[nobe-l] help dealing with the visual side of teaching

Heather Field missheather at comcast.net
Mon Feb 20 05:12:43 UTC 2017 

Hello Kayla,
In my experience the upper grades are worse since they understand what the 
concept "blind" means in practical terms and usually try to find out what 
the blind teacher can tell and what they can get away with. The younger the 
grade the easier the discipline. However, you do need to be very structured 
in your giving of directions, as well as very clear about what will happen 
if those directions aren't obeyed. You must discipline swiftly and surely to 
prevent escalation of bad behaviour. Also, you definitely  you do need to 
have adapted resources. The teachers are only saying that everything is so 
visual because they don't understand how a blind teacher can use alternative 
techniques to adapt the presentation of the visual elements of the 
curriculum. For example, I teach reading using flash cards that have print 
and braille on them, magnetic letters which students use to spell their new 
words they're learning, magnetic wooden numbers and Unifix blocks and the 
abacus to teach number concepts. I can easily touch these concrete materials 
to check that students are answering correctly.
So, I wouldn't place too much store in the opinions of your sighted 
advisors.
Warmly,
Heather

-----Original Message----- 
From: Kayla James via NOBE-L
Sent: Sunday, February 19, 2017 7:41 PM
To: National Organization of Blind Educators Mailing List
Cc: Kayla James
Subject: Re: [nobe-l] help dealing with the visual side of teaching

Maybe upper grades will work. It's too bad there is no designated degree for 
the upper grades like there is for early childhood education.

Sent from my iPad

> On Feb 19, 2017, at 4:27 PM, Ashley Bramlett via NOBE-L 
> <nobe-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>
> Tara,
> I love your advice. Planning ahead is the best advice as well as having 
> supplies she can use.
>
> Kayla, there will be more challenges in being teacher for a day, but I 
> think if they
> have advanced notice as to what you need and accommodations that you can 
> do it. I'd suggest also learning the school layout and classroom before 
> you teach. This way you can more easily walk around the class and school. 
> You could arrive after school one day when the kids are gone and scope out 
> the school. Perhaps plan a short meeting with your mentor teacher.
>
> Yes, lower grades are visual but you can make anything work. That said, my 
> personal advice is trying a third or fourth grade class. I say this 
> because lower grades tend to use coloring more and arts/crafts. 
> Additionally, the speech is not as developed in kindergarten and I've seen 
> first graders overextend their verbs.
> I'm guessing that third grade and beyond will be more verbal and speak up. 
> I've had more success interacting with upper grades. When I volunteer 
> tutored students, I felt more comfortable with third grade through fifth 
> grade.
> But, do what you think is best. I just think that in a kindergarten or 
> first grade, you might have to come up with more alternatives to coloring.
>
> Good luck!
> Ashley
> -----Original Message----- From: Tara Abella via NOBE-L
> Sent: Sunday, February 19, 2017 4:52 PM
> To: National Organization of Blind Educators Mailing List
> Cc: taranabella0 at gmail.com
> Subject: Re: [nobe-l] help dealing with the visual side of teaching
>
> Hi Kayla,
>
> Personally, I think you should go for it. There is no better way for 
> getting experience in the classroom then to volunteer in a classroom. Here 
> are some suggestions I would give you so that you can be successful.
>
> 1: ask if the teacher would be willing to give you a short tour of where 
> basic items in the classroom are located. Try to arrive before the 
> students so this will be easier.
> 2: simply tell the students that instead of just raising their hand, when 
> you ask a question they will also have to say their name. Try asking for 
> only the boys to answer or the students with odd mailboxes to answer to 
> cut down on the noise level.
> 3: when the students are working on assignments, have the student say 
> their name if they need help. Also, walk around to table groups and ask 
> students to read you their answers to some of the questions so you will 
> know if they are on the right track. Ask the teacher if there is a 
> particular group of students that struggles and try working with the 
> students.
> 4: find out ahead of time what your responsibilities will be as far as 
> teaching. Make sure your materials are labeled with braille so you can 
> read them, but also in print so students can read them too. Power points 
> have worked amazingly for me to present information.
> 5: Bring a couple books that have dual print and braille for you to read 
> to the class. Often, there will be a little bit of downtime and this would 
> work beautifully and show you are prepared.
> 6: don't panic if everything doesn't go perfectly. This is a one day 
> opportunity, so nobody in the program is going to tell you you are not fit 
> to be a teacher based on a one day experience.
> 7: be confident and don't be afraid to ask for a little assistance. If you 
> can't write on the board, have a student do it. If you still aren't very 
> familiar with where all the desks are, have a student pass out the papers.
> I hope some of the suggestions are helpful and I hope you have a great 
> experience for your first time in the classroom!
>
> Tara
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On Feb 19, 2017, at 4:17 PM, Kayla James via NOBE-L <nobe-l at nfbnet.org> 
>> wrote:
>>
>> I suppose you're right.
>>
>>
>> Sent from my iPad
>>
>>> On Feb 19, 2017, at 1:22 AM, Heather Field via NOBE-L 
>>> <nobe-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hello Kayla,
>>> Since blind teachers need to teach their students different ways of 
>>> communicating with them, and they usually need to organise their 
>>> classroom so that resources have braille labels, and so on, I would not 
>>> volunteer for this experiment. I am a teacher with over 30 years 
>>> experience and I wouldn't be a teacher for a day if this opportunity was 
>>> offered to me. Since a blind teacher needs to make specific 
>>> modifications to the classroom to ensure that he/she can function 
>>> independently, just walking into an unknown classroom with a class of 
>>> students whom you have never met before seems to be setting oneself up 
>>> for an discouraging experience.
>>> Many blind teachers are successfully working as teachers, but they set 
>>> up their classroom to suit them and they teach their students to follow 
>>> classroom interaction rules that work for a blind teacher. So, while I 
>>> believe you could become a successful blind teacher, and you could 
>>> certainly volunteer to be a teacher for a day, I don't believe that 
>>> going into a strange classroom for a day would accomplish anything 
>>> positive for you.
>>> Just my thoughts, of course.
>>> Warmly,
>>> Heather
>>>
>>> -----Original Message----- From: Kayla James via NOBE-L
>>> Sent: Wednesday, February 15, 2017 10:19 PM
>>> To: National Organization of Blind Educators Mailing List
>>> Cc: Kayla James
>>> Subject: [nobe-l] help dealing with the visual side of teaching
>>>
>>> Hello, everyone. I want to volunteer for a program called "Teacher for
>>> a Day." My child development teacher thinks I can do it, but she and
>>> the coordinator of the program are worried.
>>> We can pick a grade for teaching, but since everything is so visual,
>>> they are trying to decide what is best for me.
>>> Can the totally blind teachers please send in advice so I can forward
>>> it to my teacher? Oh, and p.s.: no teacher's aide are given.
>>> My child development teacher said that aides aren't given all of the
>>> time to teachers most of time. In fact, she suggested I become an
>>> aide.
>>> Thank you, everyone. I just want to see if I have what it takes to 
>>> teach.
>>>
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