[nabs-l] Training centers not the real world

[Bridgit Pollpeter]

Minh,

You seem to have had a very fortunate experience. I lost my sight as an
adult, but in my experience, most blind people, especially children,
don't have an experience like yours. If more families adopted an
attitude like yours, we may not be having this discussion.

And on a side note, I notice few people have analytical reasoning skills
and the ability to be self-taught regardless of disability. Some people,
for whatever reason, don't possess the ability to learn this way,
therefore requiring a more formal teaching process.

And life skills, these can easily be taught to blind people without
shipping off to a specialized training center. But skills like Braille,
adaptive technology, cane travel, etc., these are specialized skills
that are not always easily picked up. It's for these skills that
training centers are necessary.

I think how we comport ourselves has a lot to do with how the world
perceives us and our abilities. Right or wrong, when you present
yourself to an employer, they are immediately judging you based on
physical appearance. If you walk in well-groomed, confident and polite,
this goes a long way, sighted or blind. If you enter a room appearing to
not be confident and not looking polished physically and mentally, an
employer will automatically have red flags. This is just human nature.

So, sadly, few blind people are provided the experience afforded you in
this department. They don't naturally possess confidence, and
regretfully, many people in their lives do not foster a spirit of
confidence. So without training centers, I do think fewer people would
be employed. This isn't to say that getting a job will be easy as a
blind person because you received training or carry yourself with
confidence, but your chances certainly are better.

And yes, a few studies have been conducted pointing to the advantage of
attending a training center for the blind. Those with this background,
especially those not taught nonvisual skills beforehand, do better in
school, employment and life in general.

Bridgit
Message: 3
Date: Mon, 11 Nov 2013 00:33:06 -0500
From: minh ha <minh.ha927 at gmail.com>
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
	<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Training centers not the real world
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All the proponents of training centers, NFB or otherwise keep saying how
going to one will give blind individuals the skills they need to gain
employment or to be successful. I'm just wondering how these success
stories are measured? Do the majority of graduates gain employment
afterwards because of their new found independence skills and are these
numbers higher than those that do not attend training centers? Maybe
it's different for me because I had vision for the first few years of my
life, but all the skills that I've acquired over the years, I learned
from my family and friends. I remember growing up, cooking was one of
the activities that my best friend and I experimented together; she
didn't know cooking skills either so we played around in the kitchen and
taught ourselves how to use a stove, etc. I think we place too much
responsibility on others--if I want to learn something, I teach myself
or I ask someone who knows it to teach me. Furthermore, I can't see
myself taking 6-9 months to essentially remove myself from society to
focus on blindness skills so I can gain employment. I have had many
internships and opportunities in college because I actually go out there
and network and present myself to potential employers. My point is
experience is the best teacher--I can learn all the independence skills
I need at a center, but it's not going to do me any good without the
experience.

Minh