[nagdu] Group Fights To Reinvigorate Braille Use from the TampaTribune

[Marion & Martin]

Lora,
    Thanks for the reply! It was very unexpected to read this article, 
forwarded to me by the national office. I mentioned Braille literacy in 
another interview a few weeks ago and didn't expect this article. A pleasant 
surprise! It's good to have someone in the media who seems to get it!

Fraternally,
Marion


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Lora and Myrtle" <blindhistory at gmail.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, December 30, 2008 1:00 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Group Fights To Reinvigorate Braille Use from the 
TampaTribune


> Good article.
>
> On Tue, Dec 30, 2008 at 9:22 AM, Sherrill O'Brien <
> sherrill.obrien at verizon.net> wrote:
>
>> Hello all,
>>
>> This article, featuring none other than our NAGDU president, appeared in
>> the
>> first section of our Tampa Tribune this morning!  As many of you know, 
>> NFB
>> is encouraging individuals and chapters to celebrate Louis Braille's
>> birthday by reaching out to educate people about the current crisis in
>> Braille literacy.  (Note the silly comments at the end, however.) 
>> Anyway,
>> cudos to Marion for sparking interest in the reporter who wrote this 
>> story!
>>
>> Sherrill
>>
>> Group Fights To Reinvigorate Braille Use
>> By LAURA FRAZIER
>>
>> lfrazier at tampatrib.com
>>
>> Published: December 30, 2008
>>
>> PALM RIVER - Audio books and software that converts speech to text and
>> vice-versa bring the written word to light for visually impaired people.
>> But
>> those who never learn to read and write using Braille might be missing
>> something.
>>
>> To illustrate the relevance of the time-honored, raised-dot system, the
>> National Federation of the Blind will launch a yearlong Braille Literacy
>> campaign Sunday, the 200th anniversary of Louis Braille's birth.
>>
>> The group announced its upcoming crusade Dec. 23 in New York with the 
>> debut
>> of a video that will air on a big screen in Times Square once an hour
>> through Friday.
>>
>> Palm River resident Marion Gwizdala, president of the federation's East
>> Hillsborough chapter, said "it's a crisis" that fewer than 10 percent of
>> blind children today are taught to read with the system Braille developed
>> in
>> the 1820s.
>>
>> "There is a misconception that technology is going to make Braille
>> obsolete," Gwizdala said. "But the spoken word does not provide you with
>> all
>> the information printed words do."
>>
>> When a person reads Braille, he said, "You see the words and the spelling
>> and punctuation with your fingers. How can you learn to spell a word that
>> you've only heard and never seen?"
>>
>> Gwizdala and other advocates think Braille is the key to education,
>> employment and success for the blind.
>>
>> He said in these tough economic times, the significance of Braille 
>> literacy
>> is magnified.
>>
>> "More than 74 percent of blind people today are either unemployed or
>> under-employed," he said. "Braille readers face far less unemployment."
>>
>> For information about the campaign, visit www.braille.org.
>>
>> Reporter Laura Frazier can be reached at (813) 657-4523.
>>
>> Voice your opinion by posting a comment.
>> 1
>> Posted by ( TylerDurden ) on 12/30/2008 at 07:50 am.
>>
>> Here a TylerCo, we aggressively hire the blind for our security guard
>> needs.
>> Studies show they are every bit as attentive as sighted guards, tend to
>> sleep less and their dogs are very popular with kids visiting our
>> world-wide
>> HQ. We did get some bad press just before Thanksgiving, however. PETA
>> claims
>> they caught one of our guards swinging his seeing eye dog around by the
>> tail. Local police did get invloved but later dropped charges when it was
>> determined the guard was "just making his rounds."
>>
>> Report Inappropriate Comments
>>
>> Posted by ( Old_Crusty ) on 12/30/2008 at 08:01 am.
>>
>> TylerD, I should beat ya with a red tipped cane; when I quit laughing! 
>> ;-}
>>
>> Report Inappropriate Comments
>>
>>
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>
>
>
> -- 
> Lora and Leader Dog Myrtle
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