[nabs-l] Lines

Tue Apr 2 04:54:52 UTC 2013

Hi,

About testing, as well as the initial well-said point of waiting in
lines, I agree with Kirt.  I've set up agreements with my professors
that I will only take extra time when it is really necessary; however,
this is only for a small number of professors in subjects like
statistics which involves lots of graphs, and music theory which is a
little more time consuming because I have to do things in steps with a
music notation program called Lime.  I don't even have this
conversation with my professors in subjects like English, History, or
Psychology where I have no need to take the extra time.

Taking accomodations should be considered carefully.  If an
accomodation helps level the playing field, like if without spare time
you would have no chance of completing a math exam and would therefore
have blank answers for tons of questions you simply didn't have time
to get to, then that is reasonable; but when the teacher gives a fifty
question quiz that is all text-based and you and your classmates have
an hour to do it, there is no reason to ask for extended time unless
you're trying to make up for a lack of studying, which is no grounds
for asking for an accomodation based on your blindness.  In the latter
case, assuming you have assistive technology to take the test on and
you have an accessible file, the playing field has been perfectly
leveled for you.  Actually, I've found that because it has been
leveled and I have a computer to take tests on rather than pencil and
paper, I actually finish tests earlier than most of my classmates,
sometimes as much as completing a history midterm in half a class
period when everyone was given the full time.

On 4/1/13, justin williams <justin.williams2 at gmail.com> wrote:
> I take the time and a half.  Think what you want.  I can learn to be fast
> on
> a job.  I was one of the top agents at Teleperformance; still got cheated
> in
> the end.  I was one of the best agents in the call center. (Grin.)  No but
> seriously, I use any tool available to me.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kirt Manwaring
> Sent: Tuesday, April 02, 2013 12:26 AM
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> Subject: Re: 			[nabs-l] Lines
>
> Justin,
>   In high school I took the extra time way more than I should have; in
> hindsight, I was using it to hide the fact that I wasn't as efficient with
> braille as my peers were with print.  I know this is an entirely different
> subject, but I think extra time is legitimate only when inherently visual
> information like pictures and complex graphs need to be presented tactally
> or verbally.  Even then, it ought to be used with care because, as has been
> said ad noseum, you can't get the "time and a half" on the job.
>   Best,
> Kirt
>
> On 3/31/13, justin williams <justin.williams2 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Do you take the time and a half on tests?
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Arielle
>> Silverman
>> Sent: Monday, April 01, 2013 11:04 PM
>> To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>> Subject: [nabs-l] Lines
>>
>> Hi all,
>> Thank you Kirt for making such a great point. When I was growing up my
>> parents and friends often pressured me to use my blindness so that we
>> could cut lines and sometimes my parents even required it without
>> giving me a choice about it. I used to try and justify our behavior
>> but in  the end when I did this I always felt a deep sense of shame
>> and anger, but I could never figure out why. Since then I have learned
>> about self-perception theory in psychology classes and I think I
>> understand why it bothers me (and many of
>> us) so much. Basically, self-perception theory posits that we draw
>> conclusions about ourselves by observing our own behavior. I think
>> whenever I used my blindness as a reason to get a guest pass and skip
>> the line, it made me start to see myself as a handicapped or crippled
>> person, which was very upsetting. For some people who have trouble
>> standing for long periods of time, or who have guide dogs who get
>> uncomfortable standing out in the sun, cutting in line seems
>> legitimate. But if we can physically handle the lines, accepting the
>> special passes doesn't do us any real favors. I insist on standing in
>> line with everyone else because I want to see myself (and my fellow
>> blind friends) as strong, healthy, normal people. I feel I have little
>> to gain by skipping the lines, and much to lose in terms of
>> self-esteem and self-respect. I think every time we take an
>> accommodation, we need to think about what we are gaining from that
>> accommodation vs. what we are potentially losing in terms of normalcy.
>> If an accommodation like a piece of technology is  truly necessary, it
>> will give enough benefit that it's worth the self-esteem hit. But if
>> an accommodation isn't really needed, I think we have more to lose
>> than we have to gain by accepting it. For this same reason I also do
>> not write off blindness as a reason to claim a tax deduction.
>> I am proud to be (barely) earning enough income to be required to pay
>> taxes and paying taxes just like anyone else in my income bracket
>> makes me feel good about myself and where I belong in the world.
>> There's also the argument that if we want to be allowed the same
>> rights sighted people get, we need to be willing to saddle the extra
>> responsibilities. If we want to be allowed to ride amusement park
>> rides without discrimination, we need to be willing to wait in line.
>> It sends a mixed message to skip the line and then insist on equal
>> treatment by the ride operators, just like it sends a mixed message to
>> request unnecessary extra time on tests and then ask for a professor's
>> letter of recommendation.
>> Again, though I'm not a dog user, I think having a guide dog is a
>> legitimate reason to not wait in lines.
>> Arielle
>>
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-- 
Kaiti