[nabs-l] Training centers
Antonio M. Guimaraes Jr.
freethaught at gmail.com
Fri Feb 11 01:09:04 UTC 2011
Hello arielle,
You sight participation in NFB training center as an avenue to becoming an "enlightened blind person."
You also argued that anyone blind person would benefit from attendance at one of our finest whether they needed such training or not.
These two statements raise some questions.
What makes an "enlightened blind person?"
Why would I spend my time, and rehabilitation services funding to go through some time to train at a center even when I know I don't need to?
I'll address the later here, since the former will take lots of thought and effort to discuss with some eloquence.
Say I was born blind, had a good public school education, had access to braille, nemeth, sports and technology resources and training.
I am adjusted as a blind person in my late teens, just make believe okay? I have a bright future as a college student in my career of choice.
In comes my NFB chapter president, ad fellow NABs list embers. They beliede, as you do, that anyone can bennefit from NFB Center training. This includes me.
Remember, I had training and opportunity!
How would I, why should I even try to convince my state agency to spend in upwards of $3000 a month for me to receive blindness training and the NFB philosophy?
How would the center justify my say, 4 months of training at the program that typically takes 8 or 9.
Is it justifiable to put resources behind a student that does not need, but could benefit from some training?
Antonio Guimaraes
On Feb 9, 2011, at 11:27 PM, Arielle Silverman wrote:
> 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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>>
>>
>>
>>
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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
>
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