[nabs-l] Training Center Questions

Fri Jun 24 00:38:03 UTC 2016

Hi Julie. I think the confidence comes mainly from the problem solving
approach that the teachers use at the NFB centers. For example, in
travel, the instructor never tells you if you are going the wrong way
or which way you should be going. He or she will ask you questions
about the sun and the traffic and other things until you figure out
how to get back on track. At first this is maddening, believe me. But
over time you start to ask yourself these same questions and you
realize that you can figure these things out without an instructor
present. For example, if I am walking around and something just
doesn't feel right, in my head I will say, "Hey wait, where's the sun?
It should be on my left but it's on my right, what's up with that?"
This happens automatically now because the instructors trained me to
pay attention to these things. There is also a lot of focus on
independent lessons which builds confidence. If something goes wrong
in a class, the instructors encourage you to try again until you get
it right.
I actually had three out of five sighted instructors while at LCB.
However, because the sighted instructors taught me to solve my own
problems instead of solving them for me, I was able to build
confidence. In addition, all the instructors believe in the
capabilities of blind people.
I remember my first cooking assignment was to make scrambled eggs.
Once my eggs were cooking, my instructor (sighted) left me alone in
the kitchen. She then came back a few minutes later and I asked her if
my eggs were done. She said "why don't you taste them?" I did, and
they were done to my liking. Now I know I can figure out if my eggs
are done by tasting them or using a variety of other nonvisual
techniques.
Before I went to LCB, I knew that blind people could do all these
things, but I didn't have the practical problem solving experience to
do them confidently myself. Through guidance and a lot of structured
practice, I was able to build both the skills and the confidence so I
don't have to go back for re-training when a new problem comes up.
This is just my experience of course.
Best, Arielle

On 6/23/16, Julie McGinnity via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Thank you kind ones for humoring me.  Keep the answers coming!
>
> My next question...  What is it about the NFB Training Centers that
> inspires such confidence in their graduates?  Aleeha is not the only
> one who has told me that confidence is the most valuable thing learned
> at a center.  I've seen it happen in people who are very close to me
> and believe its true; however, I would like to know why?  Is it that
> centers challenge their students to push themselves further than
> they've ever been pushed?  Is it learning under accomplished blind
> instructors who motivate the students?  How? What?  Why?  :)
>
> I know that center curriculum can be individualized.  That's actually
> one of the selling points for me.  Also, although I have been
> encouraged to attend a center, I have never been pressured or
> recruited much at all.  If I had, well, I don't think I would be
> seriously considering it.  That whole stubbern thing...  I get it.
>
> The point about learning things in community settings doesn't work for
> me though.  When I'm learning a skill, I have a hard time teaching a
> sighted instructor how they can teach me that skill, especially if A.
> I don't know how to do the task in question... And, B. The instructor
> isn't open to learning about blindness.  Maybe this speaks to my lack
> of confidence or my massive impatient streak.
>
> One of my beloved mentors never went to a training center.  I know it
> is not strictly necessary for getting a job and being successful.  I
> won't start writing about careers though... We would be here all
> evening...  :)
>
> I definitely agree that a student at a center gets what they put into
> it.  I suppose that is life though as well.  We get out of life what
> we expect from ourselves.  If a person feels as though a center could
> help them expand their good skills and success into brilliance and
> confidence, then maybe they should take advantage of it?  I don't
> know...  But that goes right along with my thoughts lately.  Lol
> Reason 2,800 why you don't want to live in my head...  :)  Thanks
> friends for the discussion.
>
>
> On 6/23/16, Arielle Silverman via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> Hi Julie and all,
>> Excellent discussion. I will share my experience with a center, but
>> first I want to gently challenge some misconceptions about rigidity.
>> The centers recommend six to nine months in order to have a proper
>> graduation ceremony and get a bell. However, there is nothing magical
>> about getting a bell. I have known several individuals who attended a
>> center for only a month or two and still received benefit. In fact, I
>> think our esteemed Anil Lewis attended LCB for only a few months. I
>> have also known individuals, and myself had the experience of being
>> able to finish some classes early and then focus more on other
>> classes. Some students finish cooking class requirements after only
>> four months or so, and then double up on travel or Braille. I came
>> into LCB reading over 300 words a minute, so after a month of
>> training, I was able to negotiate with the staff to attend Braille
>> only once a week. I spent the other four hours per week in kitchen
>> where I really needed and benefited from the extra time. A good friend
>> of mine went to CCB for only a month crash course after his wife
>> passed away and he wanted to get some help with daily living skills.
>> He was already employed, so he took a month's leave from work and
>> funded his own training. My point is there are all kinds of situations
>> where center training can work and the centers are flexible about
>> working with students on meeting their goals in their own time frame.
