When Will They Ever Learn?

When Will They Ever Learn?

Future Reflections Fall 1989, Vol. 8 No. 3
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WHEN WILL THEY EVER LEARN?
[PICTURE] Carol and David Kier with son Cyrus and daughter Jane.
[PICTURE] Ruth's son, Tony, (left) receives some cane-travel tips
from Scott LaBarre at the 1987 NFB convention in
Phoenix, Arizona.
Do attitudes about blindness have anything to
do with the current Braille literacy crisis? This is
no idle question. The answer has profound implications
for the solutions we seek to Braille illiteracy
among today's youth. If, as some would
like to believe, it is only a matter of inadequate
Braille training of teachers, then the solution will
likely be simple and straightforward. If, however,
attitudes are a fundamental part of the problem,
the remedy will necessarily involve something
more.
I thought about this question of attitudes
when I read the following letters. The first letter
is from Carol Barker-Kier, a parent in California.
Carol and her husband, David, believe that their
blind son and sighted daughter are equally entitled
to quality school books. The special education
Braille teacher, however, seems to believe
something else. The edited letter is reprinted
below.
The second letter is from Ruth Swenson and
was written to me in response to the Winter 1989 Future Reflections article, "What Constitutes a
Good Education for Blind Children?" Her son,
Tony, graduated from high school this year. Ruth
has a great deal to say about special education
and attitudes toward blindness.
Carol and David's son, Cyrus, is just entering
school. Ruth's son, Tony, has just finished school.
We must ask ourselves, what story will Carol and
David tell in twelve years when Cyrus graduates?
There is no more time for Tony. Ruth, his
mother, did the best she could, and it will have to
be enough. But there is still time for Cyrus, my
own son Chaz, and for many of your blind sons
and daughters or students.
Will we do our part to change attitudes about
blindness --beginning with ourselves? Will we
work for legislation which will give all blind
children the opportunity to learn Braille? Will we
insist that teachers of the blind be required to
meet high standards of Braille literacy-- at least
equivilant to the standards required of Braille
transcribers? Will we insist on early cane travel?
If we will not, what will we do; and will it be
enough? And if it isn't...?
Here are the letters.
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March 17,1989
San Diego City Schools
Program Manager for
Special Education of Visually Impaired
San Diego, California
Re: Braille transcribed primer books for blind
students.
Dear Sir:
At Ross Elementary, where our kindergarten son
is enrolled, there is, as you know, a visually impaired
resource room. Last week, after a discussion
with the classroom and resource teachers
over beginning reading materials, I asked for, and
reviewed, the first reading book in Braille the
children would start reading from. This was a
copy (not original) of a Braille plastic overlay on
the print book Bears from the Bears, Boats, and
Balloons series. Upon reviewing this book, I discovered
more than 12 Braille errors in this 48
page picture book. Also, the print paper was
wrinkled on two or three pages, whereupon one
could feel the creases of the wrinkled paper
through the plastic Brailled overlay.
I gave the resource teacher a list of errors I found
in the Brailled overlay Bears book. She
telephoned us and confirmed there were errors.
The teacher's response was, "That's the best we
can do;" and "Even the State (Clearinghouse)
Depository and American Printing House (for
the Blind) sends us books with errors." She indicated
though that the books we were discussing
were done by the transcribers hired by San Diego
City Schools and that the books were probably
experimental at the time they were transcribed
and that we'd have to take the matter up with the Braille transcribers at Whittiers as, the teacher
said, "I have no control over what I receive."
We have a sighted daughter in second grade in
this school district. We have yet to see on her
papers and reading books anywhere near the
level of misspelled words, words and punctuations
chopped off at margins, inconsistent
punctuation marks, and missing lines of text. I
have just received my Braille transcriber's certificate
as a volunteer. As volunteer transcribers, we
would never be allowed to make those kinds of
errors without correcting them. When I mentioned
to the same resource teacher that if a print
book for sighted children was prepared and
presented like that Braille book, we didn't
believe school personnel, let alone parents, would stand for it. Her response was, "Oh, you'd
be surprised how many errors are in print form
too."
A few mistakes can occur from time to time in
print as well as Braille. However, we cannot
believe the school's policy is to allow this great
number of errors for first year beginning reading
books. If the child is a 4th grader and comes
across the word "stey," the child would at that
point know the word should be "stay." This would
not be so for first and second year readers. We
cannot believe that the State Department of
Education Clearinghouse Depository, nor the
American Printing House for the Blind would
allow those kinds of errors to leave their printing
offices!
We are asking for an explanation of how such
sloppy work could be produced and distributed
to school children. The Bears, Boats, and Balloons primary reading books have been in the
school district for at least four years. How many
other Braille books are out there of this poor
quality of craftsmanship?
We are also recommending that your reading
Braille books, especially the primary ones, be
adequately proofread to make sure that errors
like we discovered in Bears are corrected. The
job of the school is to make literate human
beings. The concern of parents like us is to assist
the school in this endeavor. Let's make sure that
the school materials which we put into the hands
of our blind children are at least as error free as
those which we place before the eyes of our
sighted children. Errors embedded in the mind
are more difficult to erase than to prevent.
Sincerely yours,
Mr. and Mrs. Kier

