[nfbwatlk] READ AND WEEP!

Sun Jul 29 18:42:57 CDT 2007

I plan to write a rather strong letter (to say the least) on behalf of 
the NFB of Washington protesting the eating experience below and 
demanding that we (NFBW) be given a venue or method through which we can 
contact the vision teachers who took part to correct the misconceptions 
about blindness that have been reinforced by their experience. I might 
even mention that WSSB will need budgetary support during the coming 
legislative session!

Mike Freeman, President
NFB of Washington

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Mike Freeman
  To: NFB of Washington Talk
  Sent: Sunday, July 29, 2007 4:36 PM
  Subject: [nfbwatlk] READ AND WEEP!

  A Feast Not for the Eyes
  Turns out it's not so easy eating blind. From left, educators Heidi
  Stump, Diana Graham and Cheryl Edmonds eat their entrees blindfolded 
as
  part of a five-day
  intensive workshop through the Washington State School for the Blind.
  (ISOLDE RAFTERY/The Columbian)
  Sunday, July 29, 2007
  BY ISOLDE RAFTERY, Columbian staff writer

  Cheryl Edmonds is not, at first glance, the sort of person who would
  plunge her hands into her salad bowl. But Wednesday evening, at the
  Olive Garden in
  Vancouver, Edmonds was blindfolded and desperate to connect with her
  entree.

  Edmonds, of Vancouver, was among 37 people, most of them educators, 
who
  agreed to a blind dinner. The exercise is part of a five-day intensive
  workshop
  on blindness.

  By the end of the meal, Edmonds, who was seated with two other
  blindfolded women, had ditched etiquette.

  "I'd like to touch it all," she said, fingering a leaf. "I don't even
  know how much I ate. Oh! There's a lot left."

  Sitting next to her, Diana Graham, a kindergarten teacher from the 
North
  Mason School District, north of Olympia, used her fingers to wrap
  fettuccine noodles
  around her fork.

  And Heidi Stump, a paraeducator seated at their table, was taking sips
  from various glasses of soda.

  The three women, poised and socially aware without their blindfolds,
  behaved like giddy children learning table manners.

  The idea behind the blind dinner was to provide a blind experience, 
and
  also to help explain how specific directions ("Your iced tea is 5 
inches
  in front
  of you with the straw bobbing out") are key to working with blind
  students. Educating the teachers

  Dee Amundsen, director of outreach at the School for the Blind, said 
the
  five days are a time for teachers who work with blind students to 
learn
  about blindness.

  In Washington, there are 80 teachers for 1,300 visually impaired
  students, Amundsen said.

  "Finding teachers for the visually impaired is like finding a needle 
in
  a haystack," she said. "A lot of kids don't get services. All these
  people who are
  teaching visually impaired kids don't know anything about blindness."

  At the restaurant, the educators learned they can't just "say when" to 
a
  waiter grinding pepper over their entrees. Someone must read the menu 
to
  them.
  And then there's going to the restroom - an awkward dance that 
involves
  dodging patrons, slinking into a stall and finding the toilet seat.

  For Graham, the veteran kindergarten teacher from North Mason School
  District, the five-day stint is worth it. She will have a blind 
student
  in her class
  come fall.

  "I want to figure out how best to teach a child," Graham said. "I want
  to get her reading for Braille. I want to get some academics into 
her."

  Then she paused.

  "Are you still there?" she asked, also attempting to land a small pile
  of fettuccine into her mouth.

  Yes, everyone was still there.

  "I feel stupid," Graham said. "I don't normally miss my face when I
  eat."

  Cheryl Edmonds, a consultant, agreed.

  "I get a sense for the independence thing," she said. "If the lights
  went out tomorrow, I don't know what that would mean for me."

  Did you know?

  There are 1,300 visually impaired or blind students in Washington.

  Eighty teachers are trained to teach blind students in the state.

  About 70 students attend Washington State School for the Blind in
  Vancouver. The school serves about 600 students per month statewide.

