--------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 233 NFB BLIND NEWS Ref: EC^00000Date: 08/30/97 From: DIANE DOBSON Time: 05:58pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: Forwarded mail.... From: Diane Dobson Subject: Forwarded mail.... Would all Blind Canadians please copy and send a hard copy to the Canadian Bankers Association Add or subtract suiting your own ideas lets make banking a problem free activity ! Have an accessible day ! Diane aa321@freenet.victoria.bc.ca ____________________________________________________ ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sat, 30 Aug 1997 10:22:07 -0700 (PDT) From: Diane Dobson To: Sandi Dewdney Subject: CANADIAN BANKERS ASSOCIATION J.D. Dobson 134-1035 North Park Victoria, B.C. V8T 5A1 To whom it may concern; BANK POLICIES; services for the disabled 1. ACCESS TO PREMISES STANDARDIZED BY PUSHPLATE IN ALL BRANCHES (standardization is a key tool for the visually-impaired in that they use memory to locate objects) 2. UNOBSTRCTED PATHWAYS (terminal and accessible desk for disabled) 3. A.T.M. (a. standardized keyboard configuration) (b. screen-reader secured by headset for privacy) 4. FORMAT (diskette/brail/large print) ELIMINATE DISCRIMINATION FOR THE VISUALLY-IMPAIRED BY PRO- VIDING ALL PRINTED MATTER IN ALL THE ABOVE FORMATS! Statements in alternative foremats COMPUTER DISKETTS BRAILE LARGE PRINT CASSETTE THANK YOU JD DOBSON Have an accessible day ! Diane aa321@freenet.victoria.bc.ca ____________________________________________________ --- * Origin: NFBnet <--> Internet Email Gateway (1:282/1045) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 233 NFB BLIND NEWS Ref: ED100000Date: 08/31/97 From: PETE DONAHUE Time: 04:57pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: Re: Parents Fight Closing of Janesville 16:57:4008/31/97 From: Pete Donahue Subject: Re: Parents Fight Closing of Janesville School (fwdDear listers, I have just read the article about the Wisconsin School for the Visually andicapped (WSVH) closing, and am shocked. My parents had told me a couple of weeks ago, but today was the first that I heard the actual text. I am one ofthose graduates of WSVH who went during the 1960s and early '70's, and benefited from skills taught there. My parents tried to mainstream me, but in the late 1950s and early 1960s, programs for blind chldren n public schools wer very few and far between. Therefore, I did not have much choice except to go about 240 miles from home to an unknown environment, WSVH, which became my "home away fromhome." While there, I learned braille (which included braille music and math codes), but did not start orientation and mobility until the tenth grade. Daily living skills was part of the curriculum during my senior year, but was taught as a summr course for college prep students, so I had some living skills the summer before my senior year. What concerns me is that some children may come from over-protective families. Suposse such children do not get the opportunity to get out in their home community for cane travel and other events. What will happen ten? State officials need o model the programs at WSVH and make them smilar to other schools for the blind such as TExas, Iniana, Kentucky, and Washington. (I am referring to the feature in the October, 1996 wedition of The Braille Monitor.) If there was a way to wrie to someone in the Departmen of Public Instruction, I would do so. Thank you for your attention to my reactions. Mary Jeatran Donahue --- * Origin: NFBnet <--> Internet Email Gateway (1:282/1045) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 233 NFB BLIND NEWS Ref: ED100001Date: 08/31/97 From: AL AND MASHA STEN-CLANTON Time: 07:46pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: Re: Parents Fight Closing of Janesville 19:46:5508/31/97 From: Al and Masha Sten-Clanton Subject: Re: Parents Fight Closing of Janesville School (fwd) My own experience and that of other people I know is that the public schools can indeed give us the blindness skills and tools we need. That's why I've often been quite angry when I've heard of the too many that don't. Your points about socialization are well made, and I think we should not and need not have to choose between Braille on the one hand and the socialization you speak of on the other. Take care! Al --- * Origin: NFBnet <--> Internet Email Gateway (1:282/1045) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 233 NFB BLIND NEWS Ref: ED100002Date: 08/31/97 From: DON STEELMAN Time: 02:36pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: Re: Parents Fight Closing of Janesville 14:36:1908/31/97 From: Don Steelman Subject: Re: Parents Fight Closing of Janesville School (fwdDear listers, While I'm taking no position on the