[nfbmi-talk] [nfb-indiana] Response To Recent NPR Speculation About Obsolescence Of Braille

[Kane Brolin]

 Check out this other piece I found, which is distributed on the NPR
One app.  It is entitled "Blind Kids, Touch Screen Phones, And The End
Of Braille?"  (Note the question mark at the end of the word
"Braille"; this piece doesn't necessarily present the death of Braille
as a foregone conclusion, but I think this merits a good, hard listen,
which I have not given it as yet.)
http://one.npr.org/?sharedMediaId=492053332:492053334

Seems like this idea of Braille's imminent demise is a recurring theme
even on public radio, which tries really hard to be circumspect and
forward-looking in its approach.

I have not listened to this piece as yet; it is considerably longer
than the first, and it might be really well done or it might not.  I
know Texas School
for the Blind and Visually Impaired is the setting of this piece, and
there are some really good things about that institution.  I've read
that Susan Osterhaus does some amazing things with math education.
http://www.tsbvi.edu/math#About

But I am not going to respond to the NPR piece linked above, because

(a) The linked episode is part of a show called "Note To Self" that
airs principally on WNYC in New York City, not across the entirety of
the NPR system.  "All Things Considered," which picked up the
Tennessee School story I commented on yesterday, is an iconic show
that airs daily and which millions of people listen to nationwide.
And

(b) Crafting a well-reasoned, professionally written response to the
ATC piece and fitting it into their 5,000-character maximum length
standard took up a lot of my time yesterday, and I can't do that every
day.  No time to spend on this today.  But one of you certainly might
choose to write to the producers of this particular program after
listening to it carefully, because they are different from those whom
I addressed with my note of yesterday.

No end of our need in the Federation to educate the public.  We can't
have too many voices doing this, as long as the message is
consistently the same on all key talking points.

Warm regards,

-Kane