[nfb-talk] FW: [nfb-indiana] A disturbing article

Mon Jun 25 16:40:21 CDT 2007

Actually the fellow who originally posted this article kind of missed
the positive aspects of the argument.  It's a good article on why
Braille is important.

Wm.

 From: nfb-indiana at yahoogroups.com [mailto:nfb-indiana at yahoogroups.com]
On Behalf Of bigdaddylou63 at sbcglobal.net
Sent: Monday, June 25, 2007 3:04 PM
To: nfb-indiana at yahoogroups.com
Subject: [nfb-indiana] A disturbing article

> John Faherty
> The Arizona Republic
> Jun. 1, 2006 12:00 AM
>
> Arielle Silverman has always loved to read. From Little Women in
fourth
> grade to Jane Eyre in high school, books were a constant companion.
>
> She could slide her fingers across the page and feel the world. Those
words,
> however, have done more than make her well-read. They have secured her
place
> in society.
>
> Silverman, blind since birth, has now finished her junior year at
Arizona
> State University with a double major, in biology and psychology, and a
> grade-point average of 3.9.
>
> The Scottsdale native is ambitious, thoughtful and well-spoken. And
the
> 21-year-old is convinced she couldn't have achieved this without her
fluency
> in Braille.
>
> A generation ago, 50 percent of blind schoolchildren used Braille,
according
> to William M. Raeder, president of the National Braille Press in
Boston.
> Now, he said, it's less than 12 percent.
>
> Young blind students today are still instructed in Braille, but in the
past
> few decades more students have been mainstreamed and no longer receive
daily
> instruction.
>
> That is significant, because reading and writing Braille is a skill
that
> needs maintenance. The less often a student uses it, the more likely
it is
> those skills will diminish or even disappear.
>
> The reduction in Braille literacy has been mollified by the fact that
there
> are now more ways than ever for the blind to acquire information. Much
of
> the world is moving away from words on a page and toward
electronic/digital
> information. The proliferation of books on tape means blind people no
longer
> have to wait to "read" the latest bestseller. Talking computers have
brought
> the blind to the world and the world to the blind.
>
> These advances have placed a generation of blind young adults and
children
> in an information paradox: They have more knowledge at their disposal,
while
> their ability to read and write declines.
>
> But proponents of Braille always fall back on the same argument: If
reading
> and writing are important to the sighted, they are important to the
blind.
>
> "If the literacy rate for sighted people was 10 percent, that would be
a
> huge issue," Silverman said. "I think kids aren't being taught
Braille,
and
> they aren't being given enough time to practice."
>
>
> Congenital disease
>
>
> Silverman is sightless because of Leber Congenital Amaurosis, an
inherited
> retinal degenerative disease. But her parents never considered not
teaching
> her to read and write.
>
> "I grew up thinking reading is one of the greatest joys of life," said
> Sharona Silverman, Arielle's mother. "Having a book in your lap is an
> incredible gift, and I was going to introduce that gift to both of my
> children."
>
> Arielle's sister is sighted.
>
> "Arielle had such a love of the written word early on. So she just
flew
with
> (Braille)," her mother said.
>
> Because of her parents' commitment to literacy, Arielle Silverman was
sent
> as a child to the Foundation for Blind Children in Phoenix to learn
Braille.
> She could read by age 5. Silverman then was mainstreamed into the
Scottsdale
> schools and graduated from Chaparral High. She is now president of the
> Arizona Association of Blind Students.
>
> In that role, Silverman has pushed for better education for the blind,
> particularly an increased emphasis on Braille instruction.
>
> "Braille does not mean more than a sighted person's ability to read
and
> write," Silverman said. "It's exactly the same. It's just the way we
read
> what we read."
>
>
> Law debated
>
>
> Arizona law starts with the presumption that blind students should
learn
> Braille. But that law is not seen as necessarily valid by the person
in
> charge of implementing it.
