[nabs-l] Training centers

Thu Feb 10 04:27:43 UTC 2011

Hi all,

As you know, there is no magical number of days you must stay at a
training center in order to emerge as an "enlightened" blind person.
Nor is the center itself magical, or absolutely necessary for everyone
to achieve their optimal amount of self-sufficiency and integration in
the world. If you attend a center (NFB or not), you will hopefully
gain skills you can combine with your prior skills so you have as many
"tools in your toolbox" as possible. Having attended the Louisiana
Center for the Blind, and knowing many people who have gone to the
other two NFB centers, I believe that our centers are unique, and
anybody can gain something from attending one of them at least for a
short time, whether you "need" it or not. However, I also don't think
attending a center is essential for success. Unfortunately, center
training often must serve to fill in the gaps in one's childhood
blindness skills training, so if you already have a solid foundation
in Braille, Computers, cane travel, and home management and feel
appropriately confident in your skills in all four of these areas,
then going to a center may not be as important to you as other goals,
like college attendance. However, if you feel deficient in one or more
of these skills or feel your independence is limited because of these
issues, then a center is an excellent way to fill in that knowledge
gap.

In answer to a couple questions that were raised, at least in
Louisiana, the evenings and weekends are, for the most part, your
time. There are occasional trips like rafting and rock climbing, and
sometimes optional weekend activities, but the rest of the free time
is yours. I know at LCB many students attended local churches and some
exercised at the local fitness center. You are more than welcome to
sign up for community activities, as long as they don't take up time
during the week (Monday-Friday from 8:00-5:00, or 8:00-4:30 for CCB;
I'm not sure about BLIND, Inc.'s exact schedule).

As someone mentioned, contrary to some people's stereotypes about NFB
centers, they really do make an effort to treat every student as an
individual. There are graduation requirements, but if you are
struggling to meet them, the teachers will work with you to develop a
plan so that you can graduate and be challenged without being
overwhelmed. When I was at LCB I saw lots of students with a great
range of prior skills and some who had additional disabilities and I
thought that for the most part, the staff did an exceptionally good
job of adjusting to each person's specific needs and abilities. And,
you can negotiate the length of your stay. If you stay for less than
six months you might not officially graduate or get a "freedom bell"
but if you say you only can attend for a few months because of school,
work or other reasons, they're not going to turn you away. I think the
more time, the better, but even a one-month stay is better than none
at all.

There are a lot of things that make NFB centers stand out but I think
the high expectations and belief the instructors have in their
students is the most important. A few of the instructors are sighted,
but I was struck by the difference in basic approach between the
sighted teachers at LCB and the other sighted instructors I had
growing up. It was clear that the teachers all believed in and
respected the students' capacity to learn and become independent in
completing the assignments. They were both patient and firm,
challenging us to go beyond what we thought we could do while also
being willing to invest the time and attention we needed to learn the
skills correctly. Even with little things, like having us
independently find the pots we needed for cooking or the tools we
needed for woodshop, they conveyed that they expected us to employ
alternative techniques in every step of the process. It was also clear
to me that it wasn't just a "day job" for the staff. They really care
about the students and their progress even after graduation.

The main reason I decided to attend the center was because of travel.
Like many of us I grew up with very traditional travel/O&M instruction
where I learned that I could only go to places if I had memorized the
route first. My parents were also very protective and I lived in a
suburban neighborhood so I had few opportunities to walk around on my
own or deal with busy streets, shopping centers, etc. without a
sighted guide. In college when I did get to travel on my own, I
frequently got lost, and I had learned from my traditional travel
instruction that getting lost was a "messup" or a failure. So, I hated
getting lost. I also wasn't very good at identifying when I was going
the wrong way because I had never really been taught to pay much
attention to environmental cues. And, I was afraid of most
intersections. It would literally take me fifteen minutes to cross a
lighted intersection that didn't have an audible signal because I
couldn't reliably tell the difference between parallel and
perpendicular traffic. I knew when not to cross, but couldn't tell
when it was safe to cross until it was too late. At LCB we spent time
working on these issues. I also spent many days going out finding
addresses, often to places I had never been before. My instructor
would tell me the address of the business, so I knew what block it was
on, but of course I didn't know the set route to get to the place. I
really had to pay attention to where I was going using cardinal
directions and carefully tuning in to traffic sounds. We also worked
on parking lots. When I was growing up I was taught to never ever walk
in a parking lot. I was taught routes to get to places where I had to
go around the block or cross over gravel to get to the entrance of a
business without using the parking lot. At LCB I regularly had to
traverse parking lots, sometimes big ones, and I learned that there
was nothing to be so worried about.

