Guest guest Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 Well Cy, I will do you one better. My eighth grade English teacher just didn't know what to do with me when one day I was a little stinker. You see, he was trying to hit home the point to write in full and not to use contractions. This authoritarian walks up to the black board and write in big bold letters " Don't write contractions. " Calmly, I walked up to the board and pointed to the word " Don't " . I never saw a teacher turn red before, but lo and behold, they were just like the rest of us humans full of volatile reaction. Apparently, I accomplished something nobody else had -- I made him speechless the rest of the day. Hey, Mr. Whittington, if you're going to preach it......well, you get the idea. Bill Powers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 Bill, Not all that long ago the subject of Braille erupted like a volcano on a couple of lists I belong to. I believe the consensus was that Braille should be taught to all blind children as well as those who will, most probably, lose their ability to read print in the future. It was also felt that many, many special ed teachers in the public school system are not adequately prepared to teach the use of Braille. They do not know the difference between sloppily written Braille and Braille which is neat and crisp. While all of these electronic devices we have today are a genuine blessing and asset they are also our bane. It is much like the calculator. I never had the luxury of using a calculator when I was in high school or college because the little bitty, teeny weensy calculator had not yet been invented. Today students are allowed to use a calculator as soon as they hit middle school (long about the sixth grade) Add things in their heads? Surly you jest! (smile) One of the things I do miss about the New York Times is their spelling of names. They always spelled a new to the news name the first several times an article appeared with that name in it. I don't know about you but some of the foreign names leave me absolutely clueless. Anyway, hang in there folks cause yesterday iss in the past, tomorrow is in the future and today is a present. Cy, the Ancient Okie... Re: Shopping problems That would be hard trying to reinforce good spelling after you've lost sight, given the fact that you remembered how your words " looked. " This is why I believed that when you are able to, you should learn Braille, so that a tactile representation of the correctly spelled word is what would then replace your visual reference. I have a kind of opposite experience with some words, since I learned print first until I was FORCED to learn Braille by the school for the blind I attended for 3 years. For quite a long time after that, my " word picture " of the word " it " was an X, since that is the character used in Braille. Others I've known remembered correct spellings by the Braille combinations and it has served them well. But then there are those like me who are not good at feeling the Braille, (I always cheated by looking at it). I found my fingers too sensitive to want to read it for any length of time and didn't know of a solution back in the day. But were I to do it over again with the knowledge I have now, I might have embraced it more and been even better at spelling. I had to be a good speller to do medical transcription anyway, or else spend too much time in a dictionary for which I would not get paid. Bill Powers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 Here in California there is a State law that says all blind children and children who will be blind because of their particular eye problem have to learn Braille. the problem is the lack of teachers who know how to teach Braille. There just are not enough and man of them are teachers who travel to the different schools (itinerant teachers) who see a child only every other week or so.iterant Re: Shopping problems That would be hard trying to reinforce good spelling after you've lost sight, given the fact that you remembered how your words " looked. " This is why I believed that when you are able to, you should learn Braille, so that a tactile representation of the correctly spelled word is what would then replace your visual reference. I have a kind of opposite experience with some words, since I learned print first until I was FORCED to learn Braille by the school for the blind I attended for 3 years. For quite a long time after that, my " word picture " of the word " it " was an X, since that is the character used in Braille. Others I've known remembered correct spellings by the Braille combinations and it has served them well. But then there are those like me who are not good at feeling the Braille, (I always cheated by looking at it). I found my fingers too sensitive to want to read it for any length of time and didn't know of a solution back in the day. But were I to do it over again with the knowledge I have now, I might have embraced it more and been even better at spelling. I had to be a good speller to do medical transcription anyway, or else spend too much time in a dictionary for which I would not get paid. Bill Powers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 I know Braille, Bill, but can't feel it too well and therefore only use it for short notes. I did use it to keep all my notes when I worked, but used Jumbo Braille. Re: Shopping problems That would be hard trying to reinforce good spelling after you've lost sight, given the fact that you remembered how your words " looked. " This is why I believed that when you are able to, you should learn Braille, so that a tactile representation of the correctly spelled word is what would then replace your visual reference. I have a kind of opposite