[nabs-l] Training centers and their structure

Tue Feb 8 23:31:35 UTC 2011

>
> Hi all,
>
> Here's my two cents.
> I am of the belief that trainning should fit the person.  Some people need
> a trainning center as an adult, and others do not.  I also believe that
> trainning does not end when a person graduates from a center--whether it be
> graduating from some summers of a buddy-type program and a couple years of a
> teen program, or an adult program.  I am of the belief that trainning never
> REALLY ends.  We are always learning new ways to do things, and always
> practicing and improving upon the skills we already have.
>
> With this said, I believe that if a blind child was raised with "normal"
> expectations, attended buddy programs, teen programs, and has the right
> possitive attitude, confidence in themselves, and maturity they do not
> necessarily need a trainning center as an adult.  They simply need to get
> out into their community, get out into some other community, and use the
> skills they have learned while they were growing up.
>
> I believe that another important factor in trainning is teaching the skills
> to the blind children who come after them.  It is said that the best way to
> learn something is to teach that something.
>
> I also believe that another aspect to "good trainning" is to get out of
> your comfort zone.  Try to If one goes out of state for trainning they will
> receive better trainning because they are farther from home, farther from
> their parents who can sometimes be very protectinve.  If you live in
> Colorado, go to LCB, BLIND Inc or BISM, for example.  This will force you to
> be on your own and to rely on yourself; it will build confidence in you.
>
> I will further add that if we can introduce blind children to these skills
> at a younger age, then get them in buddy programs, then teen programs, we
> can use adult programs to focus more on people who go blind later in life.
> This will also help push blind children right into the real world so that
> they can go to college right after high school, like their sighted
> peers, and start earning money and contributing to society at large.
>
> To summarize, I believe that the trainning should fit the individual.
>
> Your thoughts?
> Respectfully,
>   Jordan<bookwormahb at earthlink.net> wrote:
>
>> Hi Kirt,
>> Just so you know more options out there, there are two centers using
>> apartment style living.
>> Both centers have blind staff and I've heard good things about them
>> although those individuals were not NFB members.
>>
>> The Hatlen center in CA is an option.  They have classes one on one.  If
>> you finish some classes and have time, you can go to college part time or
>> get some work experience on days you don't have classes.
>> Students can stay a year there. They also organize recreational activities
>> for students; students can do what they want outside of class and are
>> encouraged to go have fun in the city.
>>
>> Next the Cleveland sight center in Ohio has apartments too. Some are one
>> bedroom efficiencies and others are two bedroom where you'd have a room
>> mate.  You have to maiintain the apartment of course.
>> Cleveland sight center has less training time like three months so it may
>> not be comprehensive.  From what I heard there are no restrictions outside
>> of class as to where you can go.
>> Good luck with your decission.
>> Ashley
>>
>> -----Original Message----- From: Kirt Manwaring
>> Sent: Tuesday, February 08, 2011 2:58 PM
>> To: jsorozco at gmail.com ; National Association of Blind Students mailing
>> list
>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Training centers and their structure
>>
>>
>> Bridget, Joe, Darian and all,
>>  I'm pretty sure I'm going to a training center next year.  And I
>> want to find one of the best.  I'm thinking one of the NFB training
>> centers, as I've been living in a dorm for the past 6 or so months and
>> I think I'm ready for that adjustment.  But can you guys suggest any
>> other high quality centers out there that push the same standard of
>> independence?  If they have some blind staff, that would maybe be a
>> slight plus for me, too.  Also, I'd prefer a place that doesn't try
>> and regulate your time outside of the classroom and planned
>> activities.  In other words, I want my free time to be my free time
>> and, in the teen training program I went to in my state (which was
>> great for me and perfect for my needs at the time), that wasn't the
>> case.
>>  Thoughts?,
>> Kirt
>>
>> On 2/8/11, Joe Orozco <jsorozco at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Bridgit,
>>>
>>> This is one of the best cases I've seen laid out for pursuing training at
>>> a
>>> Center.  You're not preaching to the choir, because there are some of us
>>> with a slightly dissenting view.
