[nobe-l] More questions for Kathy was: RE: QuietlyIintroducemyself
Marianne
mdenning at cinci.rr.com
Tue Feb 16 13:29:29 UTC 2010
Anita, You put it very well. I was also a nontraditional student. I am 52
and began working to become a TVI 3 years ago. The other thing I would add
is to work your contacts. You never know when a contact, even outside the
education field, will know of a position. I am amazed in my job because the
parents love having a blind teacher for their children. If you make contact
with some of the parents and they know your abilities they may push to have
you hired. I am not only a teacher but I am a roll model. I also can talk
with the teachers about what the student is trying to get away with and what
is really a problem. Teachers tend to believe everything the blind student
tells them about a limitation. All students will take advantage of a
situation when possible. My student had a big fight with her mother the
other day and had a history test. She told me she was not ready to take the
test. She was trying to get out of the test. That is not an excuse to get
out of a test. It was good thinking on her part though.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Anita Adkins" <aadkins7 at verizon.net>
To: "National Organization of Blind Educators Mailing List"
<nobe-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, February 15, 2010 8:05 PM
Subject: Re: [nobe-l] More questions for Kathy was: RE:
QuietlyIintroducemyself
> Hello,
>
> I just want to say I agree with the statement that the fewer accomodations
> needed, the more likely it is for one to get hired. If we think of this
> from a business standpoint, employers are more willing to hire us if we
> can be efficient and productive. Yes, maybe they are supposed to make
> accomodations for us, but if we can make them ourselves, we are much more
> likely to land the job. This does not mean that we should not ask for
> needed accomodations. It just means that we need to see if we can
> discover our own way to make it work and ask for assistance when we are
> not able to accomplish the job on our own. For example, hiring your own
> reader and providing your own transportation is something that you can
> most likely do for yourself. Grading papers as an English teacher, as
> another example, may be accomplished by requiring students to hand them in
> an electronic format that is accessible. A reader may be needed when it
> is necessary to grade students' handwriting, for instance. Due to
> confidentiality, it may be necessary to have a reader provided by the
> school, but it is important to explore to see if your own reader can do
> this job. For one of my education classes, I worked with at-risk kids in
> an after school program. I brought a raised line drawing kit to the
> sessions with me, and the 6-year-old I was working with wrote letters on
> the board for me. She thought it was neat drawing on the board, and I,
> myself, was able to examine her handwriting to see how she was doing. I
> have made it my mission to learn print letters. I know capital letters,
> but currently, I am tackling lower case letters. To get back on topic, n
> a nutshell, find a way to do the job on your own; ask for accomodations
> when you can't do it on your own. When an employer asks you how you can
> do something, don't say "I will need you to provide..." Rather say, "I can
> accomplish this task by using this or that alternative technique."
>
> Also, I believe it is most helpful when trying to get a job to make a
> contact or contacts in the field. This can be done through volunteering.
> (If a job is available, of course, take it in place of volunteer work).
> By volunteering, you are showing a possible employer that you do possess
> the skills and that you do have the abilities to do the job. I was hired
> at a position because I first volunteered doing it. While volunteering, I
> not only demonstrated my ability to teach, but I also made contacts. Now,
> when I do go into teaching, I will have someone to provide me with a good
> word.
>
> Just for those who don't know me, I am a nontraditional student, as I am
> 32 years old. I have worked as a Braille proofreader, a web
> accessibility/usability analyst, a sewer, and a rehabilitation teacher. I
> am now interested in working in the field of blindness, and I decided to
> return to school to get a degree that will allow me to do this. I do not
> know all of the answers, and I do look forward to learning from everyone
> on this list. Thanks in advance for all of your help and 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 7:26 PM
> Subject: Re: [nobe-l] More questions for Kathy was: RE: Quietly
> Iintroducemyself
>
>
>> Hope, the fewer accomodations you need the more likely a school district
>> is to consider you for a position. Have you thought about working with
>> students who are ESL learners?
>>
>> I am in my first year of teaching and I do not have any accomodations. I
>> have all of my own equipment. You could probably get the Spanish book in
>> a text format and download it onto your Braillenote or other notetaker.
>> You would need help grading papers unless you had the students use the
>> computer and either email them to you or print them out.
>>
>> There are ways to work many things out but you need to have a lot of the
>> answers because the school system will not have them. I think OSEP which
>> stands for Office of Special Education Programs is pushing school
>> districts to hire more people with disabilities. I wouldn't use this as
>> a weapon against a school district but it is good information to have.
>>
>> Marianne
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Hope Paulos" <hope.paulos at maine.edu>
>> To: "National Organization of Blind Educators Mailing List"
>> <nobe-l at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Saturday, February 13, 2010 6:20 PM
>> Subject: [nobe-l] More questions for Kathy was: RE: Quietly I
>> introducemyself
>>
>>
>>> Hi Kathy. I have obtained my secondary education Bachelor's degree with
>>> a focus on Spanish. I read in your message that it is highly unlikely
>>> that a totally blind person would be hired at a public school. I agree
>>> with that statement-- have spoken to many principals when taking
>>> education classes. My question, though, is what accommodations did you
>>> require from the school when they hired you? Did you do anything
>>> different that made you stand out so they *would* hire you, rather than
>>> look at other qualified applicants? The reason I ask, is because I'm
>>> looking for a teaching job. At the moment, I don't have a masters in
>>> teaching of the blind/visually impaired. I'd like to get a teaching job
>>> while I work on obtaining my masters.
>>> Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated.
>>> ----- 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 seve!
>>>> ral 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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>>>>> nobe-l:
>>>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nobe-l_nfbnet.org/goldendolphin17%40hotmail.com
>>>>
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>>
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>
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