[nfb-talk] Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior

Steve Jacobson steve.jacobson at visi.com
Tue Jan 18 18:33:31 UTC 2011


Joe and Brian,

One of the factors that is missing here is expectations.  I think one of the biggest things that pushed me when the going got tough was that my parents and 
therefore I expected that I would get through school and find a job.  Quite honestly, I doubt my parents knew what sort of a job I would get, and I am sure 
they wondered, but what they projected to me was the expectation I would be self-sufficient and would be working.  Even with that going for me, though, I 
remember the long period I was looking for work and how it would not have been that difficult to get used to unemployment and SSI.

Being a parent now myself and having worked some with parents here, I think it is too easy to think that there is one point of contact that yields the greatest 
possibility of increasing success.  If a blind child was the only child in the family, motivating parents should be a high priority strategy because the parent 
would have the time and energy to overcome lackings in the educational and rehabilitation systems.  That's rarely the case, though.  Often families are 
having to deal with other kids with serious difficulties as well and frankly don't have the time to learn all that they might need to learn to deal with getting a 
blind kid through the system.  To me, there is no real mystery here.  If we are going to increase the success rate of blind persons, we need to make sure 
parents know what blind people can do and to reinforce their natural instinct to advocate for their child by helping direct that energy, but that's only one 
small part.  We need to be sure that those in education know what blind people are capable of doing and try to help them think more in terms of what that 
blind child will be doing as an adult rather than simply getting through the current school year as often happens.  We need to keep working to educate 
employers and in some cases strengthen laws.  We need to find more funding sources for the technology that blind people need.  We need to continue 
working to not be left out of future technologies, whether it be websites, software, or other emerging technologies.  Sometimes this means that we, as 
individuals or as an organization, excell in certain areas, but any of the above can prevent success.

Joe, one of the areas that I feel we've achieved some success is through the magazine of our Parents Division, Future Reflections.  Parents who are not 
otherwise associated with us read this magazine, and the viewpoint expressed there affects people.  If you haven't done so, take the time to read some of 
the issues of Future Reflections.  Sometimes, though, it is an uphill battle.  When you have professionals who are comfortable with taking the easiest or 
cheapest route, sometimes through no fault of their own, it is a lot to expect of most parents to challenge them.  Parents are often more likely to listen to a 
professional who proposes that Johny can read faster with an audio book than spend more time on braille.  

Discussing success itself is a good idea because it is complicated.  Certainly, I believe that success has to mean being self-sufficient, and that needs to 
include employment for working-age blind people.  Having said that, though, we have to be careful to not assume that being unemployed means being 
unsuccessful because there are so many other factors.  We have to help one another to be honest with ourselves that we are making a good faith effort 
toward achieving employment but also to support one another when the going is not easy.  There are no quick answers, just a lot of work.

Best regards,

Steve Jacobson

On Tue, 18 Jan 2011 10:48:53 -0500, Joe Orozco wrote:

>Hi Brian,

>I think parenting could be more of a constant if an approach could be
>leveraged to mesh with a parent's natural instinct.  In other words, I
>believe parents inherently want their children to be at least
>self-sufficient.  They don't want their children to fall through the cracks.
>For us it's not a matter of creating a plan of action for parents as much as
>redirecting the plan of action they naturally possess at the point they
>become parents.  Speaking directly to natural instinct would seem to be more
>fruitful than attempting to rewrite an educational curriculum.

>If we start with parents, we're engaging the first points of contact.  We're
>engaging the central figures in the child's development.  Maybe the Parent's
>Division is already doing this?  I would be curious to hear what the
>division has found to be successful in their work and what that work is.

>I also think we should clarify this notion of success.  I think we would
>agree that by "success" we are not presuming awards and widespread
>recognition.  I at least am referring to the capacity for a person to
>actively pursue and obtain that with which he/she is passionate.  It should
>go without saying, but it's too easy for naysayers to pounce on the
>opportunity to point out that the NFB is only about super blind people.

>Again, maybe I am merely preaching to the choir, in which case I should
>cease my rambling. LOL  I do appreciate people entertaining what I thought
>was a good article.

>Best,

>Joe

>"Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves,
>some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all."--Sam Ewing 


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