[Nfbf-l] State School

Mon Apr 4 10:43:16 UTC 2011

Then Craig, what do we do? RJ
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "craig kiser" <sckiser55 at earthlink.net>
To: "NFB of Florida Internet Mailing List" <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, April 03, 2011 10:49 PM
Subject: Re: [Nfbf-l] State School


>I think there is some confusion here.  The rehab centers are for adults and 
>consist of residential rehabilitation programs lasting anywhere from 3 
>months to a year for residential rehabilitation and adjustment to 
>blindness.  Schools for the blind such as the one in St.  Augustine are a 
>public school for grades 1 through 12.  As far as I know, there are no NFB 
>schools for the blind.  There are 3 so called NFB centers-in Louisiana, 
>Colorado and Minnesota.  In addition, there are some centers run by state 
>agencies for the blind which use the NFB approach to rehabilitation, often 
>referred to as structured discovery.  While I was Director of Blind 
>Services here in Florida I implemented changes at the center in Daytona to 
>use the structured discovery approach.  I contracted with the Jernigan 
>Institute, part of the Nfb, to have Joanne Wilson, Fred Schroeder and 
>others train the staff and draft policies and procedures.  Before 
>implementing the changes, I got the approval of both the NFBF and the 
>Florida Council of the Blind, as well as the Florida Rehabilitation 
>Council.  The current Director, Joyce Hildreth has undone those changes. 
>In addition, the current Director has closed or is in the process of 
>closing the Division of Blind Services' offices in St.  Petersburg, 
>Gainesville, St.  Augustine and Cocoa Beach.  She has eliminated numerous 
>counselor positions while creating layers of new management, such as the 
>new public information position at $60,000.  I am not aware of any of the 
>new management level staff being blind.  I don't know if R J's resolution 
>is what's needed right now, but something needs to be done before Blind 
>Services becomes nothing more than a paper shuffling burocracy for the 
>lighthouses.  I have nothing against the lighthouses, but they do not 
>represent nor speak for the blind.  Dan Hicks spoke of Carolyn Lapp's 
>center.  She does good work, but her's is not a residential rehabilitation 
>center.  She offers excellent day student services similar to the services 
>provided by the lighthouses, but with an emphasis on NFB philosophy.  And, 
>yes Dan, I am a member in good standing with the NFBF.
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Joanne" <jdking09 at earthlink.net
> To: "NFB of Florida Internet Mailing List" <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org
> Date sent: Sun, 3 Apr 2011 21:50:31 -0400
> Subject: Re: [Nfbf-l] State School
>
> I am very glad to hear that about the Louisiana school
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Mark Tardif" <markspark at bellsouth.net
> To: "NFB of Florida Internet Mailing List" <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org
> Sent: Sunday, April 03, 2011 8:24 PM
> Subject: Re: [Nfbf-l] State School
>
>
> I'm not sure we can stereotype people who attended schools for the blind 
> and
> type cast them like that.  I attended a school for the blind and I lived
> with a friend who was mainstreamed.  Guess what, I think she was much less
> likely to want to join the real world, at times I got the sense she wanted
> to live in a "blind ghetto."  Public schooling can be brutal on a lot of
> kids, and if you are at all different, forget it.  I also had a boss once
> who was also blind and we worked together in the early eighties.  He 
> thought
> that mainstreaming sounded good on paper, but he had had a chance to 
> observe
> and talk to some of these people who were mainstreamed, and was
> disappointed.  He said they came across as cynical.  apathetic, etc.  So,
> just one man's opinion, it appears to be different for different children.
> Also, I would say that the NFB influence, as shown by centers like 
> Louisiana
> and Colorado, seems to try to emphasize that we cannot expect the world to
> provide us extra privileges that we need to adapt to it.  So I don't know
> what happened at Daytona, and anyone may enlighten me, but I doubt it was
> the influence of the NFB that caused it to go downhill.
>
> Mark Tardif
> Welcome to my planet
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Kirk" <kvharmon54 at gmail.com
> To: "NFB of Florida Internet Mailing List" <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org
> Sent: Sunday, April 03, 2011 12:53 PM
> Subject: Re: [Nfbf-l] State School
>
>
> Joann, I so agree with you on this topic! I, too, have seen many blind
> individuals that act so childlike compared to others and have wondered
> why.
> Why some are always figitting, and others are not.  I was told it was due
> to
> their parents allowing them to do what they wished without letting them
> know it is not polite to rock or figit all the time in their seets,etc.  I
> was also told it was because they were placed in their playpens for hours
> to
> keep them safe and they would get extremely bored so they developed habits
> that were very distracting to others in a room and such.  These behaviors
> are
> what the majority of our population (sighted) see and assume we are not
> prepared to be on an even  keel with them and until we try and feel
> comfortable about talking about these foibles with some of usletting them
> know this behavior is not acceptable and quite rude as well, we will have
> diminished and negative attention brought our way.  Just one man's opinion
> is
> all! Kirk
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Joanne" <jdking09 at earthlink.net
> To: <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org
> Sent: Sunday, April 03, 2011 12:21 PM
> Subject: [Nfbf-l] State School
>
>
> I know first hand what a shambles the Daytona School became after it was
> influenced by NFB's  theory of teaching independents to the blind.   If I
> were
> in charge  I would first have every student believe in their dignity.
> Then
> I
> would teach them to believe  that they can achieve anything if they really
> want
> to.  and the other important thing is to join society without thinking
> that
> they
> need  special treatment.  You can't burn the candle at both ends.  And
> that
> is
> what they had done at the center.  That's why the school is not on track.
> The people that I have known before NFB's influence had a better chance of
> learning all this.  After that forget it.
> I personally grew up in public and private schools and learned my own
> independents because I wanted to.  I agree that one can always pick out a
> blind
> student who was educated at a school for the blind including one like
> Daytona.
> They act like a child..
> So whether it is NFB or ACB or anything else.  A blind person can be so
> called
> Normal if treated like they are normal.
> We are a very small percentage of society.  Therefore, it is us, who needs
> to
> comply with the majority.
> Please pass this on to the NFB and the ACB and any other Organizations who
> feel
> that special privileges is the only way to go.  I guess what I am trying
> to
> say
> is stop degrading us.
>
>
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