[nobe-l] nobe-l research on best placement for blind students

[Anita Adkins]

Hello Everyone,

I am blind, and, as you may already know, my name is Anita Adkins. 
Currently, I am writing a proposal paper for a college English course on the 
best placement for students who are blind.  Is it in a public school within 
the general education classroom, a public school in a resource room, a mix 
between the two or at a separate school for the blind?  I am looking for 
stories from various people who have either attended public school or a 
residential school for the blind.  Any feedback asap is welcome and greatly 
appreciated.  Please write blindness proposal essay in the subject line so 
that I will know it is not junk mail, and please write me off list so that 
we do not clutter up the list.  Also, I am interested in hearing from any 
parents who are willing to share their opinion on the matter and where they 
would choose to send their child and why.  I am pasting the interview 
questions below.  Please ignore the repetition as I originally created two 
separate questionaires, and I have just combined both of them for this 
particular email.

If you wouldn't mind, I would like to ask you some questions about your 
personal experiences
to help me make a proposal as to the best placement for students who are 
blind and why.  The questions
are:
Did kids pick on you.  Did you work with a paraprofessional?  If so, was the
paraprofessional trained to work with the blind?  Keep in mind that when I
am saying paraprofessional, I am not talking about a teacher of the visually
impaired.  Paraprofessionals do not have teaching degrees and generally earn
minimum wage.  Or, were you fortunate to have a teacher of the visually
impaired in the general education classroom with you?  Or, did you not have
anyone in the general education classroom with you?  What was it like in the
resource room?  Was that a teacher specially trained in blindness?  Did your
regular teachers have high expectations for you?  Or, did they allow you to
get away with not completing assignments or doing certain assignments due to
your blindness?  How did the other kids treat you?  Did you interact with
them and have friends?  Did you spend a full day within the general
education classroom, or did you spend part of the day in the regular
classroom and the other part in the resource room?  Or, did you spend the
majority of the time in the general education classroom and get pulled out
for specialized training such as orientation & mobility?  How did you learn
Braille?  Did you receive your textbooks in Braille and on time?  What about
other handouts and the like?  Were you in the general education classroom,
but still not included because of your blindness?  Or, were you fully
included in that you did work, helped with classroom jobs, socially
interacted with the other students, etc.  Do you feel that anything you did
was distracting for the sighted kids in your classroom, for example, using
the brailler or taking extra time to complete a task or whatever else you
might think of?  Where would you recommend that students who are blind be
placed, in a resource room, in the general education classroom or at a
school for the blind?  Why?  And, why don't you think they should be placed
in the other two places?  Do you have any other questions I should be asking
in this interview that I am forgetting?  And, do you feel that your public
school experience was a positive one?
Did you attend a residential school for the blind?  If so, How was your
experience there different?  What challenges did you face there?  What was
successful about that experience?  Was it a positive one?  And, what about
specialized classes you needed as a blind student such as Braille, daily
living skills, orientation and mobility, etc?  Did you receive them while
attending public school?  How?  Did you receive them at the school for the
blind?  How?  Did you have a positive experience at the residential school 
for the blind?
What benefits did you experience?
What challenges did you face?
Did you receive appropriate training in blindness skills such as Braille, 
O&M, daily living skills, etc?
Do you feel that you were taught how to socially interact with other blind 
people?   With other sighted people?
Did you have any friends at the school?  At home?
Where do you feel that students who are blind should attend school--in a 
school for the blind, in a public school in a resource room, or in a public 
school in the general education classroom?  Why?
Why do you feel that the other choices are not appropriate?
Did the school provide you with academic subjects that were challenging and 
appropriate to your age level?  Also, may I have your permission to quote or 
paraphrase what
you share with me?  Also, note that this is voluntary, and you only need to
answer the questions if you feel comfortable doing so.  If you decide to
answer, I would appreciate your responses asap.  Thank you.
Anita
Anita Adkins
81 E. Mechanic ST
APT 207
Frostburg, MD 21532
301-689-5212
aadkins7 at verizon.net
Remember, Jesus Loves You.