[nabs-l] National Federation of the Blind Applauds NewJerseyRuling on Braille Instruction for Blind Child
Loren
isaiah5719 at mchsi.com
Sun May 13 14:48:11 UTC 2012
Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark. Even our sighted friends still use pen and pencil.
Maybe the truth is you are the one who has bought in to the propraganda.
Are you ashamed to admit you use braille? Are you just as anti-cane or
anti-alternative techniques in general? Did your sighted peers "have to
learn" print?
I have to wonder where this is coming from? Of course there are people who
have succeeded without knowing braille. There are many pro athletes who
cannot really read their own contracts as well. But is this what we really
want? Please excuse the play on words, but to not use and promote the use
of braille is extremely short-sighted. It may be easier in the here and
now; but, in the longrun it is extremely harmful.
Loren
-----Original Message-----
From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Marc Workman
Sent: Saturday, May 12, 2012 8:21 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] National Federation of the Blind Applauds
NewJerseyRuling on Braille Instruction for Blind Child
Chris,
According to your definition, someone who needs glasses to read print is
also illiterate because the glasses might break. Literacy is complicated. A
Braille reader that loses both her hands doesn't suddenly become illiterate
to my mind. Nor does a print reader become illiterate after becoming blind.
The only thing I take issue with is the idea that Braille is essential for
success. To put the point as Josh does in another message: "without Braille,
you fail". Sorry, but this is factually incorrect. There are too many
examples of successful blind people who cannot read Braille. I get why this
is the message that is put forward. I imagine it's useful for motivating
children to learn Braille, and it's no doubt politically expedient when
advocating for more funding to teach Braille, both of which I understand and
support, but I also suspect I'm not a total anomaly, and there are children
wasting time learning Braille as I did. Or, to put it another way, there are
children who might be forced unnecessarily to learn Braille if more people
held the attitudes promoted in some of the messages I've read. Overall, more
children would probably benefit than suffer, but some children certainly
would suffer, in the sense that they would be dragged out of class and
required to learn a skill that they will never really make use of.
I probably should just stay quiet, as I believe Braille is a powerful tool,
but it's difficult to sit back and say nothing when I hear propaganda-like
slogans such as "without Braille, you fail".
Best,
Marc
On 2012-05-12, at 3:22 PM, Chris Nusbaum wrote:
> Good points, Marc. What I mean by "illiterate" is simply that you can't
effectively and efficiently read written text independently. Yes, you can
use audio, but that technology might break...
>
> Chris Nusbaum
>
> "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
> 2 Corinthians 5:7
>
> Sent from my BrailleNote
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Marc Workman <mworkman.lists at gmail.com
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> 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.
>
>
>
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