[nabs-l] National Federation of the Blind Applauds NewJersey Ruling on Braille Instruction for Blind Child
Marc Workman
mworkman.lists at gmail.com
Thu May 10 15:40:45 UTC 2012
I guess I'm in a small minority of those who had Braille forced on them as a child. I resisted it with every argument an eight year old can muster. At several times throughout my primary and secondary education, I was made to learn and relearn Braille even though I didn't use it then and have rarely used it since.
Please don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying I was right to resist. There are lots of things that children resist learning for one reason or another (e.g.,second and third languages, musical instruments, dance), and all of these skills contribute to the production of a more well-rounded and talented person. Braille falls into this category for me. Knowing it better would likely help me get a job, but so too would being more fluent in french, particularly in Canada.
Where I do take issue, and I've expressed this before, is with statements like this one from Chris:
> "Without Braille, we can't read or write."
And I'm not picking on you, Chris, I could have found others making the same point in this thread. If Chris's statement is true, then this email and every essay I wrote in my undergrad, masters, and PhD programs were written by someone who is illiterate. Without being too immodest, I think I write better than a majority of sighted people, and that's not bad for an illiterate person.
Any child that wants to learn Braille or any parents that want that for their children should receive the instruction they desire. Adults too should receive the support to learn Braille if they so desire. What I think is worth pointing out is that Braille isn't necessary for blind people to be able to read and write, Braille isn't necessary for blind people to be successful, and in some cases, mine in particular, the dozens of hours spent learning Braille may more effectively be spent learning other skills.
Cheers,
Marc
On 2012-05-08, at 5:41 PM, Chris Nusbaum wrote:
> A big amen to that! I couldn't have said it any better! I was actually
> having a similar conversation with my school librarian today, who asked me
> whether I saw Braille withering away with the advancement of audio
> technology. I told her I didn't, and even if I could see that happening, I
> wouldn't want it. Why do I not see Braille going away? Because there are
> enough blind people who are passionate about Braille to prevent that from
> happening! Why would I want Braille to continue as the primary source of
> reading and writing for the blind? Because reading books in audio format,
> although it is a good method for reading materials sometimes, isn't true
> literacy. Braille is our form of literacy. Without Braille, we can't read or
> write. This means that we can't get a job, or go to college, or keep up with
> our sighted peers. So, I think we definitely still need Braille because it
> is our form of literacy, and if we get rid of Braille, we should get rid of
> print too!
>
> Chris
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Arielle Silverman
> Sent: Monday, May 07, 2012 10:42 PM
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] FW: National Federation of the Blind Applauds
> NewJersey Ruling on Braille Instruction for Blind Child
>
> It's sad that this required three years of legal contention to resolve.
> What's even sadder is that for thousands of other children, these battles
> aren't being won in the end or even being fought in the first place. Parents
> capitulate to the professionals' insistence that their child doesn't need
> Braille, or they want to fight but don't have the time, energy or legal
> resources to stick it out.
> The saddest thing of all, and an irony too, is that so much of the denial of
> Braille instruction is being perpetrated by the very people entrusted to
> promote and teach Braille--teachers of the blind! I just read a few weeks
> ago about a preschool child whose TVI refused to provide her with Braille
> copies of the storybooks her classmates were given in school. Instead, the
> teacher thought it sufficient to give the child stuffed toys representing
> the characters in the stories. I can understand using toys to substitute for
> the pictures, but if the sighted kids are getting copies of the stories, why
> not give the exact same content to the blind child as well? I might add that
> in today's electronic world, and even before computers existed, transcribing
> a book for preschoolers is not difficult. And even in this case with the
> Millers, the NJ Commission for the Blind backed the school's decision not to
> provide Braille. If even the folks who are charged to teach us literacy
> don't stand behind Braille, who will? In my opinion a certified teacher of
> blind children who refuses to teach Braille, or who refuses to hold their
> students to competitive reading standards, is not deserving of that
> certificate.
> I sincerely hope that this victory will set a meaningful precedent to bring
> about big changes for those parents who are fighting for Braille today and
> in the future.
> Arielle
>
> On 5/7/12, Joshua Lester <jlester8462 at students.pccua.edu> wrote:
>> How old is the child?