I attended the center for just under seven months, graduating in
August 2008. I will not say that today I am a great traveler, or even
an above-average cane traveler. I still get turned around a fair
amount (actually did today). But, since leaving the center, I don't
get nearly as frustrated when I do get lost or turned around. More
importantly, I can recognize when I am turned around much more
quickly, and correct it much more accurately, than I did before
training. I can reliably detect parallel and turning traffic at
intersections and I can cross uncontrolled intersections (no light or
stop sign) like the one by my house without problems (something else I
was told to avoid as a child). And, I cut across the driveway for my
condominium complex or the big parking lot by my grocery store without
a second thought. Had I stuck with my traditional training, I think I
would have had artificial limits on where I could live, and my
mobility on the bus would have been limited by my inability to cross
streets or negotiate parking lots. I find it unlikely that I would
have gained this confidence and safety in cane travel at a non-NFB
training center, because I think the reason these benefits stay with
me today is because the NFB center assignments are so rigorous and I
spent so much time practicing these basic skills, both with
instructors and by myself.

Of course this is just one person's story, and everyone has a
different story to bring to the table. I do think all of us can
experience heightened confidence and skills by attending an NFB center
for any length of time, but of course, there are trade-offs in life
between center training and other priorities. I do think, as Joe
alluded, that it would be great if we can figure out how to bring
NFB-style training to the one-on-one/home setting so blind people can
receive this quality of instruction without having to leave their
homes or their communities for several months. Until that happens,
though, the NFB centers all have an excellent track record for turning
out competent, self-reliant graduates.