>
> "Just because there is a presumption does not mean it is not an
archaic
> presumption," said Joanne Phillips, deputy associate superintendent
for
> exceptional student services with the state Department of Education.
>
> Arizona Revised Statutes Section 15-214, regarding the teaching of the
> blind, states that "proficiency in Braille is essential for that
student
to
> achieve satisfactory educational progress." The law is based on the
fact
> that Braille still is the only way blind people can read and write.
But it
> stops short of mandating Braille instruction.
>
> "There is no statutory mandate where every child who is blind must
learn
> Braille," Phillips said.
>
> You can argue that it does not matter how you read War and Peace, as
long
as
> you know the story and the genius of Leo Tolstoy.
>
> "There is no correlation between Braille literacy and educational
> achievement," Phillips said.
>
> Karen Wolfe of the American Foundation for the Blind strongly
disagrees.
>
> "You can't be literate just listening," she said.
>
> "Literacy helps us think and communicate our thoughts. You will never
be
> truly literate without Braille."
>
> The AFB says the employment rate for the blind in this country is 32
> percent. And Blindinc.org says that 93 percent of the employed blind
read
> and write Braille.
>
> Still, the rate of Braille literacy is dropping across the country.
The
> reasons for the national decline are many, but the primary reasons
are:
>
>
> . Mainstreaming of blind students.
>
>
> . Increased technology, such as talking computers and electronic
books.
>
>
> . More books on tape.
>
>
> . Increased number of blind children born with additional physical or
mental
> handicaps, often the result of premature birth.
>
> The state of Arizona requires that the Department of Education
evaluate
each
> blind student to determine whether he or she can learn Braille, but it
does
> not require the retention of those records. So no one knows how many
> students in Arizona are learning Braille.
>
>
> Rehabilitation Act
>
>
> The beginning of the decline of Braille literacy can be traced to a
1973
> federal decision called the Rehabilitation Act-Nondiscrimination Under
> Federal Grants and Programs. It mandated that public schools make
> accommodations for children with disabilities.
>
> For many blind students, it meant the ability to come home. Prior to
1973,
> students who wanted an education had to travel to a school for the
blind.
In
> Arizona, the school was in Tucson. The education was first rate, but
it
was
> segregation for blind students.
>
> The new law allowed children to return to their communities, to sit
every
> day with their peers in schools that were mandated to accommodate
them.
But
> one significant flaw was with Braille instruction.
>
> Braille teachers suddenly had to travel from school to school or
district
to
> district to introduce Braille to blind students one or two at a time.
It
was
> far more practical for districts with a few blind students to get by
putting
> textbooks on tape and allowing test-reading aids for blind students.
>
> The prevalence of books on tape meant they no longer had to wait for
Braille
> publications to read the latest bestseller. All blind people, not just
> Braille readers, could to take part in a cultural phenomenon like
Harry
> Potter.
>
> Eventually, computers with voice capabilities came on the market.
Braille
> began to be seen as a luxury more than a necessity. Knowledge was
available
> without Braille. Literature was available without Braille.
>
> The irony is that as Braille literacy dropped, new printing technology
made
> Braille much more accessible.
>
>
> High-tech aids
>
>
> Silverman lives in an apartment on the ASU campus. Her course load
includes
> such classes as organic chemistry with Professor Seth Rose, in which
he
says
> things like "Heterocyclic aromatic amines are weaker bases than
heterocyclic
> aliphatic amines."
>
> When she gets to class, she sits with a BrailleNote laptop that allows
her
> to take notes and review them later. From a distance, the BrailleNote
looks
> exactly like the standard laptop computer used by her peers, but
instead
of
> the 26 letters of the alphabet, six keys represent the six-dot system
of
> Braille. Each letter of the alphabet is represented by a combination
of
the
> six dots.
>
> Silverman points to this machine and others like it as an example of
Braille
> working hand in hand with technology.