experience with some words, since I learned print first until I was FORCED to learn Braille by the school for the blind I attended for 3 years. For quite a long time after that, my " word picture " of the word " it " was an X, since that is the character used in Braille. Others I've known remembered correct spellings by the Braille combinations and it has served them well. But then there are those like me who are not good at feeling the Braille, (I always cheated by looking at it). I found my fingers too sensitive to want to read it for any length of time and didn't know of a solution back in the day. But were I to do it over again with the knowledge I have now, I might have embraced it more and been even better at spelling. I had to be a good speller to do medical transcription anyway, or else spend too much time in a dictionary for which I would not get paid. Bill Powers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 , I've lived in California most of my life and I never knew about that law. But yes you are right, teachers doing Braille is in short supply mostly because of money. If there is no incentive for today's crop of teachers to learn or teach Braille, why do it? And most kids are so resistive to learning it, they feel they don't even have to because they will not actively use it. With Braille illiteracy at such an all-time high, it's a real problem at both ends of this equation. And I have no idea how we will ever solve this problem either. I remember in years past there was a stupid California State law that said everyone must take Driver's Education. It was abolished but only AFTER my time in high school. Imagine, I had to take DE but could only get a C+ even though I had 100% scores on all my written tests, because I couldn't do the driving part. And to make my English teacher squirm in his grave.... " ain't it rough out there? " (Oh, I shoulda used " isn't " instead of " ain't " but I ain't gonna change it now......) <G> Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 Cy, When I was in nursing school we had to use ink pens to do our charting on patients and we would be highly admonished if we used a pencil or a ball point-this was until there was a flood in the record room an all the patients files were erased as the ink pen ink dissolved! I can remember refilling the little ink cartridges with a syringe and a bottle of ink. Oh, I remember Winston's too as I smoked them for a while. Fortunately I quit that nasty habit in my early 30's. Re: Shopping problems Bill, I know what you mean by not being able to learn a foreign language in order to carry on a conversation in it. I did not learn until I was 38 years of age that I had a hearing disability, and that is probably why I am one of the world's worse spellers today and have always been. Re: Shopping problems > > Cy, > > Unfortunately, the caliber of help in a store is not dictated by how > smart that person is, it's how CHEAP they are. Employers don't > consider a person's ability to read or communicat anymore, all they > consider is keeping the bottom line black. They will put up with > subgrade help as long as it's cheap. And you know what's really > aggravating? (Here I go on my soapbox for > the day, and please, I'm not meaning to slam race or nationality, but just > to make a valid point.) So much of the help these days is expected to be > bilingual. OK, that's fine, but when I actually find help only to find > that > person speaks Spanish but NO ENGLISH, I'm in a pickle. What happened to > the > BI-lingual? See, it's OK if they can speak Spanish, but it doesn't matter > if > they don't speak English. We just have to " give them a break " and " be > understanding. " Oh I better stop now before I really get going on this. > It's > what I run up against as I look for work, the " Spanish " issue. And with my > mild hearing impairment I doubt I'd ever be able to learn Spanish well > enough, as it's hard enough understanding the way some people speak > English. > So, as the Spanish say, " que lastima. " (I probably spelled it wrong <G>). > > Whew! > > Enough venting for one day. Think I've heated up the apartment with my > hot air...... > > > Bill > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 Cy, When I was in nursing school we had to use ink pens to do our charting on patients and we would be highly admonished if we used a pencil or a ball point-this was until there was a flood in the record room an all the patients files were erased as the ink pen ink dissolved! I can remember refilling the little ink cartridges with a syringe and a bottle of ink. Oh, I remember Winston's too as I smoked them for a while. Fortunately I quit that nasty habit in my early 30's. Re: Shopping problems Bill, I know what you mean by not being able to learn a foreign language in order to carry on a conversation in it. I did not learn until I was 38 years of age that I had a hearing disability, and that is probably why I am one of the world's worse spellers today and have always been. Re: Shopping problems > > Cy, > > Unfortunately, the caliber of help in a store is not dictated by how > smart that person is, it's how CHEAP they are. Employers don't > consider a person's ability to read or communicat anymore, all they > consider is keeping the bottom line black. They will put up with > subgrade help as long as it's cheap. And you know what's really > aggravating? (Here I go on my soapbox for > the day, and please, I'm not meaning to slam race or nationality, but just > to make a valid point.) So much of the help these days is expected to be > bilingual. OK, that's fine, but when I actually find help only to find > that > person speaks Spanish but NO ENGLISH, I'm in a pickle. What happened to > the > BI-lingual? See, it's OK if