
   Future
   Reflections
   
   ISSN 0883-3419
   
   Volume 20, Number 1 Barbara Cheadle, Editor Convention Report 2000
   
                                  Contents
                                      
   NFB 2001 Convention 1
   
   NFB Camp: It's More Than Child's Play 6
   
   by Carla McQuillan
   
   A Whole New World: The NFB National Convention 8
   
   by Carrie Gilmer
   
   NFB Conventions: 2000 and 2001 (Editor's Comments) 10
   
   Asking for Help and Taking Responsibility 11
   
   by Noel Nightingale
   
   Rights, Life, and Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches 15
   
   by Seth Leblond
   
   Responsibilities of a Seven-year-Old 17
   
   by Hannah Weatherd
   
   Teachers of the Visually Impaired: Roles, Rights, and
   Responsibilities 18
   
   by Malene Culpepper, 2000 Distinguished Educator of Blind Children
   Award winner
   
   Rights, Roles, and Responsibilities in the Orientation
   and Mobility Process 23
   
   by Joe Cutter
   
   Convention Magic 27
   
   Teaching the Professionals Who Teach the Blind 30
   
   by Ruby Ryles, Ph.D.
   
   Distinguished Educator Award for 2001 35
   
   by Sharon Maneki
   
   2000 National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC) annual
   Meeting 37
   
   by Christine Faltz, Secretary, NOPBC
   
   Blind Kids and Magnet Schools: Our Experiences 41
   
   by Amanda Jones and April Jones
   
   My Experience with Standardized Testing
   and Blind Students 44
   
   by Marlene Culpepper
   
   The Scholarship Class of 2000 46
   
   Slate Pals Application 53
   
   NFB Policy and the Education of Blind Children
   Resolutions from the 2000 NFB Convention 54
   
   Climbing in Thin Air: An Interim Report 62
   
   by Erik Weihenmayer
   
   The National Research and Training Institute for the Blind
   Capital Campaign Pledge Form 67
   
              Copyright 2001, National Federation of the Blind
                                      
       For more information about blindness and children contact the
             National Organization of Parents of Blind Children
   1800 Johnson Street * Baltimore, Maryland 21230 * (410) 659-9314 ext.
                                    360
                www.nfb.org * nfb@nfb.org * BCheadle@nfb.org
                                      
   NFB 2001 Convention
   Sunday, July 1 - Saturday, July 7
   
   National Federation of the Blind National Conventions are famous for
   informative high-energy division and committee meetings; a huge,
   diverse exhibit hall; inspiring banquet speeches; family-friendly and
   educational entertainment (a music talent show, dances, a game night,
   a Sensory Safari display, a mock trial, a play); and outstanding
   general session agenda items.
   
   The convention general sessions run all day Wednesday, July 4; a
   half-day Thursday, July 5; and all day Friday and Saturday, July 6 and
   7. The banquet is Friday night, July 6. Some 30 blind college students
   will be introduced and presented with scholarship awards at the
   banquet.The exhibit hall opens on Monday, July 2. It is a
   mind-boggling display of all the latest in computer technology,
   low-vision technology, literature, and aids and appliances for the
   blind.
   
   For more information about activities planned for the 2001 convention,
   please see the April, 2001, issue of the Braille Monitor. You may
   request a free copy by contacting the NFB at 1800 Johnson Street,
   Baltimore, Maryland 21230; (410) 659-9314; <www.nfb.org>.
   
                             Hotel Information
                                      
                           Philadelphia Marriott
                             1201 Market Street
                         Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
                                      
                      Room rates per night, plus tax:
                               $55 - singles
                                      
                    $65 - twins, doubles, triples, quads
                                      
   For reservations call the hotel at (215) 625-2900 or the Mariott
   toll-free number (800) 228-9290. A $60-per-room deposit is required to
   make a reservation. Fifty percent of the deposit will be refunded if
   notice is given to the hotel of reservation cancellation before May
   29, 2001. 
   