>>>
>>> I initially rejected the NFB training for two reasons.  First, I was more
>>> interested in continuing college, and second, I was not at all interested
>>> in
>>> being forced into what other people felt was the right path to
>>> independence.
>>> Now that I'm a little older, I can appreciate the stupidity of my first
>>> reason.  If you want something bad enough, you make it a priority, but
>>> the
>>> second reason, to me, still holds a little water.
>>>
>>> I was not interested in condescending people looking down on me for
>>> choosing
>>> not to take 6 to 9 months out of my life to fit someone else's model of
>>> training.  There is a very distinct culture among Center alumni that
>>> makes
>>> people not part of it feel a little left out.  Now, I am always first in
>>> line to preach the line about doing what you need to do and never mind
>>> what
>>> anyone else says, but from a marketing perspective, it makes very little
>>> sense to make it appear as though NFB training is a cornerstone to NFB
>>> philosophy.  Yes, the NFB centers feature phenomenal expectations, but
>>> no,
>>> these centers will never be able to reach everyone who needs or wants
>>> training.  A flexible plan ought to be exercised to catch professionals
>>> who
>>> would like NFB-style training without the unreasonable expectation of
>>> stopping employment for an extended period of time, especially in
>>> uncertain
>>> economies.
>>>
>>> After all that babble, my point is this:  I did not pursue training and
>>> am
>>> positive I would benefit from a training program.  I think people like me
>>> who chose not to enroll in a program should be prepared to achieve the
>>> same
>>> levels of proficiency with the disadvantage of doing it on your own
>>> across a
>>> longer period of time.  You have to commit to pushing yourself across
>>> multiple fronts to maintain confidence.  I feel I've done that, though I
>>> have not found someone to teach me a thing or three about woodwork.
>>>  Maybe
>>> later when I have the sufficient income to pitch the idea, I'll convince
>>> a
>>> Center to let me train for a summer at one of their facilities.  Success
>>> is
>>> possible whether you go to a Center or not.  If you go to a Center,
>>> you'll
>>> have to work hard.  If you go at it on your own, you'll have to work even
>>> harder, but, make the decision that is truly most beneficial for you and
>>> commit to it 100% after you've chosen.  I personally think I would have
>>> been
>>> a little more swayed in favor of the training center route had I read
>>> something like the post below when I graduated from high school.
>>>
>>> Best,
>>>
>>> Joe
>>>
>>> "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 Bridgit Pollpeter
>>> Sent: Tuesday, February 08, 2011 1:41 PM
>>> To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>>> Subject: [nabs-l] Training centers and their structure
>>>
>>> Dear List,
>>>
>>> I know I will be preaching to the choir here so forgive me, but I feel
>>> it is important to stress the importance of choosing a good training
>>> center to attend.
>>>
>>> As a blind person-- whether blind from birth, later in life or in the
>>> process of losing vision-- one of the most important things you can do
>>> is attend the best training center you can find.  The reason NFB centers
>>> and other progressive centers follow similar methods is because, for
>>> years now, they have proven to be the best methods for instilling
>>> independence along with a strong functionality with the skills.
>>>
>>> We all learn at different paces and with different styles, but these
>>> centers are structured to meet individual needs.  This is why people
>>> train anywhere from 6 months to a year.  If you think you can learn the
>>> skills in less than 6 months and use them effectively, you are mistaken.
>>> Time and time again, I have seen people choose to not complete a
>>> training course and they lack the confidence and ability that most gain
>>> after at least a six month stint.
>>>
>>> As for sleep shades, I have always failed to understand why people are
>>> against this.  I initially learned with sleep shades and it made sense
>>> to me.  How better to gain that confidence than to know you can do
>>> things in non-visual ways?  Now that I can no longer use my vision at
>>> all, it makes me feel like I must be less capable when people say sleep
>>> shade training is wrong or not necessary.  The way this comes across is
>>> that vision is still vital to be truly independent, and that when you
>>> have no useable vision, you can not effectively accomplish things.