  Isolde Raftery writes about education. She can be reached at
  360-759-8047 or isolde.raftery at columbian.com.

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-------------- next part --------------
I plan to write a rather strong letter (to say the least) on behalf of the NFB of Washington protesting the eating experience below and demanding that we (NFBW) be given a venue or method through which we can contact the vision teachers who took part to correct the misconceptions about blindness that have been reinforced by their experience. I might even mention that WSSB will need budgetary support during the coming legislative session!

Mike Freeman, President
NFB of Washington

----- Original Message -----
From:
mailto:k7uij at panix.com Mike Freeman
To:
mailto:nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org NFB of Washington Talk
Sent:
Sunday, July 29, 2007 4:36 PM
Subject:
[nfbwatlk] READ AND WEEP!
A Feast Not for the Eyes
Turns out it's not so easy eating blind. From left, educators Heidi
Stump, Diana Graham and Cheryl Edmonds eat their entrees blindfolded as
part of a five-day
intensive workshop through the Washington State School for the Blind.
(ISOLDE RAFTERY/The Columbian)
Sunday, July 29, 2007
BY ISOLDE RAFTERY, Columbian staff writer
Cheryl Edmonds is not, at first glance, the sort of person who would
plunge her hands into her salad bowl. But Wednesday evening, at the
Olive Garden in
Vancouver, Edmonds was blindfolded and desperate to connect with her
entree.
Edmonds, of Vancouver, was among 37 people, most of them educators, who
agreed to a blind dinner. The exercise is part of a five-day intensive
workshop
on blindness.
By the end of the meal, Edmonds, who was seated with two other
blindfolded women, had ditched etiquette.
"I'd like to touch it all," she said, fingering a leaf. "I don't even
know how much I ate. Oh! There's a lot left."
Sitting next to her, Diana Graham, a kindergarten teacher from the North
Mason School District, north of Olympia, used her fingers to wrap
fettuccine noodles
around her fork.
And Heidi Stump, a paraeducator seated at their table, was taking sips
from various glasses of soda.
The three women, poised and socially aware without their blindfolds,
behaved like giddy children learning table manners.
The idea behind the blind dinner was to provide a blind experience, and
also to help explain how specific directions ("Your iced tea is 5 inches
in front
of you with the straw bobbing out") are key to working with blind
students. Educating the teachers
Dee Amundsen, director of outreach at the School for the Blind, said the
five days are a time for teachers who work with blind students to learn
about blindness.
In Washington, there are 80 teachers for 1,300 visually impaired
students, Amundsen said.
"Finding teachers for the visually impaired is like finding a needle in
a haystack," she said. "A lot of kids don't get services. All these
people who are
teaching visually impaired kids don't know anything about blindness."
At the restaurant, the educators learned they can't just "say when" to a
waiter grinding pepper over their entrees. Someone must read the menu to
them.
And then there's going to the restroom - an awkward dance that involves
dodging patrons, slinking into a stall and finding the toilet seat.
For Graham, the veteran kindergarten teacher from North Mason School
District, the five-day stint is worth it. She will have a blind student
in her class
come fall.
"I want to figure out how best to teach a child," Graham said. "I want
to get her reading for Braille. I want to get some academics into her."
Then she paused.
"Are you still there?" she asked, also attempting to land a small pile
of fettuccine into her mouth.
Yes, everyone was still there.
"I feel stupid," Graham said. "I don't normally miss my face when I
eat."
Cheryl Edmonds, a consultant, agreed.
"I get a sense for the independence thing," she said. "If the lights
went out tomorrow, I don't know what that would mean for me."
Did you know?
There are 1,300 visually impaired or blind students in Washington.
Eighty teachers are trained to teach blind students in the state.
About 70 students attend Washington State School for the Blind in
Vancouver. The school serves about 600 students per month statewide.
Isolde Raftery writes about education. She can be reached at
360-759-8047 or mailto:isolde.raftery at columbian.com isolde.raftery at columbian.com
.
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