[nabs-l] Lines

Tue Apr 2 04:58:32 UTC 2013

I'm curious... were all the students given this instruction?

On 4/1/13, justin williams <justin.williams2 at gmail.com> wrote:
> All my tests are multiple choice.  I was told specifically   to slow down
> by
> the professor especially on the computer.  It's just his style.  He's
> rooting of me, so it's good.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Arielle
> Silverman
> Sent: Tuesday, April 02, 2013 12:48 AM
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Lines
>
> I have only used time extensions when I was either using tactile diagrams
> or
> when I got a late start on a test because of a technology problem. In the
> former case, with the tactile diagrams, I don't think the extra time helped
> my test performance very much. I tended to spend the extra time agonizing
> over questions when I couldn't understand the tactile diagrams, and would
> just take longer to guess the wrong answer. If I could have done it over
> again I would have either asked for more guided practice reading the
> tactile
> diagrams or just asked for verbal descriptions instead. In high school
> geometry I not only got extra time, but my teacher sometimes allowed me to
> "make up" test points by re-taking the test orally without the picture
> questions. I ended up getting an A in that class and in hindsight, I think
> I
> deserved a B and should have been given one. While my mathematical
> understanding of geometry was very good, I had a clear struggle with
> interpreting tactile diagrams and that's something that they should have
> tried to address instead of just band-Aiding it with extra time and extra
> credit points. If I'd been given a B or even a C based on the points I
> earned, tactile diagram training might have been put on my IEP. True, we
> don't usually encounter tactile pictures in everyday life, but on
> standardized math tests that's often the only option, and I believe that my
> math SAT and GRE scores could have been higher if I had been forced to
> practice reading those diagrams in a more systematic way. Extra time on
> those tests didn't help me much at all.
> (I eventually worked on this with a GRE tutor and I did improve a little
> bit, but it was slow going and perhaps if I'd done it in middle or high
> school it would have been easier). I think the Band-Aid issue is even worse
> when extra time is given to people with slow Braille reading speeds without
> any attention to training faster reading. Since I learned Braille in
> preschool, I never needed extended time for verbal tests or math tests not
> involving diagrams, and my TVI and teachers always praised how fast I was.
> It is sad that my finishing the tests at a typical speed has to be such a
> surprise just because I use Braille. As I have stated here before, I think
> that time extensions for students in K-12 education have to be handled on a
> case-by-case basis, but I think it's really important that any time
> extensions be coupled with individualized training in whatever skill the
> student is struggling with enough to need the time extension. Of course, in
> today's world of overworked TVI's, that is unlikely to actually happen.
> I don't take tests anymore since I'm all-but-dissertation now, but if I did
> I think I'd only use the extra time if I got a late start on the test
> because of a technology issue or if I was working with a reader and had to
> go over answer choices multiple times, which does inherently take up more
> time than reading the answers independently in Braille or print.
> Arielle
>
> On 4/1/13, Kirt Manwaring <kirt.crazydude at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 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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>>
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-- 
Kaiti