   NFB Camp (child-care)
   
   Children must be preregistered for this service. The preregistration
   cutoff date is June 15, 2001. Details and a preregistration form are
   on pages 6 and 7 in this issue. Please note that this is not an NOPBC
   sponsored activity. This service is offered by the NFB as a
   convenience to members and guests at the convention.
   
   Fees
   
   ? NOPBC Activities Fee: $15 per family or $5 per individual. This fee
   may be paid in advance (see preregistration form on page 5) or when
   checking-in at the NOPBC Seminar on the morning of Sunday, July 1. The
   activities fee covers all NOPBC-sponsored events throughout the
   convention week. It also includes annual membership dues in NOPBC.
   
   ? NFB Convention Registration Fee: $10 per person. NFB Convention room
   rates are contingent upon registering for the convention. Registration
   opens Monday morning, July 2, and is open at designated times
   throughout the convention. NFB Convention Agendas are available when
   you register. There is no pre-registration. Everyone must register in
   person.
   
                       NOPBC Schedule of Events 2001
                                      
   Sunday, July 1
   
   8:00 - 10:30 a.m. Seminar and Braille Carnival Registration.
   Refreshments 
   
   8:00 - 10:30 a.m. Exhibit Tables * Multiply Disabled * Low Vision *
   Music * Kids Table: Blind People in History Get Acquainted Game *
   Schools and other programs for blind children * Mentors Sign-up Table:
   Mentors for Blind Teens, sponsored by the National Association of
   Blind Students (NABS) and Convention Exhibit Hall Mentors for Parents,
   sponsored by the Computer Science Division of the NFB
   
   9:00 a.m. Kid Talk and Kid Introductions, Barbara Cheadle, President,
   NOPBC
   
   9:30 a.m. Welcome by Dr. Maurer, President, National Federation of the
   Blind
   
   9:45 a.m. Introduction of Carnival Volunteer Buddies, Sheila Koenig
   
   10:00 a.m. Kids and Carnival Buddies team-up and depart. Blind teens
   depart for discussion groups or the Braille Carnival (their choice)
   
   10:00 a.m. Braille Carnival begins. Melody Lindsey, Coordinator. The
   Braille Carnival will feature exciting and fun games, competitions,
   demonstrations, and prizes with Braille themes. Carnival booths are
   sponsored by NFB divisions, state affiliates, NFB Centers, and
   residential schools for the blind. Sighted and blind, Braille reader
   or non-Braille reader, kindergartner or teen-ager?there will be lots
   of enjoyable activities suitable for all. The Carnival will run from
   10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The Carnival Buddies will supervise the
   children and youth assigned to them from 10:00 a.m. to 15 minutes
   after adjournment at noon. The Carnival will stay open till 1:00 p.m.
   so parents, too, can enjoy the Carnival fun.
   
   10:00 - Noon Discussion Groups for Blind Teens Only 
   
   (1) What Your Mother Couldn't Tell You for teen women, ages 13 - 18,
   led by two blind women, Debbie Stein, former social worker, and Dr.
   Adrienne Asch, professor of ethics.
   
   (2) Guy Stuff for teen men, ages 13 - 18, Doug Elliot, NFB leader and
   social worker
   
   10:30 - Noon Let Freedom Ring (Parent/Teacher Seminar general session)
   
   * What Freedom Means to Me: Blind Youth Panel
   
   * Equal Access: Technology and the World Wide Web
   
   * Equal Education: The Legal Perspective
   
   * Equal Opportunity: The Parent Perspective
   
   * What Freedom Means to Me: The Blind Adult Perspective
   
                       NOPBC Schedule of Events 2001
                                      
   Sunday, July 1
   
   Noon Recess Pick up children/youth at NFB Camp and/or Braille Carnival
   for lunch.
   
   Blind teen discussion group released for lunch.
   
