[nfbmi-talk] {Disarmed} Inquirer article on NFB Scholarship winner from Pa., Harriet Go

[Christine Boone]

> Hi Friends,
> Thought you'd want to see this Philly Inquirer article posted online today
> about my friend from Pennsylvania, Harriet Go. I'm copying the link followed by the article. The
> writer's contact info is after the article. 
> 
> 
Christine

> http://www.philly.com/philly/news/pennsylvania/20120615_Being_blind_is_no_ba
> rrier_for_this_Philadelphia_teacher.html
> 
> Posted: Fri, Jun. 15, 2012, 3:00 AM
> 
> Being blind is no barrier for this Philadelphia teacher
> 
> By Dara McBride
> 
> INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
> 
> A group of second graders reads aloud from workbooks as teacher Harriet Go
> follows along, running her fingers across lines of text. Once class is
> finished, the children line up at the door. As they walk quietly through the
> hall to round up her next group of students, Go, who is blind, lightly raps
> her long white cane on the floor tiles.
> 
> Go, 30, has worked for the last seven years in the Philadelphia School
> District and teaches 21 special-education students in kindergarten through
> second grade at Richmond Elementary in Bridesburg.
> 
> On the first day of school each year, Go plays "icebreaker" games with her
> students, telling them all about herself, including that she is blind. She
> also brings in her favorite CD (Adele or Mariah Carey) and movie (any of the
> Harry Potter series).
> 
> "They can see that a person who is blind is a normal person, too, and
> there's nothing weird or strange about it, they just have to do things
> differently," said Go, who was diagnosed as blind at birth and describes her
> vision as "severely limited."
> 
> Classes ended for the summer Thursday and Go, recently named one of 30
> national recipients of a scholarship from the National Federation of the
> Blind, will spend a week of her vacation in Dallas at the July NFB annual
> conference. Go will be honored at a banquet and learn the amount of the
> scholarship, which ranges between $3,000 and $12,000.
> 
> She received the scholarship once before, during her undergraduate studies
> at Temple University in special and elementary education, a degree earned
> summa cum laude. Her second scholarship will be applied to her master's
> concentrating in reading and literacy from an online program at Minnesota's
> Walden University.
> 
> To receive the scholarship twice is remarkable, said Jim Antonacci,
> president of the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania and member
> of the national committee that selects the recipients from about 450
> applications. Antonacci could not comment on Go's application, but spoke
> personally of her work in Philadelphia, including leading a summer camp for
> blind children and demonstrating braille to Boy Scouts.
> 
> "She's always been one to give herself as much as she could," he said.
> "She'll always do what she can to help another blind person."
> 
> Antonacci said the School District has perhaps a half-dozen blind teachers,
> a figure district officials said they could not confirm because they don't
> track that category.
> 
> Although many assume Go teaches blind students, her pupils have learning
> disabilities, not physical disabilities, and need extra help in reading and
> math. Some students come to her without knowing the alphabet or how to spell
> their name. When her students become frustrated with a lesson, shouting out
> "I can't do it!", she tells them, "If you can't do it, at least try."
> 
> The specialized attention helps students succeed, said Joyce Sloan, a second
> grade teacher at Richmond and a coworker of Go's for the last seven years.
> When Go comes into Sloan's classroom to take students to their reading or
> math lesson, Sloan said, students jump with excitement.
> 
> The attention to students goes beyond academics, said Sloan. For instance,
> she said, Go will pull students aside if she learns they are having a tough
> time making friends at recess.
> 
> "They have a lot of respect for her and she has a lot of respect for the
> children," said Sloan.
> 
> Go described her eyesight as being unable to see details. She was diagnosed
> as blind at two weeks old and has congenital glaucoma, aniridia, and
> cataracts. Her sight has deteriorated over the years and the glasses she has
> are no longer helpful, but she still wears them out of habit. She
> predominantly relies on braille, learned at age 6, to read to her students.
> 
> A Philadelphia native, Go attended St. Lucy's Day School in Feltonville,
> where several teachers inspired her to become a teacher. She said she did
> encounter some resistance while student-teaching during her last year in
> college, but prefers not to discuss it.
> 
> "Some people believed that because I am blind I would not be able to handle
> my duties as a teacher," Go said.
> 
> Small adaptations to her classroom help guide Go through her lessons.
> Students call their names when they raise their hands. Tactile aids, like
> tape, sticky notes and braille, appear in Go's books and on posters. A
> teaching aide sits in on Go's class to help her monitor student behavior and
> occasionally grade papers.
> 
> Richmond principal Anna Jenkins said Go is easily able to make
> accommodations both for the needs of special-education students and for her
> own disability.
> 
> "She works at such a high level and it doesn't affect her work at all,"
> Jenkins said.
> 
> Members of the National Organization of Blind Educators will attend July's
> NFB conference, and Go said she hopes to share her experiences and hear from
> others. Her goal in education is to continue learning and teaching, possibly
> becoming a curriculum director or an administrator.
> 
> "I want people to learn that just because someone has a disability or a
> difficulty, that shouldn't stop them from doing what they want to do or
> being what they want to be," she said.
> 
> Contact Dara McBride at 215-854-5626 or dmcbr
> 
> mailto:DMcBride%40philly.com
> 
> Read Donna's articles on
> Suite 101:
> 
> http://suite101.com/donna-w-hill
> 
> Connect with Donna on
> Twitter:
> www.twitter.com/dewhill
> LinkedIn:
> www.linkedin.com/in/dwh99
> FaceBook:
> www.facebook.com/donna.w.hill.
> 
> Hear clips from "The Last Straw" at:
> cdbaby.com/cd/donnahill
> 
> Apple I-Tunes
> phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=259244374
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> 
> Anjelina
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> 
> __._,_.___
> Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a New Topic
> Messages in this topic (3)
> RECENT ACTIVITY:
> Visit Your Group
> How many children in America are not taught to read?
> The answer is 90 percent if the children are blind.  
> 
> Don't miss your opportunity to make change with a dollar! 
> Watch this video:
> http://www.marchforindependence.org/site/R?i=ZR5rM_4vdwhiO_bZ-VffRg..
> 
> NFB of Pennsylvania  wants to hear from you 
> phone 215.988.0888
> 
> 
> Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use
> .
>  
> __,_._,___