[nobe-l] teaching questions

Tue Feb 16 01:11:33 UTC 2010

Thanks.  That is very helpful.  I am beginning to think that I can find it 
challenging (in a positive way) to teach, especially after Kathy's email.  I 
appreciate your email because I am considering becoming a TVI.  My main 
concern is traveling from school to school.  I am a West Virginian at heart, 
and WV has a lot of back roads.  Hiring a driver might get expensive for me. 
If you are managing, so can I.  Thanks for the encouragement.  Anita
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Marianne" <mdenning at cinci.rr.com>
To: "National Organization of Blind Educators Mailing List" 
<nobe-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, February 15, 2010 7:06 PM
Subject: Re: [nobe-l] teaching questions


> Anita,  I have worked as a TVI but I worked as a rehabilitation teacher in 
> the past.  In both of these jobs I have worked with people one-on-one. 
> I am a teacher of children who are visually impaired and his is my first 
> year. This year I have three totally blind students who attend a local 
> high school.  Each of these students is in a classroom and I provide the 
> needed support services.  One of my students is in "regular education" 
> classes and plans to attend college.  She will graduate at age 18 and all 
> services are related to her visual impairment.  I help her work on 
> organization skills, test taking skills, notetaking skills and support the 
> teachers as needed. The other two students have additional disabilities. 
> They are probably autistic even though it is not listed in any 
> evaluations.  About 60 to 70 per cent of visually impaired students have 
> additional disabilities. Motivating them from day to day is definitely a 
> challenge.  Some days I feel like we have gone backwards and other days I 
> think I must be the greatest teacher on earth because of their progress. 
> My job changes from day to day and from hour to hour.
>
> As a rehabilitation teacher I worked with primarily older people who were 
> losing their vision.  I visited them in their homes and helped them learn 
> skills to live independently.  I didn't teach braille too much but I did 
> some.  I, again, did not get bored because my job was constantly changing. 
> I loved it when someone learned to do something they thought they could no 
> longer do.
>
> I think any job can get boring but the requirements of teachers is 
> constantly changing so the expectations change.  I also believe each class 
> has their own personality and characteristics and that keeps teaching 
> exciting.
>
> Marianne
>  ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Anita Adkins" <aadkins7 at verizon.net>
> To: "National Organization of Blind Educators Mailing List" 
> <nobe-l at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Saturday, February 13, 2010 12:46 PM
> Subject: Re: [nobe-l] teaching questions
>
>
>> Hello Kathy,
>>
>> I do appreciate your willingness to answer questions.  I do have a few 
>> for you.
>>
>> First, do you have a secret pneumonic device for memorizing the voices of 
>> your students.  I know this is a silly thing to worry about, but I am in 
>> college classes with all different students.  Many of them know me on 
>> site from class to class, but I sure do not know them, unless I have 
>> worked with them more closely within the class.
>>
>> Second, I am interested in working in the field of blindness.  I want to 
>> actually teach at a school for the blind or in another position that 
>> would allow me to work specificly in the field of blindness.  I am going 
>> into Elementary Education with a specialization in Language Arts because, 
>> first of all, I love to write, and, second of all, this school does not 
>> have a degree in vision or even Special Ed.  My concern is with teaching 
>> students, whether they are blind or sighted, I am terribly afraid I will 
>> get bored.  I have taught before, and I am excellent at motivating 
>> students.  But, I found that if I taught computer technology or Braille 
>> all day, I became bored. This was in a position where I had maybe five 
>> students, all in various stages of accepting their disability. 
>> Fortunately, in that particular position, my boredom was not a major 
>> concern because I could switch my subjects and move around, such as from 
>> the Computer lab to the Braille classroom or inside or outside the 
>> building when working with students during Travel class.  So, my question 
>> is: do you have ways to keep yourself from getting bored while teaching. 
>> If you teach Shakespeare every year, for instance, it seems you would 
>> know it so well that it would become monotonous.  I am active and like to 