   2:00 - 4:00 p.m. Words, Wheels, and Ways: Teen Workshops coordinated
   by Melissa Williamson, a blind educator and mother of three. Using
   discussion, role-playing (including role-reversals), and friendly
   competition (with prizes), blind and sighted teens learn about
   using?or being?readers and drivers. They will also discuss how to give
   directions; how to offer, accept, or decline assistance; when and how
   to offer (or use) human guide assistance, etc.; and then discuss how
   they can implement this knowledge throughout the convention.
   
   2:00 - 5:00 p.m Five Concurrent Workshops for Adults
   
   (1) Make Your Own Tactile Storybook. This is a hands-on workshop to
   teach parents how to modify storybooks so blind infants and toddlers
   can get equivalent information and pleasure from storybooks that their
   sighted peers get from the pictures. Karen Frank, Infant and Toddler
   Outreach Coordinator from the Maryland School for the Blind will
   conduct this workshop. This workshop will be repeated twice: 2:00-3:30
   p.m. and 3:45-5:15 p.m.
   
         The following four workshops will be repeated three times:
             2:00-2:45 p.m., 3:00-3:45 p.m., and 4:00-4:45 p.m.
                                      
   (2) Words and Wheels: Through discussion, demonstration, and
   role-playing, parents and educators learn from blind workshop leaders
   how blind people obtain and use live readers and drivers to maximize
   independence in everyday life.
   
   (3) What Do You Do When....? Blind and sighted workshop leaders,
   through demonstrations and role-playing, help parents and educators
   feel more confident about when and how is it appropriate to offer
   assistance to someone who is blind.
   
   (4) From ?Helpless? to ?Helper? No one wants to be helpless. This
   presentation by parents to parents is about how to ensure that blind
   children avoid helplessness, achieve self-sufficiency, and acquire the
   competency and skills necessary to become a person who helps others.
   
   (5) Living In A Visual World: By popular demand, Mrs. Barbara Pierce
   will be back to lead a discussion about how parents and teachers can
   help children acquire crucial social skills in an often highly visual
   world.
   
   6:00 - 9:00 p.m. Family Hospitality. This year, as in past years,
   families can relax and enjoy the company of new friends and old at
   Family Hospitality. NOPBC will also have a few games and books in the
   Hospitality room to help occupy children ages eight and younger.
   
                       NOPBC Schedule of Events 2001
                                      
   Sunday, July 1
   
   7:00 - 9:00 p.m. Teens' Scavenger Hunt and Kids' Scavenger Hunt. Under
   adult supervision sighted and blind kids (ages 9 -12) and teens (ages
   13-18) explore the hotel and win prizes. To add to the fun sighted
   youth are issued white canes and sleep-shades (blindfolds) to use on
   the hunt. Coordinators, Jan Bailey and Mildred Rivera.
   
   Monday, July 2
   
   9:00 -10:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Cane Walk (this session is
   repeated twice). 
   
   Parents, teachers, and blind kids (babies to teens) get hands-on
   experience in using a cane under the guidance of Joe Cutter, pediatric
   O&M specialist, and volunteers from the Louisiana Tech/Louisiana
   Center for the Blind O&M program.
   
   2:00 - 6:00 p.m. Teen drop-in room sponsored jointly by NOPBC and
   Blind Industries and Services of Maryland (BISM). Supervised games,
   music, and social activities for all teens.
   
   Tuesday, July 3
   
   1:00 - 5:00 p.m. NOPBC Annual Meeting
   
   6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Follow-up discussion group for blind teen women
   
   Wednesday, July 4
   
   7:00 - 9:00 p.m. IDEA '97 and the IEP Process: A drop-in question,
   information, and resource session. Come by anytime and pick up
   literature or talk to parents and professionals knowledgeable in the
   broad range of IEP topics. Marty Greiser, Coordinator.
   
   Thursday, July 5
   
   2:00 - 6:00 p.m. Have Cane, Will Travel. Drop-in anytime discussion
   group for parents, blind kids, and teachers. Joe Cutter, instructor
   and discussion leader.
   