>
> "They are not mutually exclusive," Silverman said. "If I didn't know
> Braille, I couldn't use my computers to the level I need them."
>
> But the teaching of organic chemistry is very visual. Formulas and
models
> are used, and Silverman can see none of them.
>
> Rose helps "translate" some of his teaching material into a digital
format
> that will have meaning to Silverman. If a class focuses on a
particular
> compound, he will build a model that she can "see" with her hands. He
> expresses colors with different textures.
>
> He is glad to do it, he said.
>
> "It gives me a great feeling to know that when I hand a model to a
student,
> that she can 'see' exactly what I've been talking about," he said.
>
>
> Literacy vital
>
>
> With her intelligence and work ethic, could Silverman have made it
this
far
> without the ability to read and write?
>
> "I doubt it," she said. "Would a sighted person be well-educated if
they
are
> illiterate?"
>
> Silverman reads, writes and takes rapid-fire notes in Braille.
>
> "I have a feeling the way our brains are designed, learning how to
read
> opens up parts of your brain," she said.
>
> She adds that math and science notations are possible only for people
fluent
> in Braille. They could not be replicated by books on tape or by
talking
> computers.
>
> Silverman will occasionally listen to a book on tape, but only if she
is
> traveling or if the book is not readily available in Braille. In high
> school, she read Seventeen magazine in Braille, but now she is more
likely
> to read a medical journal.
>
> The American Foundation for the Blind celebrates independence and
learning.
> It is the organization to which Helen Keller dedicated her life. So it
is
> not a surprise how much it advocates the teaching and learning of
Braille.
>
> The foundations says literacy is vital to a successful education,
career
and
> quality of life in today's world. Whether in the form of curling up
with a
> good book, jotting down a phone number, making a shopping list or
writing
a
> report, being literate means participating effectively at home and in
> society.
>
> "If our value system expects sighted people to be literate," Silverman
said,
> "we need to expect blind people to be literate."
>
>
>
> Reach the reporter at john. faherty at arizonarepu
<mailto:faherty%40arizonarepublic.com> blic.com
>
> or 602-444-4803.

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-------------- next part --------------
Actually the fellow who originally posted this article kind of missed the positive aspects of the argument.  It's a good article on why Braille is important.

Wm.

From:
nfb-indiana at yahoogroups.com [mailto:nfb-indiana at yahoogroups.com]
On Behalf Of
bigdaddylou63 at sbcglobal.net
Sent:
Monday, June 25, 2007 3:04 PM
To:
nfb-indiana at yahoogroups.com
Subject:
[nfb-indiana] A disturbing article
> John Faherty
> The Arizona Republic
> Jun. 1, 2006 12:00 AM
>
> Arielle Silverman has always loved to read. From Little Women in fourth
> grade to Jane Eyre in high school, books were a constant companion.
>
> She could slide her fingers across the page and feel the world. Those
words,
> however, have done more than make her well-read. They have secured her
place
> in society.
>
> Silverman, blind since birth, has now finished her junior year at Arizona
> State University with a double major, in biology and psychology, and a
> grade-point average of 3.9.
>
> The Scottsdale native is ambitious, thoughtful and well-spoken. And the
> 21-year-old is convinced she couldn't have achieved this without her
fluency
> in Braille.
>
> A generation ago, 50 percent of blind schoolchildren used Braille,
according
> to William M. Raeder, president of the National Braille Press in Boston.
> Now, he said, it's less than 12 percent.
>
> Young blind students today are still instructed in Braille, but in the
past
> few decades more students have been mainstreamed and no longer receive
daily
> instruction.
>
> That is significant, because reading and writing Braille is a skill that
> needs maintenance. The less often a student uses it, the more likely it is
> those skills will diminish or even disappear.
>
> The reduction in Braille literacy has been mollified by the fact that
there
> are now more ways than ever for the blind to acquire information. Much of
> the world is moving away from words on a page and toward
electronic/digital
> information. The proliferation of books on tape means blind people no
longer
> have to wait to "read" the latest bestseller. Talking computers have
brought
> the blind to the world and the world to the blind.
