[stylist] More on this subject of working in blindness field

Tue Feb 19 02:10:51 UTC 2013

Sometimes, we do have simply have to go to door number 2, or in other words,
the path of least resistance.  You could have won the battle if you had
needed to, but to what end.  

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Ashley
Bramlett
Sent: Tuesday, February 19, 2013 6:41 PM
To: Writer's Division Mailing List
Subject: Re: [stylist] More on this subject of working in blindness field

Hello Lynda,
Perhaps at small colleges professors are more open and take the time to as
you say serve the students.
My experience wasn't as bad. I also dropped the class unlike julie.
I was told to get out  of a professor's ballroom dancing class.
The disability office, myself, and that so called instructor had a meeting
which did not go well; the disability office and I tried to explain what I
needed and that with some hands on help, i;'d be fine.

After more negative comments and being in class and feeling real left out, I
dropped it. I couldn't see the demonstrations and it just wasn't working. 
The professor did not want me in his class and told me everything to get me
out. I was not benefiting one ounce from this humiliation and
discrimination, so I dropped it.

We have to pick our battles and I wouldn't pick that one.

Ashley

-----Original Message-----
From: Lynda Lambert
Sent: Tuesday, February 19, 2013 12:44 PM
To: Writer's Division Mailing List
Subject: Re: [stylist] More on this subject of working in blindness field

My gosh, the horror stories here when it comes to being allowed into college
classes! Where I taught, our philosophy was that we were there to "serve"
our students - and that meant figuring out what they need and getting them
where they wanted to go with their academics and even outside of classes. It
was no unusual for me to be speaking with troubled students at 3 am
sometimes.

I never checked on any student's physical abilities when they signed up for
my classes. I took them all over Europe, Puerto Rico, Arizona, and on the
campus in my courses - yes, there were problems and sometimes big ones. But,
we always worked through them and things turned out very good.

I had many handicapped students over the years, and it is the profesors J O
B to work with the student to find out how to best serve them. Most all of
them graduated and many went on to higher education after their undergrad.
work was completed. At our college, the student was our highest priority. We
were educating them to be "servant leaders" themselves.

Lynda

----- Original Message -----
From: "Julie J." <julielj at neb.rr.com>
To: "Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, February 19, 2013 11:45 AM
Subject: Re: [stylist] More on this subject of working in blindness field

> Linda,
>
> You are awesome!  We need more college professors like you!
>
> I had a college instructor for Biology and Canoeing who did not want me in

> his classes no way no how.  Before I could take the Biology class I had to

> attend this meeting with the school administration, the instructor and my 
> rehab counselor.  It was awful.  The school listed all the ways it was 
> going to be a problem.  I and my rehab counselor tried to explain some 
> techniques that I could use to make it work.  Finally I had to put my foot

> down.  I told them I was taking Biology so we could spend our time 
> productively or not that was their choice, but taking the class was not up

> for debate.  There was a moment of silence while they absorbed that.   Of 
> course I did take the class and got an A.
>
> then came the PE class I wanted to take which was a weekend canoeing trip,

> with the same instructor.  We didn't have to have the big meeting this 
> time, but I did find myself in his classroom having a heated discussion 
> about the fact that I was really taking this class.  the instructor told 
> me everything that could possibly go wrong and a detailed list of every 
> canoeing accident that had ever occurred in the past 20 years, complete 
> with the blood and guts Gorey details.  I think my rehab counselor did 
> some behind the scenes letter writing and "discussions" with the school 
> administration.  the next time I spoke with the instructor he had an 
> entirely different attitude.
>
> The next year I took a backpacking class with a different instructor.  I'm

> not sure if he was afraid of the consequences of telling me no or if he 
> was genuinely okay with me, but we didn't have any meetings or any 
> retelling of helicopter rescues of mamed hikers.
>
> I think though that those experiences of denial  in the early years of my 
> blindness taught me a lot.  I learned to control my temper, to channel my 
> anger into productivity, to never take no for an answer, to get support 
> when I needed it and to believe in myself even when others didn't.
>
> Julie
>
>
>
>
>
> On 2/19/2013 9:59 AM, Lynda Lambert wrote:
>> Bridget,
>> This is so unprofessional for a professor to tell a student that they 
>> cannot take a class they are teaching. Instead, she needed to sit down 
>> and find out how she could HELP YOU to realize your potential in her 
>> class. I had a blind student take my Drawing and Writing in Salzburg 
>> Class one summer - it was my job, in my view, to find out what we needed 
>> to do to help her get through the course. In fact, our whole class helped

>> her do it. They took turns working with her in the classroom and out on 
>> our daily excursions - and I had never asked them to do this. We all 
>> worked together for her. We had a number of problems that made us realize

>> her difficulties, when she was denied entrance into some major places we 
>> visited - we all waited it out as I kept dealing with the powers there - 
>> and it took over an hour and many people coming to talk with me, before 
>> we all gained entrance into the Doge's Palace in Venice. They were 
>> determined a guide dog was NOT going in, and we were determined that our 
>> student and the guide dog WAS going in - and we finally did. But they put

