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

Tue Jul 17 13:11:36 UTC 2012

Brandon,
I'm not saying you let them know where you are; just signing in and out. 
They ask you to do that at the state center in VA.
You may not know where you're going, good point. I agree about the transit 
thing though; unfortunately, perhaps centers save money by buying cheap 
land.
Since training centers need to account for everyone , I can see why they due 
that. They might have a legal obligation to know if you are on or off 
property. I'm not a lawyer, but it probably has to do with that. When we had 
a drill at college, they took attendance before everyone left. It was a 
community college though and may be less common at universities.

It seems that if WSB wanted to serve their students in the best situation, 
they would relocate to a safer area.
But I can understand the sign out thing.

Ashley

-----Original Message----- 
From: Brandon Keith Biggs
Sent: Tuesday, July 17, 2012 2:43 AM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Good vs. Not-so-good Training Centers

I totally Agree, training centers should be in the areas where blind people
would be most likely to live, not the cheapest place to live. I was at a
program in LA and although the neighborhood wasn't too bad, a guy found a
dead body at a bus stop when I was there...
Also, I am a firm believer in training centers being in a town with good
public transportation, NOT LA!

Not be able to contact the student? Mom call your child's cell phone? That's
what my parents did/do when I was at a training program and now living on my
own. I'm an adult, if you want to know where I am you can call me... In a
new city I'm probably going to not know what's around, so most of my outings
will say something like "exploring" or "taking a walk." Of course if I'm
staying any extended time at a place where my phone is going to be off for
most of the time, I should let someone know where I am, but I go everywhere
in my area and it would just become too much to tell someone where I am at
all times.
Thanks,

Brandon Keith Biggs
-----Original Message----- 
From: Ashley Bramlett
Sent: Monday, July 16, 2012 9:42 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Good vs. Not-so-good Training Centers

Dave,
Oh my! Which year did you attend WSB? Were you there for a vocational
program or independent living? I've heard good things about the vocational
tracks like IRS, but not the general life skills teaching. Its sad to house
a center for the blind in a high crime area. Seems counter productive
because the director should want students to get out and do their own thing.
There is a tendency to exaggerate here because people like nfb centers more.
Its nfb list after all.
Are you serious? Near enough to hear gun shots?
Ashley

-----Original Message----- 
From: Dave Webster
Sent: Monday, July 16, 2012 11:43 PM
To: 'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Good vs. Not-so-good Training Centers

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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