[rehab] Special Education Shortages

[Husseini, Sahar]

Hi, Adrijana, 

The only way for this to change is if we change it.  I am proud to say that, in Nebraska, we have a blind travel instructor.  The only way for prevailing attitudes about a group to change is if we, the people that belong to that group, make things change.  It's never easy, but the road to end prejudice has never been easy to any group, at any time in history.  

Sahar Husseini, NCLB, NCUEB, CVRCB, MSW
Orientation Counselor
(402) 471-8144
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-----Original Message-----
From: rehab [mailto:rehab-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of adrijana prokopenko via rehab
Sent: Friday, January 08, 2016 11:42 AM
To: Rehabilitation Counselor Mailing List
Cc: adrijana prokopenko
Subject: Re: [rehab] Special Education Shortages

I agree with this, but most sighted people wouldn't give us the credit for this and would think that no one would find it safe to travel with a blind instructor, just as they would find it unsafe to go to a blind doctor or dentist.

On 1/8/16, Dick Davis via rehab <rehab at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hi,
>
>
>
> One of the main concerns in special education today is the shortage of 
> orientation and mobility specialists and teachers of blind children.  
> The shortage has been mentioned in professional communications and 
> listservs, and even mentioned by state departments of education,  but 
> one obvious solution seems not to have occurred to the people who have 
> written about the problem – recruiting, training, and hiring blind 
> people.  There are some real advantages blind professionals have, but two stand out:
>
>
>
> 1.       Blind people generally know a lot more about blindness than
> sighted people.
>
> 2.       Blind people generally have more self-interest in seeing that
> other blind people get good education and training.
>
>
>
> Right now I think we are poised at the brink of a new era in special 
> education for the blind, one in which blind and sighted teachers can 
> work as partners for the benefit of blind students.  And Louisiana 
> Tech can provide the kind of education that will enable blind persons 
> to enter orientation and mobility, teaching blind children, or both.
>
>
>
> So why don’t we have more blind people entering the field of work with 
> the blind, both special education and rehabilitation?  I think it is 
> because blindness professionals often have low expectations for blind 
> people, which is half the problem, and blind people have low 
> expectations for blindness professionals, which is the other half.  It’s a classic vicious cycle.
>
>
>
> If we as blind and sighted members of the National Federation of the 
> Blind want better special education and rehabilitation services in 
> this country, we need to do something about it.  That means preparing 
> intelligent, capable blind (and sighted) people for careers in special 
> education and rehabilitation.
>
>
>
> I know some of the attitudes about blindness at universities (a 
> notable exception being Louisiana Tech) aren’t the best.  But they 
> aren’t going to get any better if we don’t do anything to fix them.  
> And Dr. Bell’s program should always be full, as should be NFB 
> training centers, which can help prepare capable blind people for those professions.
>
>
>
> Please give the above some thought when you are considering career 
> choices.  We need more capable blind people in special ed and rehab -- now!
>
>
>
> Dick Davis, chair
>
> NFB Employment Committee
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>

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