[nabs-l] National Federation of the BlindApplaudsNewJerseyRuling on Braille Instruction for Blind Child
Ashley Bramlett
bookwormahb at earthlink.net
Sun May 13 20:17:20 UTC 2012
Mark,
do you ever write braille then? if not you must be a really good auditory
learner.
I suppose you write all your notes on a computer then using print
conventions.
Since you did not like braille in school, did you still use large print?
Me, I used both. I used braille once I knew it efficiently and used print
for math because they said it was a bit easier to lay out spatial
relationships which IMO is true. Lot easier to place numbers here and there
on a page versus rolling a piece of braille paper up and down.
Anyway, if you made it with auditory learning in school and did well, I
suspect you are the exception.
Ashley
-----Original Message-----
From: Marc Workman
Sent: Sunday, May 13, 2012 12:59 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] National Federation of the
BlindApplaudsNewJerseyRuling on Braille Instruction for Blind Child
Ashley,
I'm not sure why you interpret me as saying a blind child can learn to read
using audio alone. If you could go back and pull out a specific sentence I
wrote where I said this, that would be useful to me.
For the record, I think it's probably technically possible for a totally
blind child to learn to read and write using only a screen reader. Grammar
and spelling is about learning rules, and though print/Braille makes
learning these rules exponentially easier, I suspect it is possible to do it
without either. I want to emphasize that I'm only saying this may
*technically* be possible. I'm sure it would be much harder, and I can't
think of why it would ever be preferential to choose this path when either
print or Braille is available. That said, my point has nothing to do with
this, and I of course believe that blind children should be taught either
print or Braille. Let me say this again since it seems to be causing the
most confusion and misunderstanding: blind children should be taught either
print or Braille. There is no doubt about this question.
I think a couple of much less clear cut questions are in which cases is
Braille or print appropriate, and in which cases is Braille more of a
hindrance than a help. This is what I'm gesturing at. Slogans like "without
Braille, you fail", if taken literally, suggest that Braille is essential
for success. Perhaps I shouldn't take it literally, but my concern is that
so many seem to believe this as a fact, and I think that can lead to
situations, like mine, where Braille is forced on a child even though the
hundreds of hours spent learning Braille could more effectively have been
spent learning some other skill. I don't know; I think it's at least
something to think about.
Regards,
Marc
On 2012-05-12, at 8:32 PM, Ashley Bramlett wrote:
> Mark,
> I just don't see how you learn without braille. Sure we all do it. I did
> it in high school because the volumes of braille would be impractical to
> take home. I had gobbs of reading for english, all those novels! I had too
> much reading in fact as they pile on homework in high school. However, by
> then I could read and write. I knew how to spell; I knew such things as
> what a paragraph is, what a sentence, where to place my periods and
> commas, although I'll admit I still don't know all comma rules,
> and I knew what was capitalized. So what I'm saying for a young child is
> you have to have a foundation and see the written word, print or braille,
> and then sure once you have a foundation you can transfer to audio.
> But really, I fail to see how you learn without braille in the early
> grades as you are learning how to write.
> I do see your points; you can be successful with mostly auditory learning.
> Heck since junior high school when we got more homework, I did more and
> more auditorily, but I did have a foundation in reading and writing.
> That to me is the key. I was also successful with more auditory learning.
> But I could not learn without braille to this day. Although I have no TVI
> to transcribe handouts in braille, no texts in braille, no research
> material in braille, I do use braille everyday in my own notes. I take
> notes with my braille note. I also have to ask for spellings so I can
> write foreign or proper names in print for my papers as when reading it I
> only hear it spoken and do not always know how to spell it. I write the
> correct spelling in braille. By writing in braille, it helps me learn and
> remember the spelling.
>
>
>
> As Josh said "without braille, you fail."
> Ashley
>
> -----Original Message----- From: Marc Workman
> Sent: Saturday, May 12, 2012 9:20 PM
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] National Federation of the Blind
> ApplaudsNewJerseyRuling 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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