[nfb-talk] FYI Are Braille's days as the great equalizer over?
Sherri
flmom2006 at gmail.com
Sun Nov 28 04:00:21 UTC 2010
I totally agree with you. I check my son's Facebook account and half the
time have to have him translate for me. It's amazing. You know they don't
even learn cursive writing any more.
Sherri
----- Original Message -----
From: "Judy Jones" <jtj1 at cableone.net>
To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, November 27, 2010 10:43 PM
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] FYI Are Braille's days as the great equalizer over?
> I'm actually referring to the misspells, shortcuts, etc.
>
> Judy
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "d m gina" <dmgina at samobile.net>
> To: <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Saturday, November 27, 2010 3:23 PM
> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] FYI Are Braille's days as the great equalizer
> over?
>
>
>>I love to text, how on earth would it be done on paper?
>> When you have to make your text one page for the phone?
>> I'm still new at this.
>> Thanks,
>> Original message:
>>> Sarah, you're so right.
>>
>>> Once when my daughter was in middle school, when I went to check a paper
>>> she
>>> was handing in before printing, I discovered she had written it in
>>> textese.
>>> Like "Im, Ur," etc. I said that style is limited exclusively to texting
>>> on
>>> phones, but I'm seeing it on FB and elsewhere now, too. The basic
>>> problem
>>> across the board, blind, sighted, society in general is the lowering of
>>> standards and expectations in all venues of life.
>>
>>> Judy
>>
>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: " Sarah Baughn" <sarahb006 at comcast.net>
>>> To: "qubit" <lauraeaves at yahoo.com>; "NFB Talk Mailing List"
>>> <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
>>> Sent: Saturday, November 27, 2010 9:37 AM
>>> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] FYI Are Braille's days as the great equalizer
>>> over?
>>
>>
>>>> Well, I think it is imperative to learn Braille. That's the problem
>>>> with
>>>> today's society, there is so much technology out there, and it's not
>>>> only
>>>> a problem among the blind, but the sighted, with texting and such,
>>>> don't
>>>> know how to spell because everything is so abbreviated these days.
>>>> Sarah
>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>> From: "qubit" <lauraeaves at yahoo.com>
>>>> To: <info at michaelhingson.com>; "NFB Talk Mailing List"
>>>> <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
>>>> Sent: Friday, November 26, 2010 3:00 PM
>>>> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] FYI Are Braille's days as the great equalizer
>>>> over?
>>
>>
>>>>> They neglect several important points: If a child is or will become
>>>>> deafblind, braille is essential for communication. Also, math and
>>>>> science
>>>>> are much more difficult to grasp without some kind of tactile
>>>>> representation. Finally, braille is useful for a lot more than just
>>>>> reading
>>>>> literature. It is good for labeling things around the house, or a
>>>>> file.
>>>>> It
>>>>> is useful for notes when public speaking. Having a notetaker with a
>>>>> refreshable display also allows a student to take notes quietly in a
>>>>> class.
>>>>> Finally, I was one of those partially sighted kids who learned braille
>>>>> in
>>>>> school but wasn't required to use it because I was able to see with
>>>>> magnification. Now as an adult over -- well, over a certain age
>>>>> *smile* --
>>>>> I find it much harder to improve my braille reading speed. I
>>>>> thankfully
>>>>> remember the codes, but memorization is only part of learning braille.
>>>>> There
>>>>> is the developed skill of recognizing symbols and words quickly with
>>>>> your
>>>>> fingers. I now wish I had spent more time with braille when I was a
>>>>> child.
>>>>> As far as I am concerned, the article is incomplete. Someone should
>>>>> write
>>>>> to the editor.
>>>>> --le
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>>> From: "Michael Hingson" <info at michaelhingson.com>
>>>>> To: "'NFB Talk Mailing List'" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
>>>>> Sent: Friday, November 26, 2010 2:36 PM
>>>>> Subject: [nfb-talk] FYI Are Braille's days as the great equalizer
>>>>> over?
>>
>>
>>
>>>>> Are Braille's days as the great equalizer over?
>>
>>
>>>>> Keith Gillard taps away on his computer's Microsoft Egronomic keyboard
>>>>> at
>>>>> his home in Edmonton, Aug. 4, 2010. "Braille is not necessary to have
>>>>> a
>>>>> full
>>>>> and complete life as a blind Canadian," he says.
>>
>>>>> Walter Tychnowicz for National Post
>>
>>>>> Keith Gillard taps away on his computer's Microsoft Egronomic keyboard
>>>>> at
>>>>> his home in Edmonton, Aug. 4, 2010. "Braille is not necessary to have
>>>>> a
>>>>> full
>>>>> and complete life as a blind Canadian," he says.
