Re: Schools for the blind, training centers, and how they perform.
Hi.
Here are my thoughts:
Over the last 2 summers, I have been to 2 NFB training centers as a summer youth.
Last summer I went to the Colorado Center for the Blind. There were certain things I didn't like about this center, such as my extremely impatient counselor who expected the students to do everything perfectly on their first try, and also who swore a lot. I ended up having to take it to the director of the program, who thankfully was very understanding about my issues. I ended up having to change appartments and counselors, and got a much better counselor.
I also felt that I didn't fit in with everyone at that center. I didn't socialize with people a lot, because I felt like no one had in common what I did.
Lastly, at that center, they focused very heavily on learning how to slate, which I thought was ridiculous. I felt that it was a complete waist of my time, and not a skill that I would use in my life after leaving the center. Not on
ly that, but at the end of the program, my braille teacher had us write a 3 page book report on a book we were reading using the slate. I, of course, did not end up doing this, and as a result, she gave me an alternative project where she told me several sentences and I had to write them on the slate. This wasn't as bad as the book report, but I would have still prefered not to use the slate in the first place. When I was all done with the sentences she gave me, I took my paper out and gave it to her. Then she said, "you know this is a quiz. I would have expected you to do a lot better than you did." I didn't say anything to that, but I felt very offended because I was trying my best. The slate has never been my strong point. I am very slow and horrible with it.
Despite my negative experiences at that center, I did have a couple of possitive things. First, I had a technology instructor who I got along very well with. He and I had a lot in common, and he had
me do tasks based on my skill level. He showed me the braille sense U2, which I took an interest in almost as soon as I got my hands on it. At the end of the program, he told me that I was very teachable and picked up quickly on a lot of technology. The other students hadn't been as easy for him to teach, because they would either refuse to learn or not pay atention in class.
Secondly, I had a mobility instructor who I really liked. I ended up going through 3 mobility instructors. The first was my old appartment counselor who got very impatient with me, so I ended up changing to another one. Before that counselor I had had another mobility instructor who I liked, but for some reason they changed me. After my counselor, I got another mobility instructor who I learned a lot from. He and I worked a lot on public transportation, something which I had been wanting, because I hadn't gotten experience with it. Every day, we had to ride a bus from the center to our appartment
s, which was about 8 blocks away, and we had to keep track of a bus pass. So despite my negative experiences, I did take some things away from that program.
The summer before last, I went to the Louisiana center for the Blind in a small town called Ruston. Overall, I had a much better experience at this center. My mobility instructor was very patient with me, at least the later one I had. Again, I had had a guy who wasn't my favorite, but they changed me over to a woman who I learned a lot from, like crossing streets. I didn't get a lot of public transportation experience, because we were in a small town. But I did get some, because we would sometimes travel over to Monro, which was about 30 minutes away and ride the busses. Then, we would get some mall travel, which wasn't something I got in Colorado.
They also didn't focus as much on the slate as they did in Colorado. However, I didn't learn a lot of technology, because we didn't have intern
et for the first while when we were there, so we ended up having to use the center's internet, which was about 5 or 6 blocks from where we usually did classes. We usually did classes in the appartments.
I also got a lot of daily living experience at both centers. I learned how to cook, do laundry, and clean more effectivly. I also felt that I fitted in much more at this center. I was able to talk and interact with just about every person. I also attended the NFB conventions when I went to both centers, and that was a great experience.
Now about blind schools.
I attended a blind school for 2 years, my 8th and 9th grade years. I also attended a public school in the morning. My 8th grade year, I took 3 classes at the public school, English, History, and Earth Science. My 9th grade year, I took 2, English and Physics and Chemistry, which was a nightmare, but that's for another topic.
Anyway, I didn't really like my blind school. For 1, the staff ther
e were very non educated. For example, they had all this technology locked in the closet and no one to teach it to their students. They had an attitude like, "just learn braille, and you'll be fine in life. You don't need to learn technology." I didn't like this, because I think there needs to be a ballance between braille and technology. So they focused very heavily on braille. I did, however, get some technology experience there, because there was 1 staff member I did like, and he was there my 8th grade year. Him and I had a lot of technology sessions together where I learned mostly about the Ipad and what it had to offer. Unfortunately, he retired my freshmen year when I was there, so I didn't see him again. However, I ended up getting a 1 on 1 technology instructor that year who I learned a great deal from about the Ipad and some things with jaws.
So, there were only a couple of staff members who I really liked.
This school was also very I
solated, meaning that it was in an Isolated area. The nearest big town was about 45 minutes away, so we didn't get to go on a lot of feildtrips.
The school was also a deaf school. I felt that the deaf students got more atention than we blind students did. They had far more fieldtrips and participated in more activities than we got to. Maybe it was because there were a greater number of them in the school than there were blind students, but still, I think we deserved equal atention.
The last reason I didn't like this school was because a lot of the students there didn't act their age. A lot of them seemed to be sheltered all their lives, and seemed to have some sort of mental problem. A lot of them acted a lot younger than they were, and didn't know how to behave.
I am now in a public school, and am having a much better experience. I have very good teachers, and a VI instructor who knows what she's doing. I am against blind schools, and feel th
at everyone should get a public education where possible. Blind schools limit our exposure to the sighted world, and keep us in an isolated area with just other blind people. I feel that everyone should get out there and experience the world, and not be isolated in a blind school.
Well, my rant is over. Hopefully you all got something out of this post. Thanks for reading.
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