[nagdu] Class minus 5

[debby phillips]

Interesting thought, Tracy.  I think there are a few who really 
get it, but it would be like me trying to tell someone that 
learning Braille at 50 can be fun.  For some of the folks I've 
worked with, it wasn't.  They wanted and needed to learn it, but 
it wasn't fun.  For me as a 6-year-old, it was.  But there are so 
many factors that go into a person getting a new dog-their life 
experiences, how confident they feel, how long they had their 
last dog, what that relationship was like, etc.  The sign of a 
good instructor or Braille teacher, for that matter I think is to 
be able to step out of one's own experiences and try to put 
yourself in the place of the other person.  That's not always 
easy to do.  I think that some people are born with that ability, 
some people try very hard to get it, and some people just don't 
care.  But even if you have that empathy you can't let your heart 
bleed all over the place either, you have to be firm enough to 
put that aside and say, "But now we have to move forward".  
That's a tough balancing act.  I think the best description I 
ever have read of an instructor is from Peter Putnam's book "Keep 
Your Head Up, Mr.  Putnam".  I think that is the book.    Peace,    
Debby and Neena