[nabs-l] Training centers not the real world

justin williams justin.williams2 at gmail.com
Mon Nov 11 17:16:49 UTC 2013


Very true.  Everyone has had different experiences and may not have had the
ability and the resources to learn or to self-teach themselves.   Also, I
have taught some consumers who told me that they self-taught themselves
JAWS.  They had okay basic skills, but tried to come off to me as if they
were experts.  I quickly showed them that they had a log way to go.  A good
teacher is a great ghing.  Most of us would not have learned without them.
Sure, I and the rest of you have self-taught our-selves some things.  Good
luck teaching yourself jaws skills Cane skills, Braille and home management
without some help.  You may get one down perfectly, but the others won't be
as good .  The things that sighted people observe about dress we have to be
told, or shown.  The centers act as a pool of knowledge in one place, like a
huge database.   

-----Original Message-----
From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Bridgit
Pollpeter
Sent: Monday, November 11, 2013 11:51 AM
To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Subject: [nabs-l] Training centers not the real world

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
Message-ID:
	
<CAAJqG9hYUgmy=_M2GLmwOmdknimkhUc6Y=Fgg8fBdHC0z6RX-g at mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252

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


_______________________________________________
nabs-l mailing list
nabs-l at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
nabs-l:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/justin.williams2%40gmail
.com





More information about the NABS-L mailing list