issue, I would certainly advise any interested parties that there are certainly ways of making yourselves heard on this one. First of all, write your local state Representatives and Senators. They hold the purse strings and could certainly derail this particular railway should they wish to do so. Secondly, I'm sure that there are several relevant cites for Wisconsin officialdom on the web. E-mail them regularly and pointedly. Finally, get the press into this. Local stories are easy to get, especially in small town or suburban papers which are generally desperate for something to print anyway. Get some major organizations behind you. I should think that these tactics would be as effective in Wisconsin as they always have been in Texas. Good luck. Don IF EVERYONE LIT JUST ONE LITTLE CANDLE, WHAT A BRIGHT WORLD IT WOULD BE. --- * Origin: NFBnet <--> Internet Email Gateway (1:282/1045) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 233 NFB BLIND NEWS Ref: ED100003Date: 08/31/97 From: "NANCY K. MARTIN" Time: 02:37pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: Parents Fight Closing of Janesville Scho14:37:5208/31/97 From: "Nancy K. Martin" Subject: Parents Fight Closing of Janesville School (fwd) ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sun, 31 Aug 1997 12:11:13 -0700 From: Kelly Ford To: BLINDFAM@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU Subject: Parents Fight Closing of Janesville School Hi All, I noticed the following in the Milwaukee paper today. I thought this might be of some interest here. I'd also be curious to know what folks think the purpose of residential schools should be and if they are appropriate. I wonder how much age has to do with this in terms of how attitudes about educating in the home cummunity were when you were growing up. I'm 30 and at age 4 was given the choice of going to this school (I'm from Wisconsin) or a new program which was being put together in a town 17 miles away. The result for me was a 45 minute bus ride to and from school and attending a school different from all my brothers and sisters but still, for lack of a better word, a regular school. At that time the state of Wisconsin opted to set up a program for many people who were blind in one city and bus folks in. I had a very positive experience and learned most of the blindness-specific things I needed to in the regular school and from my family. Parents fight closing of Janesville school By Stan Milam Special to the Journal Sentinel August 31, 1997 Janesville -- Mary Bortz says it's a difficult concept to understand, but visually impaired children need time and special educational opportunities to learn to be comfortable with their disability. And, like many parents at the Wisconsin School for the Visually Handicapped in Janesville, she believes those opportunities are ones that can't be found at regular schools. That's why she and others are fighting hard to prevent shutting down the facility at the end of the school year. "Many young visually impaired children simply cannot develop the confidence and comfort level necessary to succeed by attending public schools," Bortz said. "They need to experience the freedom to be blind." State school superintendent John Benson this month announced plans to close the school, which was established in 1849, after the 1997-'98 school year because of declining enrollment. A decade ago, the school had more than 100 students. Today, 55 are registered for the fall term, although more are expected. Under Benson's plan, which still needs legislative approval, the $7.3 million spent each year to run the school would be distributed to local school districts to meet the needs of visually impaired students. The school's Parent, Staff and Student Association is lobbying lawmakers to block Benson from closing the facility. Bortz, who has two daughters at the school, worries that they won't receive the education they need to survive in a sighted world if they are taught elsewhere. "The school districts, at least in my case, do not tell parents what to expect in the way of services for their visually impaired children," she said. "I just accepted what they offered until I learned about the Wisconsin School for the Visually Handicapped here in Janesville." Other parents echoed her comments. "We lived in Milwaukee and were offered a program that was totally inadequate," said Melissa Raddatz. "When my daughter was 4, we went through the process of evaluating her needs, but the school never told us about WSVH." Emotions are running high among students, staff and parents in what could be the final year of the school's operation. The school teaches visually impaired and blind students skills such as Braille, adaptive technology, orientation and