Literature Review

Literature Review

Future Reflections Fall 1989, Vol. 8 No. 3
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LITERATURE REVIEW
TAKE CHARGE
A STRATEGIC GUIDE
FOR BLIND JOB SEEKERS
Written by Rami Rabby and Diane Croft
Published by National Braille Press, Inc., 1989
A Review by: Barbara Cheadle
[PICTURE] "Rami Rabby, who is blind, is a consultant on employment
of the disabled. He has a B.A. degree from Oxford
University, England, and a master's degree in business
administration from the University of Chicago. The
strategies he brings to this book result from his long experience
as a personnel and training professional in
business and industry, and as a seminar leader for the
Job Opportunities for the Blind Project (JOB). Mr. Rabby
lives in New York City." (Caption is from the back cover
of the book.)
[PICTURE] "Diane L Croft is a marketing manager at National Braille
Press in Boston, Massachusettes, where she promotes
Braille products. She earned her master's degree in Administration,
Planning, and Social Policy at Harvard
University. She has complied and edited three books on
computer access technology for the blind, as well as a
Braille primer for sighted parents of blind children."
(Caption is from the back cover of the book.)
This book review began as a simple announcement
in the Hear Ye! Hear Ye! section of
this issue (Fall, 1989). I had received a press
release about it, but didn't have the book. Not
wanting to delay getting the word out about Take
Charge, I decided to publish an announcement
and do a review later. Just as I was in the middle
of completing the issue, the book arrived. I was
delighted with it. It was everything I had expected,
and more.
Take Charge: A Strategic Guide for Blind Job Seekers has been described by the publisher as
"...apractical self-help guide built upon the real
life experiences of blind people. The book is
anchored in reality. ...It proposes strategies for
dealing with a resistant labor market, and assists
blind job seekers in unraveling the complexities
of the labor market and of life in the workplace;
analyzing jobs; focusing on one's true career interests
and work-related skills; networking one's
way to the personal attention of a hiring manager;
probing an interviewer's state of mind and conclusions
about one's candidacy; and strategizing
one's way out to of frustrating work situations."
It is all that. But, as I flipped through the book, I
knew I had to ask myself the question our readers
would ask: "Is this a good investment for parents of blind children?" As I read, I quickly found
myself agreeing with the authors who state that,
'This book is for you...the savvy parent of a blind
child, who sees a brighter future."
True, many aspects of the book will not have immediate
appeal to parents, especially parents of
the young blind child. But there is much more to
the book than meets the eye when one first scans
the table of contents.
For example, I immediately noticed that portions
of the text were in bold type. It turned out that
these were personal anecdotes of successfully
employed blind people. Blind adults described,
in their own words, strategies that worked, or
didn't work, for them in their employment
search. Parents and blind teens will particularly
appreciate the many anecdotes dealing with early
employment experiences; that is, summer and
part-time jobs. Parents of infants and toddlers
will find many questions and worries about their
child's future laid to rest as they read about how
blind adults overcame difficulties and found a
place for themselves in the competitive job
market.
Then there is the section in Chapter One called,
'Tips for Parents: Preparing Your Blind Child for
the World of Work." This section, written specifically for parents, combines practical advice with
a sound philosophy about blindness and work.
However, much that a parent will find useful in
this book is not immediately apparent. Take the
section called, "Handling the Blindness Issues." It
isn't easy to decide when and how to tell a
prospective employer that you are blind. The
authors use a seminar discussion of this topic to
demonstrate the different strategies blind jobseekers
may successfully employ in handling this
question. Although the discussion is confined to
the employment situation, the savvy parent will
immediately find an application for the strategies
outlined. For example, your daughter wants to
take ballet lessons. When and how do you, the
parent, tell the instructors that she is blind? You
are filling out an application for Boy Scout Camp
for your son. What do you do with the question,
"Does your child have any medical condition
which will limit his activities? Please explain."
For these situations, and many others, parents
will discover that Take Charge has outlined
strategies which can work for them as well as for
blind jobseekers.
One particular passage from Take Charge: A
Strategic Guide for Blind Job Seekers summed up,
for me, the value of this book to parents of blind
children. You will notice that the authors are
speaking to the blind job-seeker, not to parents.
But it only takes a little thought to understand
how parents fit into this passage. After all, we are
our children's first teachers. How well they are
prepared to meet the world of work will depend
largely on how well we have done our job. Here
is the passage.
"You can't afford (we're talking dollars and sense
here) to remain ignorant about the world of
work. Not if you want to be part of it, because:
1.Ignorance limits your career options. 2. Ignorance reduces your chances of getting a job 3.
Ignorance ultimately affects your job satisfaction.
4. Ignorance keeps you from developing a
philosophy about how you, as a blind person, will
compete."
Take Charge: A Strategic Guide for Blind Job
Seekers is available from:
National Braille Press, Inc.
88 St. Stephen Street
Boston, MA 02115
(617)266-6160
$19.95...five-volume Braille edition (shipped
Free Matter, add $4 for UPS)
$19.95...two, four track cassette edition
(shipped Free Matter, add $4 for UPS)
$23.95...350-page paperback edition (includes
UPS shipping)