[nabs-l] First O/M lesson

[Dezman Jackson]

Jim,

If you're going to be in Detroit perhaps you can arrange a travel lesson 
with an instructor trained in NFB methodology or likewise a good traveler.

Dezman
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "clinton waterbury" <clinton.waterbury at gmail.com>
To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list" 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, June 18, 2009 8:06 AM
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] First O/M lesson


> Uh...  Wow...  The whole purpose of sleepshades and o and m is to... 
> Gain the skills like finding landmarks and being able to go anywhere. 
> Really, I would talk to 1 of the higherups about this.
> On Jun 17, 2009, at 1:53 PM, Jim Reed wrote:
>
>> Hey all,
>>
>> I just had my first O/M lesson under sleepshades, and I was not 
>> impressed. I am not convinced
>> that my O/M instructor has the time, skill, or proper additude  towards 
>> blindness to
>> teach me what I need/want to know. My goal of O/M training is to be
>> able to safely travel and navigate non-visually anywhere I want/need  to
>> go in Billings (or anywhere else for that matter).
>>
>> Given
>> the goals I just mentioned, I told/asked my O/M instructor  to teach  me 
>> under sleepshades, and I asked her to teach me universal
>> travel and navigation skills, rather than teaching me specific  routes. 
>> Before I could turn
>> around twice, she is teaching me a specific route to campus. Then,  even
>> though I was under sleepshades for the purposes of learning non-visual
>> techniques, she insisted that I take off my blindfold nearly every
>> block so that I could check out the terrain ahead, and she also made  me
>> take off my sleepshades quite frequently so that I could visually see
>> the landmarks that she was pointing out. I must have took off and put
>> on those sleepshades about 20 times during the lesson. There were also
>> two times where she told me to take off my sleepshades and walk with
>> her, "so that we can find the best route visually". I think I probably
>> walked 4-5 blocks without my sleepshades on. I'm sorry, but I don't  need 
>> a lesson on sighted O/M, I've
>> been doing that since birth. And what the hell good does it do me to
>> see a landmark visually that I may not be able to see visually when I
>> am walking to school at night? Additionally, she wasn't letting me
>> figure out anything for myself. She was telling me of all the  landmarks
>> that were around, she was telling me everytime there were bushes
>> sticking out into the sidewalk, or trees overhanging it, she was
>> telling me everytime there was a bench, lightpost, sign, or any other
>> obstacle in my way, and she kinda made a gasping sound everytime I
>> approached a curb at full speed. She was doing all of this before I
>> even had the chance to detect the obstacle with my cane, and she was
>> doing all of this without having seen me run into anything; I guess  she
>> just assumed that I would not/did not have the skills to be able to
>> detect and avoid obstacles on my own.
>>
>> Towards the end of the
>> lesson I got sick of her pointing out where every curb was, and I told
>> her that she wasnt doing me any favors by pointing out every curb. She
>> seemed to be taken by suprize at this, and she said something like
>> "fine, I'll let you walk off the curb". Whenever we get our next  lesson
>> I intend to tell her to stop pointing out every little obstaclle,  and I
>> intend to leave the sleepshade on for the duration of the lesson.
>>
>> Additionally,
>> I asked my O/M instructor  if she herself actually gets under a 
>> sleepshade and
>> travels. Her response was, " I was trained under a sleepshade, but I
>> havent been under one for years." A blind friend of mine (who wants to
>> become an O/M instructor) made a good point that I am begining to  agree 
>> with, she said, "if your O/M
>> instructor can't/won't travel under a sleepshade, then she really
>> doesnt have any buisness teaching O/M. All the theoretical knowledge
>> learned in O/M masters programs are nice, but without practical
>> application of the theoretical knowledge, she will never be as good of
>> an O/M instructor as her counterparts who routinely practices or works
>> with clients under sleepshades."
>>
>> Thoughts?
>>
>> Jim
>>
>> "From compromise and things half done,
>> Keep me with stern and stubborn pride,
>> And when at last the fight is won,
>> ... Keep me still unsatisfied." --Louis Untermeyer
>>
>>
>>
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