   2:00 - 6:00 p.m. Technology Individual Consultations. Co-sponsored by
   the NOPBC and the NFB in Computer Science Division, blind persons
   knowledgeable in technology will meet with parents individually to
   discuss the technology needs of their child. Make appointments by
   preregistration or sign-up on Sunday, July 1 at the parents seminar.
   Drop-ins will be taken if we have available volunteers.
   
   2:00 - 4:00 p.m. Braille Your Own Games and Braille Talk. Drop-in and
   bring games for Braille labeling. Volunteers will also answer
   questions about Braille and demonstrate slate-writing. Co-sponsored by
   the National Association to Promote the Use of Braille (NAPUB).
   
                   NOPBC 2001 Activities Preregistration
                                      
     *Note: Preregistration for the NOPBC seminar and workshops is not
                                 required.
         Preregistration for the NFB Camp (childcare), IS required.
                                      
   Name(s) of
   adults________________________________________________________________
   _________
   
   Address___________________________________ City____________
   State______ Zip________________
   
   Phone (H)____________________ (W)___________________ E-mail
   ______________________________
   
   $___________ The NOPBC Activities Fee is enclosed. Make checks payable
   to NOPBC.
   
   $15 per family (parents, grandparents, and all children) OR $5 per
   individual
   
   The NOPBC activities fee includes all NOPBC-sponsored events for
   parents, children, and youth. This includes workshops, refreshments at
   the morning family seminar event on Sunday, July 1; refreshments at
   NOPBC Family Hospitality; the Braille Carnival; the Scavenger Hunts;
   etc. It also includes membership-at-large in the NOPBC. It DOES NOT
   include NFB Camp, NFB convention registration, or other workshops or
   seminars sponsored by other divisions or committees of the NFB.
   
   [ ] Yes, I am interested in an Exhibit Hall mentor for Monday, July 2
   
   [ ] Yes, I would like an appointment for a half-hour Technology
   Consultation on Thursday, July 5
   
   ____________ Time preferred (between 2:00-6:00 p.m.)
   
                      Preregistration Braille Carnival
                                      
                           Children Ages 5 and Up
                                      
   First and Last
   Name(s) of child(ren) Birth Date Vision (sighted, blind, etc.) Other
   disabilities
   
                                  Mail to
                                      
                        NOPBC Convention Activities 
                                      
                            1800 Johnson Street
                                      
                            Baltimore, MD 21230
                                      
   NFB Camp: It's More Than Child's Play
   
   by Carla McQuillan
   
   During convention week children be-
   tween the ages of six weeks and twelve
   years are invited to join in the fun and festivities of NFB Camp. NFB
   Camp offers more than just childcare; it is an opportunity for our
   blind and sighted children to meet and develop lifelong friendships.
   Our activity schedule is filled with games, crafts, and special
   performances designed to entertain, educate, and delight. If you are
   interested in having your children participate in this year's program,
   please complete and return the registration form provided.
   Preregistration with payment on or before June 15, 2001, is mandatory
   for participation in NFB Camp. Space is limited and last year some
   families had to be turned away.
   
   About the Staff: NFB Camp is organized and supervised by Carla
   McQuillan, the Executive Director of Main Street Montessori
   Association, operating two schools, parent-education courses, and a
   teacher-training program. Carla is the mother of two children, the
   President of the National Federation of the Blind of Oregon, and a
   member of the Board of Directors of the National Federation of the
   Blind.
   
   Michelle Ros is this year's Activities Director for NFB Camp. Michelle
   is a Montessori teacher employed by Main Street Montessori
   Association. Carla and Michelle will supervise a staff of experienced
   childcare workers and volunteers.
   
   Activities and Special Events: The children are divided into groups
   according to age: infants and toddlers, preschoolers, and school-aged
   children. Each camp room is equipped with a variety of age-appropriate
   toys, games, and books; and children will enjoy daily art projects.
   Blind teens will come in to read stories in Braille, and the National
   Association of Guide Dog Users will make a presentation. We will sing,
   dance, and play instruments with blind singer/songwriter Daniel
   Lamonds. In addition, the school-aged children will make excursions to
   the Farmers' Market and the Please-Touch Museum. On the final day of
   NFB Camp we will conduct a big toy sale?brand new toys at bargain
   prices.
   
