[nabs-l] Guide Dogs, Training Centers, and NFB

Trevor Attenberg tattenberg at gmail.com
Sun Sep 13 00:22:53 UTC 2015


Hi all a all y'all,

I must admit, computer training was probably the least positive of my class
experiences at LCB way back in 2003. I came in an excellent typist, and
quite capable with creating documents and navigating Windows with JAWS-this
was before Voiceover mind you; but they had me spend weeks proving that I
could do these things by way of essays I had to type up and get proofread
within the constraints of an hour long class with multiple students. I
didn't have my own computer at the time and wasn't allowed to proceed to
other computer activities on their machines until I completed the prescribed
tasks. There wasn't much time left in my training stint to cover the stuff
that would prove really important in my future. This was not so much how it
worked in Braille and travel, where I was able to leap ahead to activities
based on my level of skill.  

That said, when I taught tech at BLIND, Inc. this summer, I was able to
customize my lessons according to what the students wanted. As I was just a
summer instructor, I don't know how exactly teaching varies in this regard
from center to center. Regarding the situation for dogs, I am not quite an
expert on what is demanded; but I know if you aren't teaching travel, you're
not going to be very mobile during the day, unless there are field trips.
There's not much use for a cane or pup in the kitchen, computer lab, etc. I
know at BLIND, Inc. students and staff with dogs were able to take their
dogs out during class breaks, when we are pretty much free to do what we
want. I don't know if they want everyone to be using canes exclusively for
simple things like going to the bathroom and what not, or on day trips. This
might vary from place to place. Judging from my experience at BLIND, Inc.
and Colorado, staff people are certainly permitted to use their dogs outside
of regular classes. If a staff person isn't allowed to use a dog during
classes like braille and tech, I can't exactly explain it, other than that
the students need to use canes, and perhaps they simply want staff to
conform to what the students are doing. At LCB, and probably for the most
part at the other centers, a student's travel between classrooms, on field
trips, etc. is all considered an aspect of mobility training, and thus canes
are required. I can't answer for the centers as to the exact reason why
canes are so favored; but my guess is that it has to do with the training
and problem solving opportunities a cane offers and a dog does not. That is
not to put down the utility of dogs as a travel aid. The policies are
certainly not some institutionalized condescension towards dogs and their
people. If that was the case, then there wouldn't be so many staff at these
centers that use dogs. I believe Pam Allen (head of LCB) did use a dog for a
while. In Colorado in 2000, almost all of my instructors had a dog,
including Melissa (now Riccobono).

                As per the NFB, there's really no litmus test for
participating in the organization. They think blindness shouldn't be a
factor that will stop you in pursuing what you want in life, but you need
not be a human drone, or some marathon-running, astrophysicist. I certainly
don't agree with everything that is decided upon in resolutions, elections,
and moves decided upon by the board members and whoever influences them.
Like other organizations, it is what the members make of it, and from my
experience, such people run the gamut from stooges that will make you gag to
stars that'll make you feel inadequate. In my experiences, like at the
conventions, I'll go to one event, where I detect nothing but a mob of dumb,
snobby assholes (like myself), and I'll go to another event where I'll
encounter some of the greatest, nicest, most inspiring people I've ever met
(like myself). The latter situation together with the benefits I did get
from the LCB are probably the biggest reasons why I'm still involved. The
federation unfortunately currently draws in more people from some regions of
the country than others, and that can mean lots of geographical and
cultural-based baggage-you get cliques and pear pressure, but there it is.
I've encountered the same thing in other big organizations. 

I greatly appreciate your attention!

Trevor          

P.S. Is there any way I can respond directly to a string of emails when I am
getting the messages in digest form?

PPS, In the wise words of one Bill Clinton, "can't we all just get along?"
Very sad that there is such a political schism in the blind world.




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