they can speak Spanish, but it doesn't matter > if > they don't speak English. We just have to " give them a break " and " be > understanding. " Oh I better stop now before I really get going on this. > It's > what I run up against as I look for work, the " Spanish " issue. And with my > mild hearing impairment I doubt I'd ever be able to learn Spanish well > enough, as it's hard enough understanding the way some people speak > English. > So, as the Spanish say, " que lastima. " (I probably spelled it wrong <G>). > > Whew! > > Enough venting for one day. Think I've heated up the apartment with my > hot air...... > > > Bill > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 Cy, When I was in nursing school we had to use ink pens to do our charting on patients and we would be highly admonished if we used a pencil or a ball point-this was until there was a flood in the record room an all the patients files were erased as the ink pen ink dissolved! I can remember refilling the little ink cartridges with a syringe and a bottle of ink. Oh, I remember Winston's too as I smoked them for a while. Fortunately I quit that nasty habit in my early 30's. Re: Shopping problems Bill, I know what you mean by not being able to learn a foreign language in order to carry on a conversation in it. I did not learn until I was 38 years of age that I had a hearing disability, and that is probably why I am one of the world's worse spellers today and have always been. Re: Shopping problems > > Cy, > > Unfortunately, the caliber of help in a store is not dictated by how > smart that person is, it's how CHEAP they are. Employers don't > consider a person's ability to read or communicat anymore, all they > consider is keeping the bottom line black. They will put up with > subgrade help as long as it's cheap. And you know what's really > aggravating? (Here I go on my soapbox for > the day, and please, I'm not meaning to slam race or nationality, but just > to make a valid point.) So much of the help these days is expected to be > bilingual. OK, that's fine, but when I actually find help only to find > that > person speaks Spanish but NO ENGLISH, I'm in a pickle. What happened to > the > BI-lingual? See, it's OK if they can speak Spanish, but it doesn't matter > if > they don't speak English. We just have to " give them a break " and " be > understanding. " Oh I better stop now before I really get going on this. > It's > what I run up against as I look for work, the " Spanish " issue. And with my > mild hearing impairment I doubt I'd ever be able to learn Spanish well > enough, as it's hard enough understanding the way some people speak > English. > So, as the Spanish say, " que lastima. " (I probably spelled it wrong <G>). > > Whew! > > Enough venting for one day. Think I've heated up the apartment with my > hot air...... > > > Bill > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 That law came into affect about 8 years ago bill. the CCB was instrumental in proposing it and getting it passed-for all the good it did! If you don't have teachers, it doesn't help to have a law. But you are right about lack of incentive. What is really sad is that the teachers who are at the different schools for the blind and who are required to have more education than regular teachers, actually get paid less. So they are there only because of education. Re: Shopping problems , I've lived in California most of my life and I never knew about that law. But yes you are right, teachers doing Braille is in short supply mostly because of money. If there is no incentive for today's crop of teachers to learn or teach Braille, why do it? And most kids are so resistive to learning it, they feel they don't even have to because they will not actively use it. With Braille illiteracy at such an all-time high, it's a real problem at both ends of this equation. And I have no idea how we will ever solve this problem either. I remember in years past there was a stupid California State law that said everyone must take Driver's Education. It was abolished but only AFTER my time in high school. Imagine, I had to take DE but could only get a C+ even though I had 100% scores on all my written tests, because I couldn't do the driving part. And to make my English teacher squirm in his grave.... " ain't it rough out there? " (Oh, I shoulda used " isn't " instead of " ain't " but I ain't gonna change it now......) <G> Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 That's pretty funny, bill. My husband is partially sighted and never learned Braille. As they did not have a lot so stuff in large print, he never learned to spell either as the schools taught him everything by reading it to him or putting it on tape. Re: Shopping problems I can understand using Jumbo Braille and can understand not reading it very well. As I said, my problem is being " ticklish " when it comes to Braille, so it's irritating to me, hence I read it with my eyes. OK, call me a cheater.... Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 You're right, . I found when I was working however, that very few type 2 people (who are usually at least middle age) don't want to learn Braille. Re: Shopping problems , I know that many blind diabetics have problems with reading Braille, particularly, those with type A diabetes. However, I do think that type 2 diabetics that are already blind, and have a knowledge of, and use Braille, could help themselves far more, by not pricking their index finger when testing their own blood. After all, it should be pointed out to them, when they become a diabetic, that the index finger and the thumb have the majority of the nerve endings, and after a period of time, these can become damaged if they consistently take their blood from these points. Some nurses who should know better, even forget this point sometimes, and do need reminding now and again. To overcome this problem, I always tuck the tip of my index finger, round the thumb, offering them, either, the middle, fourth or little fingers, when they need to do this at the hospital. . Re: Shopping problems > > > > That would be hard trying to reinforce good spelling after you've lost > sight, given the fact that you remembered how your words " looked. " This is > why I believed that when you are able to, you should learn Braille, so that > a tactile representation of the correctly spelled word is what would then > replace your visual reference. I have a kind of opposite experience with > some words, since I learned print first until I was FORCED to learn Braille > by the school for the blind I attended for 3 years. For quite a long time > after that, my " word picture " of the word " it " was an X, since that is the > character used in Braille. Others I've known remembered correct spellings by > the Braille combinations and it has served them well. But then there are > those like me who are not good at feeling the Braille, (I always cheated by > looking at it). I found my fingers too sensitive to want to read it for any > length of time and didn't know of a solution back in the day. But were I to > do it over again with the knowledge I have now, I might have embraced it > more and been even better at spelling. I had to be a good speller to do > medical transcription anyway, or else spend too much time in a dictionary > for which I would not get paid. > > Bill Powers > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 You're right, . I found when I was working however, that very few type 2 people (who are usually at least middle age) don't want to learn Braille. Re: Shopping problems , I know that many blind diabetics have problems with reading Braille, particularly, those with type A diabetes. However, I do think that type 2 diabetics that are already blind, and have a knowledge of, and use Braille, could help themselves far more, by not pricking their index finger when testing their own blood. After all, it should be pointed out to them, when they become a diabetic, that the index finger and the thumb have the majority of the nerve endings, and after a period of time, these can become damaged if they consistently take their blood from these points. Some nurses who should know better, even forget this point sometimes, and do need reminding now and again. To overcome this problem, I always tuck the tip of my index finger, round the thumb, offering them, either, the middle, fourth or little fingers, when they need to do this at the hospital. . Re: Shopping problems > > > > That would be hard trying to reinforce good spelling after you've lost > sight, given the fact that you remembered how your words " looked. " This is > why I believed that when you are able to, you should learn Braille, so that > a tactile representation of the correctly spelled word is what would then > replace your visual reference. I have a kind of opposite experience with > some words, since I learned print first until I was FORCED to learn Braille > by the school for the blind I attended for 3 years. For quite a long time > after that, my " word picture " of the word " it " was an X, since that is the > character used in Braille. Others I've known remembered correct spellings by > the Braille combinations and it has served them well. But then there are > those like me who are not good at feeling the Braille, (I always cheated by > looking at it). I found my fingers too sensitive to want to read it for any > length of time and didn't know of a solution back in the day. But were I to > do it over again with the knowledge I have now, I might have embraced it > more and been even better at spelling. I had to be a good speller to do > medical transcription anyway, or else spend too much time in a dictionary > for which I would not get paid. > > Bill Powers > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 You're right, . I found when I was working however, that very few type 2 people (who are usually at least middle age) don't want to learn Braille. Re: Shopping problems , I know that many blind diabetics have problems with reading Braille, particularly, those with type A diabetes. However, I do think that type 2 diabetics that are already blind, and have a knowledge of, and use Braille, could help themselves far more, by not pricking their index finger when testing their own blood. After all, it should be pointed out to them, when they become a diabetic, that the index finger and the thumb have the majority of the nerve endings, and after a period of time, these can become damaged if they consistently take their blood from these points. Some nurses who should know better, even forget this point sometimes, and do need reminding now and again. To overcome this problem, I always tuck the tip of my index finger, round the thumb, offering them, either, the middle, fourth or little fingers, when they need to do this at the hospital. . Re: Shopping problems > > > > That would be hard trying to reinforce good spelling after you've lost > sight, given the fact that you remembered how your words " looked. " This is > why I believed that when you are able to, you should learn Braille, so that > a tactile representation of the correctly spelled word is what would then > replace your visual reference. I have a kind of opposite experience with > some words, since I learned print first until I was FORCED to learn Braille > by the school for the blind I attended for 3 years. For quite a long time > after that, my " word picture " of the word " it " was an X, since that is the > character used in Braille. Others I've known