>> switch from task to task.  I am terrified that if I teach, I will 
>> eventually, after a few years, become bored with the same routine. 
>> Maybe, what I am really asking is do you have any ideas on various 
>> careers in blindness that I could explore?  I would love to teach and 
>> lecture and to show blind students that they can be active and 
>> independent, but I also want to do more than that, such as research or 
>> work with Braille, etc.
>>
>> Thanks.  Anita
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Kathy Nimmer" <goldendolphin17 at hotmail.com>
>> To: "blind teachers" <nobe-l at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Friday, February 12, 2010 3:40 PM
>> Subject: Re: [nobe-l] Quietly I introduce myself
>>
>>
>>>
>>> Hello everyone,
>>>
>>>  Well, I've sure enjoyed seeing the discussions from so many to-be 
>>> teachers.  It is hopeful to me that people are entering the training 
>>> process with an eye on this field, even though the odds are against them 
>>> for hiring in a normal public school classroom.  I am someone who was 
>>> fortunate to go against those odds. I am in my eighteenth year of 
>>> teaching English and creative writing in a normal high school classroom 
>>> in a large public school in Indiana.  Never would I claim to have all 
>>> the answers to what must be many questions, but I am willing to give 
>>> some of them a shot. I know I might be in a position to help those of 
>>> you in college and looking toward a teaching job, so I invite you to ask 
>>> away. I even had one list member come out to my neck of the woods to 
>>> observe for three days this past August, a wonderful experience for both 
>>> of us. She is student teaching right now. Again, nothing I do is the 
>>> ideal or perfect answer for everyone else, but I do do it and have for 
>>> several
>>> years, not with success early on but with success far more often than 
>>> not now.  Should we change the subject line if we're going to do an open 
>>> back and forth q/a?  In between scanning and grading fifty historical 
>>> short stories his weekend, I'll gladly offer my limited wisdom and will 
>>> probably end up learning more from you than you do from me!  Hear from 
>>> you soon.
>>>
>>> Kathy Nimmer: Teacher, Author, Motivational Speaker
>>> http://www.servicedogstories.com
>>> http://guidedogjourney.livejournal.com
>>> Even if the shadows of the valley hide your view,
>>> You still must believe in the mountains.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>> From: iamantonio at cox.net
>>>> To: nobe-l at nfbnet.org
>>>> Date: Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:07:49 -0500
>>>> Subject: [nobe-l] Quietly I introduce myself
>>>>
>>>> Hi all,
>>>>
>>>> I hope we are all busy at teaching, or learning how to teach, since I 
>>>> have gotten no mail from this list in the past couple of weeks since 
>>>> subscribing.
>>>>
>>>> I am a member of the National Federation of the Blind of Rhode Island, 
>>>> and subscribed here because I am at school to become a social studies 
>>>> teacher.
>>>>
>>>> Some of you may know me from the NABS list, or the NFB of Florida, or 
>>>> the NFB of Massachusetts, and some of you will come to know me as a 
>>>> student at Western Governors University.
>>>>
>>>> This online university is where I currently attend, and it is where I 
>>>> will obtain a bachelors in social studies teaching 5/12.
>>>>
>>>> I am optimistic about getting a job after graduation, and I expect my 
>>>> hopes of employment to become realized. In other words, I want to, and 
>>>> expect to land a job.
>>>>
>>>> Right now all I can do is to work hard at school, and hope for a 
>>>> bright, if hectic teaching career.
>>>>
>>>> I have no specific questions at the moment, but hope to see some list 
>>>> traffic.
>>>>
>>>> Are there blind teachers here? what do you teach, and are you listed in 
>>>> Where the Blind Work?
>>>>
>>>> Sincerely,
>>>>
>>>> Antonio Guimaraes
>>>>
>>>> If an infinite number of rednecks riding in an infinite number of 
>>>> pickup trucks fire an infinite number of shotgun rounds at an infinite 
>>>> number of highway signs, they will eventually produce all the world's 
>>>> great literary works in Braille.
>>>>
>>>> Shop online and support the NFB of RI at no additional cost to you.
>>>> http://www.givebackamerica.com/charity.php?b=169
>>>> Givebackamerica.org, America's Online Charity Shopping Mall
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>>>
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>>
>>
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>
>
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