[NFB-Braille-Discussion] Curriculum Question

[Debbie Gabe]

Hi
To answer your first question - it sounds like you are reading with your
fingertips. That's a no-no. In forder to feel the entire cell, you need to
read with  the space  kind of between fingertips and fleshy part of your
finger (forgot what it's called). So your main reding finger should only
have a very slight subtle bend in it. And your fingertip should not point to
the paper, but rather to the top of the page. Does that make sense? It's
hard to describe. 

Also you should have all 4 of your fingers for botrh hands on the lineof
braille. Please do not every try to red with onefinger. Some braille
teachers teach that and it's a really bad habit to get in to.
With all 8 fingers on the page, you will have an easier time finding the end
of a line , and the beginning of the next line and won't get lost, although
you never complained at that.

Read as often as you can. The late great Jerry Whittle, who taught braille
with adults for over 30 years, used to recommend that they read at least an
hour a day. It can be broken up into 10 or 20 minute sessions, or whatever
works best. But it should add up to at least 60 minutes.
When I was learning at age 55 years old, I carried my braille wherever I
went, on the bus, in a car, to appointments, to work, to the movies,
everywhere and read when I got a chance and had to wait.

But you do need to be relaxed - from your head and shoulders, neck down your
arms to to your hands. And posture needs to be good, head up, relaxed. Take
slow deep breaths if that helps.
Good luck.
Reading speed comes with a lot of pages under your fingers.
Oh, and also try rereading passages that you already are familiar with.
That's a technique used by teachers of sighted people for increasing reading
speed. It's important in braille also. That way, you will learn to focus on
the overall shape of the word rather than individual dots in each character.
- Don't know if that makes sense. But try it.
I know it's frustrating, but bear with it and you will see benefits.
Debbie
Braille is literacy! ,


-----Original Message-----
From: NFB-Braille-Discussion <nfb-braille-discussion-bounces at nfbnet.org> On
Behalf Of Sanho Steele-Louchart via NFB-Braille-Discussion
Sent: Sunday, March 24, 2024 11:11 PM
To: nfb-braille-discussion at nfbnet.org
Cc: Sanho Steele-Louchart <sanho817 at gmail.com>
Subject: [NFB-Braille-Discussion] Curriculum Question

All: 

Two issues for which I'd appreciate your recommendations. 

First, regularly missing the bottommost dots in a cell. Reading G rather
than ER, F rather than P, etc. People have told me not to scrub. Does
additional acuity come with practice? 

Second, my speed is quite slow and reading itself quite tiring, resulting in
very little practice. This needs to change. Do we recommend 10 pages until
someone can read 30 then 30 until they can read 50? Or perhaps simply
reading as often as humanly possible? 

Warmth, 
Sanho 
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