remembered correct spellings by > the Braille combinations and it has served them well. But then there are > those like me who are not good at feeling the Braille, (I always cheated by > looking at it). I found my fingers too sensitive to want to read it for any > length of time and didn't know of a solution back in the day. But were I to > do it over again with the knowledge I have now, I might have embraced it > more and been even better at spelling. I had to be a good speller to do > medical transcription anyway, or else spend too much time in a dictionary > for which I would not get paid. > > Bill Powers > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 Pat, My fourth grade teacher was a great fan of Esterbrook. They had a bladder which one filled by manipulating a lever on the side of the pen. I also recall that lots of classrooms had desks with an ink well built into the top. You sat your bottle of ink in the little hole so it would not spill. All those stories about the girl in front of you having long hair which would also fit into the ink well are absolutely - true!! Just remember, " Promise them a Cadillac but, give them a Paper Mate. " Oh me, oh my, how times have changed... I remember when, in order to get even with someone who had done me a great disservice, I switched his ink for some " disappearing " ink. He worked feverishly on a writing assignment and was so proud of his job. He turned it into the teacher but, alas, when the teacher got around to checking it the pages were completely blank. How unfortunate... Cy, the Ancient Okie... Re: Shopping problems Bill, I know what you mean by not being able to learn a foreign language in order to carry on a conversation in it. I did not learn until I was 38 years of age that I had a hearing disability, and that is probably why I am one of the world's worse spellers today and have always been. Re: Shopping problems > > Cy, > > Unfortunately, the caliber of help in a store is not dictated by how > smart that person is, it's how CHEAP they are. Employers don't > consider a person's ability to read or communicat anymore, all they > consider is keeping the bottom line black. They will put up with > subgrade help as long as it's cheap. And you know what's really > aggravating? (Here I go on my soapbox for the day, and please, I'm not > meaning to slam race or nationality, but just > to make a valid point.) So much of the help these days is expected to be > bilingual. OK, that's fine, but when I actually find help only to find > that person speaks Spanish but NO ENGLISH, I'm in a pickle. What > happened to > the > BI-lingual? See, it's OK if they can speak Spanish, but it doesn't matter > if > they don't speak English. We just have to " give them a break " and " be > understanding. " Oh I better stop now before I really get going on this. > It's > what I run up against as I look for work, the " Spanish " issue. And with my > mild hearing impairment I doubt I'd ever be able to learn Spanish well > enough, as it's hard enough understanding the way some people speak > English. So, as the Spanish say, " que lastima. " (I probably spelled it > wrong <G>). > > Whew! > > Enough venting for one day. Think I've heated up the apartment with my > hot air...... > > > Bill > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 Pat, My fourth grade teacher was a great fan of Esterbrook. They had a bladder which one filled by manipulating a lever on the side of the pen. I also recall that lots of classrooms had desks with an ink well built into the top. You sat your bottle of ink in the little hole so it would not spill. All those stories about the girl in front of you having long hair which would also fit into the ink well are absolutely - true!! Just remember, " Promise them a Cadillac but, give them a Paper Mate. " Oh me, oh my, how times have changed... I remember when, in order to get even with someone who had done me a great disservice, I switched his ink for some " disappearing " ink. He worked feverishly on a writing assignment and was so proud of his job. He turned it into the teacher but, alas, when the teacher got around to checking it the pages were completely blank. How unfortunate... Cy, the Ancient Okie... Re: Shopping problems Bill, I know what you mean by not being able to learn a foreign language in order to carry on a conversation in it. I did not learn until I was 38 years of age that I had a hearing disability, and that is probably why I am one of the world's worse spellers today and have always been. Re: Shopping problems > > Cy, > > Unfortunately, the caliber of help in a store is not dictated by how > smart that person is, it's how CHEAP they are. Employers don't > consider a person's ability to read or communicat anymore, all they > consider is keeping the bottom line black. They will put up with > subgrade help as long as it's cheap. And you know what's really > aggravating? (Here I go on my soapbox for the day, and please, I'm not > meaning to slam race or nationality, but just > to make a valid point.) So much of the help these days is expected to be > bilingual. OK, that's fine, but when I actually find help only to find > that person speaks Spanish but NO ENGLISH, I'm in a pickle. What > happened to > the > BI-lingual? See, it's OK if they can speak Spanish, but it doesn't matter > if > they don't speak English. We just have to " give them a break " and " be > understanding. " Oh I better stop now before I really get going on this. > It's > what I run up against as I look for work, the " Spanish " issue. And with my > mild hearing impairment I doubt I'd ever be able to learn Spanish well > enough, as it's hard enough understanding the way some people speak > English. So, as the Spanish say, " que lastima. " (I probably