mobility, and daily living skills. It's the special-skills training that sets the school apart from others, said Tom Hanson, a vocational education teacher at the school. Hanson, who has been blind since age 6, is a graduate of the school who went on to earn a doctorate in special education. "What we provide is an opportunity for a student to be a total well-rounded individual," he said. "Students here get the academics, but they also get the additional compensating skills that help develop self-esteem and self-confidence." But a spokesman for the Department of Public Instruction said the specialized training mentioned by the school's staff is indeed being offered in Wisconsin's public schools. "First of all, we understand that only 55 students registered for the fall term at WSVH, although more are expected," spokesman Greg Doyle said. "But the point is that the other 1,240 or so visually handicapped students in this state are getting the same education with the same training and other specialized needs as the students at WSVH." Money spent on serving the students at the residential school in Janesville would be better served in the students' home communities, Doyle said. "One could argue that such specialized educational needs as mobility and orientation would be better taught in the home community where the students would be dealing with those situations," Doyle said. "The department's goal is to take the money now being spent at the school in Janesville to significantly enhance opportunities for all visually handicapped students." The issue of teaching students to read Braille is an example of the need to budget more effectively, Doyle said. "We recognize that teaching Braille is an incredibly expensive program costing as much as $3,000 for a textbook," he said. "Our position all along has been that this is a necessary program, and the resources available for it should go to all visually handicapped students in the state, not just the 60 or so who attend WSVH." Added Benson: "Parents and local school districts increasingly are deciding to educate children with visual disabilities in their local school districts, which allow the children to remain at home and with their family and friends." Benson wants to take the $4.9 million the state pays each year to run the residential school, redirect another $1.36 million a year in federal funding, and authorize an additional $1 million a year in state funds to pay for expanded programs in public school systems. He said he also wants to help the school staff find other employment. "To a person, they are dedicated to improving the lives of young people. Many (staff members) have unique skills that local school districts will be seeking," Benson said. But some staff members believe the best way to improve the lives of visually impaired young people is to build on what's offered at the school, not close it down. "Mr. Benson's claims with the numbers are misleading," said John Sonka, a physical education teacher at the school. "He claims there are 1,300 students out there and we are only serving 60-some. "He's probably comparing apples to oranges right now. Sure, there are plenty of students in the public school systems, but if they all knew what is offered here in Janesville, I'm certain we would have more students." One of those students is Marcus Couch, 11, who has developed a strong interest in music since he started school there in 1991. "I can play the piano and the trumpet, but I like the drum set the best," Marcus said. "I have learned to read music by Braille." Scott (left) listens to teacher Fred Nesvold during a math lesson. Scott walks to his locker. One parent opposed to the school's closing said of the students, "They need to experience the freedom to be blind." _________________________________________________________________ --- * Origin: NFBnet <--> Internet Email Gateway (1:282/1045) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 233 NFB BLIND NEWS Ref: ED100004Date: 08/31/97 From: AL AND MASHA STEN-CLANTON Time: 03:57pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: Re: Parents Fight Closing of Janesville 15:57:5708/31/97 From: Al and Masha Sten-Clanton Subject: Re: Parents Fight Closing of Janesville School (fwd) I was in a public school from first to fourth grade, then spent four years at Perkins School for the Blind, then want to a public high school. I have no wish to denegrate Perkins, for I learned some important lessons there. I do believe, though, that blindness is no reason for putting a child in a residential school. (Whether blindness in combination with some other disabilities is a good reason is beyond my competence, but I have a strong presumption in favor of mainstreaming.) The fact that many public schools