[stylist] more on this subject of Working in blindness field

Mon Feb 18 15:16:13 UTC 2013

This is really interesting to have this discussion.
My experiences are so limited in this field.

When I was at the rehab. center, the former director asked our group one day 
"How many of you are members of NFB?"  I had never heard of NFB so had no 
clue what he wanted to know.  No one in the group raised their hand. He 
said, "Good!  I hat the NFB." Then he went on to talk about the 
organization.

My local blind assoc. seems to be quite proud to announce to us that 
"everyone working for them must have a driver's license." With a smile, for 
sure.
So what you are saying here makes sense from just my little corner of the 
world view here. I only had ONE rehab teacher who is blind, during my 15 
weeks there.
I would have LOVED to have a blind mobility teacher -

Lynda

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Robert Leslie Newman" <newmanrl at cox.net>
To: "'Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, February 18, 2013 9:14 AM
Subject: [stylist] more on this subject of Working in blindness field

> Guys
> Back when I started working for the commission for the Blind here in
> Nebraska, back in the seventies, our federation had the mindset (this is a
> generalization) that if you as a blind person had one of those jobs, then
> you were suspect, as in you had gone over to the other side, that of the
> enemy! (This was the state of relations between the progressive blind and
> the rehab services.) Boy, back then, in a NFB chapter around here, you
> mostly weren't encouraged to try and become an officer, because it was
> feared that you would be a spy for the rehab side, and would be pushing
> their (the bad guys) agenda. But --- this all changed. Here in Nebraska 
> and
> in New Mexico and maybe in some other states, the NFB got the bad agency
> head folks fired and had a hand in who and what changes had to occur ---  
> and
> so the NFB philosophy got the upper hand. And then, it became respectful 
> for
> NFB members to be part of the rehab scene. (Here in the Omaha chapter we
> still have one older member, like in the 80's who doesn't like seeing a
> rehab professional being in a leadership position.)
>
> Think of it, one of the larger and more active NFB Division's is the
> Rehabilitation Professionals.
>
> #2 Taking a serious look at job opportunities for the blind in blind 
> related
> professions --- count up the number of rehab agencies and/or other 
> services
> around the country and add up how many blind folks are working within them
> and I bet that number is not as great as you think!!! Consider, that in
> general, the not so good agencies who have low expectations are the ones
> that will more than likely hire only a few token blind workers. And the
> better rehab services, which are the minority in this nationwide group 
> that
> we are looking at --- sure, they may have more blind guys on staff.
> (Nebraska at present has 1 blind related rehab service only. They have a
> total staff at the commission that numbers around 55 and 17 are blind. All
> other employed blind people work in a variety of other jobs; Nebraska is 
> one
> of the better states for employment of the blind and there are a bunch of
> folks that are doing all kinds of jobs.) So watch that thought of yours,
> that there are a big number of blind folks working in blind related 
> jobs ---
> for either reason of- A. That is where they are accepted. Or B. That it is
> the job that the blind think of first as to what they can do.
>
> (Just my rambling for this morning.)
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Julie J.
> Sent: Monday, February 18, 2013 7:08 AM
> To: Writer's Division Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [stylist] Working in blindness field
>
> Bridget,
>
> Could it be that more of the state board members and generally more really
> active members of the NFB are working in the blindness field because
> blindness is their passion?It makes sense to me that if promoting
> opportunities for blind people was your life's mission that you'd work in
> that field and be more active within an organization that supported you. 
> I
> do think all blind people have an interest in achieving true equality for
> blind people. However I think for some it is their major life's work, 
> while
> for others of us it is something we do when we can around our other main
> pursuits. So it makes sense to me that there would be a large number of
> people within the NFB that do or want to work in the blindness field.
>
> I've been blind for around 20 years now.  While I do know quite a few 
> blind
> people who work in the blindness field, I'd say I know a larger number who
> don't.  Perhaps that's because I have never been very involved in 
> leadership
> within the NFB.  It does seem that those in leadership positions do work 
> in
> the blindness field much more frequently.  Again that makes sense to me 
> due
> to their strong interest and commitment to the cause.
>
> Julie
>
>
>
> On 2/17/2013 11:13 PM, Bridgit Pollpeter wrote:
>> Ashley,
>>
>> Without actual stats, we can't really debate this, but that being said,
>> I beg to differ, at least to a degree.
>>
>> I don't think anyone here is trying to make generalizations seeing as we
>> all are blind, but we are all speaking from our experiences and personal
>> observations.
>>
>> In the ten years I've been blind, which isn't long compared to some,
>> I've met more blind people working in a blindness-related field or
>> hoping to be employed in a blindness related field. For every lawyer,
>> teacher and computer programmer I've met, I've met ten who worked in a
>> job relating to blindness.
>>
>> There's nothing wrong with this, and most of us would agree that blind
>> people need to be working in these fields, but I also think it can
>> become a safety net for some; not all, but many.
>>
>> I've been to NFB conventions, and yes, there are people employed in
>> various fields, and many scholarship winners plan to, or are, pursuing a
>> myriad of career paths, but again, for every one of these people I've
>> met, I've met a dozen working in the blindness field. Or many of these
>> people end up in a blindness field despite their choice of degree.
>>
>> And having heard several scholarship winners speak at conventions, a
>> good number of them hope to work in some way in a blindness field or
>> teaching the blind. Again, nothing wrong with this, and we do need blind
>> people doing this, but, for me, it shows how many blind people go into a
>> blindness related field.
>>
>> And in our affiliate, most of the leadership either works in the
>> blindness field or hopes too. Of our eleven state board members, only
>> two are employed outside of a blindness field, and one is working
>> towards a degree so they can work in a blindness job.
>>
>> More and more blind people are seeking opportunities outside of a
>> blindness related career, but many are still drawn to the field for
>> whatever reason. Again, we need strong, competent blind people in this
>> field, but we also need to consider what we truly want as a person and
>> not a blind person.
>>
>> And a side note, I don't think Lynda meant anything negative by her
>> comments nor was she implying all blind people work in a blindness
>> related field. She was merely detailing her experience and speaking to
>> that experience alone.
>>
>> Bridgit
>>
>> Message: 11
>> Date: Sun, 17 Feb 2013 22:28:29 -0500
>> From: "Ashley Bramlett"<bookwormahb at earthlink.net>
>> To: "Writer's Division Mailing List"<stylist at nfbnet.org>
>> Subject: Re: [stylist] Sending this again: Article
>> showingwhatparentsofblindkids are facing
>> Message-ID:<D073072BEB3F4E1F938EB6B7A6FF190A at OwnerPC>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
>> reply-type=response
>>
>> Lynda,
>> I beg to differ. Have you been to a nfb convention?
>> There are people employed in all walks of life and most scholarship
>> winners
>> have a career aspiration in a non blindness field; they include future
>> teachers, therapists, researchers,  counselors, and doctors.
>> Most blind people I know work either in the IT field as computer
>> programmers
>> or in the government, far from the blindness
>> fields! Read the braille monitor and you will see the wide variety of
>> fields
>> too!
>>
>>
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>
>
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