[Pibe-division] TVI Training

Mon Feb 17 19:56:53 UTC 2014

Hi Mikayla,
I remember you from the 2010 JSA. I'm so excited that you're asking
about teaching!

I'm actually a student in the TBS program at Louisiana Tech, and the
program is a wonderful program. I highly recommend it. I came to
Ruston in 2012. First I attended the Louisiana Center for the Blind,
which was a life-changing experience. Then I started at Louisiana Tech
in the fall of 2012. I have never had an issue with getting to
classes. I haven't had to rely on my classmates for transportation.
Occasionally I've gotten rides with them because we were going to the
same place anyway, but it was with friends. The transportation is
limited, but I have been able to manage. Currently I have a job as a
paraprofessional in addition to my grad school classes, and I have
been able to get adequate transportation for both my job and my
classes without having to depend on friends. There are cabs and there
is a transit service that runs from early in the morning until around
5:00 in the evening. Also, there is a lot of housing close to campus.

Krystal is right that the blindness related classes are mostly online.
They have really strong NFB philosophy. Also, I have never had an
issue with adaptations. When I need to know how to do something as a
blind teacher, I just ask my peers who are already teachers.

It is not perfect here, but I don't know any place on earth that is.
However, if you look at the overall blindness philosophy of the
program and the wealth of knowledge from our instructors, I believe
that the program at Louisiana Tech is the best program for teachers of
blind students in the country.

If you have any questions about the program or Ruston in general
please don't hesitate to contact me on or off list. Also, let me know
if you want my phone number. I'm happy to talk to you about any of
this.

Warmest Regards,

Treva

On 2/17/14, Mikayla Gephart <mikgephart at icloud.com> wrote:
> I am curious. What do you mean by strengthening chrodentials?
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> On Feb 17, 2014, at 1:56 PM, "Smith, Pauline L" <PSmith4 at dmc.org> wrote:
>
>> Good Afternoon,
>>
>> I am thinking about strengthening my TVI credentials. This discussion on
>> training programs is very instructive.  Thanks, Allison for your honesty.
>> I don't think I would consider Ruston for the reasons that you and Jewel
>> have mentioned.  I am a bit shy about asking people for a lot of help and
>> would not like having to depend on classmates all the time for
>> transportation to places.  I guess that comes from a life history of
>> family and other sighted individuals I have been in contact feeling like
>> they were put upon when helping.  You get things like being yanked during
>> guiding or hearing secondhand how transporting you or associating with you
>> interfered with something they wanted to do.  I'm glad some people are
>> brave enough to express their honest feelings.
>>
>> There definitely needs to be NFB type teacher training programs in diverse
>> geographic areas.  The methods seem sound and any program that gives all
>> teacher candidates a fair chance to succeed deserves to be duplicated.
>>
>> Pauline
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Pibe-division [mailto:pibe-division-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
>> Allison Hilliker
>> Sent: Monday, February 17, 2014 10:05 AM
>> To: Professionals in Blindness Education Division List
>> Subject: Re: [Pibe-division] TVI Training
>>
>>    Hi All,
>>
>> I went to Louisiana Tech for the TBS program for about 6 months in 2007.
>> It absolutely has the best blindness philosophy and beliefs in the
>> capability of blind people around. You'll definitely get the best teacher
>> education there.
>>
>> That said, Jewel is right, it is located in the middle of nowhere. I
>> didn't care for Ruston at all and that's why I left the program. I loved
>> my instructors and my classes, but they only lasted for about 12 hours a
>> week and the rest of the week I was still stuck living in the small town
>> south. And the lack of transportation is a huge problem when trying to do
>> your field work as most blind students do not live in Ruston and you'll
>> need to hire drivers to get to neighboring towns. I was able to get rides
>> with friends sometimes, but when a quarter's worth of classes require more
>> than 30 hours of field work then depending on friends is not necessarily
>> practical. I was spending a lot of money on drivers to do field work.
>> Also, I was the only blind student in the program, and most of my
>> instructors were also sighted, so  I didn't necessarily feel like I was
>> getting many alternative technique suggestions for how to be an effective
>> blind teacher. While The Louisiana Center does have many
>> blind instructors, Louisiana Tech did not and those were the people I was
>> working with in my grad program. And most of all, I just did not like the
>> small town culture. Many people may love it, but I'm not one of them.
>>
>> Sorry fellow NFB members. I realize this post won't be popular, but I felt
>> moved to be honest. I've been in the NFB for years, consider myself a
>> philosophical purest, and am  a Louisiana Center graduate. Even so, I have
>> to be honest about Ruston. It's not the greatest place to spend two years
>> of one's life. We desperately need more than one NFB-focused graduate
>> program in this country because Ruston is not an option for everyone. It
>> has many limitations that I feel we need to be real about.
>>
>> JMO,
>> Allison
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Pibe-division [mailto:pibe-division-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
>> Jewel
>> Sent: Sunday, February 16, 2014 6:22 PM
>> To: Professionals in Blindness Education Division List
>> Subject: Re: [Pibe-division] TVI Training
>>
>> I looked into Louisiana Tech, too. I really liked the program description,
>> and I really like their director, who took the time to speak to me.
>> However, this school is in the middle of nowhere. There is no bus system.
>> The only way to get to any good shopping is by Greyhound bus. And getting
>> around town unless you're walking is difficult. You would have to bum
>> rides from fellow students. That is the bad side of Louisiana Tech, but
>> their program looks really good.
>> Jewel who went to Louisiana Tech last June to visit
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>>> On Feb 16, 2014, at 8:07 PM, Mikayla Gephart <mikgephart at icloud.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> 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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