provide lousy blindness services, or maybe none at all, indicates to me the need to improve greatly the schools in question, not the need to send blind kids off to "separate but equal" segregation. It makes sense to provide the specialized training in blindness skills outside the regular classroom, much as we provide specialized training in the law in law schools, training in nursing skills at nursing schools, and the rest. It seems to me that the best approach is to teach children very early that they are members of the whole community, that they have the right and in some ways the obligation to participate in that community's life as do their sighted peers, and that they have the right to the tools for doing it and the responsibility for using those tools fully and wisely. What, I wonder, is meant by "the freedom to be blind?" Freedom to do what? Since I did not choose to be blind, the notion is at least in my case quite literally nonsense. If it means the freedom to use the tools we need to do effectively the things we'd do with sight if we had it, that is what the public schools, perhaps along with one or another blindness agency, should and can do. If it means the "freedom" to achieve less than one's sighted peers, or "freedom" from learning to deal with life in the larger community, then the word "freedom" is a dangerous misnomer for the thing. I'm reasonably sure that, in large part, residential schools historically did the best they could to prepare their students for many aspects of adulthood. Some of our best leaders came from these places, and some of my close friends. But in a world where we are less apt than before to tolerate segregation of blind people, and in which public schools have (though not often enough) demonstrated that blind children can get the tools they need for entering the big wide world, I doubt the wisdom of touting the special school as the cure for the problems we face. Just some thoughts! Al --- * Origin: NFBnet <--> Internet Email Gateway (1:282/1045) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 233 NFB BLIND NEWS Ref: ED100005Date: 08/31/97 From: DON STEELMAN Time: 11:09am \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: Re: Parents Fight Closing of Janesville 11:09:4608/31/97 From: Don Steelman Subject: Re: Parents Fight Closing of Janesville School (fwd) I am of two minds on this one. On the one hand, I am not certain that public school programs can offer the kind of primary training that blind children need. My own experience has been that training in Braille is variable at best. However, I certainly believe that there is a lot to be said for the socialization these kids can only get when they go to school with their friends and neighbors and when they live at honme. I wonder about this "freedom to be blind" that the article quoted one parent as calling for. Is that equivolent to the freedom to act blind which I noticed so much in my nine years at the Texas School for the blind. Is it the freedom never to be able to relate to the world as your school friends do in high school--the freedom to not only be different but to act differently as well? I hope not. If we could get the best of both worlds out of this, I for one would be a lot happier. I spent my last three high school years in public school and frankly benefitted greatly from that experience. How are we ever going to integrate ourselves into the rest of society when we insist on separateness? I don't think we can. Therefore, on balance, I think that the closure will be a long term benefit to blind children in Wisconsin. Don Steelman IF EVERYONE LIT JUST ONE LITTLE CANDLE, WHAT A BRIGHT WORLD IT WOULD BE. --- * Origin: NFBnet <--> Internet Email Gateway (1:282/1045) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 233 NFB BLIND NEWS Ref: ED100006Date: 08/31/97 From: MACK73DEN@AOL.COM Time: 08:58pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: Re: Political Comparrison From: MACK73DEN@aol.com Subject: Re: Political Comparrison If we follow your reasoning Andy then you will need to follow the procedures for amending the constitution which is what is done in each state that have implemented term limits. This will require you to propose an amendment and campaign for its passage according to the rules set up in the NFB constitution. Best of luck to you Put your effort where you mouth is. Denise Mackenstadt --- * Origin: NFBnet <--> Internet Email Gateway (1:282/1045) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 233 NFB BLIND NEWS Ref: ED100007Date: 08/31/97 From: LU ANN SCHMIDT Time: 09:04pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: RE: Parents Fight Closing of Janesville 21:04:1208/31/97 From: Lu Ann Schmidt Subject: RE: Parents Fight Closing of Janesville