[Nfbk] Situation at KSB

Sun Jun 30 01:59:13 UTC 2013

Ian,
I"m going to try to answer some of your questions the best that I can, hopefully someone else will chime in as well.  I'm almost positive that there was enough staff present when they took the outing to the pool, typically most places require a certain ratio of students to staff on outing, I doubt KSB would have taken the trip if there wasn't enough staff.  The staff at KSB by all accounts is well trained and many of them have been working with blind students for years.  Some of the students do have multiple disabilities, KSB has in the past dealt with this appropriately by grouping students together on outings and/or by having staff close by for the students that need extra assistance.

You are right in saying that many of these children haven't had proper mobility classes but it's KSB's job to teach the children that come during the summer proper mobility.   That's one of the main reasons that kids are sent during the summer.  Being led by a rope isn't something they can use at home but they could benefit from a crash course on cane use.

I've talked to some of the children that were involved in this and the general theme is that they were embarrassed by the activity.  Beyond that it looks bad to the general public, we don't want the public to think that blind people have to be led by a rope to travel properly/safely.

KSB in the past has done a good job at teaching children proper mobility and life skills in general, we just want future children to have that same experience.  It's not about shaming KSB, we just want to make sure events like this don't happen in the future.

Katie
________________________________
From: Nfbk [nfbk-bounces at nfbnet.org] on behalf of I. C. Bray [i.c.bray at win.net]
Sent: Saturday, June 29, 2013 8:58 PM
To: NFB of Kentucky Internet Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Nfbk] Situation at KSB

To all involved with the KSB incident.

First of all, I must interject here with respect
to security and safety of the students.

While I am in no way assenting to the mistreatment of any individual,
I fail to see how the use of a simple rope becomes such a political hotbed of frustration for those of us who now have decent mobility skills.

I can assure you, however; that If it were necessary, I might wholeheartedly use that rope.

Take a look at this issue from the perspective of those in charge of these students.

How many Staff/Faculty were present?  Were there enough?  Were 6they well-trained?  Were there OTHER mitigating circumstances other than BLINDNESS involved?

As I understand the purpose  of the Enrichment Camps at KSB, The students are, for a majority, from outlying areas of our state.  I can certainly see how in many cases, there are poorly organized O&M classes given to some mainstreamed students in poorly funded districts.

.  Having been a middle-aged adult upon loosing my sight, I can tell you that O&M is not something that comes easilly.  There are many individuals who come fromRURAL backgrounds who are not socialized  amung others with skills.  Many people I have met have but one road in front of their house without sidewalks.  Some of theese people are the ONLY blind individual they are aware of for many miles.

   I have witnessed first-hand, the difficulties individuals who are ONLY sight-impaired have with O&M.    Realize, that for those of us ( and by US, I am referring to Blind, Functioning, Members of Society ) who are able to function at great levels, there are, at minimum, eight others who are not trained.  Those of you who were fortunate to have attended KSB  at early ages and were raised with braille, JAWS, and a white cane in your hands, are taking for granted all of the things you find 'common-sence'.

Perhaps, it might serve the cause better if you present yourselves as calm, rational, mature persons and ask questions rather than jump to the conclusion that some rampant injustice has been lain upon all blind individuals.

Do I like the idea that all students were "punished' by returning to KSB without being given the opportunity of the outing?  no!!  I am infuriated.  What a perfect opportunity WE have, asNFB Members to display the proper, calm-demeanored, professionalism that we would wish to receive from those who are unaware or uneducated with our circumstances.  We should show ourselves in much the same way as did Dr. M. L. King would have exemplified had he been blind.
Allow KSB Staff, Mentors, Dorm-Parents, etc. the opportunity to address the matter.  Perhaps we should become more involved as an organization withSUMMER ENRICHMENT.

Some simple food for thought.

Respectfully,

Mr. Ian  C. Bray

-
From: Melanie Peskoe<mailto:mpeskoe at twc.com>
To: 'NFB of Kentucky Internet Mailing List'<mailto:nfbk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, June 27, 2013 10:49 AM
Subject: Re: [Nfbk] Situation at KSB

I want to second Nickie’s statement about writing to KSB to express concern over how the high school children at the summer enrichment camp were humiliated and degraded, as well as concern about the ideas and attitudes of the KSB staff regarding blindness, independence, and appropriate methods of assuring that all kids are accounted for on field trips.

