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

Sun Feb 7 04:10:06 UTC 2016

Danielle, you took the words right out of my mouth. I applaud you.:)
But there is one thing I'm grateful for when it comes to attending a
blind school. I am grateful for the friends I made and some of the
teachers I admire, especially my English teacher, who treated me and
everyone else normally and like we were the transitioning into college
students that we were. And for that, God bless her.
But to everything else, I agree.The results of this are, however, I've
been so out of it (because I hadn't attended any public school since
2010, and haven't really gone to any school with my blind and VI
friends as backup), college now is terrifying. Even if it is community
college, because I'm the only one on campus who is blind. It's scary
and yes, I have to put my advocacy skills to work--and I do mean
work--but I have to do it.
That's another thing with the state blind schools and public ones. At
my state's blind school, when we did college, all the paperwork like
transcripts, etc., was sent from our blind school to the college.
Writing for scholarships was easier because our verifiers like
counselors and such were there. At public school, you had better learn
to communicate and to find the right people for everything and stay on
top of things.

On 2/6/16, Danielle Sykora via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> As someone who has only been to public school, I am extremely greatful
> that my education was in this setting. Although it was challenging at
> times, I'm glad I was in "the real world" from the beginning. Though
> most of my work was available, accessibility challenges were always an
> unfortunate but unavoidable part of life I learned to deal with long
> ago. Most people viewed me as "that blind girl", but honestly, this is
> how it usually is as a minority. A similar hierarchy exists among
> blind people as it does in your average school environment. I'm not an
> overly social person, so it doesn't make a huge difference to me--I
> don't deal with people who have a superiority complex and I'm
> perfectly happy with just a few close friends. The "your so amazing"
> comments irritate me to no end and I actually tend to discredit
> compliments as products of low expectations, so I'm not sure the sense
> of entitlement happens all that often. Most importantly though, I
> needed to be in an academically challenging environment that I'm not
> sure is always available in a residential school for the blind. For
> example, how many AP science classes would be available in one of
> these schools?
>
> Danielle
>
> On 2/6/16, Vejas Vasiliauskas via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> 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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