American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults
Future Reflections Convention 2018 CONVENTION PERSPECTIVES
My Shot in the Arm
by Sheena Manuel
From the Editor: Sheena Manuel is a reading specialist and itinerant teacher of blind children in Louisiana. She is also a researcher at the Professional Development and Research Institute on Blindness (PDRIB) at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston.
Attending my first National Federation of the Blind Convention years ago was a breathtaking experience! When I was training to be a teacher of blind students, I heard Dr. Ruby Ryles say, "You need to know one hundred blind people." What!! How could I ever do that?
When I walked around the convention center, I realized that getting to know one hundred blind people was going to be easy, as long as I attended NFB national conventions. As I met people, I began to internalize their fight for the right to quality education. I kept hearing the phrases "What if . . ." and "If only . . ." But I also heard the phrases "Because my mom . . ." and "Because my teacher . . ." I knew then that I wanted to become a teacher who would give my students opportunities to go anywhere and read anything!
Dr. Ryles called convention "a shot in the arm," and I agree. The national convention gets me motivated and reminds me of who I represent. I represent an organization that believes that all blind people can live the lives they want. This organization showed me that, with proper skills, opportunities, and positive attitudes, blind people can! Every year I look forward to attending national convention because I want to stay grounded in these beliefs.
As an itinerant teacher, the roads I take are often emotionally tough (and physically tough, too, in Louisiana!) As I travel, the stories I have heard from people at national convention are always on playback. These stories get me through the backwoods of Louisiana to provide services to children who wouldn't get help otherwise.
National convention is my vaccination,
Leading the cause, displaying expectations,
Viewing blindness as undefining,
Shouting from the mountaintop, "We're climbing!"
National convention is my vaccination,
Leading the cause, raising expectations,
Anchoring my beliefs
That all children can learn to read,
With love, hope, and determination.
National convention is my vaccination.
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