>
> These advances have placed a generation of blind young adults and children
> in an information paradox: They have more knowledge at their disposal,
while
> their ability to read and write declines.
>
> But proponents of Braille always fall back on the same argument: If
reading
> and writing are important to the sighted, they are important to the blind.
>
> "If the literacy rate for sighted people was 10 percent, that would be a
> huge issue," Silverman said. "I think kids aren't being taught Braille,
and
> they aren't being given enough time to practice."
>
>
> Congenital disease
>
>
> Silverman is sightless because of Leber Congenital Amaurosis, an inherited
> retinal degenerative disease. But her parents never considered not
teaching
> her to read and write.
>
> "I grew up thinking reading is one of the greatest joys of life," said
> Sharona Silverman, Arielle's mother. "Having a book in your lap is an
> incredible gift, and I was going to introduce that gift to both of my
> children."
>
> Arielle's sister is sighted.
>
> "Arielle had such a love of the written word early on. So she just flew
with
> (Braille)," her mother said.
>
> Because of her parents' commitment to literacy, Arielle Silverman was sent
> as a child to the Foundation for Blind Children in Phoenix to learn
Braille.
> She could read by age 5. Silverman then was mainstreamed into the
Scottsdale
> schools and graduated from Chaparral High. She is now president of the
> Arizona Association of Blind Students.
>
> In that role, Silverman has pushed for better education for the blind,
> particularly an increased emphasis on Braille instruction.
>
> "Braille does not mean more than a sighted person's ability to read and
> write," Silverman said. "It's exactly the same. It's just the way we read
> what we read."
>
>
> Law debated
>
>
> Arizona law starts with the presumption that blind students should learn
> Braille. But that law is not seen as necessarily valid by the person in
> charge of implementing it.
>
> "Just because there is a presumption does not mean it is not an archaic
> presumption,
" said Joanne Phillips, deputy associate superintendent for
> exceptional student services with the state Department of Education.
>
> Arizona Revised Statutes Section 15-214, regarding the teaching of the
> blind, states that "proficiency in Braille is essential for that student
to
> achieve satisfactory educational progress." The law is based on the fact
> that Braille still is the only way blind people can read and write. But it
> stops short of mandating Braille instruction.
>
> "There is no statutory mandate where every child who is blind must learn
> Braille," Phillips said.
>
> You can argue that it does not matter how you read War and Peace, as long
as
> you know the story and the genius of Leo Tolstoy.
>
> "There is no correlation between Braille literacy and educational
> achievement,
" Phillips said.
>
> Karen Wolfe of the American Foundation for the Blind strongly disagrees.
>
> "You can't be literate just listening," she said.
>
> "Literacy helps us think and communicate our thoughts. You will never be
> truly literate without Braille."
>
> The AFB says the employment rate for the blind in this country is 32
> percent. And Blindinc.org says that 93 percent of the employed blind read
> and write Braille.
>
> Still, the rate of Braille literacy is dropping across the country. The
> reasons for the national decline are many, but the primary reasons are:
>
>
> . Mainstreaming of blind students.
>
>
> . Increased technology, such as talking computers and electronic books.
>
>
> . More books on tape.
>
>
> . Increased number of blind children born with additional physical or
mental
> handicaps, often the result of premature birth.
>
> The state of Arizona requires that the Department of Education evaluate
each
> blind student to determine whether he or she can learn Braille, but it
does
> not require the retention of those records. So no one knows how many
> students in Arizona are learning Braille.
>
>
> Rehabilitation Act
>
>
> The beginning of the decline of Braille literacy can be traced to a 1973
> federal decision called the Rehabilitation Act-Nondiscriminati
on Under
> Federal Grants and Programs. It mandated that public schools make
> accommodations for children with disabilities.
