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

Sat Jul 21 23:54:02 UTC 2012

Agreed. Is there any reason why a center needs to keep up with
students' whereabouts any more than a college dorm needs to keep up
with its residents' whereabouts? One could argue that if a college
student gets hurt, the university or dormitory could be held liable
for that as well.
When I lived in the dorm I think we were required to sign out or at
least tell our dorm residential advisor (RA) if we were leaving for an
extended period, like a weekend or vacation. This seemed fair to me
and I always abided by that rule. But I would never want to live
somewhere where I had to let an authority figure know every time I
wanted to head to the grocery store, friend's house, bar or anywhere
else for just a few hours.
If a center student doesn't show up to class, or a roommate reports
them missing, then the staff will attempt to track the student down.
Best,
Arielle

On 7/21/12, Peter Donahue <pdonahue2 at satx.rr.com> wrote:
> 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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