[stylist] question

[James Canaday M.A. N6YR]

okay john,
first I have to say my area of study wasn't blind education or rehab 
of blind, special ed blind.  if you look at old issues of the braille 
monitor you'll see a boatload of articles on the efforts of nfb to 
get blind o&m instructors trained and certified.  there's been huge 
progress in this.  regarding the educational establishment, you are 
correct, many  are sighted, though blind profs/researchers are 
apparently increasing  in number.  the employment of blind folks at 
guide dog schools, schools for the blind, as rehab teachers etc., 
also is not what it ought to be but it is improving I think.
this is one reason nfb has three centers for education of blind 
people, in louisiana, colorado and minnesota.
one of the most important things these centers do is not exactly 
curiculum, but it is instead providing mentoring and role modeling so 
newly blinded people meet effective blind people and see them in 
daily activities.
jc

Jim Canaday M.A.
Lawrence, KS

At 11:18 PM 3/24/2009, you wrote:
>Jim:
>
>What you wrote made me wonder about something.  In academic circles, for
>rehab of the blind, education of the blind, blind studies, and so on, are
>there many blind researchers and professors?
>
>I am very fearful that the answer may be no.
>
>The only thing I know is that I was truly shocked to learn that the
>Minnesota school for the blind has only one fully blind teacher.  One!
>Compare this to the school for the deaf, where eighty percent of the staff
>is deaf, all the way from administration down to houseparents.
>
>The academic journals on deafness, ASL, Deaf education, and so on, all are
>edited by Deaf scholars and the great majority of contributors, the
>professors and such, are Deaf.
>
>True, mainstreaming is prevalent, but this is most often a problem with
>school districts wanting to keep Deaf students because they're cash cows.
>They promise they'll provide all the resources blah blah.  But it's crap.
>
>Still, Deaf schools are going strong and there are many large Deaf programs
>within public schools, so there's a good social critical mass and also Deaf
>teachers there.  All the accredition programs, the teacher training programs
>for Deaf education, etc. all are run by Deaf people.
>
>I hope that blind people run everything, too.  If that's not the case, that
>needs to change--or am I wrong to think that would be a good thing?
>
>John
>
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