[blindkid] Please unsubscribe me

Fri Jul 2 04:38:15 UTC 2010

Hi all,

I won't get into the argument here but I need to provide a factual
clarification. At the Colorado and Louisiana centers (I don't know
BLIND, Inc. but I think it's the same there too), students are free to
work with their dogs in the morning before training hours, on
evenings, weekends, and holidays. The only time the dogs have to be
left behind is during the training day from 8:00-5:00, when all
students are expected to use their long white cane. Again, I won't get
into the argument of whether this is good or bad, but I want to make
sure that's clear; students are not expected to leave their dogs at
home or in their crates for the whole 6-9-month program.

Arielle

On 7/1/10, H. Field <missheather at comcast.net> wrote:
> Hi Heather,
> The NFB has set up it's training centers to be a certain kind of
> center. In the same way you have set up your family to be a certain
> kind of family. You have carefully considered your values and your
> approach to parenting your children. If people meet you and make
> friends with you and then decide that they don't like your values or
> parenting methods, you, as would I, simply tell them that they are
> welcome to make other friends with whom they have more in common.
>
> The analogy is useful for considering your apparent thoughts on NFB
> center policies. Nobody is forcing anybody to go to the NFB centers.
> Furthermore, there are numerous choices that blind people can choose.
> For some reason, folks want to fight and argue about how the NFB has
> chosen to establish and implement their training center curriculum.
> You are welcome to disagree but why would you, so passionately
> committed to your view on such matters as education, parenting etc.
> appear to be so unwilling to admit the the NFB has every right to
> choose the philosophy and methods which it uses in it's training?
>
> Nobody is forced to attend an NFB center. Also, it is sadly just not
> true that all guide dogs schools insist on great cane skills with all
> of their students. Some do, but not all.
>
> It is ironic to me that you appear to have difficulty accepting why
> some folks on the list might take acception to your strong opinions
> when you express them and yet, you are so quick to react negatively to
> the NFB centers staff expressing their opinions regarding best
> practice and exercising their right to run whatever kind of private
> enterprise they wish. Though it may not be the choice that you,
> personally would make for,  your, own blindness skills education
> experience, it is undeniable
> that NFB centers are indeed serving a certain portion of the
> population of blind people because people keep going there and at
> least one centter has been in operation for over twenty years. If the
> curriculum and attendance criteria are so onerous, these centers would
> simply fail for lack of attendees. However, it appears, for a
> significant group of blind people, the NFB centers provide a blindness
> skills training experience that they do want, irrespective of the
> rules and stipulations. Why would you want to deny them their right to
> choose and a viable choice of training center?
>
> I don't think the reasons you've shared, brief as they have been,
> should send you off our list.
>
> Very warmest regards,
>
> Heather Field
>
>
>
> ---
> From: "Heather" <craney07 at rochester.rr.com>
> To: "NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List,(for parents of blind children)"
> <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Thursday, July 01, 2010 8:58 PM
> Subject: Re: [blindkid] Please unsubscribe me
>
>
> Lots of people go to the centers to learn other things, like
> technology
> training, braille, many compitant blind people are great with
> computers but
> can't read braille well or at all, or can live on their own, but with
> a
> lower quality of life because of not having such skills as cooking
> with a
> stove vs a microwave, or purchasing clothing that requires any but the
> simplest machine washing, because they can't set washers and dryers or
> iron,
> etc.  No guide dog school would accept someoone for training if their
> cane
> skills were not already very good, so while the institute might
> reasonably
> ask them for a few lessons on some new technique or with a demo of a
> new
> type of cane, to leave their dog in it's crate, not using it at all
> however
> during the training would more or less distroy the dog handler
> relationship
> and potentially the dog, period.  Hope that helps explain better.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Kim Cunningham" <kim at gulfimagesphoto.com>
> To: " (for parents of blind children)NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List"
> <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Thursday, July 01, 2010 3:58 PM
> Subject: Re: [blindkid] Please unsubscribe me
>
>
> Heather,
> I have a child who is attending one of the NFB training centers. One
> of the
> many reasons I wanted my daughter to attend the training center was to
> receive intensive O&M. I want her to feel free to travel anywhere,
> anytime
> she wants. Why would anyone want to take their guide dog to a facility
> where
> you would be learning cane travel? From what I understand, you can
> only get
> a guide dog AFTER you show competent cane travel skills. So, if
> someone
> wishes to attend a program at one of the centers, shouldn't you
> embrace all
> the training while there?
> Just my thoughts on the subject. Have a nice summer.
> Kim
>
>
> --- On Thu, 7/1/10, Heather <craney07 at rochester.rr.com> wrote:
>
>
> From: Heather <craney07 at rochester.rr.com>
> Subject: [blindkid] Please unsubscribe me
> To: "NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List, (for parents of blind children)"
> <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
> Date: Thursday, July 1, 2010, 8:55 AM
>
>
> I always seem to be rubbing someone's fur the wrong way on this list,
> and
> that coupled with some disturbing information I have just come across
> has
> caused me to wish to unsubscribe from this and one other NFB list that
> I was
> on. That one had a link to unsubscribe, but this one directs me to a
> web
> page and I am at school right now, about to go out of town, and need
> to
> catch a bus, so no time to go poking around on the internet, when the
> server
> at school is running very sluggishly due to online administration of
> finals
> for summer courses today. Long story very short, I was under the
> impression
> that NFB's antiguidedog sentaments had disipated, but I have just
> spoken
> with two individuals who were being told at an NFB training center
> that
> their dogs had to stay in their rooms and that they were not to use
> them. I
> saw this come up in NAGDU and GDUI lists many many years ago, and
> assumed
> that something so backwards thinking and detremental to guide dog
>  teams would have been resolved. You know what they say about
> assumptions.
> Bottom line, I do not feel that I am being an honest and responsible
> advocate of guide dogs if I continue to interact with an organization
> that
> premotes such detremental ideas. There are some awsum people on this
> list,
> and everyone, even the people I don't particularly like, all have
> awsum
> kids, it's about the list affiliation, and nothing more. If anyone
> ever
> wishes to write me off list in the future, my email address is
> craney07 at rochester.rr.com. Have a nice summer all.
> _______________________________________________
> blindkid mailing list
> blindkid at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindkid_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> blindkid:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindkid_nfbnet.org/kim%40gulfimagesphoto.com
> _______________________________________________
> blindkid mailing list
> blindkid at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindkid_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> blindkid:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindkid_nfbnet.org/craney07%40rochester.rr.com
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> blindkid mailing list
> blindkid at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindkid_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> blindkid:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindkid_nfbnet.org/missheather%40comcast.net
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> blindkid mailing list
> blindkid at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindkid_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> blindkid:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindkid_nfbnet.org/nabs.president%40gmail.com
>

-- 
Arielle Silverman
President, National Association of Blind Students
Phone:  602-502-2255
Email:
nabs.president at gmail.com
Website:
www.nabslink.org