spelled it > wrong <G>). > > Whew! > > Enough venting for one day. Think I've heated up the apartment with my > hot air...... > > > Bill > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 Pat, My fourth grade teacher was a great fan of Esterbrook. They had a bladder which one filled by manipulating a lever on the side of the pen. I also recall that lots of classrooms had desks with an ink well built into the top. You sat your bottle of ink in the little hole so it would not spill. All those stories about the girl in front of you having long hair which would also fit into the ink well are absolutely - true!! Just remember, " Promise them a Cadillac but, give them a Paper Mate. " Oh me, oh my, how times have changed... I remember when, in order to get even with someone who had done me a great disservice, I switched his ink for some " disappearing " ink. He worked feverishly on a writing assignment and was so proud of his job. He turned it into the teacher but, alas, when the teacher got around to checking it the pages were completely blank. How unfortunate... Cy, the Ancient Okie... Re: Shopping problems Bill, I know what you mean by not being able to learn a foreign language in order to carry on a conversation in it. I did not learn until I was 38 years of age that I had a hearing disability, and that is probably why I am one of the world's worse spellers today and have always been. Re: Shopping problems > > Cy, > > Unfortunately, the caliber of help in a store is not dictated by how > smart that person is, it's how CHEAP they are. Employers don't > consider a person's ability to read or communicat anymore, all they > consider is keeping the bottom line black. They will put up with > subgrade help as long as it's cheap. And you know what's really > aggravating? (Here I go on my soapbox for the day, and please, I'm not > meaning to slam race or nationality, but just > to make a valid point.) So much of the help these days is expected to be > bilingual. OK, that's fine, but when I actually find help only to find > that person speaks Spanish but NO ENGLISH, I'm in a pickle. What > happened to > the > BI-lingual? See, it's OK if they can speak Spanish, but it doesn't matter > if > they don't speak English. We just have to " give them a break " and " be > understanding. " Oh I better stop now before I really get going on this. > It's > what I run up against as I look for work, the " Spanish " issue. And with my > mild hearing impairment I doubt I'd ever be able to learn Spanish well > enough, as it's hard enough understanding the way some people speak > English. So, as the Spanish say, " que lastima. " (I probably spelled it > wrong <G>). > > Whew! > > Enough venting for one day. Think I've heated up the apartment with my > hot air...... > > > Bill > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 , What do you mean the teachers who have more education than reglar teachers get paid less? Gee, did somebody turn the hourglass upside down or something? Hmmmmm. Hey, if I was a teacher and was told I could earn more if I learned Braille, there would be ONE incentive. If I'm told to learn this but it wouldn't feed MY bottom line, why should I entertain learning this other than for the love of doing it? Let's face it: Most of us learn something or add skills because it will put bread on the table, teachers too. If you're worth more, you should be paid more. Of course we know that schools get the bottom of the barrell when it comes to money, which shows you how important education is in this country. That's interesting that the CCB got the law passed for Braille literacy, but it will only help if we have better teachers and school districts willing to embrace it. Maybe in time, but I'm not going to hold my breath. BTW, you are in LA somewhere I take it? I'm out in Riverside, 60 miles SE of LA. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 , What do you mean the teachers who have more education than reglar teachers get paid less? Gee, did somebody turn the hourglass upside down or something? Hmmmmm. Hey, if I was a teacher and was told I could earn more if I learned Braille, there would be ONE incentive. If I'm told to learn this but it wouldn't feed MY bottom line, why should I entertain learning this other than for the love of doing it? Let's face it: Most of us learn something or add skills because it will put bread on the table, teachers too. If you're worth more, you should be paid more. Of course we know that schools get the bottom of the barrell when it comes to money, which shows you how important education is in this country. That's interesting that the CCB got the law passed for Braille literacy, but it will only help if we have better teachers and school districts willing to embrace it. Maybe in time, but I'm not going to hold my breath. BTW, you are in LA somewhere I take it? I'm out in Riverside, 60 miles SE of LA. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 OOh! you were bad! Re: Shopping problems Bill, I know what you mean by not being able to learn a foreign language in order to carry on a conversation in it. I did not learn until I was 38 years of age that I had a hearing disability, and that is probably why I am one of the world's worse spellers today and have always been. Re: Shopping problems > > Cy, > > Unfortunately, the caliber of help in a store is not dictated by how > smart that person is, it's how CHEAP they are. Employers don't > consider a person's ability to read or communicat anymore, all they > consider is keeping the bottom line black. They will put up with > subgrade help as long as it's cheap. And you know what's really > aggravating? (Here I go on my soapbox for the day, and please, I'm not > meaning to slam race or nationality, but just > to