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From: Mary.Otten@p0.f1055.n261.z1.fidonet.org (Mary Otten)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Re: Setting the record straight
Message-ID: <19024@bunker.isc-br.com>
Date: 24 Apr 91 22:45:29 GMT
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[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

Hi Donna ant others who have entered messages on this subject since my
last. I"m not saying that kids shouldn't be asked to learn things that
don't immediately interest them. What I am saying however, is that there
is a limited amount of time available in the school day. If a kid can
read print reasonably well, why distract the kid and have them learn
braille, if there's no reasonable chance they'll ned that skill later>?
Aren't you taking time away that the child could be using to learn
another subject or improve his or her print reading, read more,
whatever? As I say, I use braille, couldn't get along without it. But I
have  ac a couple of partialy sighetd friends who had to learn braille
with that blindfold method. They both hated it, didn't learn it wel and
today don't use it, even though, in the one guy's case, he could
probably benefit. Mypoint is, they were forced to learn and didn't, at
least not well, and now, years later, the one guy who could use braile
has pretty limmited skill. I think math and history etc aren't
comparable to braille. Braille is a method of accessing information, as
is print. Math and history areareas of information. Kids need to be
exposed to broad categories of information while young, so they can
develop and later go on to do what they want, specialize in what
interests them. But nobody in his right mind suggests that everyone has
to be exposed to multiple ways of accessing information. No. We use the
means of access which is most efficient for us and which we have a
reasonable expwectaiton of being able to continu to use. I'd still
rather concentrate my efforts and the public's dollars on making sure
that kids who can't read print efficiently must learn braille, fi if
they are educationally competent, and learn it well.

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