[nabs-l] being scholastically social?

Thu Mar 25 23:21:00 UTC 2010

True. Maybe the reason I'm anti social is I have no social skills to begin it I wirhwe talk to much or don't' talk at all and sometimes I come across as rude but I'm so used to beeing int he teaching invironment that I cannot for me get out of it. I'm not making much sense as I am starting to get a bit hungry.. Hehaha. I do know this much I have a harder time socialising with the sighree then with the bind. theer is so much that can be comunicated in silence. so much we can't see.

I really enjoy reading these discussions and view points as it makes me think about what I need to work on or not bather working on.

Take care all.
On Mar 24, 2010, at 9:14 PM, Joe Orozco wrote:

> Interesting.  If we're talking straight up blindness, I think we've all
> experienced a moment or two of feeling out of place in light of the dominant
> sighted crowd.  I certainly experience with each meeting I attend until I
> shake off the feeling and plunge forward.  If we're talking ethnic minority,
> I can't say I've experienced that before, but I don't know if it's because
> the feeling is overshadowed by the blindness factor or because I've
> genuinely never witnessed this behavior.
> 
> Regardless, what I find interesting about this discussion is that it makes
> blindness an identity factor.  I think the original post asked how we as
> blind individuals handled campus involvement, when our philosophy claims
> blindness can be reduced to the level of a nuisance.  I know this position
> does not claim blindness can be eliminated, but it would appear to suggest
> blindness is irrelevant to one's sense of self.  So, rather than ask, "how
> do you, as a blind person, handle X, Y and Z," shouldn't we be asking how to
> handle the task in general?
> 
> Interesting discussion.
> 
> Joe Orozco
> 
> "Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves,
> some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all."--Sam Ewing 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org 
> [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Jedi
> Sent: Wednesday, March 24, 2010 8:51 PM
> To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] being scholastically social?
> 
> Joe,
> 
> The issue of inaccessibility to informal networks is actually becoming 
> a key issue for those who study organizational communication and 
> diversity. Basically, inaccessibility to informal networks is a fancy 
> way of saying that one is left out or somehow treated differently based 
> on their minority group status. Either as a blind person or a member of 
> a minority group, have you ever had that gut feeling that you just 
> didn't belong or that your social interactions were influenced by your 
> minority status? Perhaps you were the only member of a minority or one 
> of few? Maybe it wasn't something that anyone said directly, or maybe 
> it was. But either way, that gut feeling was still there. 
> Organizational scholars would say that this kind of thing is controlled 
> by context for sure. If your workplace and general environment are 
> rather diverse and handle diversity well, you're probably less likely 
> to have this experience. If not, than you probably will at some point 
> and to some degree or other. But basically, the bottom line is that for 
> people who experience this problem, they tend to be the only one or one 
> of few representing their minority in an organization that hasn't yet 
> become aware of its assumptions and ideologies favoring the dominant 
> population. If you ask me, blindness will definitely cause one to 
> experience this interesting problem at some point.
> 
> Respectfully,
> Jedi
> 
> 
> Original message:
>> Jedi,
> 
>> I'm part of a minority group and have never experienced or 
> witnessed this
>> behavior.  What are you basing these conclusions on?  Or, 
> could you give
>> examples?  If blind people are going to use this as a justification to
>> explain their social isolation, I'd like the comparison to be 
> accurate.
> 
>> Joe Orozco
> 
>> "Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up 
> their sleeves,
>> some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all."--Sam Ewing
> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org
>> [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Jedi
>> Sent: Wednesday, March 24, 2010 12:59 AM
>> To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] being scholastically social?
> 
>> It's not just a blindness thing precisely. It's not uncommon for
>> minority groups to have difficulty making friends on the job or in
>> school: things are cordial at work, but there's often lack of 
> access to
>> informal social networks which can, in some cases, become a real
>> obstacle even during work hours. Causes might include anything from
>> just not knowing what to say to a minority group member to feeling a
>> large gap between minorities and their non-minority 
> counterparts. There
>> really is no right way to handle this problem because it 
> affects us all
>> so differently. If it concerns you that you're feeling left 
> out, it may
>> be worth addressing to someone who you feel will most likely hear you.
> 
>> Respectfully,
>> Jedi
> 
> 
>> Original message:
>>> 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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