make a valid point.) So much of the help these days is expected to be > bilingual. OK, that's fine, but when I actually find help only to find > that person speaks Spanish but NO ENGLISH, I'm in a pickle. What > happened to > the > BI-lingual? See, it's OK if they can speak Spanish, but it doesn't matter > if > they don't speak English. We just have to " give them a break " and " be > understanding. " Oh I better stop now before I really get going on this. > It's > what I run up against as I look for work, the " Spanish " issue. And with my > mild hearing impairment I doubt I'd ever be able to learn Spanish well > enough, as it's hard enough understanding the way some people speak > English. So, as the Spanish say, " que lastima. " (I probably spelled it > wrong <G>). > > Whew! > > Enough venting for one day. Think I've heated up the apartment with my > hot air...... > > > Bill > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 OOh! you were bad! Re: Shopping problems Bill, I know what you mean by not being able to learn a foreign language in order to carry on a conversation in it. I did not learn until I was 38 years of age that I had a hearing disability, and that is probably why I am one of the world's worse spellers today and have always been. Re: Shopping problems > > Cy, > > Unfortunately, the caliber of help in a store is not dictated by how > smart that person is, it's how CHEAP they are. Employers don't > consider a person's ability to read or communicat anymore, all they > consider is keeping the bottom line black. They will put up with > subgrade help as long as it's cheap. And you know what's really > aggravating? (Here I go on my soapbox for the day, and please, I'm not > meaning to slam race or nationality, but just > to make a valid point.) So much of the help these days is expected to be > bilingual. OK, that's fine, but when I actually find help only to find > that person speaks Spanish but NO ENGLISH, I'm in a pickle. What > happened to > the > BI-lingual? See, it's OK if they can speak Spanish, but it doesn't matter > if > they don't speak English. We just have to " give them a break " and " be > understanding. " Oh I better stop now before I really get going on this. > It's > what I run up against as I look for work, the " Spanish " issue. And with my > mild hearing impairment I doubt I'd ever be able to learn Spanish well > enough, as it's hard enough understanding the way some people speak > English. So, as the Spanish say, " que lastima. " (I probably spelled it > wrong <G>). > > Whew! > > Enough venting for one day. Think I've heated up the apartment with my > hot air...... > > > Bill > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 OOh! you were bad! Re: Shopping problems Bill, I know what you mean by not being able to learn a foreign language in order to carry on a conversation in it. I did not learn until I was 38 years of age that I had a hearing disability, and that is probably why I am one of the world's worse spellers today and have always been. Re: Shopping problems > > Cy, > > Unfortunately, the caliber of help in a store is not dictated by how > smart that person is, it's how CHEAP they are. Employers don't > consider a person's ability to read or communicat anymore, all they > consider is keeping the bottom line black. They will put up with > subgrade help as long as it's cheap. And you know what's really > aggravating? (Here I go on my soapbox for the day, and please, I'm not > meaning to slam race or nationality, but just > to make a valid point.) So much of the help these days is expected to be > bilingual. OK, that's fine, but when I actually find help only to find > that person speaks Spanish but NO ENGLISH, I'm in a pickle. What > happened to > the > BI-lingual? See, it's OK if they can speak Spanish, but it doesn't matter > if > they don't speak English. We just have to " give them a break " and " be > understanding. " Oh I better stop now before I really get going on this. > It's > what I run up against as I look for work, the " Spanish " issue. And with my > mild hearing impairment I doubt I'd ever be able to learn Spanish well > enough, as it's hard enough understanding the way some people speak > English. So, as the Spanish say, " que lastima. " (I probably spelled it > wrong <G>). > > Whew! > > Enough venting for one day. Think I've heated up the apartment with my > hot air...... > > > Bill > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 , i was lucky in that I read as much as I could, even at CSB. Yes, I would get in trouble for it, but I did it anyway. I think that is why my eyes are as strong as they are and why my vision is actually better now than it was when I was a kid. I think it's also why I spell as well as I do considering my hearing deficit, since I used a combination of the gifts and skills that I have, in spite of the system that tried to make everyone learn the same thing the same way. I think that the one element schools lose sight of, whether public or for the blind, is to focus on each child's unique abilities and capitalize on them. Just because I had sight and could also read Braille, didn't mean it was OK to force me to just learn Braille and forget print. I had my own way of reinforcing what I was learning, like hearing a tape of a textbook but reading along with it in print (or Braille for those who are better at it). Others might need more intensive one-on-one to become better spellers and have a better grasp of our language, so we can't all be taught the same way and expect to come out on top. The sad thing is that this all boils down to money though. But sometimes I wonder if, even if we had all the necessary money, would blind kids really get a quality education anymore? The teachers aren't there because the money isn't either. If it is, it'll still take years before we get enough of them into the system to make a difference. Maybe one day, but again, I'm not going to hold my breath waiting. