[NAGDU] Apprentice Instructor
Julie Johnson
julielj at neb.rr.com
Mon Aug 7 13:16:41 UTC 2017
I have worked with two other people who were new to guide dogs. Rox has
also. Wayne has trained dogs for others. Meghan trained my Jetta, then
brought her here and helped me with getting started. I'm sure there are
other blind people that could be added to this list. In addition there are
loads of owner trainers and blind people teaching cane travel. It's
obvious that all the skills and techniques exist. All we need is to put
them all together in one place.
Training a guide dog is not rocket science. It requires some knowledge, a
ton of hard work and a decent amount of perseverance, but it is not
exceptionally mentally complicated. There is too often this mystique around
guide dog training. It's not any more magical than airplanes. As long as
we keep thinking its some kind of unexplained magic, we are never going to
make any progress on entering the field of guide dog training.
I used to think brain surgery was kind of magical. Then I met a couple of
brain surgeons. They are just regular people with a lot of education. Also
they do not know everything, which was actually comforting to me. It
confirmed to me it's science, not magic.
Likewise, I've met and talked to a fair number of guide dog trainers over
the years. They are all just people. They are knowledgeable, passionate
about their work, and interested in learning new things. However they do
not have any magical powers. Sometimes they are wrong or they change their
minds about best practices in training. They do not have all the answers
for everything. Again, it's reassuring to me that guide dog trainers
approach problem situations the same way that I do. Address the most likely
or obvious thing first and systematically try new solutions until you find
something that works.
If you missed the NAGDU trainer talk segment, go and listen to the
recording. Excellent, excellent stuff. The question from the audience
about what to do for a dog who relieves on route was especially interesting
to me. The trainer suggestions were exactly what I've heard here and
elsewhere from other handlers. We have the ability to problem solve and
come up with solutions the same as professional trainers.
Again a blind person is not going to be able to pop into the job of a guide
dog instructor exactly as it is now and be successful. There will
definitely need to be some accommodations and alternative techniques used.
It's likely that readers and drivers will be needed. Some sort of two way
headsets could be used to keep in constant communication. A bell or other
sound device could be temporarily added to the dogs harness to make it
easier for the blind instructor to be aware of the dogs location. These
are all just details though. It's no different than any other job a blind
person might do.
When starting every job I've ever had, including running my own business,
I've not had all the answers when I started. I've had to label things in
Braille, hire drivers, figure out how to focus a projector, monitor children
in a group, teach someone how to operate a kitchen appliance I'd never used
before, navigate large buildings in other cities, use a hot cutter and so so
many other things. I think a new blindness challenge comes up pretty much
daily. Today's is taking pictures. It's likely I'll take a lot of them
before I get a system figured out and that's okay.
There are really only two obstacles to having blind people as guide dog
instructors...first to the best of my knowledge and beliefs, none of the
current programs are truly dedicated to making this happen. It will take
some time to figure out what works and what doesn't. The blind person is
going to have to have the opportunity to try, mess up and try again until
the right set of alternative approaches are worked out. That is the nature
of trying new things. It rarely, if ever, all comes together perfectly on
the first try.
The second issue is blind people. The sad truth is that there are a lot of
blind people who believe that cane travel instructors have to be sighted to
be safe, effective or legitimate. Its clear that this same belief holds
true at even the thought of a blind person as a guide dog instructor. How
can we expect any guide dog school to hire a blind instructor if the blind
students are going to refuse to be trained by that person? It is our
beliefs that hold us back.
Fear is an interesting and powerful thing. It is the one thing that can
rule everything else. Looking back I think the most important thing I got
out of my sleepshade blindness training was the ability to feel fear and to
do the thing anyway. I've had discussions with sighted people who were very
honest and sincere when they said to me that if they went blind they would
be too afraid to do the things I do. I can understand that. If you don't
understand the mechanics behind how blind people do things it probably does
look scary, but once I explain they start to think about how it might be
done, leaving the fear response behind. That is what I hope for all blind
people, that we can begin to think rationally about how a thing might be
done instead of giving into the knee jerk response of fear.
Julie
On The Go with Guide-and-Service-Dogs.com
http://www.guide-and-service-dogs.com
also find my products in the Blind Mice Mega Mall
<https://www.blindmicemegamall.com/bmm/shop/Directory_Departments?storeid=1916046>
-----Original Message-----
From: Buddy Brannan via NAGDU
Sent: Sunday, August 06, 2017 4:23 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Cc: Buddy Brannan
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Apprentice Instructor
I call bullsh*t. They said the same thing about blind cane travel
instructors, and we have loads of those now. Not to mention a number of
owner trainers, and at least one blind person who has trained and placed
guides for others.
--
Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
Mobile (preferred): (814) 431-0962
Phone: (814) 860-3194
Email: buddy at brannan.name
> On Aug 6, 2017, at 3:59 PM, S L Johnson via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> wrote:
>
> Hello:
>
> I do think the schools should consider hiring blind people as training
> assistants. However, a blind person could not be a full instructor. The
> instructors have to be able to see what is happening with the students and
> dogs. It would be a question of safety.
>
> Sandra
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Buddy Brannan via NAGDU
> Sent: Sunday, August 06, 2017 3:32 PM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Cc: Buddy Brannan
> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Apprentice Instructor
>
> GDB had a pilot program that they set up to fail once. Otherwise, none of
> the schools would even think about hiring a blind apprentice...they might
> then have to think about graduating one to a full instructor,
> and...well...we just can't have that.
>
> --
> Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
> Mobile (preferred): (814) 431-0962
> Phone: (814) 860-3194
> Email: buddy at brannan.name
>
>
>
>> On Aug 6, 2017, at 1:27 PM, Haylie Gallacher via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> wrote:
>>
>> Anyone know if any of the guide dog schools have ever hired a a blind
>> apprentice instructor? If so, which ones? I am thinking about being a
>> guide dog instructor is why I am asking.
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Haylieof
>>
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>
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