[nabs-l] For the first time, Virginia will fully fund the education of its blind K-12 students

[christopher nusbaum]

Well, you know, Brandon, that Braille is slow and inefficient. It was
developed in the 19th century to serve the needs of the blind people
of that era. Therefore, it is no longer relevant to us in the
technology-driven 21st century. Besides, it was invented by a blind
student! We know that blind people are incapable of having the
creativity to invent anything, so why would we trust a system which
was invented by a 19th-century blind French teenager? Moreover, many
kids still have some vision. Given all this, it wouldn't be logical to
teach kids who still have a little usable vision an inferior system of
reading and writing that would in effect make them blind. Even if the
kids are totally blind, we can still use the tools of the 21st century
as a replacement for that tedious, outdated Braille code: screen
readers, talking books, screen magnification software, etc. Right?
Wrong!

Chris Nusbaum

Sent from my iPhone

On May 10, 2013, at 1:01 AM, Brandon Keith Biggs
<brandonkeithbiggs at gmail.com> wrote:

> Now this is awesome!
> I'm just baffled though, why was this made a problem in the first place? Sighted kids get taught how to read, why not blind kids?
> and I think being a TVI is one of the most difficult jobs in the world and to have so many kids that you are forced to cut your time to 30 minutes a child a week is just insanity of the first level!
> Thanks,
>
> Brandon Keith Biggs
> -----Original Message----- From: Corbbmacc O'Connor (by way of David Andrews<dandrews at visi.com>)
> Sent: Thursday, May 09, 2013 9:11 PM
> To: david.andrews at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [nabs-l] For the first time, Virginia will fully fund the education of its blind K-12 students
>
>
> NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND OF VIRGINIA
> Dr. Fredric K. Schroeder, President
> 9522 Lagersfield Circle • Vienna, VA 22181
> (703) 319-9226 • fschroeder at sks.com
> www.nfbv.org
>
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>
> CONTACT: Tracy Soforenko, (202) 285-4595, tracy.soforenko at verizon.net
>
> For the first time, Virginia will fully fund the
> education of its blind K-12 students
> Delegate Bob Brink to be honored for exceptional leadership
>
> ARLINGTON, Va. — Delegate Bob Brink (D-48), who
> led the advocacy  to increase funding for
> teachers of blind students, will be recognized
> today with the Commonwealth Award by the National
> Federation of the Blind of Virginia (NFBV)—the
> Commonwealth's largest and oldest organization of
> blind people and the leading advocate for braille literacy.
>
> For years, the Virginia Department of Education
> has published Standards of Quality (SOQ), which
> define minimum student-teacher ratios and provide
> partial salary support to school divisions to
> fund special education teachers who work within
> Virginia's schools. Unfortunately, unlike all
> other disabilities, teachers for the blind were
> excluded from the SOQ, leading to enormous case
> loads in many school divisions. Through Delegate
> Brink’s advocacy—supported by the National
> Federation of the Blind of Virginia—Governor
> McDonnell committed to fully fund the state share
> for staffing standards for blind and low vision
> students. The amended 2012-2014 budget addresses
> this inequality and funds teachers for Virginia’s
> blind and low vision students.
>
> "Parents of blind children are frustrated that
> their children are not learning the blindness
> skills necessary to compete with their sighted
> peers," said NFBV President Dr. Fredric
> Schroeder. "We cannot expect students to learn
> braille and independent travel when teachers for
> the blind are forced to limit instruction to 30
> minutes a week. Because reading and writing is a
> fundamental skill for all students, we are
> excited that blind students will now receive the
> quality education that they deserve."
>
> Brink, who represents north Arlington and most of
> McLean, said, "This is a long overdue step for
> the 1,000-plus blind and low-vision students
> across Virginia who are blind or have low vision.
> The budget will provide $4.9 million funding to local school districts."
>
> The award ceremony is open to members of the
> media, and will feature remarks from Brink, a
> member of the Arlington County School Board, and
> advocates. It will be held May 9 at Tutto Bene
> Restaurant (501 N. Randolph St; Arlington) at 7 p.m.
>
> ###
>
>
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