[Pibe-division] TVI Training

[Heather Field]

Hello Makayla,
I am a teacher of blind students and I am also blind. I have been a teacher 
and  consultant for over 30 years.  Here are my thoughts for your 
consideration.
I believe you should choose your programme not only based on its merits, but 
also on the acceptance and support you will receive as a blind student 
teacher enrolled in that programme.. Unfortunately, There is a subtle but 
still very problematic bias against blind teachers in most of the teacher 
training programmes. As well as the outstanding teacher training programme 
at Louisiana Tech, which embraces NFB philosophy and approach, you can be 
certain that you won't encounter professors who will question your 
competence and doubt your abilities to successfully perform your practicum 
teaching, maintain discipline and control your students, or your ability to 
safely monitor students. Over the years all of these topics have been raised 
on this list as student teachers were dealing with the prejudice and 
discrimination of faculty at various universities. Answering the questions 
as to how you will deal with certain situations when you, as a student 
teacher have never had the opportunity to develop strategies or even 
experience teaching classes and learn what is necessary and works for you, 
is incredibly traumatic for blind student teachers. Not to mention 
completely unfair because, students who can see don't know the answers to 
the kinds of questions that are usually raised with blind students either, 
because they haven't done practicum teaching. . Of course, blind teachers 
have been teaching successfully for several hundred years in this country 
and answers exist to the questions that professors raise with the student 
teachers. However, the blind student teachers usually haven't gone searching 
for those answers or talked much with other blind teachers when these 
competence questions are raised in their first year of student teaching. So, 
they don't have the answers for the professors and it takes a big fight to 
get things resolved. This is a huge extra stress for the student teachers 
during practicum teaching, which is an incredibly stressful time for all 
student teachers. The benefit of lists like this and the NFB's Division Of 
Blind Educators are a great resource. But, in my opinion, it is far better 
to choose a college where you won't have these problems, so you can focus on 
learning to be a great teacher.

As far as the availability of public transportation options, many students 
will be in the same situation as you and won't own their own car. So you 
will often find other students who will be taking the bus to go shopping 
when you do so you will meet them and be able to make new friends. Also, 
lots of students will have cars and you can ask them if you can ride with 
them when they are going places. Either mode of transport provides you with 
great opportunities for you to reach out and meet new people and make 
friends. The college I attended did not have public transportation on 
week-ends so I had to make friends and get rides from people. I am still 
friends with some of the people I met at college and we became friends going 
shopping, attending parties together etc. So, I would encourage you to 
pursue Louisiana Tech as your teacher training option. If you decide you 
want to do the orientation And mobility course they have, you can become 
dual certified as a teacher and o and M instructor, using the structured 
discovery method. This is a great way to go because o and m instructors are 
in short supply. So are teachers of blind students. So your employment 
outlook is bright.
Fortunately, you have time to do your research before deciding.
Warmest regards,
Heather Field


-----Original Message----- 
From: Mikayla Gephart
Sent: Sunday, February 16, 2014 7:07 PM
To: pibe-division at nfbnet.org
Subject: [Pibe-division] TVI Training

Hi,
As I have said, I want to be a TVI. I am looking at training programs, and 
am leaning towards the College of New Jersey and Louisiana Tech, as I live 
in New Jersey. What are your experiences with these and other programs.

Sent from my iPad
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