>>
>>>>> * Comments <http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/#Comments>
>>>>> * Twitter
>>>>> <http://twitter.com/home?status=RT+@nationalpost%3a+Are+Braille%27s+days+as+
>>>>> the+great+equalizer+over%3f+http%3a//www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/Braill
>>>>> e%2bdays%2bgreat%2bequalizer%2bover/3369651/story.html>
>>>>> * LinkedIn
>>>>> <http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=http%3a//www.nationalpos
>>>>> t.com/news/canada/Braille%2bdays%2bgreat%2bequalizer%2bover/3369651/story.ht
>>>>> ml&title=National+Post%3a+Are+Braille%27s+days+as+the+great+equalizer+over%3
>>>>> f>
>>>>> * Digg
>>>>> <http://digg.com/submit?url=http%3a//www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/Braill
>>>>> e%2bdays%2bgreat%2bequalizer%2bover/3369651/story.html&title=National+Post%3
>>>>> a+Are+Braille%27s+days+as+the+great+equalizer+over%3f>
>>>>> * Buzz
>>>>> <http://www.google.com/buzz/post?url=http%3a//www.nationalpost.com/news/cana
>>>>> da/Braille%2bdays%2bgreat%2bequalizer%2bover/3369651/story.html&message=Nati
>>>>> onal+Post%3a+Are+Braille%27s+days+as+the+great+equalizer+over%3f&image-url=h
>>>>> ttp%3a//www.nationalpost.com/3369607.bin%3fsize%3d620x465>
>>>>> * Email
>>>>> <http://www.nationalpost.com/ajax/email/story.xml?url=http%3a//www.nationalp
>>>>> ost.com/news/canada/Braille%2bdays%2bgreat%2bequalizer%2bover/3369651/story.
>>>>> html&id=3369651&title=National+Post+Story%3a++Are+Braille%27s+days+as+the+gr
>>>>> eat+equalizer+over%3f>
>>>>> *
>>
>>>>> Kenyon Wallace, National Post . Friday, Aug. 6, 2010
>>
>>>>> The publication in 1829 of a small booklet explaining how a series of
>>>>> raised
>>>>> dots arranged in a line could teach the world's blind to read is one
>>>>> of
>>>>> modern history's great, if often overlooked, turning points.
>>
>>>>> Once hailed as the great intellectual equalizer, Louis Braille's
>>>>> development
>>>>> of a new alphabet that could be read with the fingers is now at risk
>>>>> of
>>>>> being consigned to history, overtaken by the rapid pace of changing
>>>>> technology.
>>
>>>>> Only 10% of blind school-aged children are taught Braille today;
>>>>> compared
>>>>> to
>>>>> about 50% in the 1960s, according to the U.S. National Federation of
>>>>> the
>>>>> Blind. The statistic is roughly the same for Canada.
>>
>>>>> The prospect of Braille becoming obsolete has sparked a polarizing
>>>>> debate
>>>>> between advocates, educators and individuals over the causes of the
>>>>> code's
>>>>> decline and what to do about it.
>>
>>>>> Advocates blame funding shortages, not enough qualified teachers, and
>>>>> decisions by administrators to deny Braille instruction to children
>>>>> with
>>>>> low
>>>>> vision because of an emphasis on encouraging these students to read
>>>>> print.
>>>>> Educators say this assessment couldn't be further from the truth and
>>>>> argue
>>>>> that today's diagnostic tools have honed the art of identifying those
>>>>> who
>>>>> truly require Braille instruction and those who don't.
>>
>>>>> Others still - including many blind people - say advances in assistive
>>>>> technology, such as audiobooks, voice recognition software and
>>>>> computer
>>>>> screen-readers, have rendered Braille unnecessary in daily life. They
>>>>> say
>>>>> its cumbersome nature - a single Harry Potter book printed on Braille
>>>>> paper
>>>>> will fill a moving box - makes it impractical and unaffordable.
>>
>>>>> "Braille is not necessary to have a full and complete life as a blind
>>>>> Canadian," said Edmonton resident Keith Gillard, who was born with
>>>>> retinitis
>>>>> pigmentosa, a degenerative eye condition that rendered him legally,
>>>>> but
>>>>> not
>>>>> completely, blind at birth. As a child, he was encouraged to use what
>>>>> vision
>>>>> he had to learn print, but not Braille. "They taught me how to touch
>>>>> type
>>>>> rather than learn Braille."
