
you on time.  What you probably should have done and should do next time is 
make sure to call them every couple days to see if the paper is ready.  I 
noticed you said that they usually call you when something is ready.  That 
is good, but keep in mind they probably have many other students to keep 
track of, and it isn't their responsibility to let you know when something 
is ready to be picked up even if they say they will.  You need to remember 
you are not in high school anymore, and you need to take these kinds of 
issues into your own hands.  This will probably impress your DSS office as 
well if you put an active effort into getting your materials no matter what 
they may be.  As for not getting your outline, keep on your professor.  If 
need be, get someone from your DSS office to contact him/her.  Just remember 
that old saying *the squeeky wheel gets the greace*  It is hard sometimes to 
do these types of things, but while I was in school, it was one of the 
things I needed to learn in order to get things accomplished in an orderly 
fashion and when I wanted to.
     Secondly about your english professor, this is just one of those things 
we as blind people need to accept and honestly we shouldn't be mad about it. 
Yes, we have other opsticals to overcome and yes it seems very unfair, but 
in the end we want to be treated just like any other student would, so we 
need to accept and understand why sometimes professors won't give us that 
extra time or help.  We can't go around saying we want to be equally 
treated, but then want extra time on something such as when we are sick. 
Now, if she were giving her sighted students extra time if they were sick, 
that's a different issue.  You need to step back and see this as the 
professor is probably only trying to treat you as the same as she does her 
sighted students.
     One last thing, I don't see why you have a problem with using DSS.  I 
used them all the way through school and it made things much easier.  I got 
my books in formats that I needed, a letter to give to all my professors 
explaining my disability and the accommodations i would need, and many other 
things that helped school go a lot more smoothe.  We want to be independent 
and that is fine, but if we need the help from the DSS office that is also 
fine because that is what they are there for.
I hope this helps.  Please don't take this as i'm being mean.  These are 
things that I either have had said to me at one point, or things I truly 
believe. It isn't anything against you personally.

Jamie

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Valerie Gibson" <valandkayla at gmail.com>
To: <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2008 5:11 PM
Subject: [nabs-l] professors and disability services


> Hi,
> my name's Valerie. don't really post here much, but looking for
> feeback on two situations i've got going on, which as you prob know:
> situations before finals is never good. anyway...
>
> one issue, i probably should have worked out sooner, but here it is:
> when first regestering for my first year of psych, yes i'm a freshmen
> btw, I emailed my professor and asked hi if he could send me any notes
> and things that he shows the clas via email.  He's one of those
> teachers who teaches in a large auditorium, and projects an outline
> for the class to cpy and fill out based on his lectures.  Well,
> natureally i don't see the outline, so i asked this accomidation.
>
> "No." was his responce. he said that he needed to see a paper from
> disability services (DSS), if he was going to provide that.
>
> I didn't want to fight, and what harm could there be in going to DSS
> to get the paper so long as i passsed the class, i thought.  so i did.
>
> Well, the paper was a letter of accomidation where i had to write down
> any accomidations i may need, and take each paper to my professors.
> they would sign off on it, and i'd bring it back to DSS.  Well, after
> filling out the paper DSS told me to ome back in a few days to pick up
> the copies to give to my professors.  Normally, they'd call my cell
> when i needed to come by, and it wasn't until three weeks later that i
> finally got the paper, and even after my psych professor's signature,
> i've still not gotten my outline.
>
> Second issue:  my english professor was probably the most open
> professor i've gotten this year. she was open to working with me, even
> when i didn't want to work with DSS, and emailed anything she gave the
> class to me.
>
> We have four projects that we have to write by the end of the
> semester, and we can revise as many times as she wants.   My first
> project got a good grade, but she pulled me aside on the second
> project, and told me that it earned an "unsatisfactory", the lowest
> grade, based on the formatting.  natureally i understood that i should
> have worked on finding someone to check the formatting.  So i had to
> revise.
>
> The papers were due yesterday, and unfortuneately, i was sick over the
> holidays, and wasn't in school.  I emailed my professor and asked her
> if i could email her the papers that day, and give her the physical
> papers the next day, to which she rudely told me that i could.
>
> If anyone knows my household, i don't get that much support with
> little things, like having a sighted person check to see if my lines
> are double spaced and things, so the next day, i got back to campus, i
> ran by the writing center just to ask them if my formating was okay,
> before running to my english teacher's office and turning it in...and
> now, she's "having to think on wether she will even take it".
>
> and if she doesn't, i will fail.  and i'm already failing psych due to
> the information provided above...any thought?
>
> Val
>
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