[Nfbf-l] Braille Literacy; Friend and Mentors, A Florida Story - Article featured in American Chronicle

[Holly]

Great article!
Holly

On Tue, Jul 28, 2009 at 2:57 PM, Lenora J. Marten <bluegolfshoes at aol.com>wrote:

> Hello Everyone -
>
> Donna pulled the article to fix a couple of typos. The link will not be
> available until the article gets re-approved. However, she was
> able to send me a word doc which I have copied and pasted for you. So sorry
> for the confusion! Enjoy the article!
>
>
> Lenora J. Marten, President
> FOPBC/NFBF-Parents Division
> NFB-Jacksonville Chapter Secretary
> bluegolfshoes at aol.com
> 904-777-5976 / 904-229-9554
> www.nfbflorida.org/parents
>
>
>
>
> Ad: If it was up to you to teach legally blind children, would you insist
> that they use their remaining vision as much as possible, even if it meant
> that they were functionally illiterate and one day they would walk in front
> of a truck with their young child? Or, would you want to give them the tools
> and awareness to become successful adults who could function independently
> and safely? The answer may seem obvious, but thousands of America's blind
> kids are being forced to settle for a substandard education, leading to
> lives of dependence with little chance for employment and unnecessary
> danger. Jody Ianuzzi is a Major in the Civil Air Patrol and a martial arts
> instructor. Along with her friend Debbby Bracket, who holds a master's in
> early childhood education, she is changing what it means to be blind.
>
>
>
> Braille Literacy: Friends and Mentors, a Florida Story
>
> By Donna W. Hill
>
> Word count: 4448
>
>
>
> When Jody Ianuzzi (56, Jensen Beach Florida), graduated from high school,
> she was reading at a third grade level. Setting aside for the moment the
> obvious quest
> ion of how any American school could graduate someone with such substandard
> literacy skills, let's fast forward to what she's achieved since. If you get
> to know Jody even just a little, you will quickly learn that she values the
> advice of twentieth century world leader Mahatma Gandhi. Her e-mails end
> with, "WE MUST BE THE CHANGE WE WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD"
>
>
>
> A Major in the Air force Auxiliary/Civil Air Patrol, Jody is a Mission
> Qualified Radio Operator. She is also a judo instructor and has a third
> degree black belt in judo as well as a second degree black belt in ju-jitsu.
> A mother of two with one grandchild, Jody also helps her husband Tom with
> his computer security business and has completed several years of college.
>
>
>
> With a lot of hard work and under less than ideal circumstances, Jody had
> to make up the deficit that her school was unwilling to address. As a
> mentor, she is providing to others the support, encouragement and role model
> that she was expected to do without.
>
>
>
> The problem was that what Jody needed was something that her parents and
> teachers didn't want to give her, because it would have committed an
> unforgivable act – it would have made her "look blind." In fact, Jody is
> blind. She has been legally blind since birth due to Retinopathy of
> Prematurity (ROP), having no vision in her left eye and only seeing hand
> motion with the right. As a child, she had enough vision to painstakingly
> and slowly read print. So, despite her medical
>  diagnosis, the school didn't teach her Braille. Not understanding how
> limited her sight really was, they expected her to function as a sighted
> person. She had to teach herself Braille and other non-visual skills as an
> adult.
>
>
>
> "We all know how much easier it is," says Debby Bracket who holds a masters
> degree in early childhood education," to learn things when we are young!"
>
>
>
> Debby (52, Stuart, Florida,) met Jody on an e-mail list for ROP, when she
> and her husband Bob were trying to determine if they could successfully
> adopt and parent a blind child. Winona, now thirteen, came into all of their
> lives when she was three and a half. She and her family have benefited from
> Jody's experience.
>
>
>
> "After several years of chatting on line," says Debby, currently the office
> manager for her husband's landscaping company and a substitute teacher in
> Florida's Martin County, "we met in person, and have been fast friends
> since. First and foremost, she is a dear friend. Secondly, she is a mentor
> for Winona. It has been invaluable to have someone I could turn to at any
> time with questions, especially when I didn't think the school was correct."
>
>
> "When we moved to Florida," recalls Jody who was living in New Hampshire
> when the two met on the ROP list, "Debby was still in Miami. They moved here
> to my area about 7 years ago. Our husbands both have their own businesses
> and we share so much in common. I hope I am a good example to Winona to show
> her that she can gr
> ow up and have a family and do the same things everyone else does in life."
>
>
>
>
>
>
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Walter A. Ward