>>
>>>>> By his mid-20s, the blurry fog obscuring his peripheral vision began
>>>>> to
>>>>> creep toward the centre of his eyes as his condition worsened. Mr.
>>>>> Gillard
>>>>> gauged the severity of his increasing blindness by his ability to see
>>>>> the
>>>>> lines on the ice at his local hockey rink each winter while playing on
>>>>> a
>>>>> blind hockey team.
>>
>>>>> Now 49 and completely blind, he says he has contemplated learning
>>>>> Braille,
>>>>> but probably never will given the plethora of technological aids he
>>>>> uses
>>>>> at
>>>>> work as a federal civil servant and at home.
>>
>>>>> "Adaptive technology has opened up the world of education and
>>>>> employment
>>>>> for
>>>>> blind Canadians. Braille hasn't done that," he said.
>>
>>>>> "I recognize the benefits. Would I be better off as a blind Canadian
>>>>> if I
>>>>> was a proficient Braille reader? I think I would be. Is it necessary
>>>>> for
>>>>> me
>>>>> to be successful? No."
>>
>>>>> Up until nine years ago, Sarah Empey, 35, had full eyesight. When she
>>>>> was
>>>>> 26, the Type 1 diabetic suffered complications due to high blood
>>>>> pressure
>>>>> and started to go blind. Despite several operations, she now has only
>>>>> 15%
>>>>> vision in her right eye.
>>
>>>>> She intends to learn Braille one day, but hasn't found the need for it
>>>>> yet,
>>>>> and has learned only numbers.
>>
>>>>> "It's not something I would use at this point," says Ms. Empey, a
>>>>> Calgary
>>>>> resident and short film director.
>>
>>>>> She uses a program on her computer called ZoomText, which magnifies
>>>>> text
>>>>> and
>>>>> uses an audio device called a VictorReader to listen to books.
>>
>>>>> "Some people are fine with technology doing everything for them. I do
>>>>> see
>>>>> Braille as slightly dying off, but for me, Braille still means more
>>>>> independence [in the future]."
>>
>>>>> Twenty years ago, the predominant philosophy governing education of
>>>>> the
>>>>> blind was to maximize the efficiency of whatever vision students had
>>>>> in a
>>>>> regular classroom with their sighted peers. This required partially
>>>>> blind
>>>>> children to use a myriad of tools such as monocular telescopes to see
>>>>> the
>>>>> blackboard, magnifying glasses, bold markers and large-print books.
>>>>> These
>>>>> tools evolved through the 1980s to include small cameras students
>>>>> could
>>>>> roll
>>>>> over text that would be blown up on a closed circuit television.
>>
>>>>> "Braille was never given to them as an option because if you had
>>>>> vision,
>>>>> you
>>>>> were supposed to use vision," said Dr. Carol Farrenkopf, coordinator
>>>>> of
>>>>> the
>>>>> Toronto District School Board's Vision Program.
>>
>>>>> It wasn't until the mid-1990s that teachers began using a tool called
>>>>> a
>>>>> "learning media assessment," using observations and timed-readings to
>>>>> determine if Braille should be introduced.
>>
>>>>> Another factor driving down the rate of Braille use is the fact that
>>>>> those
>>>>> who go blind later in life due to medical conditions, such as diabetes
>>>>> and
>>>>> macular degeneration, already have literacy skills and are therefore
>>>>> less
>>>>> likely to be inclined to learn a new writing system.
>>
>>>>> "A 60-year-old woman working who already knows how to read and write
>>>>> and
>>>>> then loses her vision, why does she need to learn Braille when she can
>>>>> keep
>>>>> going with technology?" said Ms. Farrenkopf.
>>
>>>>> She stresses that not all blind children need to be taught Braille.
>>
>>>>> "Legal blindness is not the same thing as being totally blind," said
>>>>> Ms.
>>>>> Farrenkopf, noting that 20/200 vision - legal blindness - is still
>>>>> functional vision. (Someone with 20/200 can see a letter at 20 feet
>>>>> while
>>>>> a
>>>>> person with normal vision can see the same letter from 200 feet.)
>>
>>>>> "Kids with 20/200 vision don't need to be reading Braille."
>>
>>>>> That opinion is not shared by all Braille advocates, who wonder at the
>>>>> logic
>>>>> of not teaching the system to children when many eye conditions are
>>>>> degenerative.
>>
>>>>> "They're in the school system where people are being encouraged to use
>>>>> the
>>>>> technology and their remaining vision at the expense of learning
>>>>> Braille
>>>>> that will prepare them for vision loss as they get older," said CNIB
>>>>> spokeswoman Ellie Shuster.
