[nabs-l] Good vs. Not-so-good Training Centers

[Dave Webster]

	Hi.  My name is Dave.  I actually have been to both centers lcb and
wsb which is world services for the blind which formally was lions world
services for the blind.  I attended lcb back when Joanne was director.
World services gane me good training in a vocational skill but you're right
it didn't give good training in personal management skills.  things such as
cooking cleaning and stuff like that wasn't all that great.  One of the
things to keep in mind is that wsb is in a very very bad area of Little
rock.  I would not want to go out on my own especially at night.  Noone
could pay me enough money to do that.  its such a bad enough area that
people have heard gun shots on campus.  People have seen others get arrested
right there in front of the school so.  Just my thoughts.-----Original
Message-----
From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Arielle Silverman
Sent: Monday, July 16, 2012 10:22 PM
To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Subject: [nabs-l] Good vs. Not-so-good Training Centers

Hi all,
I have not been to WSB and so cannot comment on its quality as a center for
specific job training (i.e. the IRS program), but I have heard lots of
negative rumors about it, though none as disturbing as what Amber related. I
will, however, comment on the fact that WSB apparently houses students in
dormitories and does not give students any opportunities to prepare their
own meals or, presumably, to travel very far between home and campus. I am a
proud graduate of LCB and I would recommend NFB centers for many reasons,
but one of the biggest differences I can see between good and bad training
centers is whether or not students live on or off campus. This is simply
because, in my experience, at least half of what I gained from attending a
center were things I learned off campus by cooking, cleaning and traveling
on my own. When you make the commitment to go to a residential center, you
really need to get the most bang for your buck, so to speak, and I think
dorm-style accommodations really limit what you are able to learn from the
experience. As just one example, a skill I acquired at LCB that I still use
on a daily basis is knowing how to safely and confidently cross the street
at an uncontrolled intersection. I practiced this a few times in travel
class, but nearly all the safety and confidence I acquired in crossing
uncontrolled intersections came from needing to cross Bonner and Mississippi
twice each day to get to and from the LCB from my off-campus apartment.
Similarly, many of us decide to attend centers to improve nonvisual cooking
and cleaning skills and I don't even understand how you can really practice
those things if you live in a dorm. Laundry maybe, but that's about it.
Training isn't about just trying something out once or twice, but instead
it's about practice and repetition, which is best gotten when you are doing
things like cooking, cleaning and street travel on a regular basis and out
of necessity. Not to mention that having to sign in and out must really make
people less motivated to venture out on their own--but that's a whole other
issue.
So if you are struggling between center options, I'd urge you to consider
whether the living situation is on or off campus as a major factor in your
decision.
BTW, I think someone might have posted recently with questions about LCB,
but I don't recall who it was. If you still have questions, you can give me
a call at
602-502-2255
There's a lot I could say about my LCB experience and a live  phone
conversation will probably be more helpful than email.
Best,
Arielle

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