[nabs-l] Training centers not the real world

Mon Nov 11 16:56:24 UTC 2013

I agree with Joe! What about a blind adult who has just gone blind, and she
has a ten year old daughter? My friend is unable to attend a training center
due to her having a child. RJ
----- Original Message -----
From: "Joe" <jsoro620 at gmail.com>
To: "'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'"
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, November 10, 2013 10:59 PM
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Training centers not the real world


> 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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