[nabs-l] National Federation of theBlindApplaudsNewJerseyRuling on Braille Instruction for Blind Child

Sun May 13 02:03:29 UTC 2012

They're trying to get rid of Nemeth? But don't they realize that 
the mathematical system will be screwed without Nemeth?

 ----- Original Message -----
From: Joshua Lester <jlester8462 at students.pccua.edu
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Sat, 12 May 2012 20:22:14 -0500
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] National Federation of 
theBlindApplaudsNewJerseyRuling on Braille Instruction for Blind 
Child

Good grief!
Since we're discussing Braille, what's the latest on one of our 
famous
Braille codes, the Nemith code?
Are they still trying to get rid of it?
Thanks, Joshua

On 5/12/12, Sophie Trist <sweetpeareader at gmail.com> wrote:
 OMG, I'm so sorry, Chris. (Sophie smacks herself in the head 
with
 her cane.) That's the thing about e-mails. Please forgive me. :)

  ----- Original Message -----
 From: Chris Nusbaum <dotkid.nusbaum at gmail.com
 To: National Association of Blind Students mailing
 list<nabs-l at nfbnet.org
 Date sent: Sat, 12 May 2012 18:22:53 -0400
 Subject: Re: [nabs-l] National Federation of the
 BlindApplaudsNewJerseyRuling on Braille Instruction for Blind
 Child

 Sophie,

 I agree.  I took Marc's statement to mean that totally blind
 people could in fact read and write, just with audio technology
 (e.g.  text-to-speech software.) As I said in my previous email,
 my point was that we couldn't read or write independently (when 
I
 say "read," I mean reading
 written text, as sighted people read print,) without Braille.  
If
 a low-vision person has enough vision to read large print, of
 course, they could read the written word independently in that
 format.  But sometimes, even for low-vision people, reading 
large
 print becomes a tedious and difficult process, making it
 necessary for them to learn Braille in order for the process of
 reading and writing to be more efficient.

 By the way, I'm a guy! :)

 Chris Nusbaum

 "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
 2 Corinthians 5:7

 Sent from my BrailleNote

  ----- Original Message -----
 From: Sophie Trist <sweetpeareader at gmail.com
 To: National Association of Blind Students mailing
 list<nabs-l at nfbnet.org
  sent: Thu, 10 May 2012 15:06:25 -0500
 Subject: Re: [nabs-l] National Federation of the Blind
 ApplaudsNewJerseyRuling on Braille Instruction for Blind Child

 Marc,

 I believe that when Chris said, "Without braille, we couldn't
 read or write,", she was speaking of the totally blind.  From
 your
 e-mail, I gather that you still have a good bit of my vision
 left.  I am completely blind, so there is no possible way that I
 could learn print.  Okay, I can learn to sign my name, but 
that's
 about it.  So for those of us who are totally blind or whose
 vision is not reliable enough for them to read print (sorry, but
 I think you're a minority on this list), without braille, we
 could not read or write.

  ----- Original Message -----
 From: Marc Workman <mworkman.lists at gmail.com
 To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
 <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
 Date sent: Thu, 10 May 2012 08:40:45 -0700
 Subject: Re: [nabs-l] National Federation of the Blind Applauds
 NewJerseyRuling on Braille Instruction for Blind Child

 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%20
 Duncan%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.

  _______________________________________________
  nabs-l mailing list
  nabs-l at nfbnet.org
  http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
  To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account
 info for
  nabs-l:

http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/isaiah5719%40
 mchsi.com

  _______________________________________________
  nabs-l mailing list
  nabs-l at nfbnet.org
  http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
  To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account
 info for
  nabs-l:

http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/bookwormahb%4
 0earthlink.
  net

  _______________________________________________
  nabs-l mailing list
  nabs-l at nfbnet.org
  http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
  To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account
 info for
  nabs-l:

http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/jlester8462%4
 0students.p
  ccua.edu

  _______________________________________________
  nabs-l mailing list
  nabs-l at nfbnet.org
  http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
  To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account
 info for
  nabs-l:

http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/arielle71%40g
 mail.com

  _______________________________________________
  nabs-l mailing list
  nabs-l at nfbnet.org
  http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
  To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account
 info for
  nabs-l:

http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/dotkid.nusbau
 m%40gmail.c
  om

  _______________________________________________
  nabs-l mailing list
  nabs-l at nfbnet.org
  http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
  To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account
 info for nabs-l:

http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/mworkman.list
 s%40gmail.com

 _______________________________________________
 nabs-l mailing list
 nabs-l at nfbnet.org
 http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
 To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account 
info
 for nabs-l:

http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/sweetpeareade
 r%40gmail.com

 _______________________________________________
 nabs-l mailing list
 nabs-l at nfbnet.org
 http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
 To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account 
info
 for nabs-l:

http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/dotkid.nusbau
 m%40gmail.com

 _______________________________________________
 nabs-l mailing list
 nabs-l at nfbnet.org
 http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
 To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account 
info
 for nabs-l:

http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/sweetpeareade
 r%40gmail.com

 _______________________________________________
 nabs-l mailing list
 nabs-l at nfbnet.org
 http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
 To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account 
info for
 nabs-l:

http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/jlester8462%4
0students.pccua.edu

_______________________________________________
nabs-l mailing list
nabs-l at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info 
for nabs-l:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/sweetpeareade
r%40gmail.com