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 , i was lucky in that I read as much as I could, even at CSB. Yes, I would get in trouble for it, but I did it anyway. I think that is why my eyes are as strong as they are and why my vision is actually better now than it was when I was a kid. I think it's also why I spell as well as I do considering my hearing deficit, since I used a combination of the gifts and skills that I have, in spite of the system that tried to make everyone learn the same thing the same way. I think that the one element schools lose sight of, whether public or for the blind, is to focus on each child's unique abilities and capitalize on them. Just because I had sight and could also read Braille, didn't mean it was OK to force me to just learn Braille and forget print. I had my own way of reinforcing what I was learning, like hearing a tape of a textbook but reading along with it in print (or Braille for those who are better at it). Others might need more intensive one-on-one to become better spellers and have a better grasp of our language, so we can't all be taught the same way and expect to come out on top. The sad thing is that this all boils down to money though. But sometimes I wonder if, even if we had all the necessary money, would blind kids really get a quality education anymore? The teachers aren't there because the money isn't either. If it is, it'll still take years before we get enough of them into the system to make a difference. Maybe one day, but again, I'm not going to hold my breath waiting. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 , i was lucky in that I read as much as I could, even at CSB. Yes, I would get in trouble for it, but I did it anyway. I think that is why my eyes are as strong as they are and why my vision is actually better now than it was when I was a kid. I think it's also why I spell as well as I do considering my hearing deficit, since I used a combination of the gifts and skills that I have, in spite of the system that tried to make everyone learn the same thing the same way. I think that the one element schools lose sight of, whether public or for the blind, is to focus on each child's unique abilities and capitalize on them. Just because I had sight and could also read Braille, didn't mean it was OK to force me to just learn Braille and forget print. I had my own way of reinforcing what I was learning, like hearing a tape of a textbook but reading along with it in print (or Braille for those who are better at it). Others might need more intensive one-on-one to become better spellers and have a better grasp of our language, so we can't all be taught the same way and expect to come out on top. The sad thing is that this all boils down to money though. But sometimes I wonder if, even if we had all the necessary money, would blind kids really get a quality education anymore? The teachers aren't there because the money isn't either. If it is, it'll still take years before we get enough of them into the system to make a difference. Maybe one day, but again, I'm not going to hold my breath waiting. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 Cy was so cruel. I can just imagine that poor blind-haired girl sitting in the seet in front of you, and your black ink turned her beautiful hair all black. By the time I was in school, I would see those kind of desks and always wondered what the indentation in the desk was for, since by then we used ball point pens and pencils. So to be bad we turned to substitute pranks. Kids used to make fun of my sight and put chewing gum on my chair. Of course I'd get agitated after sitting down and discovering I'd been gummed. Eventually these pranks became more sophisticated and turned to thumb tacks. That's when I fought back. I don't remember where I found these, but I found some rather large thumb tacks. Not the colored ones you can find at Staples today, but these were big old silver things that would give you the heebies just looking at them. I bought a bunch of them. One day I swore the next kid who put a regular thumb tack on my chair would " get it. " Sure enough, I almost got burned, but by this time I was always checking my seat before I would sit down. It wasn't hard to figure out who did it judging by where the snickering came from. So I waited patiently for the right time. I happened to be the AV person who was running a film in class that day. After starting the film, I kept looking to see if the kid got up from his desk. Sure enough, he did, to talk to a person up two seats from him. Plop goes the giant thumb tack. He sits back down and it was an eternity (probably 2 seconds) before he realized what he just sat on. Hearing a blood curdling scream, I immediately turned on the lights and turned off the projector. The kid was screaming from having the surprise of his life! He held the thumb tack up in the air for all, including the teacher, to see. I said " Hmm, I guess I'm not the only one sittin' on thumb tacks. I guess now you know what it feels like when you do it to me. " The kid says " How come you put such a BIG thumb tack on MY chair? " And I replied, " Well, you know things have to be bigger for me to see them, so I just got really big one...a whole box of 'em! Maybe I won't have to use 'em anymore??? " Think of them as Braille thumb tacks. Think of them as dot 1 for A, as in Ah'h'h'h'h'h'h'h'h'h'h'h'h'h'h'h!'Ouu'Ouu'Ouu'Ouu'Ouu'Ouu'ouu'ou'ou'ou'ou'ou'u'u\ 'u'u'u'u'ch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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