[nabs-l] Guide dogs and training centers

[Arielle Silverman]

Dear all:
As the currently appointed list moderator and a former president of
NABS, I have a few concerns about how this discussion has transpired.
First, I believe it is absolutely not our place to shut down anybody's
opinion or shared experiences even those that happen to be critical of
NFB or its training centers. I am a proud LCB grad myself, and I
understand our tendency to be defensive and protective of the centers,
but if we want to support informed choice for our members, then we
need to allow our members to read about both good and bad experiences
with the centers. It is also important for the fallible human beings
who run our centers to receive honest feedback about how the centers
can be improved. So I am concerned about the implication that Tyler's
critical comments were "insignificant". Second, I don't think it is
necessary for folks to disclose their organizational affiliation when
sharing opinions. We are mainly made up of young people and some of us
are agnosticabout organization or exploring to decide which
organization we want to join. Tyler stated his opinion as his own not
that of the ACB. Third, I do think that some of Tyler's language could
have been toned down a bit particularly the Kool-Aid reference. A good
rule of thumb to share a negative opinion respectfully is to use I
statements, such as "I felt angry and disappointed when the center
turned me down for a summer position". Also, focusing on facts rather
than rhetoric in your comments will make them less emotionally
devisive and people will be more likely to listen objectively rather
than reacting to them.
I do want to address Hope's comment about the centers teaching
everyone the same curriculum. This was not my experience at LCB. I
came in with advanced Braille and tech skills and was allowed to skip
to advanced concepts after a brief assessment to prove that I knew the
basics. I don't know which center's representative you talked with,
but I feel that this person's response to you wasn't very
professional. I might suggest contacting the director of that center
to get a better idea of how the curriculum would be tailored to your
needs. It is also not uncommon for individuals to spend only a few
months at a center and they can benefit a lot even if they don't
officially graduate.
As a non-dog user, I can't comment extensively on the guide dog
policies, but I empathize with both sides of the argument. I could
also see how they might want the summer program instructors to use
canes in order to model those skills. But it seems like this
expectation could have been better conveyed before or during the
interview.

Best,
Arielle Silverman, List Moderator