[nfbwatlk] READ AND WEEP!
Alco Canfield
amcanfield at comcast.net
Mon Jul 30 03:49:37 CDT 2007
Well, obviously, the five-day experience taught them nothing at all.
Wrapping noodles around a fork with fingers, indeed! I never was good at
using a spoon to do that, but I have a very big mouth as you all know and I
just open wide. I feel sorry for the blind children who are unfortunate
enough to receive "instruction" from these bimbos.
Alco
-----Original Message-----
From: nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Mike Freeman
Sent: Sunday, July 29, 2007 7:08 PM
To: NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] READ AND WEEP!
With all due respect to educators, there are some of us who figure that
juxtaposition of the word "educator" with the phrase "common sense"
constitutes an oxymoron! <g>
Mike
----- Original Message -----
From: hlstansberry at comcast.net
To: NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List ; NFB of Washington Talk
Mailing List
Cc: KAYE KIPP
Sent: Sunday, July 29, 2007 5:26 PM
Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] READ AND WEEP!
Please do so. This is very insulting to blind individuals and what
makes it worse, is that these are educators that will impact and
influence the thoughts of others.
Evidently these educators lacked the "brains" to imagine how to use a
eating utensil in the dark.
Common sense would have aided them.
Lili
-------------- Original message --------------
From: "KAYE KIPP" <kkipp123 at msn.com>
> Absolutely.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Mike Freeman"
> To: "NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List"
> Sent: Sunday, July 29, 2007 3:42 PM
> Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] READ AND WEEP!
>
>
> >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.
> >
> > C2007 Columbian.com. All Rights Reserved - Use of this site
> > constitutes
> > acceptance of our
> > User Agreement.
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
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