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11 Sep Watch Learning GROW

The start of the school year has begun and along with that assessing the students to see where they are and where they need and want to go, we make goals. If their want is small, giving them the vision of where they could go is essential. Grouping students together is crucial in this endeavor and each watch the other achieve goals they never thought possible thus increasing their own vision of what they can do.

Within 2 weeks of school beginning, my high school students are already seeing huge leaps in their learning. I have 3 older students who were typing around 60-65wpm and they all set their goal of typing for the end of the year to be around 100 wpm.

The brain grows as does wisdom, through repetition of doing a skill correctly. Within 2 weeks of applying this strategy, 2 have reached around 95 and one reached 111 wpm. Everyday, they immediately come in, send homework that is due to al their teachers, then begin practicing their typing techniques. They now have to set a new goal for typing.

This same principal works in Braille reading. At the end of last spring, two were reading around 65 wpm and one around 212 wpm. They all practiced their reading over summer and by employing similar strategies at the start of the school year, now 2 are reading at 137 wpm and one at 315 wpm. They now are really starting to stretch in their confidence about themselves so 2 are reaching for 200 wpm and the other for 400 wpm by the end of the year.

I also have 3 beginners and all three have increased their reading by 7 wpm in 2 weeks and their typing by 8 wpm. How they feel about themselves has grown and where they did not even try to hand in work, now are doing so. Not a lot yet, but it increases each week as they see their skills grow, which in turn increases their confidence in who they are and what they can do. They are gaining a vision of their potential.

We are all teachers. Teach a skill and watch learning grow.

20 Aug An Incredible Teaching Day

Every day is an incredible teaching day when I am with students, but this summer has been that plus some. During the summer, parents drive their children to my home as I have too many to drive to them and this way I can get in more children. The great thing about this is I grew a large garden this year. During the summer, the children get to feel the garden when it first starts out, then feel it in its different stages. The raspberries and strawberries come first and the great pleasure of picking fresh fruit and truly tasting what fruit should taste like always gets huge smiles. Even kids who thought they hated one of these fruits because of the bland flavor they always encountered at the grocery store soon discovered that fruit from a garden does not taste the same as at the store. Let's just say I have many converts now.

However today was the culmination of absolute joy as one of my students went through and picked her first zucchini, broccoli, carrots and peas–feeling the tiny little pumpkin and watermelon that she would be picking soon also. Each time she would reach down and figure out how to get the particular vegi's off its stem her smile grew larger and larger. I still am picturing her huge smile with each new adventure in the garden. What she never understood, she now does. Her understanding of the world has grown ten fold just by understanding how food grows. Now she has the much more to connect with her sighted peers and "get" what they are talking about.

11 Aug Resources

If you are looking for resources.
American Printing House for the blind- http://aph.org/ offers just about everything under the sun for books and other materials for the blind/low vision
Grocery stores now have raised line paper from Mead–Thank you Lori for that info. It can also be had from APH
If you are looking for balls with bells and braille on games, go to
http://www.braillebookstore.com/view.php?C=Toys+and+Games
Another great source of toys, games, canes, and all things blind is:
http://secure.nfb.org/ecommerce/asp/default.asp
If you would like braille books free or to purchase, go to:
http://www.seedlings.org/
That should get you going…have fun.

29 Jul The Importance of Blind Mentors

Being blind or teaching a blind person cannot happen in isolation. People will tend to fall back on stereotypes and misconceptions about what blind people cannot do rather than what they can do. Getting them involved with other blind people is eye opening and more importantly getting them involved with successful blind mentors is essential.
I constantly bring my students together so they can challenge each other in reaching higher goals for themselves and seeing their potential. They do not know what is possible until they meet someone who is further advanced than themselves. Bringing kids together also creates a sense of community and the "wow, there are others out there just like me" which is so important in creating a positive identity.
When I bring in successful blind adults this is even more apparent. The blind adults tell about what they have achieved which brings even higher ideals to the growing blind students. They see their potential. Even more importantly knowledge that someone is going through and has gone through the same things they are experiencing: Someone they can ask questions and get answers to very practical situations. How about brushing your teeth. Instead of sticking your finger on the toothbrush and squeezing to feel the amount, just squeeze it directly into your mouth, then brush, keeping your fingers clean.
So get involved with others or if you are teaching, make sure your students are getting involved with other blind students and adult blind mentors. You can only grow if you are watered with possibility and that takes people to challenge who you are and what you know. Here are some possible leads: http://www.nfb.org/nfb/Institute_brochure.asp?SnID=4

Another great aspect of blind mentors is it helps parents and blind individuals accept the blindness because they begin to gain vision of what they can do. If you really want to see what blind people can do…go to the National Blind convention…every year it is held over July 4th weekend–It will be in Orlando Florida next summer–plan on going and enhance your mind of potential
Here are some links:
http://www.nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/fr/fr18/issue4/f180404.htm
http://www.nfb.org/nfb/National_Convention_Highlights.asp

26 Jul Learning through a learning disability

Strengthen your weakest part of your brain and learn the things people said you could not. Arrowsmith School, http://www.arrowsmithschool.org/ has the system and methods to get you or your child where you want to be. Practice does make perfect and if you don't use it, you will lose it.

26 Jul Making Brain cells grow

No matter who you are or what your abilities, you can make your brain cells grow and learn. To increase language, reading and writing skills, take a crayon, yes blind children can draw too, and draw in circles and lines. Also, create tactile lines and have your child constantly feel and trace along the different types of lines that are created. These activities will help those brain cells grow which will lead to more developed language, reading and writing skills….and increased intelligence

27 Jun Finding the humor in education

One of my students whom I am working with this summer and I are pen pals. She has many other people she is brailling letters to also as this is a great way to get kids reading and writing braille. So last week she received my letter but she did not know it was from me. It started out: "Now make sure you use complete sentences." and she turned to her mom and asked, "Why would one of my friends tell me to use complete sentences?" When she finished the letter and read my signature, she soon realized that the letter was from her teacher and now she understood why the direction at the beginning.