>>
>>>>> Advocates also say the integration of blind children within the
>>>>> regular
>>>>> school system means less one-on-one time between teachers and students
>>>>> and
>>>>> therefore less consistent Braille instruction. The result, they say,
>>>>> is
>>>>> that
>>>>> many students end up being functionally illiterate.
>>
>>>>> "School districts across the country, in general, don't adequately
>>>>> support
>>>>> Braille instruction," said Betty Nobel, president of the Canadian
>>>>> Braille
>>>>> Authority. "In the primary grades, kids should have daily Braille
>>>>> instruction, but they're not getting that."
>>
>>>>> Forty years ago, Canada was home to several residential schools for
>>>>> the
>>>>> blind, where all students were expected to learn Braille. There is
>>>>> only
>>>>> one
>>>>> such school remaining today: W. Ross Macdonald School for the Blind
>>>>> and
>>>>> Deafblind in Brantford, Ont.
>>
>>>>> The Atlantic Provinces Special Education Authority, which provides
>>>>> educational services to students from birth to 21 years of age with
>>>>> sensory
>>>>> impairments, has also established several successful short-term,
>>>>> intensive
>>>>> Braille courses that can be taken during the regular school year.
>>
>>>>> But it's not enough, says Ms. Nobel, who is also department head of
>>>>> the
>>>>> Program for the Visually Impaired at Vancouver Community College and a
>>>>> CNIB
>>>>> library board member. She says teachers in the regular school system
>>>>> may
>>>>> not
>>>>> have blind children in their classes every year, meaning they lack the
>>>>> opportunity to stay proficient in Braille.
>>
>>>>> "If this means lowering the workloads for teachers that have blind
>>>>> students,
>>>>> that's what we need," she said.
>>
>>>>> The implications for an illiterate blind population are profound.
>>
>>>>> A study by Dr. Ruby Ryles, a blindness researcher at Louisiana Tech
>>>>> University, found that visually impaired people who learned Braille at
>>>>> a
>>>>> young age were more likely to be employed, financially independent and
>>>>> better educated than those who relied primarily on print -- this in a
>>>>> world
>>>>> where blind adults already face an unemployment rate of over 70%.
>>
>>>>> Diana Brent, a teacher of visually impaired students, and her husband,
>>>>> Doug
>>>>> Brent, a University of Calgary communications professor, are the
>>>>> authors
>>>>> of
>>>>> one of the only studies comparing the writings of blind people who
>>>>> learned
>>>>> Braille at a young age and those who didn't. Non-Braille users were
>>>>> asked
>>>>> to
>>>>> type stories on a keyboard using audio software.
>>
>>>>> Their findings were alarming. The Brents described the prose of the
>>>>> non-Braille group as "jumbled and confused."
>>
>>>>> "It's as if all of their ideas are crammed into a container, shaken,
>>>>> and
>>>>> thrown randomly onto a sheet of paper like dice onto a table," the
>>>>> authors
>>>>> concluded. "The process of making connections, linking one idea to
>>>>> another
>>>>> is tenuous at best."
>>
>>>>> While preliminary, the results suggest that blind children relying
>>>>> solely
>>>>> on
>>>>> an oral education have virtually no means of literacy in the sense
>>>>> that
>>>>> society has come to understand it.
>>
>>>>> "It's still well worth teaching children Braille, even if they choose
>>>>> later
>>>>> to drift away from it," said Mr. Brent. "To not have access to a way
>>>>> of
>>>>> organizing thought that depends on a system of written record, to not
>>>>> be
>>>>> formed by that arguably makes people think differently and puts them
>>>>> at a
>>>>> significant disadvantage."
>>
>>>>> kewallace at nationalpost.com
>>
>>>>> - - -
>>
>>>>> Who was Louis Braille?
>>
>>>>> Louis Braille was born fully sighted on Jan. 4, 1809 in a small town
>>>>> near
>>>>> Paris, France.
>>
>>>>> He lost his sight as a small boy after accidentally stabbing himself
>>>>> in
>>>>> the
>>>>> eye with a stitching awl his his father's shoemaking workshop. An
>>>>> infection
>>>>> in one eye spread to the other, rendering him completely blind.
>>
>>>>> A creative and intelligent boy, Braille earned a scholarship to the
>>>>> Royal
>>>>> Institution for Blind Youth in Paris when he was 10.
>>
>>>>> While there, he learned to read using a system of raised letters by
>>>>> pressing
>>>>> shaped copper wire onto paper. But this cumbersome system made it
>>>>> impossible
>>>>> for blind people to write by themselves.
