[nabs-l] Training centers not real world

[Bridgit Pollpeter]

Ashley,

Couldn't you have accessed newspapers via online or even newsline? I had
to scour newspapers for an English class and one of my public relations
classes, and I accessed them online with few problems.

Bridgit
Message: 3
Date: Tue, 12 Nov 2013 18:01:25 -0500
From: "Ashley Bramlett" <bookwormahb at earthlink.net>
To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
	<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Training centers not real world
Message-ID: <4DF4DBA07EA74CA296F25E6E0789E8AC at OwnerPC>
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	reply-type=original

RJ,
I'm in the minority here. But I have the same questions.
I have to wonder if the students at the nfb centers really got all the 
skills and confidence they need to get out and find a job.
I, too, have met some blind people  who went to centers who are not 
employed.
I have not met anyone sitting at home with family. But they do sit
around 
collecting welfare checks in order to live a basic life.
Its very very sad.
RJ, it just goes to show that no matter what training you get, it does
not 
gaurantee success.
Some people simply don't have the gusto or advocacy skills to get jobs.
Its 
harder to get a job as a blind person.
You have to advocate and educate the employers. I remember  calling up a

nonprofit, national crime prevention council,
NCPC, to get a communications internship. I was responding to an ad on
my 
school's career  database.
I had to explain who I was and see if the job was too visual  to do. It 
turns out that I could not do a main part of the job as it involved
reading 
newspapers to search for certain stories.
So, long story short, I explained I could not read printed newspapers
but I 
could do other tasks and said what it was.
I had to sell my skills in order not to be written off.
So, they made another internship for me and I still did a few
communications 
tasks  like press releases.
But, I had to do some advocacy and education; I had to explain jaws too
and 
they were accomodating as I installed jaws there.

So I got that unpaid internship.
It takes a lot to get a job.
Just because we have a large unemployment rate,  does not mean centers
are 
bad.
Oh, and I do not believe the statistic anyway; I think its an inflated
lie. 
Everyone I know in nfb is employed except for a few people in other 
chapters.
I also think that 70 percent stat is way outdated and it includes people

with multiple disabilities.

So, to conclude, no center is perfect but I'd have to say it does a lot
to 
help you be an independent person in life.

Ashley