[nabs-l] Interesting interaction with a professor

Wed Jan 6 18:24:30 UTC 2016

I agree it is a weird request and it is out of bounds under the ADA.
However, this may be an instance of picking your battles, and if you
want to reap the benefits of taking your exams in class, you may
decide this is not a big hurdle to jump over. So often we have to
negotiate that balance between advocating for the best access and
doing what we need to do practically to be successful. It's like the
choice between pushing and waiting for an online learning system to be
accessible vs. just hiring a reader to get through the online
coursework. Both the advocacy and practicality are important in
different situations.
As for testing in class vs. the testing center, that too is a personal
choice. Some people like the testing center and have no problems with
that approach. When I was in school I ran into some situations where
the staff in the testing center couldn't answer clarification
questions especially when the test included inaccessible technical
images that only my professor or a TA could competently describe to
me. I found it much better to test in the classroom and ask the prof
for clarification when needed. But that's just my experience.
Arielle

On 1/6/16, Elizabeth Mohnke via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hello Kaiti,
>
> What is the big deal about taking tests and exams in the testing center?
> This is how my college deals with tests and exams, and it has never been a
> problem for me. If the professor does not allow students to use computers
> in
> the classroom, then I honestly do not see how a blind student should be
> exempt from this policy. After all, if we are fighting to be treated as
> equals, we should be willing to abide by the same policies as anyone else.
>
> Warm regards,
> Elizabeth
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kaiti Shelton
> via nabs-l
> Sent: Wednesday, January 06, 2016 12:43 PM
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Kaiti Shelton <crazy4clarinet104 at gmail.com>
> Subject: [nabs-l] Interesting interaction with a professor
>
> Hi all,
>
> I've been thinking about this for a while now for a variety of reasons.
> The
> first is that I wouldn't necessarily describe it as a dilemma in need of a
> particular solution.  The second factor is that I do consider myself to be
> comfortable with my blindness, and typically have no qualms about educating
> others on the equipment I use when asked.  However, I just feel a little
> awkward about the following situation and would like to get some ideas
> bounced off of it.
>
> I'm taking a psychology course this spring, so of course I emailed the
> professor to introduce myself and start the discussion about accommodations
> in advance.  Generally the professor seems to be pretty flexible and
> willing
> to adapt the existing plans when necessary, and I think she and I can work
> well together.  However, she seems very bent on her rules regarding the use
> of technology in the classroom.
> Obviously I'm the exception to her typical rule because the
> computer/notetaker is my pencil and paper, and she isn't banishing me to
> the
> testing center for exam days like some professors have, which I do
> appreciate.  However, whether or not I can participate on exam days in the
> classroom is contingent upon me explaining to the class why I need to use a
> computer when they are not allowed to.  My knee jerk reaction was to say,
> "Well, it should be pretty obvious why I need to," but I realize that this
> professor is just trying to cover all her bases.  I just feel awkward about
> the idea of talking about my accommodations to an entire class of my peers
> (not familiar with me from my department) in a way that isn't expressly
> about educating them on blindness, etc, especially on the first day of
> classes.  I don't feel like it is fair to limit my choice of where I can
> take my exams, which apparently are in essay format, based on whether or
> not
> I want to explain how Jaws works and why I need it.
>
> I have comfortably talked about blindness and such with classes before, but
> not quite in this way.  Classmates in other gen ed courses obviously
> figured
> out that I am blind plenty of times without me even saying it, and were
> intellegent enough to ask if my computer talked to me or how it works
> before.  I only had one incident about a year ago when another student
> tried
> to use his laptop in class when he wasn't supposed to on the grounds that I
> was allowed to use one so why can't he, and the teacher just told him to
> read the syllabus and I qualified for using one because I had
> accommodations
> and talked to her ahead of time.  Part of me just doesn't get why I have to
> explain what I do to a class of people when it's obvious I can't use a
> traditional pen and paper.  I realize I'm the different learner here too,
> but this just seems weird to me.  I told the professor in our last email
> that I had never been asked to do this before and would think about it, and
> she responded basically saying that the other students are owed an
> explanation of why I can use something they can't so the rules are clear.
> I
> don't necessarily agree with that since the whole point of accommodations
> are to make access equal, but maybe I'm looking at this the wrong way.
> Thoughts?
> --
> Kaiti Shelton
>
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