[Nfbnet-members-list] Tales of triumph and education await you in the January Braille Monitor

Corbb O'Connor corbbo at gmail.com
Thu Jan 22 18:18:40 UTC 2015


Fellow Federationists,

I encourage you to check out the January edition 
of The Braille Monitor at 
https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm15/bm1501/bm1501tc.htm

While the weather outside is still frightful, you 
will be warmed by the tale of advocacy and battle 
of Christopher Toth and Jamie Principato for 
accessibility to educational materials in 
Florida. The story may be familiar to some of 
you, yet the finale is sure to put a tear in your 
eye. Tom Bickford humorously shares some 
anecdotes, too, about his advocacy with the 
Federation and close friendship with our second president, Ken Jernigan.

As hundreds of Federationists prepare to gather 
in Washington, DC later this month, one of our 
core issues remains the passage of the TEACH Act, 
which will create guidelines for accessibility to 
educational materials in higher education. While 
the proposed bill is only a few pages long, many 
questions abound. In just a few minutes, Lauren 
McLarney provides simple answers and the latest 
news about our conversations with the American Council on Education (ACE).

Sighted people always see us and say that we are 
“amazing.” When you read Julie McGinnity’s 
article, your mind will be stretched to 
understand what she means when she says, “We 
reject the idea that we are amazing, but we work 
hard to be amazing.” Pair that one with Debbie 
Kent-Stein’s replies to a British, sighted 
teenager doing research about blind people, and 
you will be armed with some quick ways to explain blindness to anyone.

In addition to the details about the site of our 
75th anniversary convention this summer, Allen 
Harris and Patti Gregory-Chang talk about the 
secrets to winning two different kinds of 
scholarships
both  of which will pay part of your way to Orlando.

I trust that you will find this issue educational, inspirational, and a joy.

Happy reading!
Corbb O’Connor





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