>> I got Braille instruction, when I was just starting school!
>> Why is it, that they did this, with this child?
>> Any word on how old he is?
>> Thanks, Joshua
>>
>> On 5/7/12, Ashley Bramlett <bookwormahb at earthlink.net> wrote:
>>> I agree, how sad.
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Loren
>>> Sent: Monday, May 07, 2012 8:09 PM
>>> To: 'National Association of Blind Students mailing list' ;
>>> blindtlk at nfbnet.org ; nfb-talk at nfbnet.org
>>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] FW: National Federation of the Blind Applauds
>>> NewJersey Ruling on Braille Instruction for Blind Child
>>>
>>> It's extremely sad that this took 3 years to come to this decision.
>>> Would
>>> anyone deny a sighted child print instruction for that long?
>>> Congrats to the Millers for sticking with it. You did a great thing for
> your child.
>>>
>>> Loren Wakefield
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>>> Behalf Of Chris Nusbaum
>>> Sent: Monday, May 07, 2012 5:54 PM
>>> To: blindtlk at nfbnet.org; 'National Association of Blind Students
>>> mailing list'; nfb-talk at nfbnet.org
>>> Subject: [nabs-l] FW: National Federation of the Blind Applauds New
>>> Jersey Ruling on Braille Instruction for Blind Child
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> From: Freeh, Jessica [mailto:JFreeh at nfb.org]
>>> Sent: Monday, May 07, 2012 8:57 AM
>>> To: Undisclosed recipients:
>>> Subject: National Federation of the Blind Applauds New Jersey Ruling on
>>> Braille Instruction for Blind Child
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> CONTACT:
>>>
>>> Chris Danielsen
>>>
>>> Director of Public Relations
>>>
>>> National Federation of the Blind
>>>
>>> (410) 659-9314, extension 2330
>>>
>>> (410) 262-1281 (Cell)
>>>
>>> <mailto:cdanielsen at nfb.org> cdanielsen at nfb.org
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> National Federation of the Blind Applauds New Jersey Ruling on Braille
>>> Instruction for Blind Child
>>>
>>>
>>> After Three-Year Battle, Hank Miller Will Receive Braille Instruction
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Oceanport, New Jersey (May 7, 2012): After a three-year administrative
>>> and
>>> legal battle against their local school board, the Oceanport Board of
>>> Education, Jeffrey and Holly Miller obtained a ruling (docket number:
>>> 2011
>>> 17218) from an administrative law judge that their eleven-year-old son
>>> Henry
>>> "Hank" Miller was improperly denied instruction in Braille, the reading
>>> and
>>> writing code for the blind. The legal victory, obtained with the
>>> assistance
>>> of the National Federation of the Blind <http://www.nfb.org/> (NFB),
>>> comes
>>> on the heels of
>>>
> <http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/speced/Letter%20to%20Secretary%20Duncan%20re
>>> %20Braille%20Literacy.pdf> a letter from 26 U.S. Senators urging the
>>> Department of Education to take steps to ensure that blind children who
>>> need
>>> Braille instruction receive it.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Holly and Jeffrey Miller brought the legal case on behalf of their son,
>>> Hank, whom they adopted from China and who is blind due to albinism and
>>> nystagmus. Hank has limited vision that allows him to read enlarged
>>> print
>>> for short periods of time, but he is unable to read for sustained periods
>>> of
>>> time. Although Hank's parents continued to tell school officials that
>>> their
>>> son was experiencing visual fatigue and was having difficulty reading,
>>> the
>>> school board and its consultant, the New Jersey Commission for the Blind
>>> and
>>> Visually Impaired (CBVI), insisted that Hank was a proficient print
>>> reader,
>>> notwithstanding his continued placement in a special resource room for
>>> language arts. In a nearly ten-day hearing, held under the due process
>>> provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act
>>> of
>>> 2004, Mrs. Miller testified that she watched Hank routinely struggle with
>>> his homework, suffering from eye strain and fatigue, but was unable to
>>> convince school officials or the CBVI that Hank needed Braille
>>> instruction.
