[nabs-l] Schools For The Blind vs Public Schools

Sun Feb 7 03:29:10 UTC 2016

I feel like as a public school student and you are blind, lots of 
people are amazed by you and you may get a false sense of 
entitlement.  Particularly in elementary school 'I'm sure a lot 
of people can relate to th', you get paired with friends who are 
there to help you at lunch and recess--as you get older this of 
course doesn't happen, and it can be a shock to some people.
I can say now that as a student at LCB I am not "The Blind Kid", 
and there are groups here, but friends choose each other based on 
much more meaningful reasons.
Vejas
 ----- Original Message -----
From: Kayla James via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Sat, 6 Feb 2016 21:12:47 -0600
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Schools For The Blind vs Public Schools

>From someone who has done both, there isn't a whole lot of 
difference.
In public school, you will be the "blind" kid, new, and people 
will be
scared of you, but it helps you deal more with the real world 
where
you are a minority in a sense.  Residential blind schools are 
like
public schools, you'll be the "blind" kid there, too, and 
depending on
the hierarchy, because let's face it there is one, that can be 
good or
bad.
The popular kids are usually visually impaired, athletic, pretty, 
you
name it.  Totals are in on it, too.  The pros: you are around 
your own
set, if you will.

On 2/6/16, Christina Moore via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
 I believe both settings have thier benefits and disadvantages.
 I attended a school for the blind from 2-4 grade and was a 
residental
 student.  I did not mind in any not being at home and being at 
the
 school for the blind allowed me to be around other kids, advance 
my
 braille skills, learn some other necessary skills and gain
 self-confidence I would not otherwise have had.
 Once I entered public school in fifth grade it waws a hurtle for 
me to
 do math and to accept being in a public school because my whole 
world
 was different.  My school was learning how to help me as they 
were
 going and that was challenging at time.  It was not thier fault, 
but it
 was still challenging.  I did well though and am in college now.
 I believe both experiences have their advantages and 
disadvantages.
 For instance, there is more self-advocacy, need to prove 
yourself to
 classmates Etc.  in a school that is public versus a school that
 catters to blindness.  Everyone in my opinion should have an 
experience
 of starting out in a school for the blind in some way and then 
they
 should be transitioned into a public school where they finish 
thier
 education.
 Just my thoughts.

 On 2/6/16, jessica hodges via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
 I believe schools for the blind can have some benefits.  If you 
go there
 as a residential student, depending on the school, and the 
quality of
 education, you can get a lot of skills that can serve you very 
well in
 life after graduation, if you keep practicing them.  However, I 
believe
 that a student should also have some public school exposure, to 
teach
 self advicasy, as well as how to cope when things when all 
materials and
 experiences are not accessible, and optimized for blindness.  
The issue
 that I find with blind schools is that they basically hand the 
students
 the world on a silver platter.  They don't have to fight for 
anything,
 make due with anything that isn't perfectly accessible, and so 
have no
 exposure in how to deal with things in the "real world," outside 
the
 sphere of the blind school.  I went to a blind school from my 
third to
 sixth grade year, and was home schooled through seventh grade, 
so I
 struggled integrating back into the school system, particularly 
in math,
 trying to adapt to a visually taught class and things.  I also 
didn't
 stay at the school, so I did not learn half of the skills that I 
could
 have.
       In conclusion, I believe it is good to give students 
experience in
 both public, and blind school settings.
 Hope this helps.
 Jessica

 On 2/6/2016 4:42 PM, Roanna Bacchus via nabs-l wrote:
 Good evening Students,

 I have a question for all of you.  What are the advantages and
 disadvantages of attending a residential school for the blind vs 
a
 public school? I could not handle being away from my family 
during the
 week.  As a toddler I attended the Early Intervention program at 
the
 Perkins School For The Blind.  I'd like to hear your thoughts on 
this
 topic.

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