[nfb-talk] FwdStar Tribune article about Emily and BLIND, Inc.

[james hooper]

great article but how do you get rid of jaws saying those weird symbols.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Andrews" <dandrews at visi.com>
To: <david.andrews at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, July 16, 2013 8:50 PM
Subject: [nfb-talk] FwdStar Tribune article about Emily and BLIND, Inc.



>Hi,
>Below is an article about the Code Master by Emily Wharton and BLIND, Inc. 
>Emily will be interviewed on KFAI radio tomorrow (Wednesday) at 7:40 am.
>Â
>
>
>This Article from <http://www.startribune.com>www.startribune.com has been 
>sent to you by   Shawn Mayo .
>
>*Please note, the sender's identity has not been verified.
>
>The full Article, with any associated images and links can be viewed 
><http://www.startribune.com/local/215602851.html>here.
>
>Rosenblum: Two national awards honor work of Braille innovator
>
>GAIL ROSENBLUM, Star Tribune
>
>Emily Wharton's epiphany came in college, as she faced a roomful of 
>listeners at a coffeehouse poetry reading.
>
>All her life, Wharton quietly compensated for her declining eyesight. She 
>wore big, thick glasses and hovered over textbooks into the wee hours so 
>that she could graduate from high school and attend Drake University, where 
>she majored in English literature.
>
>But there she was, about to recite her poem, and someone dimmed the lights. 
>Wharton could no longer see her writing. Finally, a friend flipped a switch 
>so she could perform, but she knew something had to change.
>
>â?oForget this,â? she decided. â?oI have to learn Braille.â?
>
>She did that, and more. Turns out the poet also writes pretty good Braille 
>curriculum.
>
>Wharton, 37, is the 2013 recipient of the A Touch of Genius Award by the 
>National Braille Press, and the Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award by the National 
>Federation of the Blind. Bolotin was the first blind doctor, born in 1888.
>
>The two awards, announced in June and July, carry gifts of $10,000 and 
>$15,000, respectively. But those who work with Wharton, curriculum and 
>technology coordinator at Blind Inc., in Minneapolis, say the biggest 
>winners are thousands of people whose lives will open up thanks to 
>Whartonâ?Ts â?oCode Masterâ? system of Braille instruction.
>
>The revolutionary system, they say, makes Braille easy and quick to learn, 
>no matter oneâ?Ts age or aptitude.
>
>â?oThe impact has been incredible,â? said Dick Davis, assistant director 
>of <http://www.blindinc.org/>Blind Inc., a not-for-profit life-skills 
>training center working with people of all ages.
>
>â?oWe had people who had been laboring and â?" boom - in six weeks, they 
>were learning Braille. Even people who struggled with literacy were 
>learning fast.�
>
>Suddenly, clients were able to check baseball scores, organize their 
>kitchen pantries with Braille labeling or read books to their children.
>
>â?oShe took a risk,â? Shawn Mayo, Blind Inc.â?Ts executive director, 
>added, noting that Whartonâ?Ts efforts are receiving national and 
>international attention. New Mexico, Colorado and Louisiana have requested 
>more information about her curriculum. The Royal National Institute for the 
>Blind did a podcast with her.
>
>About 1.4 million Americans are legally blind, including up to 40,000 
>Minnesotans. Yet, Mayo said, â?oBraille teaching methods havenâ?Tt changed 
>much in the last 100 years. That says a lot.�
>
>That lack of innovation is likely why Braille has fallen out of favor with 
>teachers of blind students over the past many decades. Just 10 percent of 
>legally blind kindergartners through high school seniors are taught Braille 
>nationwide today, Davis said, compared to upwards of 60 percent in the 
>1960s.
>
>The dramatic shift away from Braille instruction toward audio learning is 
>due, he said, to stubborn misconceptions, including that it is too 
>difficult to learn, unnecessary in the age of technology, and that 
>communication by speech alone can suffice.
>
>â?oNone of those things are true,â? Wharton said. â?oBraille is extremely 
>practical, with such a range of uses. I just love reading books in 
>Braille.�
>
>After college, Wharton began to learn Braille the old-fashioned way, but it 
>was slow-going and cumbersome. There had to be a better way.
>
>â?oItâ?Ts a system,â? Wharton realized. â?oHey, I like systems.â?Tâ?Sâ?
>
>In 2009, she began developing a Braille textbook, which incorporated 
>memorization, writing and touch, as well as several routes to learning: an 
>audio CD for aural learners, for example, and charts for visual learners. A 
>year later, she offered her first class at Blind Inc., integrating Braille 
>and technology, the latter which has opened up the world to Braille users.
>
>On studentsâ?T first day, they learn the first 10 letters of the alphabet, 
>â?othen we drill the heck out of â?Tem,â? Wharton said. They move from 
>there to the rest of the alphabet, then to numbers, basic punctuation, 
>contractions and more.
>
>Sheâ?Ts taught the system to more than 100 students, from age 18 to 60. 
>Marie Kouthoofd, 47, of Oswego, New York, is one.
>
>She flew to Minneapolis last fall specifically to learn with Wharton at 
>Blind Inc. A psychology professor, she has a degenerative eye disease and 
>tried, unsuccessfully, to learn Braille 20 years ago when the process took 
>a minimum of six months to a year.
>
>â?oIt didnâ?Tt go well,â? Kouthoofd said. â?oYou get the book, put your 
>fingers on the dots. I got nauseated when Iâ?Td sit down and try.â?
>
>Whartonâ?Ts Code Master system was a revelation. A visual learner, 
>Kouthoofd said, â?oI could see the code in my head.â?
>
>Now she uses Braille to read Dr. Seuss books to her grandson. With Braille 
>labeling, â?oI can use my stove again, my dishwasher, my microwave.â? 
>Sheâ?Ts labeling her pantry cans, too.
>
>â?oIâ?Tm like a kid in a candy store,â? she said, â?obecause I can read 
>again.�
>
>This is exactly what Wharton had in mind. She calls it having a good 
>â?oBraillitude.â?
>
>â?oItâ?Ts just about being really positive and energetic. Brailleâ?Ts not 
>hard unless you make it hard.�
>
><mailto:gail.rosenblum at startribune.com>gail.rosenblum at startribune.com 
>612-673-7350Â
>
>Â
>Shawn Mayo
>Executive Director
>Blindness: Learning In New Dimensions (BLIND,)Â Inc.
>100 East 22nd St.
>Minneapolis, MN 55404
>Phone: 612.872.0100 ext. 201
><mailto:smayo at blindinc.org>smayo at blindinc.org
>www.blindinc.org
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