KIDS KORNER

KIDS KORNER

Future Reflections Spring/ Summer1989, Vol. 8 No. 2
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KIDS
KORNER
LET'S FINGERPAINT
Editor's Note: This information is reprinted
from Kid-Bits, the newletter of the Kentucky
School for the Blind.
Children love finger painting. A finger
painted picture can be changed, erased, or done
over with just a wipe of. a hand. Children like
finger painting even more than painting with a
brush because their fingers can feel.
Here is an easy recipe for making finger paint
at home.
Mix: 1/4 cup of liquid starch
2 tbsp. detergent powder
Then add:
Food coloring
Editor's note: Dr. Zaborowski, who is blind herself,
is a liscensedpsychologist. She is also the President
of the National Federation of the Blind
Human Services Division. Dr. Zaborowski, who
has partial vision, does read some print with visual
aids. But she also uses readers, taped materials,
and Braille. Unfortunately, she was not given the
opportunity to learn Braille when she was a student
in school, so she had to learn it on her own. Dr. Z.
believes that having several different ways to read
and write makes her job easier, faster, and more
pleasant.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
OF READER USE
by Dr. Betsy Zaborowski
[PICTURE] Dr. Betsy Zaborcwski is a licensed psychologist with
a private practice in Baltimore, MD.
I. Remember you are doing the reading. Your reader is only a tool.
II. Organize your reading. Decide what you want to read, and what is unnecessary.
III. Properly interview and test your readers. Determine why they want to read and what they
imagine it will be like.
IV. Be specific when instructing the reader, telling
him/her when to start and stop and what
material, if any, can be omitted.
V. Get your reader to commit to a schedule. Then, stick to the schedule you set. This way you
let them know how important having a regular
reading time is to you.
VI. Don't continue with a reader if it's not working
out. Explain that not everyone can read in the
style best for you.
VII. Use whatever works to get readers. Don't expect
others to get them for you. Ads in papers,
announcements in church bulletins, bulletin
boards, and volunteer groups are just a few
sources.
VIII. When your reader is also a friend or relative,
explain that reading time is different than
social time. Both of you need to differentiate between
fun time with friends and reading.
IX. Make sure your reader understands that the
best way to help you is to follow instructions.
Don't let your reader decide for you what you
want or don't want to hear.
X. When having readers record material for you,
be careful to give them a system for identifying
the material they read and the format you would
like them to follow. For instance, maybe you
want them always to begin the tape with the side
number followed by the title, followed by the
page number. Example: "Side three, Anatomy of
the Human Body. Continuing on page 178.' Also,
give your reader a deadline. People work better with deadlines.
These are all important things to remember
when using a reader. However, the two MOST
important things to remember are: Be clear that
YOU are doing the reading and that YOU are in
control--not the reader. And always remember
that readers respond well to praise and clear instructions.
MY HERO
by Michael J. McDermott
Editor's note: This article was originally
published in the September-October, 1988, issue of Lifeprints. The author, Michael McDermott, is the
son of the President of the Parents of Blind Children Division of the National Federation of the
Blind of Massachusetts. Michael's "hero" Jamal
Mazrui, is an active Federationist and a former National
Federation of the Blind scholarship winner.
Jamal Mazrui was born in Kenya 23 years ago.
His family was driven out of the country due to
his father's political beliefs when Jamal was four
years old. They moved to Michigan, where his
father got a job as a professor of African History.
When Jamal was 16 years old and a junior in high
school, he acquired a rare disease. This disease
left him blind.
Jamal did not let this obstacle stand in his way.
He graduated from high school with high honors
and was accepted at Princeton University. After
graduating from Princeton, he began his work at
the Kennedy School of Government. He completed
the master's program and is now pursuing
his Ph.D.
Jamal is my hero. He has been my friend for two
years. He has helped me to learn the importance
of a good education. Jamal has been a friend
through troubled times and could be a role model
for all blind students. His blindness has not kept
him from attaining all his goals. His enthusiasm
has helped me to reach for my goals, too. To me,
a hero is someone who tries his or her best no
matter what the odds are. Jamal is surely that
type of person.
KIDS CAN HELP
by Steven Pierce
Editor's Note: Steven Pierce is the oldest child
of Barbara Pierce, President of the National
Federation of the Blind of Ohio and Associate
Editor of the Braille Monitor, the magazine of the
National Federation of the Blind. Steven is now a
junior political science major studying at Yale
University. His mother reports that he was born a
Federationist, and that was before she had ever
heard of the NFB.
"Your mother sounds like an incredible woman.
It almost makes you wish you were blind." I
smiled weakly and tried to think of something to
say. My professor had missed the point of everything
I had been trying to say. He had gotten
tangled up among his peculiar notions of blindness,
so when I mentioned some of the things my
mother had been doing, he heard a story about a
courageous woman triumphing over her handicap.
He couldn't understand that blindness isn't
a horrible affliction, that the blind are ordinary
people--just like him.
I've gotten used to people who can't understand
what I tell them about blindness or about my
mother. It's a problem that lots of sighted people
seem to have.
When I was very young, I didn't know that there
was anything special about my family. I didn't
give much thought to the fact that my mother
couldn't see; as far as I knew, it wasn't important.
I knew that she used a cane when she walked and
that she read Braille instead of print, but it didn't
make any difference in my life. As far as I could
tell, it didn't make any difference in hers either.
I must have been about five when I realized that
my family was different. "You'd better take good
care of your mother," a stranger said to my threeyearold
sister. We three kids were frequently
given instructions like that. None of my friends
were ever told similar things about their mothers.
I began to learn that my family was different from
others; somehow we attracted the attention of
crazy people.
I could never answer their questions very well.
"How does your mother cook?" I was asked by the
awe-struck. Answering that she got out ingredients
and mixed them together never
seemed to satisfy them. They apparently thought
that there was some great secret about coping
with blindness, that my mother was more than
human, and that I was not telling them the truth
when I said she was just an ordinary mom.
As I got older I began to understand what was
going on. It wasn't that my mother or my family
was somehow strange; it was just that most
people have very odd ideas about what blindness
means. It was important to help them get rid of
their misconceptions, and that was something the
whole family could help with. As children, my
sisters and I could be patient with all of the stupid
questions that we were asked, and we could try to
answer them. My parents joined the National
Federation of the Blind, which helps people all
across the country with their problems and questions
about blindness.
Growing up with a blind parent is a useful thing
to do. It helps one to understand that blindness
need not be anything more than a nuisance. This
handicap does not come from infirmity. It is a
civil rights issue, just like racial or sex discrimination.
The
general public believes that blindness is one
of the worst fates possible. Until it knows better,
many blind people will not have the opportunity
to live a normal life. From time to time now I
come across someone like my professor who
doesn't understand blindness. The only way to
educate these people is to show them that their
ideas are wrong. I'm glad that I can do something
to help.
[PICTURE] Steven Pierce on campus at Yale University.
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