[nagdu] Guide dog schools

[Tracy Carcione]

Hi Raven.
I have experienced the same level of helpfulness at TSE and GDB.  I guess I 
just don't call it by the same name.

When I've been caught by a trainer doing something against the rules, he or 
she has not exactly scolded me, but has pointed out why the rule is in 
place.
I think that's better than ignoring the transgression.  It makes sure I know 
the reason, but leaves the choice up to me.
Sorry, but I've met plenty of Guiding Eyes graduates who don't exercise any 
discipline over their dogs at all, or so it seems to me.  I've also met some 
who do, but, as usual, it's the slobs who stick out. Maybe I just run into 
more GEB users around New York, too.
Tracy

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Raven Tolliver" <ravend729 at gmail.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, February 05, 2014 11:23 AM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Guide dog schools


> Hi Tracy,
> As someone who attended GEB, I believe the family atmosphere that most
> students' experience has more to do with the level of attention and
> help they receive from everyone, not just their assigned instructor.
> The instructors, nurses, and kitchen staff were all willing to
> accommodate students' needs and requests. If anyone needed help, there
> was always someone available who could assist you or answer your
> questions. They treated us with the most care and compassion, you
> know, like family members.
> Also, the atmosphere during my class was very casual and laid-back.
> None of the staff were uptight about anything. They would eat meals
> with us, joke around with us, and they never talked to any of us as if
> we were below them.
> In addition, while GEB set boundaries for the dogs in dorm rooms, the
> instructors never jumped down anyone's throat for not sticking to
> those boundaries. For instance, a friend of mine allowed her dog up on
> her bed. An instructor visited her to talk about something and saw
> this, but the instructor did not scold her about it at all. Another
> time, my instructor walked back to my room with me to look at
> something. When we entered my room, my dog was freely roaming my room.
> Now, we had only been together for 2 weeks. He had left my cheese and
> crackers on the night table untouched, the food bin in the open closet
> untouched, and the plastic waste bin on the ground untouched. My
> instructor did not scold me about this at all. She only commented that
> I had a very good dog.
> So that familial atmosphere has nothing to do with the negative things
> you listed. It is about the way staff interact with students. Of
> course, we associate it with our own school because that's the
> experience we have to speak of. Not because our school is hovering
> over us like helicopter parents, or because other schools don't
> measure up, or because other schools are below ours.
>
> On 2/5/14, Tracy Carcione <carcione at access.net> wrote:
>> I saw someone here with a Guiding Eyes dog trot out the old chestnut 
>> about
>> how formal The Seeing Eye is.  I guess it was formal, 40 years ago, but 
>> it
>> hasn't been so for quite a long time.  It's amazing how long that idea is
>> sticking around.
>> To me, the atmosphere at TSE was like that at GDB, what I call friendly 
>> but
>>
>> professional.
>> I often hear people talk about the "family atmosphere" of their school. 
>> I'm
>>
>> never sure what that means.  Does it mean people who feel they can poke 
>> into
>>
>> my personal business?  Does it mean people who gossip about everyone 
>> else?
>> Does it mean we're us, and they're the big smelly them?
>> None of these things appeal to me.  I'm more comfortable with friendly
>> professional--we like each other, but mainly we're here to do a great job
>> together.
>> Tracy
>>
>>
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>
>
> -- 
> Raven
>
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