[nabs-l] Really?

Thu Dec 18 17:45:20 UTC 2014

This is literally like taking a kid's hands if they hit someone! Less painful, but not less debilitating, and should not be a thought in a teacher's mind... Ever! You should instead be teaching children proper behavior with the tools vital to their success and normal functioning.

    When a man loves, he seeks no power, and therefore, he has power.
~Alan Paton

> On 18/12/2014, at 18:04, Kaiti Shelton via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> I'd love to see an O&M instructor comment on this.  That will be priceless!
> 
> KC Schools, say hello to Lady Justice!  This won't stand; the parents
> will fight back, and they'll win for sure.
> 
> We're well past the days of putting children in the corner with the
> dunce cap on to humiliate them.  Teachers all know that all students,
> no matter how poorly they behave, should be made to feel included and
> secure in a learning environment.  What infuriates me more than a
> school official taking the cane away and giving the kid a pool noodle,
> is that, out of all the faculty who saw this kid using the pool noodle
> that day, no one stepped up and tried to positively intervene.
> 
>> On 12/18/14, Aleeha Dudley via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> I saw this and was infuriated. This goes way too far. One cannot use a pool
>> noodle for a cane. Especially when some bend.
>> 
>> Aleeha Dudley and seeing eye dog Dallas
>> Vice President, Ohio Association of blind students
>> Blindcowgirl1993 at gmail.com
>> "The wind of Heaven is that which blows between a horse's ears." Arabian
>> proverb
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> 
>>> On Dec 17, 2014, at 9:56 PM, James Alan Boehm via nabs-l
>>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>> 
>>> 
>>> http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2014/1217/Kansas-City-school-punishes-blind-boy-by-replacing-cane-with-pool-noodle-video
>>> 
>>> Kansas City school punishes blind boy by replacing cane with pool noodle
>>> (+video)
>>> 
>>> The decision to punish a blind child by replacing his mobility cane with a
>>> swimming pool noodle is an "extra nasty step," says a director at the
>>> American Council of the Blind<http://acb.org/>.
>>> 
>>> Dakota
>>> Nafzinger<http://fox4kc.com/2014/12/16/north-kansas-city-school-takes-away-blind-childs-cane-replaces-it-with-pool-noodle/>,
>>> age eight, is a student at Gracemor Elementary School in Kansas City. He
>>> was born without eyes, <http://www.nkcschools.org/page.cfm?p=1828> and
>>> relies on his white mobility cane for personal freedom and the ability to
>>> move freely about his environment, according to FOX 4 in Kansas
>>> City<http://fox4kc.com/2014/12/16/north-kansas-city-school-takes-away-blind-childs-cane-replaces-it-with-pool-noodle/>.
>>> 
>>> North Kansas City Schools spokeswoman Michelle Cronk told the media that
>>> Dakota hit somebody with his cane while riding the bus and his punishment
>>> was to have his cane taken away and replaced with a foam pool noodle.
>>> 
>>> Recommended: The top 5 things never to ask your child right after
>>> school</The-Culture/Family/2012/1220/The-top-5-things-never-to-ask-your-child-right-after-school/How-was-school-today>
>>> 
>>> Ms. Cronk also reportedly said that Dakota was given the pool noodle not
>>> as a replacement for a mobility device, but rather because he needed
>>> something to hold in order to avoid fidgeting. The school also reportedly
>>> said that it owned the cane and gave it to the boy at the beginning of the
>>> school year.
>>> 
>>> In a statement released by Cronk Wednesday afternoon, the district
>>> reversed its earlier decision.
>>> 
>>> The District has reviewed the situation. We regret that a mistake was made
>>> in making sure the student was in possession of his cane when he boarded
>>> the bus Monday evening.
>>> 
>>> The District has apologized to the family and is working to rectify the
>>> situation. When we were made aware of the mistake, corrections were made.
>>> It is always the District's policy when we become aware of situations like
>>> this, we thoroughly and immediately investigate to ensure a safe learning
>>> environment for all students.
>>> 
>>> In a phone call Cronk, says: "We've been taking a lot of heat from the
>>> local community over this."
>>> 
>>> Eric Bridges, director of external relations and policy for the American
>>> Council of the Blind (ACB) says in a phone interview from his office in
>>> Arlington, Va.,  that the act of taking a blind child's cane from him as a
>>> form of punishment was "absolutely wrong and something which impedes the
>>> child's mobility."
>>> 
>>> "To do what this school did to this student is just beyond the pale," says
>>> Mr. Bridges, who is blind himself. "If you want to punish a blind child
>>> then punish him the same way you punish a sighted child - detention,
>>> suspension, sitting on a bench in the hallway. What this school did was
>>> just an extra nasty step of demeaning the child, humiliating him and
>>> robbing him of his mobility."
>>> 
>>> Bridges adds that even if the school supplied a guide to constantly be by
>>> the boy's side, the addition of the pool noodle adds a dimension of
>>> humiliation that is unacceptable.
>>> 
>>> "There's already enough stigma that comes with the white cane," Bridges
>>> added. "A pool noodle? Because he fidgets? I honestly don't know which is
>>> worse, taking his freedom of mobility or the total public humiliation."
>>> 
>>> Dakota's father, Donald Nafzinger told the media that his son lifts his
>>> cane sometimes and the bus driver thought he was using it violently.
>>> 
>>> "All around, he's a good little guy, and he shouldn't be treated the way
>>> he's being treated," Mr. Nafzinger said.
>>> 
>>> Bridges adds, "It's honestly very hard for me to get my mind around what
>>> it would take for an educated adult to come up with that punishment,"
>>> Bridges says in exasperation. "It's almost as if another eight-year-old
>>> thought that one up."
>>> 
>>> James Alan Boehm
>>> Contact Information:
>>> Phone: 901-483-1515
>>> Personal Email:
>>> jimmydagerman80 at gmail.com<mailto:jimmydagerman80 at gmail.com>
>>> NFB Email: secretary at nfb-tn.org<mailto:secretary at nfb-tn.org>
>>> Kustom Cane: kustomcane at gmail.com<mailto:kustomcane at gmail.com>
>>> 
>>> Blindness never limits-low expectations do! Live the life you want!
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
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>> 
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> 
> -- 
> Kaiti
> 
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