Obviously, the idea and practice of using a rope to keep blind kids together in a group as a means to ensure no one gets lost or left behind is a blatant disregard for human rights. No one, regardless of level of ability or sight, should be treated this way. Not only does it humiliate the people who are being forced to do this, but it gives the community who witness such treatment the idea that this is how blind people should be “handled”. It reinforces ancient ideas that we are unable to travel independently and need to be “taken care of.” This is just wrong and sets us back decades in our fight for equal treatment and fairness. Some of the staff who were present when this happened have been employed by the Kentucky School for the Blind for many years and have been advocates for blind children. Is this what they really think? Do they believe this is acceptable treatment of blind children? Do they not think there are more appropriate ways of handling the situation? These are the staff who are teaching our children how to live in the world as a blind person. I don’t want my child to be taught that it is ever  okay to be led around by a rope!

There are many ways this situation could have been handled differently. If there were concerns about the kids’ ability to travel independently as a group they could have been paired up with each other or in small groups with a staff member. The staff could have taken time before even leaving the school to talk with the kids about how to travel safely and independently as a group. If there were still concerns the school could have taken fewer students or more staff.

Any way you look at it – regardless of any external factors – there is never, ever cause to use a rope as a means of keeping blind people corralled in a group like a herd of cattle. I am extremely displeased and have expressed my concerns and anger over this situation to both John Roberts, the KSB Director of Instruction, and the staff that I know of who were present when this incident occurred - Connie Yocum, Mary Pawlowski, and Kyle Sochia. Like Nickie did previously, I urge all Federationists in Kentucky to take a few minutes to draft an email to these employees of the Kentucky School for the Blind and let them know this is unacceptable. Here are their email addresses for your convenience.

John.Roberts at ksb.kyschools.us<mailto:John.Roberts at ksb.kyschools.us>
Mary.Pawlowski at ksb.kyschools.us<mailto:Mary.Pawlowski at ksb.kyschools.us>
Connie.Yocum at ksb.kyschools.us<mailto:Connie.Yocum at ksb.kyschools.us>
Kyle.Sochia at ksb.kyschools.us<mailto:Kyle.Sochia at ksb.kyschools.us>

Respectfully,
Melanie Peskoe, President NFB of Greater Louisville

From: Nfbk [mailto:nfbk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Nickie Pearl
Sent: Thursday, June 27, 2013 9:05 AM
To: NFB of Kentucky Internet Mailing List
Subject: [Nfbk] Situation at KSB

Hello!
    This Tuesday during Summer Enrichment at KSB there was a situation that happened that I would like to share with everyone. The back story is that on Monday the Middle school kids went out on a field trip & one of the kids got lost/separated from the group.  On Tuesday when the High School kids were going to swim, when departing the bus they instructed the kids to hold on to a rope so no one get lost/separated. Yes, you heard that correctly, they were instructed to hold onto a rope.  One young man refused to hold the rope & ultimately the kids were put back on the bus and returned to KSB without swimming.
There was a veteran staff member & a new staff member present & as I understand, it was the new staff member who cam up with this rope idea.
    The actions of these staff members are inexcusable, disrespectful & down right degrading!  Parents send their kids to KSB to learn independence, life skills, O&M & confidence, not to be lead around like animals or criminals!  This action was a slap in the face to all those kids, other staff members, alumni & all blind persons of this community.
    We need to spread the word about this situation, call or write KSB & express our disgust & disappointment in the actions of these staff members.  Let them know that using a rope is unacceptable &  that the members of the National Federation of the Blind will not tolerate this sort of degrading behavior.  Also, we need to make sure to applaud   the actions of the young man who refused the rope!

Thank you!
Nickie

________________________________

_______________________________________________
Nfbk mailing list
Nfbk at nfbnet.org
http://host.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbk_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Nfbk:
http://host.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbk_nfbnet.org/i.c.bray%40win.net
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbk_nfbnet.org/attachments/20130630/f227f212/attachment.html>