Small Strides Lead To Big Progress

Small Strides Lead To Big Progress

Small Strides Lead To Big Progress

by Judy Chaney, English Teacher

Kentucky School for the Blind

Editor's Note: One of the agenda items on the 1998 Parents Seminar was a panel entitled

"Promoting Literacy through the Braille Readers Are Leaders Contest." We were

pleased to have representatives from the Kentucky School for the Blind, the Missouri

School for the Blind, and the Washington School for the Blind on this panel. These schools

were given special recognition at the close of the panel for their outstanding

participation in the Braille Readers Are Leaders Contest. The enthusiastic, upbeat tone of

the panelists—Judy Chaney (see speech below), Patti Schonlau, and JoAnn

Gatley—confirmed the wisdom of these choices. Each of these schools truly made an

outstanding effort to use the contest creatively to motivate students to achieve

excellence in Braille literacy. Here is the presentation made by Judy Chaney of the

Kentucky School for the Blind.

An old familiar verse called "Children Learn What They Live," says that if

children live with encouragement and praise they learn confidence and appreciation. If

they live with security, approval, and acceptance they learn to like themselves and to

find their way in the world. How do we translate those simple concepts into meaningful

advice for a Braille readers' contest? It's easy because encouraging students to read

Braille leads to increased levels of all of these vital qualities for

success—confidence, appreciation, and self-worth. "Small strides lead to big

progress."

It has been my pleasure to be associated with the Braille Readers Are Leaders Contest

at the Kentucky School for the Blind for the last 15 years. Our librarian, Cathy Hicks,

works with me and with other teachers and staff on the contest every year. We involve all

students who read Braille at the start of the contest. Some of them will read only what

you require them to read initially, but most of them will read throughout the contest. At

our school the contest is based on the honor system. Anything the student reads counts

except textbook reading, and they report how many pages they read. We have even let

students count the pages they read in instruction booklets and computer manuals. On the

honor system, they go to the librarian two or three times a week between classes and tell

her how many Braille pages they read since they last checked in. Keeping them coming back

to the library serves some useful purposes. It keeps the contest on their minds, gets them

used to frequenting the library, encourages students to read independently, and gives them

lots of opportunities to get interested in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, magazines,

newspapers, even encyclopedias. As the librarian gets to know the students better, she

suggests books on their level and in their interest range.

The Braille contest is an excellent way to encourage reading. We look for any

opportunities to get students to read. This past year, the National Education Association

sponsored the third annual Read Across America Day. We had administrators, staff members

from other departments, business people in the community, and older students come into the

classrooms and read aloud to students. It was a wonderful way to encourage reading.

Students were pleasantly surprised to learn that others also enjoyed reading Mary Higgins

Clark novels, could read humorous poetry with expression, and were fans of Dr. Seuss.

As an English teacher, I require students to read a novel every six weeks outside class

and the novels they read during the contest can be counted in the contest. Teachers on all

levels support and encourage the contest so students see that it is a unified effort. Our

rules for the contest are simple. Report often and be honest. If they start something they

don't want to finish reading, they count what pages they read, turn it in, and get

something else. This encourages students to venture away from reading only one kind of

book. Several students over the years have found out they actually like science fiction,

especially Ray Bradbury, because they could experiment for a few pages and take the book

back to the library if they didn't want to read it all. Every year we try to get middle

school girls to move beyond Babysitters' Club-type books and accept new reading

challenges. Nevertheless, they do accept new challenges, and they talk about what they

read to each other. "Small strides lead to big progress."

Last year, Kentucky School for the Blind was awarded a plaque for Outstanding

Participation. This award makes all our efforts worthwhile, and we intend to keep the

contest going because we see changes in students as they improve their Braille reading

skills. When the students go to the librarian to report how many pages they have read, she

makes a big deal out of it, because with some students it is a great big deal. She gives

them the same positive comments whether they have read a dozen pages or only one. Often

she hands out a peppermint while she tells them about a new book. Other teachers,

including me, also encourage students by telling them about new books and magazine

articles and ask them about what they are currently reading. It lets students know

continually that we place a high value on reading, and that it is a part of our daily

lives. We give certificates to all students who participate in the contest, and we

recognize winners during the Award Assembly at the end of each year.

Judy Chaney (left) and

Barbara Cheadle

Whether the material is read in Braille or print, it is only the means to an end. The

end result is the new information they learn from reading, the increase in reading speed

from practicing, and the confidence that better comprehension brings. The benefits from

better reading skills are countless. Their vocabulary development improves by leaps and

bounds as they learn multiple meanings of words and improve their spelling. They learn to

identify plot, characters, main ideas and supporting details; distinguish fact from

fiction; draw conclusions; use context clues; and understand concepts. These are

incidental benefits that happened to them while they were reading a book. "Small

strides lead to big progress."

As students get better at Braille reading, they improve in all of their classes. They

have better attitudes about reading, finish assignments sooner, and participate better

because good readers have more to say. We are preparing them to accept the challenges of

the world they live in. They are on their way to greater opportunities because they will

be productive citizens who can think for themselves, speak for themselves, and yes, read

Braille for themselves skillfully. One of the best things any of us can do for a child who

reads Braille is to encourage reading because "small strides lead to big

progress."