>
> For many blind students, it meant the ability to come home. Prior to 1973,
> students who wanted an education had to travel to a school for the blind.
In
> Arizona, the school was in Tucson. The education was first rate, but it
was
> segregation for blind students.
>
> The new law allowed children to return to their communities, to sit every
> day with their peers in schools that were mandated to accommodate them.
But
> one significant flaw was with Braille instruction.
>
> Braille teachers suddenly had to travel from school to school or district
to
> district to introduce Braille to blind students one or two at a time. It
was
> far more practical for districts with a few blind students to get by
putting
> textbooks on tape and allowing test-reading aids for blind students.
>
> The prevalence of books on tape meant they no longer had to wait for
Braille
> publications to read the latest bestseller. All blind people, not just
> Braille readers, could to take part in a cultural phenomenon like Harry
> Potter.
>
> Eventually, computers with voice capabilities came on the market. Braille
> began to be seen as a luxury more than a necessity. Knowledge was
available
> without Braille. Literature was available without Braille.
>
> The irony is that as Braille literacy dropped, new printing technology
made
> Braille much more accessible.
>
>
> High-tech aids
>
>
> Silverman lives in an apartment on the ASU campus. Her course load
includes
> such classes as organic chemistry with Professor Seth Rose, in which he
says
> things like "Heterocyclic aromatic amines are weaker bases than
heterocyclic
> aliphatic amines."
>
> When she gets to class, she sits with a BrailleNote laptop that allows her
> to take notes and review them later. From a distance, the BrailleNote
looks
> exactly like the standard laptop computer used by her peers, but instead
of
> the 26 letters of the alphabet, six keys represent the six-dot system of
> Braille. Each letter of the alphabet is represented by a combination of
the
> six dots.
>
> Silverman points to this machine and others like it as an example of
Braille
> working hand in hand with technology.
>
> "They are not mutually exclusive," Silverman said. "If I didn't know
> Braille, I couldn't use my computers to the level I need them."
>
> But the teaching of organic chemistry is very visual. Formulas and models
> are used, and Silverman can see none of them.
>
> Rose helps "translate" some of his teaching material into a digital format
> that will have meaning to Silverman. If a class focuses on a particular
> compound, he will build a model that she can "see" with her hands. He
> expresses colors with different textures.
>
> He is glad to do it, he said.
>
> "It gives me a great feeling to know that when I hand a model to a
student,
> that she can 'see' exactly what I've been talking about," he said.
>
>
> Literacy vital
>
>
> With her intelligence and work ethic, could Silverman have made it this
far
> without the ability to read and write?
>
> "I doubt it," she said. "Would a sighted person be well-educated if they
are
> illiterate?"
>
> Silverman reads, writes and takes rapid-fire notes in Braille.
>
> "I have a feeling the way our brains are designed, learning how to read
> opens up parts of your brain," she said.
>
> She adds that math and science notations are possible only for people
fluent
> in Braille. They could not be replicated by books on tape or by talking
> computers.
>
> Silverman will occasionally listen to a book on tape, but only if she is
> traveling or if the book is not readily available in Braille. In high
> school, she read Seventeen magazine in Braille, but now she is more likely
> to read a medical journal.
>
> The American Foundation for the Blind celebrates independence and
learning.
> It is the organization to which Helen Keller dedicated her life. So it is
> not a surprise how much it advocates the teaching and learning of Braille.
>
> The foundations says literacy is vital to a successful education, career
and
> quality of life in today's world. Whether in the form of curling up with a
> good book, jotting down a phone number, making a shopping list or writing
a
> report, being literate means participating effectively at home and in
> society.
>
> "If our value system expects sighted people to be literate," Silverman
said,
> "we need to expect blind people to be literate."
>
>
>
> Reach the reporter at john. mailto:faherty%40arizonarepublic.com faherty at arizonarepu
blic.com
>
> or 602-444-4803.
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