[stylist] Gardner article from "the Braille Monitor"

Wed Oct 13 02:26:55 UTC 2010

Hey you all! It is always great to be able to celebrate a division members'
accomplishment in getting published. When I find out and/or if any of you
find out a fellow member's success in getting published, let us post a
notice or, even the published piece in STYLIST. So, here is a published
piece by Bob Gardner, which appeared in the pages of the October issue of
"The Braille Monitor." 

Braille Monitor                                                 October 2010

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We Are Able!

by Robert Gardner

>From the Editor: Our Braille Readers Are Leaders Contest was expanded last
year to include a category for adults. People wanting to improve their
skills were encouraged to form teams to support and encourage one another.
In this account we share our surprise in winning, the bonds formed by
reading aloud to each other, and the joy and accomplishment of one team and
the individuals in it.

"Here's a package for you," my wife said, handing me a box large enough for
a new pair of shoes. "It's from the NFB National Center. Did you order
something?"

"No," I said, mystified. After cutting through the packing tape and fumbling
through the packing peanuts, I pulled out...what?

My wife took a peek. "It's a plaque," she said. "Wow, you're Team of the
Year."

I stood there, stunned. Our team had won the 2009-2010 adult Braille Readers
Are Leaders Team of the Year Award. This had been the first year for the
adult contest, and we were the winners. I could hardly believe it.

The ABLE Group was formed in the fall of 2008 from within the Blackhawk
Chapter of the NFB of Illinois. ABLE stands for Access to Braille Literacy
for Everyone. Our goal was to increase our Braille skills by getting
together weekly and reading aloud to each other. We'd usually have four or
five people involved, and all of us were in the Beginner category, meaning
all of us had plenty of opportunity to improve.

Group member Lois Montgomery told me, "Meeting with the ABLE Group every
week and encouraging each other to improve our reading and writing skills
has definitely reaped benefits for all involved. Though I'm not a speedy
reader and will probably never be one, I focus on the fact that I am
literate. I think back to the time when I couldn't see print and didn't know
Braille. This motivates me to advocate for Braille literacy."

In the fall of 2009 our group read about the new adult category in the NFB
Braille Readers Are Leaders competition and the fact that we could form a
team. When quizzed, the members of the ABLE Group unanimously wanted to
enter the contest--and we became the ABLE Team. We charged forward with five
people joining the team. Enthusiasm was high. We continued to meet face to
face each week and kept in touch by phone and email. Articles sent out by
those coordinating the Braille Readers Are Leaders contest were passed
around electronically. We even turned one of our weekly meetings into a
travel exercise by riding the bus to a local restaurant and having an ABLE
Team Christmas party.

Jean Rauschenbach's story is unique but has some elements that are universal
amongst the group. She said, "I attended BLIND, Inc., learning the skills to
become a successful blind person. They changed my life and improved my
self-esteem. Because of learning these skills, especially Braille, I had the
courage to go back to school at the age of fifty. I am literate again! I
take notes on a Braille notetaker and can read out loud what I have
written-if haltingly. It is so great to be able to have notes to go by when
giving presentations in classes. My speed is still slow, but I know that it
will improve as I read Braille more and more."

Jean continued, "Being on the ABLE Team was a challenge during the school
year, but I decided to concentrate my time on reading a book for school. I
spent a good deal of time on reading, but it paid off by increasing my
reading speed. Sometimes we need the challenge of pressure to make us do
what we might put off to another time."

At the start of the contest each of us had goals, but soon we noticed that
the competition had spurred us all to exceed them. When Lois Montgomery
began to pile up pages read, she was encouraged to enter the individual
reading award competition. As the Leader Board was posted in the latter
stages of the competition, we found Lois on top. And wow, what a fantastic
ending to the competition! Lois took number one in the beginner category.
She read around three thousand pages during the two months of the contest.

Team member Patrick Olson said, "Braille provides a way for me to enjoy a
book or document without straining my eyes with large print. Reading Braille
gives me much more satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment than an audio
book provides." As a side note, Patrick and team member Jana Hergert had let
their Braille skills slide before joining the ABLE Group. With a year of
work on the team, both of them cemented their understanding of the
contractions and probably doubled their reading speeds.

Last spring I was shocked when I first held the plaque signifying that the
ABLE Group had won Team of the Year. Here we were, in our little corner of
Illinois, and we had been selected out of all the teams across the entire
country. I immediately grabbed the phone and relayed the news to team
members. I then had to contact several people at BLIND, Inc., where I
learned Braille. One of my greatest pleasures was a personal phone call to
my Braille instructor, Melody Wartenbee, to thank her for all her patience
and perseverance.

The Braille Readers Are Leaders adult contest brought the ABLE Team closer
together and increased our dedication to improving our Braille skills. The
contest pushed us all to write more, read more, and increase our commitment
to Braille literacy. The ABLE Team will continue to meet, inspired to reach
new levels by the Braille Readers Are Leaders Contest. 

Robert Leslie Newman

President- NFB Writers' Division

Division Website

 <http://www.nfb-writers-division.org> http://www.nfb-writers-division.org

Personal Website-

 <http://www.thoughtprovoker.info> http://www.thoughtprovoker.info