HOMEWORK

HOMEWORK

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HOMEWORK: THIS MOM'S PERSPECTIVE
by Patricia Maurer

Blind parents face the same challenges
as sighted parents. Here Patricia Maurer brings us her perspective on one common
to all—getting the children to do their homework. Here is what she has
to say:

My husband and I are both blind. We have
two wonderful children, David and Dianna. My daughter, who is eight, does not
find her homework much of a chore. She doesn't really enjoy it—she just
is rather indifferent about it.

Our son, on the other hand, does anything
he can to get out of it. The punishment and penalties continue, but sometimes
the homework just doesn't get done. I went to a public elementary school in
a small town in Iowa. It was the only school in the community. I was blind at
that time.

My friends, teachers, and parents read
to me and, in many instances, wrote information down on paper for me. I could
not read what I had written although I was taught to print and was taught handwriting.
In the fourth grade I learned to type on a standard typewriter so that I could
write and others could read it.

No one ever considered teaching me Braille
because there was no one there to teach it to me. Each evening my father would
read my homework assignments to me. Once in a while he would go to sleep reading,
and I would wake him up. He had worked all day and was tired. He wanted to help
me and did, but sometimes it was not easy.

Later in junior high or high school I
learned about the Library for the Blind, and some of my textbooks became available
on record. I listened to them on a long-playing record player.

I had a tiny amount of vision, and although
I tried, I could not ever really effectively use large-print materials. But,
oh, when those books came to me on record—I not only read textbooks but
began reading novels. You see, I had never read many novels because there was
never time for anyone to read them to me. I would occasionally check something
out from the public library, but it took too much effort to read it.

In high school I learned Braille. I spent
an entire summer learning to read and write Braille. Now, for the first time
in my life, I had a way to write something down, and I could read it for myself.

Although I did not have much confidence,
others in the National Federation of the Blind, both by example and just by
taking the time to talk to me, made me begin to understand that I could do more.
I went to college, and boy, did I read and write. I studied all the time. Well,
most of the time. I got a degree in elementary education and became certified
to teach elementary and special
education.

My first teaching job was in a small
school in Iowa teaching reading to third and fourth-grade children. These children
were sighted, and I was blind. I remember talking with the administration of
the school and landing the job. When I got it I thought, now I have to figure
out how to get it done.

I hired a high-school student to read
to me. He and I made games, and I Brailled materials. The children used print,
and I used Braille. It was a wonderful summer, and I got a contract for the
next year. I took another offer, and my husband and I were married and moved
away from that small town.
You see, I was thinking about my reading
and my homework, because I am trying to figure out how to get that boy of ours
to do his work. I want him to learn to love to read, because it is so important
when it comes to learning and living a complete life. He's not blind. He can
pick up any book and just read. It seems so much easier for him than it was
for me when I was doing my homework.

But for now his books and homework pages
sometimes get lost. The assignments seem very hard. He doesn't want to read
them out loud so that we can help. He just wants us to know the answers. Soon,
I hope he will begin to look for the answers and read the assignments. Because
if he does, I know he will find at least some of it interesting.

I know there will be the nights when
my husband and I nearly fall asleep helping the children with their homework.
There are the nights that we are relieved just as much as the children because
there is not much homework. I believe that if I ever go back to teaching I won't
be able to help the fact that I now have a mom's perspective on homework.