[nabs-l] Training centers not the real world

[Joe]

I can totally agree that interacting with fellow blind peers is a healthy
thing. I'm just not sure a training program has to be the way to achieve
that level of interaction. I never attended a training program, NFB or
otherwise, and far be it from me to tell anyone what they ought or ought not
to do. My advice for whatever it's worth is that if you want to go, do it
right after high school. It's harder to make it a priority the more
responsibilities you accumulate, and after you become gainfully employed,
forget about it. Me, I'm surprised the traditional training model still
exists. There ought to be some sort of a weekend option for working
professionals who would not mind learning woodwork and such. Not everyone
enrolls in a program with the intention of proving themselves at Square 1.

Joe

-----Original Message-----
From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Valerie Gibson
Sent: Sunday, November 10, 2013 10:42 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Training centers not the real world

That is an awesomee point.  Meeint people who are like you does fill a void
that sighted people don't have to overcome. I remember being about seven or
eight.  One morning when my mom came to wake me, I remember telling her that
I felt like an endangered species because no one was like me.  Those were my
words. Looking back on it, I can't imagine how my mom must have felt after
hearing those seemingly innocent words.

On Nov 10, 2013, at 8:23 PM, Ashley Bramlett <bookwormahb at earthlink.net>
wrote:

> Valerie,
> Excellent points!
> I thought of the learning point you made after sending my email.
> Sighted kids learn so much by observation. They take it in and do not
realize they have learned.
> But blind kids need to be shown or told how to do things. So, we need more
training.
> I think your reason for schools for the blind makes a lot of sense.
> 
> Another reason for training centers is opportunity to meet other blind
people.
> At centers you learn together, have parties together, and share stories
together.
> This social bonding with peers helps one adjust to blindness or adjust to
independence if you were blind your whole life.
> The social aspect of meeting people who have gone through what you are 
> going through is very powerful. You actually have friends there who
identify with your feelings for once.
> Too often, blind people feel lonely or feel like no one understands them.
I know students in school who know few other blind people and none their
age.
> Sure we can have sighted friends, but having blind friends does help in
talking about common problems.
> So centers fill a social void. All this socialization will hopefully help
one's self esteem.
> 
> Ashley
> 
> -----Original Message----- From: Valerie Gibson
> Sent: Sunday, November 10, 2013 10:05 PM
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Training centers not the real world
> 
> Greetings,
> 
> This could get ugly. haha.
> 
> I think the reason being that people who can see are taught mostly through
modeling as children.  They watch how their parents act and react to
situations and they follow suit.  As blind children, we don't get such
visual feedback and our sighted peers either don't know how, or don't think
to tell us how, things are done.  They see the world visually, and unless
they can think non visually, they find it difficult to express such ways of
doing things like crossing a street.  To us, things such as crossing streets
or cooking seem like a "Duh" moment, but in order for to seem like that, we
must have had someone tell us how to do things non visually.
> 
> I don't usually buy it when people, who have been blind their entire 
> lives, say, "Oh i taught myself this or that".  Sometimes it may be 
> true, but more often than not, scaffolding has ucurred.  Sorry, i'm 
> working on a psych paper. it shows. :D
> 
> For people who have been sighted and who have gone blind, hhow difficult
it must be for them to have to see the world differently.no pun intended.
> 
> You mentioned autistic children.most autistic  children are treated
differently than their sighted peers or peers who are not autistic, unless
their autism is mild enough where they can get away with "normalcy".  I
could be wrong here. I only know a handful of autistic people.
> 
> In the case of blind schools, I believe this starts with the parents
thinking that surely a blind school will be able to teach my child what i
cannot, and for some kids this may be true. Better send the child off to a
school where teachers specialize in disabled children than risk making a
mistake. I'm sure this last sentence is what parents must think.  It's a
valid concern, I think.
> 
> Another reason may be that schools for the blind offer the child with a
more rounded life as far as extra coriculars.  It did for me, and I only
went my last two years of high school.  Sports are adapted so that blind
people can participate, unlike your typical PE class.  This isn't to say
that PE classes at public schools can't modify their curriculum, but many
aren't going to do it just for one student, or that's how it was when i was
in high school, but I'm sure things have changed in the past six years.
> 
> Back to the training programs, many people have heard, "you can't do this.
you're blind" their entire lives. Training centers, such as the ones
sponsored by the NFB, do provide confidence building skills for the train.
This, i think, is the most important skill one can gain at a center.  For
those who have condifence, they may not need the center as much as others,
but who can say.
> 
> I hope this helps, and if I am speaking that which is incorrect in 
> anything that I have said, please feel free to correct me. :)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On Nov 10, 2013, at 7:48 PM, RJ Sandefur <joltingjacksandefur at gmail.com>
wrote:
> 
>> Why do we send blind people to training centers? Why do we send blind
people to "schools for the blind" We as blind people live in the real
world,Why do we do it? You don't see mom sending Johnny who has autism to
aschool for autistic kids!
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