[nabs-l] Training centers and their structure

[Jedi]

There's a common misconception about Structured Discovery: many (in and 
out of the NFB) think that Structured Discovery means that one is just 
thrown into a situation and expected to figure it out for themselves. 
Though this may happen at an advanced level, it's certainly not what 
happens toward the beginning and middle of one's SD training. Instead, 
SD's more like the following analogy previously posted on this topic:

People learn differently and some people are directionally challenged. 
Some people just can't problem solve with no foundation for it. For 
instance take reading. I can figure out unfamiliar words because I have 
a foundation, that is I know what letters sound like and how to blend 
them together; therefore I can figure out unfamiliar words by sounding 
it out and problem solving with contextual clues in the sentence.

If one can problem-solve while reading, one can problem-solve while 
traveling. The skills are transferrable and the aim of SD is to make 
that transfer happen.

SD O and M is quite concrete. The difference between SD and traditional 
instructors is that SD instructors believe in you and will teach you to 
believe in yourself by not accepting your excuses for why you can't do 
something. If you've got a genuine limitation, SD is all about helping 
you overcome it using a wide variety of flexible approaches.

Just saying.

Respectfully,
Jedi

Original message:
> Hello,
> That's true Darian. There are people out there who went to no formal
> training center or did it another way who are successful.  There are other
> centers out there that use apartments for housing.  Some people train on
> their own and get a teacher from the agency for the blind to come out to
> their home and teach them.  There are itenerant rehab teachers and O&M
> instructors.
> Going the extended time to a training center for six months may not be for
> everyone due to leaving kids, not being able to keep their house while gone
> or other circumstances.

> Structured discovery wouldn't work for me because I don't learn by cardinal
> directions in travel.  I cannot interpret sound cues alone without visual
> input and I like maps rather than just oral directions to walk a few blocks,
> cross x street and y street and go to some address.
> Traditional instructors are more concrete and may use maps to convey
> concepts.  Now I do agree some traditional instructors especially for cane
> travel, don't have the highest expectations.
> But I hope that is changing and you can always push yourself if your
> instructor doesn't.

> People learn differently and some people are directionally challenged.
> Some people just can't problem solve with no foundation for it.  For
> instance take reading. I can figure out unfamiliar words because I have a
> foundation, that is I know what letters sound like and how to blend them
> together; therefore I can figure out unfamiliar words by sounding it out and
> problem solving with contextual clues in the sentence.

> I already went to our state center for a while; several months and its good
> for some things and bad for others. For instance all we did in cooking class
> was baking sweets primarily.
> The class I got the most from was daily living;  the instructor showed
> things and went step by step.
> One size doesn't fit all.  When I hear the nfb center graduates say negative
> things and make assumptions about other blind people like oh they lack
> initiative or something it sounds like those who went to centers are acting
> elite.

> That said I still need to figure out some skills.  I don't know if I'll go
> to another center, probably carroll center, or learn on my own through
> friends. But I really need to learn to cook!

> Ashley

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Darian Smith
> Sent: Tuesday, February 08, 2011 2:17 PM
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Training centers and their structure

> Bridgit and list,
> I   too  graduated from a training center and feell like I benifited
> greatly from that type of environment.
>    I will point out, however, that there are  people who have not gone
> through  any formalized training or training at a center that
> stressed structured discovery and end  up just as successful, just as
> happy, just asproductive as some of those who havegone.
> you could also  say the same for people who have gone through
> non-traditional methods of  post-secondary education, with some even
> being successful with no college expirience. Will the numbers  end up
> the same if you were to break down statistics  on the matter? I doubt
> it, but the examples are out there.
> I say this not  to disagree with bridgit, but  to make a counter
> argument just for the sake of discussion.
> Like I say, I went through  the training center environment that
> Bridgit speaks of,  and  learned a great amount, I first started the
> program believeing that  six months would do it for me, andas I look
> back on it, it wouldn't have done half of what I thought it would
> have.
>   thoughts folks?
>   respectfully,
>   Darian

> On 2/8/11, Bridgit Pollpeter <bpollpeter at hotmail.com> wrote:
>> 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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> --
> Darian Smith
> Skype: The_Blind_Truth
> Windows Live: Lightningrod2010 at live.com
> Follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/goldengateace

> "You could be shown the road, given the vehicle, even handed the key.
> But only you can have the drive."

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