>> To answer the original question, I went to LCB between undergrad and
>> grad school. I had thought about going during undergrad, but waited
>> mainly because I had a big scholarship and was worried about
>> complications from deferring my enrollment in school. By the time I
>> went to LCB, I had lived on my own successfully and had even studied
>> abroad in Australia. The main reason I wanted to attend the center was
>> to improve my street travel skills. While I could get around OK in
>> familiar areas or with the help of a mobility instructor, I had a lot
>> of trouble with unfamiliar environments and with street crossings. In
>> that regard LCB helped me to become a safer and more efficient
>> traveler. While I still get myself turned around sometimes, I am now
>> more tuned in to my environment and can get myself back on track a lot
>> more easily than I could before. I can also walk through a new route
>> once or twice and learn it instead of having to practice and memorize
>> routes over and over. While I think I would have been an OK traveler
>> without the center, I think the travel skills I gained made it much
>> easier for me to learn my way around new cities, and I am in my third
>> new city now since training. The other major benefit I got out of the
>> center, as I mentioned, was cooking skills and confidence to try new
>> recipes. I could cook a few things before training, but I wasn't
>> fluent in the kitchen and I didn't trust myself to know when things
>> were done for example. Now I am a lot more confident preparing new
>> recipes, managing my time and multitasking in the kitchen.
>> I do agree with Joe that if you think you may want to go to a center,
>> it is easier to do it when you are younger and have less adult
>> responsibilities. I think that all blind adults could benefit from
>> spending even a few weeks at an NFB center, but I also recognize that
>> for many of us, the incremental benefit may not be worth the sacrifice
>> of time or freedom. Ultimately you will have to think about whether
>> there are things you wish you knew how to do or that you wish you
>> could do better, and if you think going to a center would help move
>> you closer to those goals. That is a very individual decision.
>> I am happy to talk more about specific details off list if you want.
>> Best, Arielle
>>
>> On 6/23/16, Joe via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>> Hello,
>>>
>>> I have never attended a training center and do not regret it. For the
>>> sake
>>> of specificity, I'll put out there that I'm referring to the NFB
>>> training
>>> centers.
>>>
>>> First, there is a certain rigidity to the traditional timeframe of six
>>> to
>>> nine months. Yes, this speaks to a person's inability to put their life
>>> on
>>> hold the older you get, but it also touches on the program's refusal to
>>> offer flexibility. It's a zero sum arrangement of offering the entire
>>> curriculum as opposed to breaking it down to specific areas where the
>>> individual wants the most concentration. Is it feasible for someone to
>>> take
>>> just one class all day? Probably not, but then the training center could
>>> offer a minimum threshold where the student agrees to take a reduced
>>> course
>>> load, making it profitable for the center and practical for the student.
>>> In
>>> doing so one would hope the time commitment would naturally be reduced.
>>>
>>> Second, for the working adult, it's not economically feasible. Unless
>>> the
>>> training center student is simultaneously doing something else for
>>> professional development, time at the training center creates a resume
>>> gap.
>>> For a hiring manager it's interesting to read about a candidate who took
>>> time off to better themselves, but a story of how you spent time
>>> building
>>> your independence sounds more like a reflective college admissions
>>> essay.
>>> In
>>> the job market, the candidate who took the same length of time to
>>> educate
>>> themselves or hold down a relevant job will present a stronger case for
>>> employment. The training could work while simultaneously building
>>> professional development. There are students at LCB, for example, and
>>> probably the other two centers who enroll in college courses, courses
>>> which
>>> have to be paid for, but then it becomes a matter of priorities. Are you
>>> taking college courses for the sake of taking courses? Is your NFB
>>> training
>>> likely to suffer if you simultaneously take on the demands of another
>>> obligation? To a degree one could argue the NFB training experience is a
>>> total emersion for a reason.
>>>
>>> Of course there is the matter of paying for the NFB training itself. I
>>> would
>>> venture to guess the vast majority of training is paid for with
>>> government
>>> funds. If a person is between jobs, perhaps it makes sense to seek
>>> training
>>> since one need not worry about the income requirements to be eligible
>>> for
>>> certain services. If an adult is gainfully employed, are they making
>>> enough
>>> to afford training? More to the point, is the employer likely to extend
>>> that
>>> much leave for the employee to receive independent living skills? If so,
>>> that is one heck of an employer we should all be wanting to work for. :)
>>>
>>> Next, for me there was never a uniqueness factor. The biggest selling
>>> point
>>> for an NFB training center is the level of confidence cultivated by
>>> confident, and competent, blind instructors, but does one necessarily
>>> have
>>> to attend an NFB training center to find this confidence? I could teach,
>>> and
>>> actually have taught, people different skills in my local area
>>> completely
>>> free of charge. There are means to learn technology and cooking from any
>>> number of community resources, meetups and the like, and one could argue
>>> these training scenarios would be preferable because one would
>>> presumably
>>> learn these skills from fellow sighted teachers. That seems like a dual
>>> teaching opportunity, but if blindness-specific training is what is
>>> being
>>> sought, the number of instructional podcasts by blind hosts for blind
>>> audiences is off the charts. Braille could be learned and improved upon
>>> through Hadley courses, pen pals and consistent practice.
