[nabs-l] being scholastically social?

[Mark J. Cadigan]

I am currently in high school. I don't do much in terms of clubs or other 
school activities in school. I briefly joined the stage crew for a play, but 
I was kind of in the way. No one talked to me, about anything other than 
professional questions about things of a technical nature. I did my job 
well, but I clearly did not fit in. people were afraid that if they talked 
to me they would offend me or something like that.

Because I don't do many activities in school, I am involved in the boy 
scouts, life teen, and the NFB. Even at places such as boy scouts and life 
teen, most of the conversations I have are professional or technical in 
nature. I really don't have many sighted friends. I don't know if this is 
blindness related, or what.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jamie Principato" <blackbyrdfly at gmail.com>
To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list" 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, March 21, 2010 8:11 PM
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] being scholastically social?


> In middle school, I would jump at the opportunity to get involved in as 
> much
> as my parents would allow. I did Student Government, Jazz Band, and a 
> Youth
> Leadership organization that focused on competitive debate and public
> speaking (think like a junior Toastmasters International). I couldn't wait
> for high school when I'd have even more interesting groups and activities 
> to
> choose from.
>
> When I got to high school, I encountered a lot of...problems...with the
> school's Vision department (which is sad since I only went to this high
> school because we were told it offered the most for visually impaired
> students). I could go on all day with the details here, but I'll spare you
> that. One of these issues was the fact that blind students at this school
> tended to be very...disconnected from the rest of the student body, 
> avoiding
> activities and student events. I learned shortly after joining Model UN 
> and
> Psychology Club, attending the first Freshman dance, and planning to go to 
> a
> pep rally that the Vision department wasn't happy with the fact t I joined
> and attended these clubs without telling them first, and that if I was 
> going
> to keep attending, they'd need my mother to write up a permission note (no
> other student needed to do this) and they would have to first find a 
> teacher
> to stay late in the day and basically babysit me while I attend these
> activities. Oh, and I wasn't allowed to go to that pep rally unless I sat
> with my TVI and the other teachers, not in the Freshman stands with my
> class. My mother and I told them that all of this was unnecessary, and we
> complained to the principal, but between this and a number of other 
> issues,
> we just ended up taking matters into our own hands.
>
> We registered as a home schooling family, and joined a home school support
> group with about 70 or so other families in the county. I took advantage 
> of
> my new freedom and got involved in a ton of extracurricular activities in 
> my
> community, even sports (something that never would have flown at that
> school). Now that I'm in college, I try to get involved on campus and in 
> the
> city when ever I can. I joined the university's fencing club, a volunteer
> organization, and I'm currently applying to Psi Chi. I also try to get the
> most out of campus cultural events like plays or concerts, and make use of
> campus facilities like the gym. THe only issue I've been having is that
> transportation in my city. The only bus that comes near by house recently
> changed its schedule and now stops running early in the evening. The only
> way to really go out in the evening for any sort of event or get home from 
> a
> club meeting is to take a cab or ride with a friend, but you need to get 
> out
> a bit first to make those sighted friends. I find that if money is tight 
> one
> month, it's pretty unlikely that I'll be doing much outside of attending
> class, including attending free activities or events. I guess that's just
> one price of living off campus though.
>
> On Sun, Mar 21, 2010 at 4:28 PM, Darian Smith <dsmithnfb at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Hi list,
>>
>>  I'm curious to  here what  people's thoughts are about  becoming
>> involved in  clubs and campus  activities in school (high school or
>> college). do you  jump at the oppertunity to meet new people? do you
>> feel nervous about it. have you met some of your  best friends at a
>> ralley,  social club, campus society? how did your  self- identity as
>> a blind person factor into  your interactions with people? how did
>> people interact with you?
>>  Thoughts?
>>  Best,
>>  Darian
>> --
>> Darian Smith
>> Skype: The_Blind_Truth
>> Windows Live: Lightningrod2010 at live.com
>> The National Federation of the Blind has launched a nationwide teacher
>> recruitment campaign to help attract energetic and passionate
>> individuals into the field of blindness education, and we need your
>> help!   To Get Involved  go to:
>> www.TeachBlindStudents.org
>>
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