[Ohio-talk] Dr. Smith's Cover Story

Thu Jan 23 13:50:53 UTC 2014

Hello Kaitie,
I agree with you. The problem is that some people do not want a child to appear different never mind that they already do when a book is so bulky and held right up to the face.
Children do not enjoy reading this way.
Some teachers are just too lazy to use Braille with their students. This is because some VI teachers do not know Braille very well themselves.
I just could not imagine life without Braille.
Colleen Roth

----- Original Message -----
From: Kaiti Shelton <kaiti.shelton at gmail.com>
To: "'Ationfb of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List'" <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org>
Date: Wednesday, January 22, 2014 10:10 pm
Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] FW: Dr. Smith's Cover Story

>
>
> I totally agree, it has always baffled me how children are not taught
> braille more than anything else; adults do have some other issues, but when
> a child is blind from birth there is no reason for them to be denied
> braille.  Even more infuriating is when a child who has a prognosis of
> vision decline or instability is not taught braille, in spite of the fact
> that anyone in the teaching profession knows literacy skills are learned
> easiest at a young age, and it is painstaking work to relearn them later on
> when the material taught in class is harder and more fast paced.  There is
> no excuse for illiteracy; no amount of technology can make up for the skills
> of reading and writing.  It is perplexing how braille is not viewed as an
> equal to print by some who teach it.   
> 
> Some know my story with learning braille.  I was originally a print reader
> because my parents, and the people who did my first vision assessment,
> thought I had the sight to do it.  I spent 2 years trying to read books with
> 22 to 36 point font right against my face.  The lack of control I have over
> my eye movements, combined with the very small visual field I have to work
> with made this painstaking work, but the adults in my life including my
> parents thought this was the best thing for me to do.  My first grade
> teacher was the one who really noticed that this method was not worth the
> struggle, and realized that braille would be the only thing that would allow
> me to keep up in subsequent levels of school.  She had resistance from
> blindness professionals and my parents who initially thought this woman was
> overstepping her bounds, but now I am thankful that I had a teacher who was
> perceptive and stubborn enough to fight for braille literacy and to think of
> my academic progress and visual prognosis long-term.  The world definitely
> needs more Mrs. Murphys, but it also needs more of those of us who are
> braille literate and educated to let them know just how important braille
> is.  Great article!
>     
> Kaiti Shelton
> University of Dayton---2016
> Music Therapy Major, Psychology Minor, Clarinet
> Ohio Association of Blind Students, President 
> NFB Community Service Group, Service Project Committee Chair
> Sigma Alpha Iota-Delta Sigma
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ohio-talk [mailto:ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Emily
> Pennington
> Sent: Wednesday, January 22, 2014 8:27 PM
> To: 'Ationfb of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List'
> Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] FW: Dr. Smith's Cover Story
> 
> JW and all,
> I really enjoyed reading that story. Even with so many significant
> technological advances, I'm still shocked when I hear the statistics about
> how Braille is used less frequently by blind students. I definitely
> appreciate the technology I have and utilize on a daily basis, but I, too,
> can't imagine not having at least a Braille display to fully comprehend
> everything in my textbooks. I recently met a fellow student — an adult,
> actually, who lost his sight in the military. At any rate, he still has some
> usable vision, but it continues to deteriorate. He came to me because he is
> also an Accounting major, but he's really struggling to keep up in that
> particular type of class. He initially declined to learn Braille when he
> lost his sight because his vision was still good, and he doesn't want to
> take time off from school to learn it now. I've been urging him to learn it,
> because that will make his life in Accounting — and in general — so much
> easier. I even sent him some info on the Hadley School, since he could learn
> through correspondence and not have to leave school. Sadly, he hasn't been
> very responsive to my following up. I'll keep trying, though.
> Anyway, I just felt the need to rant. That was a great article, and I hope
> everyone has a great day.
> 
> Take care,
> Emily
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ohio-talk [mailto:ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Smith, JW
> Sent: Wednesday, January 22, 2014 7:49 AM
> To: NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List (ohio-talk at nfbnet.org)
> Subject: [Ohio-talk] FW: Dr. Smith's Cover Story
> 
> fyi
> 
> Jw
> 
> Dr. JW Smith
> Associate Professor
> Interim Director of Honors Tutorial Studies School of Communication Studies
> Lasher Hall, Rm. 112 Athens, OH 45701
> smithj at ohio.edu<mailto:smithj at ohio.edu>
> T: 740-593-4838
> F: 740-593-4810
> 
> ininAsk me about the newly revised Ohio Fellows Program or visit
> http://www.ohio.edu/univcollege/ohiofellows.cfm
> 
> "Regarding the past, change what you can, and can what you can't."
> "Our minds are like parachutes. They work best when they are open."
> 
> From: coms_fac-bounces at listserv.ohio.edu
> [mailto:coms_fac-bounces at listserv.ohio.edu] On Behalf Of Butterworth,
> Michael
> Sent: Tuesday, January 21, 2014 12:47 PM
> To: coms_fac at listserv.ohio.edu; coms_grad at listserv.ohio.edu
> Subject: [Coms_fac] Dr. Smith's Cover Story
> 
> Hi Again,
> 
> If you haven't seen today's Post (1/21/14), be sure to take a look
> (http://thepost.ohiou.edu/content/losing-touch).  Our own JW Smith is
> featured in a story about braille and technology.  Very cool, Dr. Feelgood!
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mike
> 
> Michael L. Butterworth
> Director and Associate Professor
> School of Communication Studies
> Ohio University
> (740) 593-9160
> butterwm at ohio.edu<mailto:butterwm at ohio.edu>
> Executive Director, International Association for Communication and Sport
> 
> 
> 
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