>>>
>>> Do not sell yourself short.  We all have the ability to gain that
>>> freedom and independence we hear so much about.  If you have never tried
>>> something, how do you know you can't do it?  I don't say all this
>>> because I have been brain washed, and I am one of those hard core blind
>>> people; I say all this because I have experienced it and know the
>>> benefits.
>>>
>>> We will struggle, we will need to learn, we will not always do
>>> everything perfectly, but if we have been handed the tools and methods
>>> to give us independence and confidence, we will find a way to prove
>>> ourselves to the world.
>>>
>>> I agree that placing an untrained student into an apartment scenerio may
>>> not work for everyone.  I understand the reasoning behind this, but I
>>> also know that before you learn skills and the confidence to use those
>>> skills, living on your own may not be the best situation right away.
>>> Not all training centers, good ones that is, follow this style of
>>> training.  You can find centers, like the Iowa Department for the Blind,
>>> where there structure is similar to the NFB centers, but housing is on
>>> campus, not apartments.  Regardless, challenge yourself and find out
>>> what you really are able to do.
>>>
>>> Many of us can a test to the positive influence of a good training
>>> center that teaches Structured Discovery.  Sleep shades and completing
>>> six to nine months is essential to these programs.  Do we choose
>>> universities that truncate their programs because we don't want to spend
>>> time completing a degree?  No, we know we have to work for four years,
>>> or longer, so we can receive the best education possible.  Why do we
>>> view training centers for the blind differently?
>>>
>>> I urge us all to take a good look inside and figure out who we are and
>>> what we are capable of.  We will all encounter situations in life that
>>> make us nervous or scared, but does that mean we limit our lives?  Do we
>>> not reach our full potential because of nerves?  No, of course not.  We
>>> should not follow an opposite line of thinking, then, when it comes to
>>> choosing a training center.
>>>
>>> Centers that do not offer this kind of training only send a message that
>>> blindness is limiting, and one is better off with some vision.  Yes, I
>>> have visited centers like this and it is sad to see blind people not
>>> reaching their full potential or not understanding how independent they
>>> can be.  The reason NFB centers were created was because most other
>>> agencies were not teaching and instilling this sense of independence,
>>> and they were not willing to open their minds to a new way.  Like many
>>> other situations, we were not going to accept this so we opened our own
>>> training centers.  Not everyone graduating from these centers leaves
>>> ready to make their mark on the world, bbut this is life.  Many, though,
>>> leave these centers knowing they can do anything, and they are ready to
>>> face the world.
>>>
>>> I am one of these people.  I never understood the fear of training or
>>> the insistance that it was not important.  When I started losing my
>>> vision, I couldn't wait to train.  I knew I could still do things, I
>>> just had to figure out how to do them.  I did not accept what people
>>> told me, that I was limited and would not be able to do a lot of things.
>>> I felt this way long before I trained, long before I knew of the NFB or
>>> any other group.  I was nervous, and at 23, leaving for training, in a
>>> whole other state, was the first time I truly lived away from home.  I
>>> have not been back since.
>>>
>>> I live on my own (wel, with my husband, who, by the way, is blind too).
>>> I take the bus, I go to school, I work.  I do everything, and more, and
>>> I owe this to a positive training center.
>>>
>>> I will stop.  I apologize, but I feel so strongly about this topic.  As
>>> blind people-- as people-- I know we can do anything we put our minds
>>> too.  I simply don't want to see anyone stifle their own potential.
>>>
>>> Bridgit
>>>
>>>
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>
>
>
> --
> Jordan Richardson
> President, Minnesota Association of Blind Students
> lilrichie411 at gmail.com
> "It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men."
> ~*Frederick Douglass*<http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/f/frederickd201574.html>
>


-- 
Jordan Richardson
President, Minnesota Association of Blind Students
lilrichie411 at gmail.com
"It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men."
~*Frederick Douglass*<http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/f/frederickd201574.html>