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May 3,1989

Ms. Barbara Cheadle, Editor

Future Reflections

National Federation of the Blind
Dear Barbara:
I have just finished reading "What Constitutes a
Good Education for Blind Children?" found in
the Winter 1989, Future Reflections. As a mother
of a blind child who is graduating from high
school this year, it saddens me to say that in
reflecting on the quality of education my child
has received and is receiving, most of it has been
poor and, in fact, sometimes detrimental. The
few glimpses of quality education over the years
were only obtained through endless frustrating
struggles between the school district and myself.
It is unfortunate that in the school system where
my child now attends high school, blind children
receive such a poor education that inevitably they
are graduated without skills, illiterate, and
without the capability of competing on terms of
equality.
Without the National Federation of the Blind,
our philosophy, and the numerous role models
that it provided for my son, he would be graduating
this year without the confidence he needs to
compete in a sighted society. He would have
none of the skills needed to be independent and
competitive. He would not be able to use a computer,
he would not be a Braille user, he would
definitely not know how to use a slate, he would
depend on his vision at all times (even when not
productive), he would not know how to write his
name, he would not travel independently, and he
would definitely not feel that he was a competent,
capable human being who just happens to be
blind.
In the school system which my son now attends,
the underlying premise of the special educatorsis that blind children cannot compete on the basis
of equality with their sighted peers. Therefore,
much of the necessary training which would
enable them to compete is not taught. Since the
underlying philosophy of the program is negative,
the training that follows is poor. It has been
said to me that if a parent does not request computer
training for their blind child, "do not mention
it." It is believed that even though sighted
grade school children can learn to use a computer,
it is too difficult for blind children.
The special educators definitely believe that it is
not respectable to be blind and that the word blind should never be used. Parents should
ways be told that their children are visually
paired. To use the word blind implies that a cl is extremely handicapped and will have diffu
ty in future life. Because of this attitude, only'
totally blind" children are taught to read Braill A great emphasis is placed on using large prii and other technical devices to avoid the use
Braille. When my son first entered the hij
school, approximately four years ago, the stuc
guides he received in Braille had so many error
that one could not figure out the questions. It wasl necessary for us to read to him the print study
guides. At times there were more than twenty
Braille errors on one page. What a disgrace!
None of the high school students knew how to use
a slate and stylus and, in fact, none was to be
found in the district. When we demanded that
our son use his slate and stylus and then provided
a slate and stylus, they were forced to allow its
use.
When my son arrived in the district, none of the
high school children typed and the district was
amazed that he knew how to type. And, low and
behold, he even knew how to use a computer!
Typing is still not introduced to young children in
this school system.
It was contrary to their professional opinion that
my son receive his cane travel under shades
[blindfolds], that he not be allowed to trail walls,
that he use a long white cane, and that he keep
his cane with him at all times. We were told that
he would feel strange and uncomfortable keeping
his cane with him at all times because none of
the other blind students did this. We were told
that his cane was too long, and that when entering
a classroom no one kept their canes with
them. We were told that his cane would get in the
way in a ceramics class and when running on a
track.
He took travel from an orientation and mobility
instructor for some time until we realized that he
was regressing. He was regressing because he was
being taught how to travel by routes and was loosing
all his confidence in figuring out how to get
places on his own. When we requested that he be
removed from travel, lo and behold, they said he
was an independent traveler and no longer
needed it! This looked great on their records and
they did not have to explain why they had taught
him nothing. Luckily, my son had learned his
travel skills from persons who believed, and
lived, the philosophy of the National Federation
of the Blind.
When we first arrived at the district where my son
now attends school, we were told by one of the
orientation and mobility instructors that she had
heard that we were members of the National
Federation of the Blind, and, therefore, she felt
we should never talk about philosophy because
our philosophy was wrong.
In order for my son to have received even an inkling
of a quality education, we have had to fight
and struggle. Without the backing and strength
of the National Federation of the Blind, our
determination to obtain a quality education
would have been difficult to maintain. Unfortunately,
I have seen little changes, especially for
the better, in the quality of education for blind
children since my son began school approximately
thirteen years ago. This is primarily due to the
negative philosophy that underlines all the
educational goals of the special education
teachers. They truly believe that blindness is a
terrible handicap and that Braille and cane travel
should be avoided at all costs, since this only
demonstrates to the person and to the public that
they are truly blind and therefore incapable of
competing in society.
The Parents Division of the National Federation
of the Blind and the National Federation of the
Blind will in time change what it means to be a
blind student in the public school system. With
our dedication and strength, hopefully, in the future,
blind children and their parents will not
have the frustrations and struggles that so many
of us have endured while our child was receiving
a poor education. Hopefully, blind children will
graduate from schools being able to truly compete
on terms of equality with their sighted peers.
I hope I will see the day when young blind
children (including the legally blind) are taught
Braille and are proud to use it and use canes
wherever they go and view them both as tools for
independence. Each blind child has a right to a
quality education and each parent has a right to
ensure that their child receives it.
Sincerely,
Ruth Swenson
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