School (fwdDear listers, I like what your line says under your signature. I just wanted to share that. It's short and makes people think. ---------- From: Don Steelman[SMTP:steelman@longview.net] Sent: Sunday, August 31, 1997 12:36 PM To: Multiple recipients of NFBnet NFB-Talk Mailing List Subject: Re: Parents Fight Closing of Janesville School (fwdDear listers, While I'm taking no position on the issue, I would certainly advise any interested parties that there are certainly ways of making yourselves heard on this one. First of all, write your local state Representatives and Senators. They hold the purse strings and could certainly derail this particular railway should they wish to do so. Secondly, I'm sure that there are several relevant cites for Wisconsin officialdom on the web. E-mail them regularly and pointedly. Finally, get the press into this. Local stories are easy to get, especially in small town or suburban papers which are generally desperate for something to print anyway. Get some major organizations behind you. I should think that these tactics would be as effective in Wisconsin as they always have been in Texas. Good luck. Don IF EVERYONE LIT JUST ONE LITTLE CANDLE, WHAT A BRIGHT WORLD IT WOULD BE. --- * Origin: NFBnet <--> Internet Email Gateway (1:282/1045) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 233 NFB BLIND NEWS Ref: ED200000Date: 08/31/97 From: MUELLER, NORBERT Time: 05:12pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: Re: Parents Fight Closing of Janesville 17:12:5508/31/97 From: nmueller@stepnet.de (Mueller, Norbert) Subject: Re: Parents Fight Closing of Janesville School (fwdDear listers, MIME version: 1.0 Content-Type: message/rfc822 Content-transfer-encoding: 8bit boundary="--tcpsmtp090010199711050027" --tcpsmtp090010199711050027 Hello listers, On 1997-08-31 NFB-Talk@NFBnet.org said: >What concerns me is >that some children may come from over-protective families. Suposse >such children do not get the opportunity to get out in their home >community for cane travel and other events. This point is well taken! I have worked as supervisor of dormitory operations at the State school for the blind in the Saarland, a southwestern State of Germany. The Saarland is a very small State with about 1 million people. For almost all of our students it was possible to come to the school in the morning by bus or taxi and return home in the evening. When we had a special school activity like Summer Fest, carneval celebrations and the like, some of the itinerant students would stay over night in our dormitory. That meant they had to butter their slices of bread at breakfast, put marmelade on it and the like. Observers could clearly tell who among them were our "dormitory" students, because they just were more skillful in these areas. We even had students who could eat their lunch independently at our schools but got their meat cut when they were at home on the weekends and during vacations. Are German parents more over protective than their counterparts in the USA? I don't think so. I don't want to say that all parents are like that; but in some cases we could at least pplant the seeds of independence in some children, and those seeds may come to fruition later in their lives. I am aware that blindness skills can be taught at every school, provided their are the right instructors and (this is very important:) role models. I can only advice you (and especially the people of the Wisconsin School) to read the articles in the Braille Monitor dealing with residential school, in particular the articles by Dr. Phil Hatlen. He made it very clear that the discussion should not be "What is better: segregated or integrated school education", but rather "Which system works best for the child in which situation?". When I was goint to school in Germany (1959 to 1973) there was not the option of going to public school; so I cannot speak about that from my own experience. However, I have been told that it sometimes - some say many times - can be a very frustrating experience. When times get too tough, it is good to have a residential school to lean back upon. When a child needs to learn a blindness skill and no teacher is available, it is good to have a residential school to fall back upon. What Phil Hatlen wrote about the Texas School has impressed me a lot. Unfortunately, in the newspaper article about the Wisconsin school, that spirit could not be found. I cannot judge whether this is a problem of the article or of the school in general. Best regards, Norbert Mueller Norbert Mueller, nmueller@stepnet.de or n.mueller@hit.handshake.de Work: dbbw@stepnet.de Net-Tamer V 1.09 - Registered --tcpsmtp090010199711050027 --- * Origin: NFBnet <--> Internet Email Gateway (1:282/1045)