[nagdu] teaching the public

Sat Apr 6 18:00:23 UTC 2013

Julie, A lot of good advice for everyone. What I like and think I will
take with me today, is the 'just ask' lesson. That is a very important
lesson. When I was teaching, all of my kindergarteners knew that they
should never approach a dog they did not know without asking first.
Now-a-days I am often approached by children asking and I explain to
them why I do not allow her to be petted by others. They understand. I
also thank them for asking. The adults on the other hand just act and
never think to ask. I think, giving a lesson like this when in a mixed
group is an excellent idea as it will teach the adults without them
thinking or realizing they are being taught. Well, gotta get ready
now. Thanks again for all of your great ideas. Eve

On Sat, Apr 6, 2013 at 4:38 AM, Julie J. <julielj at neb.rr.com> wrote:
> Eve,
>
> I just did presentations for the Boy Scouts.  They had a disabilities
> awareness day, which I think could use some improvement, but that's another
> post for another list.  Anyway I had only 10 minutes with each small group
> of boys.  I first explained that I'm blind, which means I need to use other
> ways of doing things instead of looking at them.  This would seem obvious,
> but I've learned that a lot of people don't really get "blind".  Then I move
> on to the two main ways blind people use to move about, cane or dog.  I tell
> them that both methods work just fine and that every blind person has to
> figure out which they like or works best for them.  I introduce Monty, who
> was laying beside me.  I explain that when he is guiding me I hold onto the
> handle and walk a step behind his shoulders.  I feel which way he is moving
> from his shoulder movement, which travels through the harness handle.  This
> is where I get a lot of odd questions.  I've found explaining it like
> dancing gets my point across about the best.  I explain that Monty will stop
> if there's something he wants me to know about or if we can't go around, but
> that I make all the choices of which way we are going.  People think you
> tell the dog "post office" and magically the dog takes you there.
>
> Over the years I have simplified my list of guide dog rules down to just
> one, *ask*.  I think that one about covers it and if they can remember just
> one thing I hope it is that one thing.  I emphasize it a lot.  If they want
> to pet, ask.  If they want to give food, ask, If they want to talk to the
> dog, ask.  Otherwise they should completely ignore the dog.  I think the
> just ask approach does a lot of things extremely simply.  If the kids are
> asking, then they are learning to view the blind person as the leader of the
> team.  They are learning basic dog etiquette that will serve them well with
> any sort of service dog team, police dog or even pets.  The just ask rule is
> extremely universal and flexible for any situation.  It allows each handler
> to manage the situation as he/she sees fit.
>
> Sometimes I let people pet, but usually not.  Either way I *always* smile
> and tell them "thank you for asking".
>
> Then I take questions.  I don't do demonstrations unless I can't figure a
> way out of it gracefully.  I've only ever done one.  Monty worked it
> perfectly, but because the group didn't understand the finer points of how
> we work they all thought he had made several mistakes.  I tried to explain
> the subtleties, but there just isn't time in these sorts of presentations. I
> left feeling very frustrated.
>
> I have also done presentations at schools, visually impaired peer support
> groups, the senior center and of course it comes up from time to time when
> I'm doing presentations for work.  A couple of years ago I was presenting to
> a group of business leaders about the county programs I administer and I
> think there were just as many questions about the dog as juvenile crime.
> *smile*
>
> If you enjoy these presentations and are looking for places to contact to
> offer your time maybe look at church groups, Chamber of Commerce member
> events, Health Department, schools, colleges especially the special ed or
> diversity studies, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, leadership groups, 4-H,
> children's museums, etc.  Something I have noticed through my county job is
> that more and more anytime there is state or federal grant funding, there is
> usually some component of diversity or disability or something.  There are
> trainings held to "educate" the people applying for and manageing these
> grants about these topics.  Although I had never attended a "diversity"
> training presented by a "diverse" person...except once.  I don't know of any
> easy way to find these opportunities though.
>
> HTH I hope you have fun and that the people learn a lot!
> Julie
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message----- From: Eve Sanchez
> Sent: Friday, April 05, 2013 11:35 PM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: [nagdu] teaching the public
>
>
> Tomorrow there is a canine fashion show being put on as a fund raising
> event for a new K--9 for the Yavapaih County Marshalls. There are many
> silly things going on to get the community happy. There also some
> educational things going on to enlighten the community. First on the
> agenda is a presentation by yours truly on guide dogs. I did a
> presentation with my dog just last week during a dinner and know that
> there is an upcoming presentation on the schedule with a local church
> group. In other words, I am busy becoming an ambassador and educater
> about guide dogs and guide dog users. I am sure that many of you have
> done these types of things also and would love to hear about your
> experiences. It is not that I am some great speaker or anything. I
> just get asked. Also, in my community, there are a total of three
> guide dogs. WE JUST DONT HAVE THE NUMBERS
> I would really like to hear about what you all do with your dogs, not
> to compare, but to get more ideas of how we could all get involved and
> what others do that might be good ideas to borrow on. Thanks, Eve
>
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