>>
>>>>> In 1821, French army captain Charles Barbier de la Serre visited the
>>>>> school
>>>>> to share his invention, which he called "Night Writing." The invention
>>>>> was a
>>>>> series of 12 raised dots combined to form words that soldiers could
>>>>> use
>>>>> to
>>>>> communicate in the night without talking.
>>
>>>>> The code proved too difficult to understand, so Braille modified the
>>>>> system
>>>>> to a series of six raised dots, with characters representing each
>>>>> letter
>>>>> of
>>>>> the alphabet. In 1829 he published his system in the booklet, "The
>>>>> Method
>>>>> of
>>>>> Writing Words, Music and Plain Song by Means of Dots, for Use by the
>>>>> Blind
>>>>> and Arranged by Them."
>>
>>>>> This new system of reading and writing - Braille - did not catch on
>>>>> immediately. Braille, who eventually became a teacher at the
>>>>> Institute,
>>>>> died
>>>>> of tuberculosis on Jan. 6, 1852, before even his own school adopted
>>>>> his
>>>>> code.
>>
>>>>> The French government officially recognized the Braille system two
>>>>> years
>>>>> later, and it eventually became the world standard for written
>>>>> communication
>>>>> for the blind.
>>
>>>>> In 1952, Braille's body was disinterred and reburied in the Pantheon
>>>>> in
>>>>> Paris to lie with the remains of other distinguished French citizens.
>>
>>>>> Kenyon Wallace, National Post
>>
>>>>> - - -
>>
>>>>> Blindness By The Numbers
>>
>>>>> 10 Percentage of legally blind North Americans who can read Braille
>>
>>>>> 836,000 Number of Canadians living with significant vision loss that
>>>>> cannot
>>>>> be corrected with ordinary lenses
>>
>>>>> 70 Percentage of blind North Americans who are unemployed
>>
>>>>> 1,000,000 number of Canadians with some form of macular degeneration,
>>>>> the
>>>>> leading cause of vision loss in North Americans over the age of 50
>>
>>>>> 90 Percentage of blind children in the United States not learning
>>>>> Braille
>>>>> today
>>
>>>>> 50 Percentage of blind American high school students who drop out
>>
>>>>> 75,000 Number of people who lose all or part of their vision every
>>>>> year
>>
>>>>> Source: NFB and CNIB
>>
>>
>>>>> Tools
>>
>>
>>>>> . <http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/#DecreaseTextSize> -
>>>>> <http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/#IncreaseTextSize> + Change
>>>>> text
>>>>> size
>>
>>>>> . Print <http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/#Print>
>>
>>
>>>>> More On This Story
>>
>>
>>>>> .
>>>>> <http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/Blind+person+sense+smell+better+dif
>>>>> ferent+study/2958847/story.html> Blind person's sense of smell not
>>>>> better,
>>>>> but different: study
>>
>>
>>>>> .
>>>>> <http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/Artist+creates+book+nudes+blind/290
>>>>> 3068/story.html> Artist creates book of nudes for the blind
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>>>> The Michael Hingson Group, INC.
>>
>>>>> "Speaking with Vision"
>>
>>>>> Michael Hingson, President
>>
>>>>> (415) 827-4084
>>
>>>>> <mailto:info at michaelhingson.com> info at michaelhingson.com
>>
>>>>> To learn more about my upcoming book, speaking topics and speaking
>>>>> availability please visit <http://www.michaelhingson.com>
>>>>> www.michaelhingson.com
>>
>>>>> Thunder Dog is now available for early ordering on Amazon!!!
>>>>> <http://www.amazon.com/Thunder-Dog-Blind-Triumph-Ground/dp/140020304X/ref=sr
>>>>> _1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1289090352&sr=1-3>
>>>>> http://www.amazon.com/Thunder-Dog-Blind-Triumph-Ground/dp/140020304X/ref=sr_
>>>>> 1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1289090352&sr=1-3
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>>>> for info on the new KNFB Reader Mobile, visit:
>>
>>>>> <http://knfbreader.michaelhingson.com>
>>>>> http://knfbreader.michaelhingson.com
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>>>> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> nfb-talk mailing list
>>>>> nfb-talk at nfbnet.org
>>>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-talk_nfbnet.org
>>
>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> nfb-talk mailing list
>>>>> nfb-talk at nfbnet.org
>>>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-talk_nfbnet.org
>>
>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>
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>>
>> --
>> --Dar
>> skype: dmgina23
>> FB: dmgina
>> www.twitter.com/dmgina
>> every saint has a past
>> every sinner has a future
>>
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