[nabs-l] Schools For The Blind vs Public Schools
Vejas Vasiliauskas
alpineimagination at gmail.com
Sun Feb 7 03:29:10 UTC 2016
I feel like as a public school student and you are blind, lots of
people are amazed by you and you may get a false sense of
entitlement. Particularly in elementary school 'I'm sure a lot
of people can relate to th', you get paired with friends who are
there to help you at lunch and recess--as you get older this of
course doesn't happen, and it can be a shock to some people.
I can say now that as a student at LCB I am not "The Blind Kid",
and there are groups here, but friends choose each other based on
much more meaningful reasons.
Vejas
----- Original Message -----
From: Kayla James via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Sat, 6 Feb 2016 21:12:47 -0600
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Schools For The Blind vs Public Schools
>From someone who has done both, there isn't a whole lot of
difference.
In public school, you will be the "blind" kid, new, and people
will be
scared of you, but it helps you deal more with the real world
where
you are a minority in a sense. Residential blind schools are
like
public schools, you'll be the "blind" kid there, too, and
depending on
the hierarchy, because let's face it there is one, that can be
good or
bad.
The popular kids are usually visually impaired, athletic, pretty,
you
name it. Totals are in on it, too. The pros: you are around
your own
set, if you will.
On 2/6/16, Christina Moore via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
I believe both settings have thier benefits and disadvantages.
I attended a school for the blind from 2-4 grade and was a
residental
student. I did not mind in any not being at home and being at
the
school for the blind allowed me to be around other kids, advance
my
braille skills, learn some other necessary skills and gain
self-confidence I would not otherwise have had.
Once I entered public school in fifth grade it waws a hurtle for
me to
do math and to accept being in a public school because my whole
world
was different. My school was learning how to help me as they
were
going and that was challenging at time. It was not thier fault,
but it
was still challenging. I did well though and am in college now.
I believe both experiences have their advantages and
disadvantages.
For instance, there is more self-advocacy, need to prove
yourself to
classmates Etc. in a school that is public versus a school that
catters to blindness. Everyone in my opinion should have an
experience
of starting out in a school for the blind in some way and then
they
should be transitioned into a public school where they finish
thier
education.
Just my thoughts.
On 2/6/16, jessica hodges via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
I believe schools for the blind can have some benefits. If you
go there
as a residential student, depending on the school, and the
quality of
education, you can get a lot of skills that can serve you very
well in
life after graduation, if you keep practicing them. However, I
believe
that a student should also have some public school exposure, to
teach
self advicasy, as well as how to cope when things when all
materials and
experiences are not accessible, and optimized for blindness.
The issue
that I find with blind schools is that they basically hand the
students
the world on a silver platter. They don't have to fight for
anything,
make due with anything that isn't perfectly accessible, and so
have no
exposure in how to deal with things in the "real world," outside
the
sphere of the blind school. I went to a blind school from my
third to
sixth grade year, and was home schooled through seventh grade,
so I
struggled integrating back into the school system, particularly
in math,
trying to adapt to a visually taught class and things. I also
didn't
stay at the school, so I did not learn half of the skills that I
could
have.
In conclusion, I believe it is good to give students
experience in
both public, and blind school settings.
Hope this helps.
Jessica
On 2/6/2016 4:42 PM, Roanna Bacchus via nabs-l wrote:
Good evening Students,
I have a question for all of you. What are the advantages and
disadvantages of attending a residential school for the blind vs
a
public school? I could not handle being away from my family
during the
week. As a toddler I attended the Early Intervention program at
the
Perkins School For The Blind. I'd like to hear your thoughts on
this
topic.
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