A Braillewriter In My Pocket

A Braillewriter In My Pocket

Future Reflections Sept./ Oct./ Nov.1984, Vol. 3 No. 4
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BRAILLE WRITER IN MY POCKET
by Sharon Duffy
Yes, I do carry a Braillewriter in my pocket! And
how is this possible? (They are rather larger
than most pockets!) Of course, I am referring to a
slate--a highly versatile Braille-writing tool. I
can write a grocery list, a telephone number, a
multi-page treatise, or almost anything else
with it.
Yet, I have met a number of people who do not
consider the use of the slate practical for children
learning Braille. To the uninitiated, the prospect
of punching three or four holes per letter, "backwards,"
and working from right to left appears
complicated and tedious at best. However, in my
four years of teaching blind persons from ages 7
to 74,1 have never had a student who could not
master this skill.
As regards speed, I have only one thing to say -- any worthwhile skill takes time to develop.
Sighted children spend years learning to color,
print, and handwrite. So, a blind child should
not be expected to write with great speed and
accuracy to begin with. It will come with practice.
The problem of having to write from right to left,
letters in reverse, is a complication that many
adults mistakenly believe will lead to more
confusion for children learning Braille. Although
this may be true initially, the marvelous
human brain accommodates this problem
readily--especially for children, since their
thinking patterns are more flexible. When teaching
Braille, I always teach the dot numbers and
then explain that the numbers remain the same
but horizontally change places in writing. That
is, dots 1, 2, and 3 are on the right or "first" side
for the cell for writing, while they are on the left
side of the cell for reading. The concept of dots
1-2-3 being the first read or written, eliminates a
great deal of the problem.
To say all of this is not, however, to address the
real problem in teaching or encouraging the use
of the slate. The real problem is the lack of faith
that many people have in using the slate. They
believe that, because they cannot themselves
use it efficiently, it must be inefficient for others
as well. So, my best advice is to sharpen personal
skills to teach better. Confidence, or rather the
lack of it, will undermine the best efforts of a
teacher. The child will pick this up more readily
than the skill itself. The hidden curriculum! So,
beware of negative attitudes.
Negative attitudes regarding the use of the slate
are part of the general belief that Braille itself is
difficult. The fact is that the system itself is not
difficult, but it does require practice, just as
reading and writing print requires practice.
Many factors contribute to this attitude -- First,
most people do not know Braille, and so assume
it is difficult. Second, adults (sighted or blind)
who learn Braille as adults must practice to
achieve competence in reading and writing.
Although the system can be learned quickly,
and although they learn it much more rapidly
than they learned print as children, the comparison
of the new skill to the familiar one results in
an unfair conclusion that Braille is difficult.
At first, the Perkins Brailler appears easier than
a slate, so many teachers rely almost exclusively
on the Perkins. If they teach the slate at all, they
wait until junior high or high school, and they
may regard it as mainly for the college-bound. I
strongly advise against this practice for several
reasons: first, it makes the student feel that the
slate must be very difficult to use, second, it
restricts opportunities to practice on the slate,
thus greatly reducing speed and proficiency,
third, inadequate practice with the slate discourages
the use of Braille anywhere except at home
and school where the Perkins is handy.
All this would not be so important if the relative
competence in using Braille did not so directly
bear on the ultimate success of a blind person. In
college I used a slate because I am not strong
enough to carry a Brailler all over campus, and
because a Brailler is too noisy to use in the
classroom. In one university which I attended, a
blind person did use her Braillewriter in class. A
very relieved professor greeted me at the close of
my first day in his class. He told me of this other
student and said that her Braillewriter was extremely
annoying during his lectures, and that
he worried that her friends were overworked
from carrying her Braillewriter from class to
class.
This brings up another issue, that of image. I am
certain that this student's classmates viewed
her as a person needing special treatment and
cumbersome methods which were inconvenient
both for her and for those around her. This belief
does not foster equality for blind people in
employment and educational pursuits. Had this
student considered the slate to be a viable note
taking method, this unfortunate situation would
never have occurred.
I must digress here, however, to note that she did
succeed in one vital respect, at least she did
produce notes which were really useful in review.
An alarming number of students attempt to use a
method which, though quite, is disastrous as a
study skill, namely, tape-recording lectures. This
is really not "note-taking" at all. Forty hours of
lecture become forty hours of tape, with no provision for quick summary or review. A rehabilitation
counselor recently remarked, "Last
year I knew of four students who started college
expecting to tape-record lectures. Every one of
them flunked out."
In emphasizing the value of the slate, I do not
mean that a Braillewriter has no place. I own
and use one daily. I find it more efficient for
mathematical record-keeping and for editing,
since what has been written is more immediately
accessible for review. I also own and use a slate
daily, both at home and elsewhere, because it is
more convenient. Of the two, I would say it is
more important that a blind person use a slate,
because it is portable, quiet, and versatile. Many
blind persons function quite adequately without
a Braillewriter. But those without adequate
slate-writing skills must rely heavily on others
for note-taking. With the slate I have a, "Braillewriter
in my pocket."
Sharon Duffy is a very competent, knowledgeable
woman who has considerable experience in
teaching and counseling blind persons of all
ages. Sharon first attended a school for the blind
at the age of 4 1/2, and later attended a public
school at the age of 16. She reports that she
became "hooked" on reading in the third grade.
Later in life, removal of congenital cateracts
increased her visual acuity, but not enough for
the efficient reading and writing of print. Sharon
is an active member of the National Federation
of the Blind, and is currently employed as a
rehabilitation teacher/counselor of the blind in
Idaho.
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