   Banquet Night: NFB Camp will provide dinner and activities during the
   banquet. The cost for banquet activities is $15 per child in addition
   to other camp fees.
   
   NFB Camp will be open during general convention sessions, division and
   committee meeting day, and the evening of the banquet. Plenty of teens
   are always available to baby-sit during evening and lunchtime
   meetings. The schedule this year will be as follows:
   
                               NFB Camp 2001
                                  Schedule
                                      
   These times may vary, depending on the timing of the actual convention
   sessions. NFB Camp will open thirty minutes before the beginning gavel
   and close thirty minutes after session recess.
   
   Fees: For the entire week (including banquet), first child $80,
   siblings $60 each. By the day, each child (does not include banquet),
   $20; banquet, $15 per child.
   
   ? Sunday, July 1, 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.*
   
   ? Monday, July 2, Camp is closed.
   
   ? Tuesday, July 3, 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.*
   
   ? Wednesday, July 4, 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 1:30-5:30 p.m.*
   
   ? Thursday, July 5, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.*
   
   ? Friday, July 6, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 1:30-5:30 p.m.*
   
   ? Saturday, July 7, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 1:30-5:30 p.m.*
   
   * You are required to provide lunch for your child(ren) each day.
   
                          Please use the NFB Camp
                       preregistration form provided.
                                      
                                  NFB Camp
                            Preregistration Form
                                      
                     Return no later than June 15, 2001
                                      
   Please print or type:
   
   Parent Information
   
   Name______________________________________
   
   Address____________________________________
   
   City_____________ State______ Zip____________
   
   Phone______________________________________
   
   Child(ren) Information: Include description of any disabilities we
   should know about.
   
   Name_______________ Date of birth______ Age__
   
   ___________________________________________
   
   Name_______________ Date of birth______ Age__
   
   ___________________________________________
   
   Name_______________ Date of birth______ Age__
   
   ___________________________________________
   
   Weekly Fees: $80 first child, $60 each sibling (includes banquet)
   $_____
   
   Daily Fees: $20 per child per day,
   # of days_____ $_____
   
   Banquet Fee: $15 per child $_____
   
   Total Due: $_____
   
    Completed preregistration form and fee must be received by June 15,
                                   2001.
                                      
             Make checks payable to NFB of Oregon and mail to:
                                      
                 National Federation of the Blind of Oregon
                                      
                              5005 Main Street
                         Springfield, Oregon 97478
                               (541) 726-6924
                                      
   A Whole New World: The NFB National Convention
   
   by Carrie Gilmer
   
   Reprinted from the January, 2001, issue of the Braille Monitor, the
   monthly magazine of the National Federation of the Blind.
   
   From the Braille Monitor Editor, Barbara Pierce: Experienced
   Federationists are always telling new people that they should get to
   the National Convention if at all possible. Dr. Jernigan wrote that
   advice to me in 1974 just after I had had my first contact with NFB
   literature and was eager to establish a new chapter in my area. I had
   a sneaking suspicion that he was right, but I had three small
   children, including a young infant, and I didn't seriously consider
   getting myself to that summer's convention in Chicago. I now regret
   that I missed that convention, but when I showed up the next year, I
   immediately understood what he had been trying to tell me.
   
   Sometimes the most effective voices in making such recommendations are
   those who have just experienced their first convention. Carrie Gilmer
   is the mother of a blind son. The two of them attended the 2000
   convention, and life will never be quite the same again. She recounted
   her experiences in the Summer, 2000, issue of the Minnesota Bulletin,
   the publication of the NFB of Minnesota. If you have never been to an
   NFB convention, read what she has to say and see if it persuades you
   to join us in 2001.
   
