[nabs-l] Training centers not the real world

Mon Nov 11 17:03:59 UTC 2013

Is this an issue with training centers? It has already been pointed out 
that they are hard for people to just up and leave.
On 11/11/2013 11:56 AM, RJ Sandefur wrote:
> 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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