>> a patrol on to follow me and the student - it was very trying - we were 
>> looked at like we were going to destroy their palace.
>>
>> You are such a good role model, Bridget, that reflects what determination

>> and patience can do for you. You took it all in stride, and you made it 
>> through - despite the professor who was not very helpful. Honestly, she 
>> was frightened of you and she did not know how to get out of it, but she 
>> tried anyway. I can imagine the groaning she was doing to her colleagues,

>> too.
>>
>> I had another student who had a debilitating disease - she had a helper 
>> dog, was in an electric wheelchair, was on oxygen, and had to have a 
>> nurse standing by at all times. I moved our entire class to another 
>> building so we could have her in our class - and I had her in more than 
>> one class. She is a brilliant young woman, and she never missed a beat in

>> getting anything done. She could have had a dozen good excuses as to why 
>> she could not do my classes, but she never neglected anything. Even with 
>> her difficulties breathing, she delivered her own papers orally - I would

>> never have expected her to do this, but she did it. It was one of the 
>> highlights of my course, to have her there. The other students loved her.

>> Courageous peole do not whine about their circumstances or make excuses -

>> they meet the challenges, I have found.  You are one of those people.
>> Lynda
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bridgit Pollpeter" 
>> <bpollpeter at hotmail.com>
>> To: <stylist at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Tuesday, February 19, 2013 9:34 AM
>> Subject: [stylist] More on this subject of working in blindness field
>>
>>
>>> Back at university, for an elective, I wanted to take a stage make-up
>>> class. The instructor had been my Intro to Theatre prof, and as a final
>>> project, we had to write a scene, then the class voted on which scenes
>>> to produce. Small groups were put together and assigned a scene. I
>>> really wanted to direct my scene, which was one of the scenes chosen. I
>>> had to convince her that I could direct even though I can't see. She was
>>> so sure my *visual impairment* would cause too many problems to
>>> effectively direct anything. I gave her detailed ideas I already had
>>> formulated. She let me direct but I was the only director assigned an
>>> assistant director. I spoke with my assistant explaining the situation,
>>> and all I might need from her was to make sure my actors were in deed
>>> following directions when it came to physical movement and otherwise I
>>> was good. I knew how I wanted the set, what music to use, how the
>>> characters should look, and considering the scene was one I wrote, I
>>> knew how I wanted it performed. My scene was one of the favorites by the
>>> class.
>>>
>>> So anyway, when I decided to sign up for her stage make-up class, she
>>> found out I had registered and emailed me stating we needed to talk. I
>>> knew she wouldn't want me in the class, and during our meeting, she
>>> proceeded to tell me how difficult the class would be and why I couldn't
>>> be able to handle. The sighted lady who had never been blind was telling
>>> me why I couldn't do it. I calmly explained how I could and that I
>>> already was pretty good with make-up. She told me that she would have to
>>> judge my work the same as others, and I said I wouldn't expect anything
>>> less. She said I would have no perspective, to which I added that having
>>> had sight before, it gave me a little advantage to understand things
>>> such as creating wrinkles or bruises. I even networked with blind actors
>>> just to get more ideas on how to do things nonvisually. The prof still
>>> wanted me to drop the course.
>>>
>>> I took it and was grudgingly given an A, smirk.
>>>
>>> Bridgit
>>> Message: 14
>>> Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2013 21:47:21 -0500
>>> From: "Donna Hill" <penatwork at epix.net>
>>> To: "'Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
>>> Subject: Re: [stylist] more on this subject of Working in blindness
>>> field
>>> Message-ID: <53130C8156D84A26B96DD5692BF79D0C at OwnerHP>
>>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>>>
>>> Lynda,
>>> Yes, there are many marginalized kids and adults in this world, and
>>> with
>>> the recession more than before. It is enfuriating when you think of the
>>> "privileged" and how much they take for granted and how they have
>>> insullation against their own short-comings and bad decisions. Good for
>>> your
>>> daughter trying to help them.
>>>
>>> By the time I got to junior high, they were asking kids to choose either
>>> college prep or commercial as a course of study to pursue starting in
>>> the
>>> eighth grade. I chose college prep, but I had an encounter with a fellow
>>> 7th
>>> grader that really riled me up. She was the daughter of a Lafayette
>>> College
>>> professor. She came to school on the morning we were to make our
>>> decisions
>>> final and sought me out. She explained, in what I thought was a rather
>>> haughty manner, that her father was a professor and that she discussed
>>> my
>>> situation with him at dinner the night before. She knew I wanted to take
>>> college prep. She said that the entire family had agreed that it would
>>> be a
>>> mistake for me to consider going to college; there simply was no way I
>>> could
>>> do the work. I wish I had punched her, but alas, I didn't.
>>> Donna
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>
>>
>>
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>>
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>
>
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