Arielle

On 2/9/11, Anmol Bhatia <anmolpbhatia at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Kirt,
> Would you really need to attend a training center? I do not know you well,
> but having met you a time or two I am not really sure if you need to attend
> a training center. However, if you do attend I would encourage you to get
> involved in the community and find sighted friends and do not fall into
> common blind bubbel of only socializing with other blind people. Like you
> said there is nothing wrong with that, but like you most of my friends  are
> also sighted and I believe that we live in a sight world and will live in a
> sighted world it is important that blind people get out of their comfert
> zone and participate in activities that sighted people do. Just my two
> sense.
> Anmol
> I seldom think about my limitations, and they never make me sad. Perhaps
> there is just a touch of yearning at times; but it is vague, like a breeze
> among flowers.
> Hellen Keller
>
>
> --- On Wed, 2/9/11, Kirt Manwaring <kirt.crazydude at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> From: Kirt Manwaring <kirt.crazydude at gmail.com>
>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Training centers
>> To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>> Date: Wednesday, February 9, 2011, 2:37 PM
>> Dear Beth, Tara and all,
>>   Is it hard to get involved with the community
>> outside the center?
>> Let me clarify the question, as it maybe doesn't make
>> sense.
>>   I know a lot of blind people (and please keep in
>> mind I'm not
>> calling anyone out or judging), who graduated from the
>> training
>> centers and now spend their lives mostly with other blind
>> people.
>> There's nothing wrong with that, it's just not for
>> me.  I'm probably
>> not going to marry a blind person or seriously date a
>> blind
>> person...simply because most of my friends aren't
>> blind.  So, with
>> that in mind, I'm going to want to find ways to get
>> involved in the
>> community at large, at whichever center I decide is right
>> for me.
>> So...do you think I'll be discouraged or austricized if I
>> choose to
>> spend lots of my free time with church groups, volunteer
>> programs,
>> other friends I might find outside the center, etc?
>> Because I think
>> the worst thing that could happen to me is to get caught in
>> a "blind
>> bubble" where I learn all the skills I need, hang out with
>> center
>> people all the time, and miss out on whatever other
>> opportunities I
>> might find living away from home for such a long
>> time.  Don't get me
>> wrong, I hope to make friends at the center and have a
>> great time.
>> But I don't want that to be my whole life while I'm out on
>> my own like
>> this.  Thoughts, anyone?
>>   Kirt
>>
>> On 2/9/11, Beth <thebluesisloose at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>> > Training centers are a good way for blind people to
>> learn the
>> > skills, but the CCB staff being blind makes it
>> easier.  Tara, I
>> > agree with you on all points.  At a center in
>> Daytona Beach,
>> > Florida, there were nurses, old creeps,, and lots of
>> rules such
>> > as the lights out rule.  Sexes were separated by
>> wing, and there
>> > was no question about dating.  At CCB, blind
>> people are treated
>> > like people.
>> > Beth
>> >
>> >  ----- Original Message -----
>> > From: Tara Annis <TAnnis at afb.net
>> > To: "nabs-l at nfbnet.org"
>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>> > Date sent: Wed, 9 Feb 2011 14:38:09 -0500
>> > Subject: [nabs-l] Training centers
>> >
>> > I attended the Colorado Center program between
>> semesters at
>> > college.    I attended the school for the
>> blind and also took
>> > some classes at a local association of the blind, so
>> would like
>> > to provide some insight.
>> > I do agree that blind people can be successful and
>> have above
>> > average skills, even though they do  not go to
>> the NFB center,
>> > but this is really rare from my observations.
>> > Before I went to CCB, I did not know that blind people
>> could walk
>> > long distances using a cane, as in m five or ten
>> miles.  I
>> > thought people could only walk routes that the O&M
>> instructor had
>> > taught them, and the route would be a mile or
>> less.  I thought
>> > blind  people needed sighted  guide for any
>> new place they
>> > visited, and couldn't use the cane to follow someone.
>> > I didn't know that blind people could use a charcoal
>> grill.
>> > Some observations:
>> > 1. There were no nurses at CCB that had control of the
>> medication
>> > you took.  If you are supposed to be living in
>> the real world,
>> > why have someone keep track of your meds?
>> >
>> > 2. There were no lights out at CCB.  As long as
>> you showed up to
>> > class on time, who cares what you do at night, as long
>> as you
>> > aren't breaking the law.  You're adults, so you
>> should be treated
>> > like them.
>> > Go to bed when you feel like it.
>> >
>> > 3. There was no hassle at CCB when you wanted to go
>> for lunch.
>> > You just  walked out the door.  You didn't
>> need to make sure
>> > people had a sighted guide before beginning.  You
>> didn't need to
>> > have a sighted person to come along to help out.
>> >
>> >
>> > 4. Instructors were blind at CCB, and not ashamed of
>> it. At other
>> > training centers, the instructors would never be
>> caught using a
>> > cane or reading braille.  Sighted people wore
>> dark glasses when
>> > traveling with blind people, so the public couldn't
>> look into
>> > their eyes.  They did  not like being stared
>> at by the  public.
>> > Yet, they never told blind people this fact.
>> >
>> > 5. Colorado staff did not hide the fact that the
>> public can
>> > sometimes be cruel, and many do not understand
>> blindness.  I have
>> > witnessed at  other centers staff outright lying
>> to blind people
>> > telling them that no one can tell they are blind and
>> that they
>> > don't need a cane, since they get around  so
>> well.  Yet, the
>> > people they tell this to have disfigured eyes, and run
>> into
>> > obstacles.  The instructors do not want the blind
>> person to feel
>> > bad so that is why they make up these lies.
>> >
>> >
>> > 6. I hate how at other centers they always assume a
>> blind person
>> > has low self  esteem, and needs counseling.
>> > CCB  knew that some of their students are at an
>> intermediate
>> > level, already past the adjustment phase of blidnness,
>> and just
>> > came to CCB for advanced skills training.
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
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-- 
Arielle Silverman
President, National Association of Blind Students
Phone:  602-502-2255
Email:
nabs.president at gmail.com
Website:
www.nabslink.org