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

Sat Jul 21 22:50:31 UTC 2012

Hello everyone,

    And since most people these days have cell phones if the center needs to 
locate a particular student chances they're only a cell phone away.

Peter Donahue

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jedi" <loneblindjedi at samobile.net>
To: <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, July 21, 2012 5:17 PM
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Good vs. Not-so-good Training Centers

I don't understand the sign-out thing. The staff of the LCB never asked
students (in the two times I spent extended time there for training and
my O and M degree) to sign out or in. It was just expected that, since
everyone there are adults, they could handle themselves. when students
went out for independent travel lessons, the teachers would go looking
for them only if they were gone for a longer amount of time than would
be necessary under normal circumstances. And if, while making a pass by
the student, they seemed okay, were on track, and getting near the
school, then the teachers would let the students get on with things and
debrief the route as usual. Most of the time though, travel instructors
and their students had each other's cell numbers for checking in with
each other as needed. After school, the staff honestly had no idea
where students were. Again, it was just assumed that, like any other
adult, they could handle themselves. It was also understood that the
students looked out for each other as needed and the staff would only
intervene if the situation called for it. Otherwise, the staff of the
LCB firmly believed that blind adults are, well, adults and don't need
anyone to look after them as though they were teenagers. So in summary,
I think the sign-in/out procedure says a lot about how the center views
their students: are they viewed as people needing someone to watch over
them, or are they adults there to learn a new set of skills to maintain
their independence?

Respectfully,
Jedi

Original message:
> 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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