[Nfbf-l] Holly Idler on DOE BLOG

[Judith Hamilton]

Great job, Holly!  Congratulations!
Thank you for sharing this great news.
Judy




> [Original Message]
> From: Holly <hbeanie at gmail.com>
> To: NFB of Florida Listserv <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>
> Date: 10/27/2011 9:47:03 PM
> Subject: [Nfbf-l] Holly Idler on DOE BLOG
>
> http://educationfl.wordpress.com/
>
> Holly Idler: The Coach, The Cheerleader and Part of Their
>
Team<http://educationfl.wordpress.com/2011/10/27/holly-idler-the-coach-the-c
heerleader-and-part-of-their-team/>
> Posted on October 27,
>
2011<http://educationfl.wordpress.com/2011/10/27/holly-idler-the-coach-the-c
heerleader-and-part-of-their-team/>
>  by Florida Department of
> Education<http://educationfl.wordpress.com/author/flcommonground/>
>
> *Note from Florida Blind Services Director Joyce Hildreth: Holly Idler
from
> the Rehabilitation Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired recently
> received the Dean W. Tuttle Professional Education Award from The Hadley
> School for the
Blind<http://www.hadley.edu/PR_detail.asp?t=20111020-Hadley-Presents-Annual-
Student-Awards>
> *
<http://www.hadley.edu/PR_detail.asp?t=20111020-Hadley-Presents-Annual-Stude
nt-Awards>
> *, which is considered to be the Heisman Trophy of furthering education
for
> persons with visual disabilities, especially with John W. Heisman being
> visually impaired himself. **We are very proud of her, and I asked her to
> share how her knowledge has affected her client instruction:*
> <http://educationfl.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/idler.jpg>
>
> Holly Idler receives Dean W. Tuttle Professional Education Award
>
> As a teacher at the Rehabilitation Center for the Blind and Visually
> Impaired, I teach Orientation and Mobility to our adult clients. Here at
the
> Center, the clients are taught assistive technology, home management,
> personal management, Braille and mobility. Being visually impaired
myself, I
> want to assist my clients by giving them tools to make their day-to-day
> activities and responsibilities easier to manage in a more effective
manner.
>
> Here are just a few ways Hadley has influenced my teaching style:
>
>    - In use for thousands of years, the abacus is an efficient, accurate
>    tool for doing math, by people with or without vision. I’ve taken a few
>    classes using this device, and enjoy reviewing new techniques and
competing
>    with clients, during breaks, to see who can solve a math problem
first. I am
>    getting better, with practice.
>    - Guide dogs are just one of the many mobility aids our clients can
>    choose to utilize to get from point “A” to point “B” in a safe,
effective
>    and graceful manner. Many of my students are new cane users, and are
>    interested in learning about guide dogs and possibly applying for one
in the
>    future. One of the key points of the class, *Guide Dogs*,  that stood
out
>    to me was how much the owner’s daily routine would change once they
got a
>    dog – they have to allow time to feed, walk and groom the dog each
morning,
>    prior to going to work or college.
>    - I teach orientation and mobility classes and have to be careful with
my
>    students who have diabetes. Mobility activities can cause their blood
sugar
>    to drop during a lesson. In the *Diabetes: Toward
>
Self-Management*<http://www.hadley.edu/ShowCourseDetail.asp?courseid=DIA-121
>
> course,
>    I learned that having the client drink water BEFORE the lesson can
help the
>    body regulate the sugar levels. It is still important to drink water
during
>    and after a lesson.
>    - Joyce Hildreth, the Florida DOE Division of Blind Services Director,
>    once said persons with visual impairments need to look at
self-employment as
>    a viable option. I took two employment classes, *Finding
> Employment*<http://www.hadley.edu/ShowCourseDetail.asp?courseid=EMP-121>
>    * *and* **Self-Employment with a Minimal
> Investment*<http://www.hadley.edu/ShowCourseDetail.asp?courseid=EMP-221>
>    *. *These classes provided some insight on what type of person would be
>    cut out for self employment and what he or she would need to
accomplish when
>    creating their business plan. I feel I now have the knowledge to
encourage
>    my students to go in whatever direction they want to go in, including
>    starting their own business – and at least one has!
>    - One of the classes that I enjoyed the most was *Using Raised
> Markers*<http://www.hadley.edu/ShowCourseDetail.asp?courseid=URM-121>
>    *. * This class discussed many different options of marking and
labeling
>    household items such as the microwave and stove, personal items: such
as
>    shampoo and conditioner, ways to identify canned foods and medications,
>    independently without having to know Braille.**
>
> I take Hadley classes myself, for my own education. If I can learn one new
> piece of information to share with my clients/students, my family or my
> coworkers, then the time the class took was worthwhile. I am not just
their
> teacher. I am their coach, cheerleader and a part of their team.
>
>
> -- 
> "God gives you 86,400 seconds in a day. Take one to say Thank You."
> Walter A. Ward
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