>>>
>>> The only possible exception is travel instruction. Yet, it's only a
>>> possible
>>> exception, because NFB training centers could employ field travel
>>> instructors who could be deployed to specific areas to provide
>>> individual
>>> instruction similar to what guide dog schools offer as follow-up
>>> service.
>>> Again, this is an innovative strategy I wish modern NFB training
>>> programs
>>> incorporated into their curriculums. Nevertheless, most state agencies
>>> offer
>>> instructors on contract who could fulfill travel instruction needs, many
>>> of
>>> whom have graduated from the Louisiana Tech program.
>>>
>>> Putting all that aside, what a wonderful outreach opportunity for local
>>> NFB
>>> chapters. It would kind of be like putting your money where your mouth
>>> is.
>>> I
>>> learned how to confidently navigate the DC Metro system with the help of
>>> a
>>> local chapter member and became loyal to that chapter for that reason
>>> alone.
>>>
>>> Finally, I never bought into the marketing tactics. Guide dog schools do
>>> something similar where they try to sell you on independence if you get
>>> one
>>> of their canines. Likewise, I personally felt like NFB training centers
>>> worked hard at peddling their own special independence product. With
>>> certain
>>> exceptions, you will get out of a training program, any training
>>> program,
>>> whatever you put into it. If the NFB training centers were selling
>>> something
>>> ground-shaking, one could argue the unemployment rate among the blind
>>> would
>>> have seen a persistent trend downward, but either the centers with the
>>> scores of graduates each year aren't actually independent enough to
>>> reverse
>>> the statistics or the NFB is following suspicious statistics to start.
>>>
>>> Having said that, the committed person should attend a training center
>>> if
>>> that is their heart's passion. There is a difference between taking
>>> online
>>> college courses and living the campus life. Perhaps the person feels
>>> they
>>> need the total emersion to gain something valuable, and no one should
>>> get
>>> in
>>> the way of that desire. But, do it for yourself and not because someone
>>> else
>>> said you should do it. The reasons I've outlined here stem from my own
>>> cynicism and sheer stubbornness. I fell into the hands of terrible
>>> recruiters who were vocal about their value of the cane over the dog, of
>>> their belief that the NFB way was the only way, and of their views that
>>> without training I would have difficulty finding a job. Well, I'm on my
>>> second guide dog, did not rely on the NFB to chart my success, and my
>>> salary
>>> says my marketability is doing just fine. Some of the crazier
>>> independent
>>> blind people I know never had anything to do with the organization. I
>>> include this bit not to give those friendly center ambassadors the
>>> virtual
>>> finger. Some of those ambassadors are some of my current friends, but
>>> the
>>> point is everyone needs something to spur them onto picking up and
>>> developing the skills needed to navigate life. Attending a training
>>> center
>>> is going to build that motivation right into the experience. If the
>>> person
>>> can find the motivation to go at it alone, they're going to be just
>>> fine.
>>> After all, there is NFB philosophy at work outside of the centers. If
>>> they
>>> need an extra boost, there's absolutely nothing wrong with taking time
>>> off.
>>> If you're reading this and thinking you may want to go to a training
>>> center,
>>> do it early. The year after high school seems like the most ideal time
>>> in
>>> your life to knock it out. The longer you wait, the harder it becomes to
>>> accommodate the training, and then people run into the difficult but
>>> understandable dilemma of weighing the pros and cons of going for
>>> training
>>> versus the inevitable reality of looking for a job. That's letting life
>>> control you. You need to control it.
>>>
>>> Alright, that's my twenty dollar's worth. This was in no way a personal
>>> bash
>>> against centers or the awesome people who have posted favorable reviews
>>> of
>>> their experience, just a different perspective to consider in making
>>> decisions.
>>>
>>> Joe
>>>
>>>
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>>
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>
>
> --
> Julie A. McGinnity
> President, National Federation of the Blind Performing Arts Division,
> Second Vice President, National Federation of the Blind of Missouri
> "For we walk by faith, not by sight"
> 2 Cor. 7
>
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