[NAGDU] class coming up, and questions

[sunshine]

I was in the retrain class last November. It is fairly hectic, but not so bad that it's unmanageable. The High School route is no longer a part of the program. We are not in our rooms for 2 hours after receiving our dogs. We receive them on Wednesday morning following a short lecture. After all dogs have been issued, there is some time with our dogs. Then we all break up for class lectures. In the afternoon , we started with the Maple Street route. We're in class from Monday until the Thursday of the third week. That's when people go home. However, when I was in the retrain class, some students went home Wednesday while others left on Thursday. I really enjoyed being in the retrain class. I really didn't feel too rushed. Smiling! We had 18 of us in the class and there were four instructors and the supervisor.

> On Oct 16, 2018, at 3:48 PM, Debra Chandler via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> I haven't been to class in about five years but I'm thinking the retrains did a 19-day class give or take eve n when I got my last dog.  I would imagine that they're just trying to use their time as efficiently as possible.  It could almost feel like home and away training if it's too rushed.  I did home and away and I needed it but to me it was a bit rushed.  We didn't get everything in that was needed at the school.  Best of luck in class.  This is a wonderful time to train with a guide dog.  Just cool and comfortable.
> Deb and Tally
> ---- Kerri Sprecher via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote: 
>> Hello to all,
>> I'm so excited to be going to Morristown, NJ on Monday the 22nd. I
>> heard something about a welcome meeting or dinner when I got my flight
>> arrangements set up with the travel agency. That part was new to me
>> and I liked that.
>> So, my thing is this: in order to pack all the training that used to
>> go into a 3 and a half week class for a retrain and 4 weeks for a new
>> student, into a shorter class time, 2.5 weeks for retrains in my case,
>> can someone shed some light on how in the world they manage to pull
>> that off? I bet it's a whirlwind of activity; I'm definitely expecting
>> the 5:30 AM feed and park, meal times to be the same, one AM and one
>> PM trip, and feed and park again, some lectures and one last park
>> time, but, do they have you doing longer trips with more work per trip
>> than before? I would imagine that in order to get someone prepared for
>> life with a guide dog, you'd have to pack more skill sets into a trip
>> in order to get it all in there before going home time.
>> I spoke with a good friend of mine who goes to GDB for her dogs, and
>> she said hers is similar in that they do clicker training, targeting,
>> chaining, and the like, but when they shortened their class time also,
>> they changed the ratio of student/instructor to 2/1 instead of 4/1,
>> because they put in longer trip times with more training in each trip
>> than in previous classes before.
>> I'm guessing that Monday and Tuesday are dedicated to paperwork,
>> orientation, lectures, and Juneau walks to make sure the match is
>> right, and then Wednesday, the day everyone looks forward to, Dog Day,
>> lunch, and your first ever trip together. And, I am also guessing that
>> in the first few days of getting the new dog, it'll be the simple
>> familiar quiet routes, then more in-depth and more complex ones. I
>> just was shocked when I first learned they had shortened class,
>> because even with a 3 week class, it felt like we were always running
>> and going, with a little down time sprinkled in, but mostly busy, and
>> now, to think that it's even shorter makes me wonder just how much
>> more work they'll have for me to do at once. Glad I'm a seasoned
>> handler by now, or I might feel overwhelmed; heck I might feel that
>> way anyway. Smile.
>> So, what do you think, for those of you grads out there, about the new
>> 2.5 week class, and how has it affected or changed the way they do
>> trips and the amount of work for each trip?
>> Thanks all, and I am ecstatic!
>> Kerri
>> 
>> -- 
>> Kerri Sprecher,  President
>> Big Country Chapter NFBTX
>> spedangel84 at gmail.com
>> 325-280-6272
>> Chapter Google Voice: 325-704-8787
>> Chapter E-mail:
>> bigcountry at nfbtx.org
>> Check us out on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AbileneAreaBlind
>> "The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
>> characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
>> expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
>> between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want;
>> blindness is not what holds you back."
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> NAGDU mailing list
>> NAGDU at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for NAGDU:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/dchandler001%40carolina.rr.com
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> NAGDU mailing list
> NAGDU at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for NAGDU:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/halogirl817%40gmail.com