>>> She also testified that Hank's schoolwork was not of the same quantity
>>> and
>>> quality as that of his classmates. Although experts from the school and
>>> the
>>> commission claimed that Hank was a "visual learner" and should
>>> participate
>>> in the "sighted world," experts hired by the Millers and the NFB
>>> concluded
>>> after thorough assessment that Hank could not read print for extended
>>> periods of time without eye strain, neck and back pain, fatigue, and loss
>>> of
>>> reading speed and comprehension.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> In her order, Administrative Law Judge Lisa James-Beavers found that the
>>> school board and the commission displayed a clear "bias against Braille."
>>> She found that the school board and the commission had failed to assess
>>> Hank's "sustained reading ability" with print, relying instead on reading
>>> assessments involving only brief passages, and citing Hank's alleged
>>> failure
>>> to complain about struggling to read print. The judge was unconvinced by
>>> the board and CBVI's contention that Hank could rely on audio technology
>>> as
>>> reading demands increased through his school years, noting that "as
>>> pointed
>>> out by all of petitioners' well-qualified experts, listening does not
>>> equate
>>> to reading. One does not enhance the active skill of comprehending text
>>> by
>>> passively listening, even if one is following along with the reading."
>>> The
>>> order noted that "the CBVI failed to do what Oceanport relied on them to
>>> do,
>>> which is to help construct a program that would give H.M. meaningful
>>> educational benefit considering H.M.'s future needs." Judge
>>> James-Beavers
>>> ordered that Hank Miller be provided with Braille instruction for
>>> forty-five
>>> minutes, five days a week, and that the school board provide compensatory
>>> instruction because of the three years that Hank was not provided with
>>> Braille instruction, in the form of intensive Braille summer programs or
>>> tutoring.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said:
>>> "Based on the experience of countless parents of blind children and blind
>>> adults who had never learned Braille and have contacted us over the
>>> years,
>>> the National Federation of the Blind has consistently argued that blind
>>> children are being improperly assessed and denied Braille instruction
>>> when
>>> it is clearly appropriate. Now after a thorough and comprehensive
>>> examination of the evidence in Hank Miller's case, an independent judge
>>> has
>>> confirmed what we always knew. We hope that school and agency officials
>>> across the nation take note of this landmark ruling and commit to giving
>>> blind children access to Braille, the true key to literacy for the vast
>>> majority of children who are blind or losing vision. The National
>>> Federation of the Blind will continue to stand with families like the
>>> Millers who find themselves pitted against the educational establishment
>>> in
>>> obtaining the equal education to which their children are entitled and
>>> which
>>> they deserve."
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Holly Miller, Hank's mother, said: "I am obviously thrilled with this
>>> ruling, although I am still saddened that it took such a prolonged battle
>>> to
>>> achieve it. I am stepping forward to tell Hank's story in hopes that
>>> other
>>> parents of blind children will not have to struggle as we did. I thank
>>> the
>>> National Federation of the Blind and all of the individuals and experts
>>> who
>>> came forward to assist in this case. I plan to strongly and publicly
>>> advocate with the National Federation of the Blind for Braille
>>> instruction
>>> for blind children."
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> The plaintiffs are represented in this matter by Sharon Krevor-Weisbaum
>>> of
>>> the Baltimore firm Brown, Goldstein, and Levy, and Jayne M. Wesler of the
>>> Cranbury firm Sussan and Greenwald.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> For more information about the National Federation of the Blind, please
>>> visit www.nfb.org <http://www.nfb.org/> . For more information about
>>> Braille, the reading and writing code for the blind, please visit
>>> www.braille.org <http://www.braille.org/> .
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ###
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> About the National Federation of the Blind
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> With more than 50,000 members, the National Federation of the Blind is
>>> the
>>> largest and most influential membership organization of blind people in
>>> the
>>> United States. The NFB improves blind people's lives through advocacy,
>>> education, research, technology, and programs encouraging independence
>>> and
>>> self-confidence. It is the leading force in the blindness field today and
>>> the voice of the nation's blind. In January 2004 the NFB opened the
>>> National
>>> Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute, the first research and
>>> training
>>> center in the United States for the blind led by the blind.
>>>
>>>
>>>
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