   About four years ago I received a phone call from my youngest child's
   eye doctor. ?Your son is legally blind,? he said. ?We think Jordan has
   a retinal disease, and there is nothing I can do.? In shock I asked
   some what-do-you-mean questions which he hurriedly answered. He told
   me he would inform State Services for the Blind and then more or less
   wished us luck. I hung up the phone realizing our lives had just
   changed forever. What did I know about blindness besides Helen Keller,
   bead stringing, and Ray Charles? Not much. I proceeded to cry nonstop
   for about three weeks.
   
   We had just moved, and after my long cry I went back to the task of
   unpacking. In one box I found a little book my grandmother had given
   me. It was written by blind people. I read it and soaked it up. I read
   about blind lawyers, scientists, parents, teachers?people living
   normal, happy, fulfilled lives. It gave me hope that our new road in
   life could be as bright as the old one had looked. I told myself I
   should learn more about this organization. But I got busy with the
   here-and-now.
   
   Jordan was six months away from kindergarten?the perfect age to learn
   multiple languages, so we decided he should learn Braille alongside
   print from the beginning. The school agreed. Soon we had a visit from
   our SSB [State Services for the Blind] counselor, Curt Johnson. He
   stressed Braille also. Our doctor had recommended low-vision devices,
   and Curt helped us out with that as well as giving us good advice on
   how to talk about blindness with Jordan.
   
   For nearly three years we went forward, thinking we knew what we were
   doing and had Jordan's needs covered. But little leaks in the boat
   started occurring. We had Braille teachers with different
   philosophies, P.E. teachers who said he did as well as his sighted
   peers one week and then sidelined him for safety reasons the next. He
   didn't run, and he hated balls. Legally blind? Try and explain legal
   to a seven-year-old.
   
   Then one day Jordan and I were lying on the living room floor. ?Are
   blind people happy?? he blurted out. I realized that we had a long way
   to go and that we had better start getting there quickly. I recalled
   the little books I had read and contacted the NFB of Minnesota. Judy
   Sanders quickly contacted me. She was kind and helpful and even
   offered to come to Jordan's school the next week. She stressed the
   importance of role modeling for Jordan. She also told me that I could
   learn information in one week at the NFB National Convention that
   might otherwise take me years to accumulate.
   
   Jordan and I decided to go. Upon checking into the hotel we noticed
   right away that we were surrounded by hundreds of blind people. There
   were so many that the perspective changed from noticing who was blind
   to noticing who wasn't. That experience lasted all week and was one of
   the greatest for Jordan. All at once he saw hundreds of people?all
   colors, ages, shapes, and sizes?traveling, eating, reading, dancing,
   writing, walking, laughing. And all of them blind to one degree or
   another. He learned?low-vision, partial, impaired, legally?it's okay
   just to say blind, no explanation necessary.
   
   Jordan used a cane on a scavenger hunt while blindfolded and then kept
   the cane as a gift. He was told the cane was his third eye on the
   ground. It would look down so that he could look up. He could stand up
   straight and walk proudly?not fearfully. ?Cool!? he said. He found out
   for himself that blindness doesn't have to be the biggest deal in his
   life.
   
   I learned all this too plus parenting tips, facts and myths about
   blindness, what a slate and stylus are, the importance of normal
   expectations, and the need to quit guiding his eyes with my hands. I
   learned how to make the most of the vision he has now in conjunction
   with blind techniques when vision fails or is unreliable. We both made
   lifelong friends. Judy Sanders was right; it would have taken years to
   accumulate what we received in one week in Atlanta. Biggest convention
   tip: bring an extra suitcase for all the freebies from the sales
   vendors! For us, since that convention, it really is a whole new
   world.
   
   [PHOTO]
   
   Many kids?blind and sighted?enjoy using canes on the youth scavenger
   hunt.
   
   NFB Conventions:
   2000 and 2001
   
   [PHOTO]
   
   Barbara Cheadle at the
   2000 NFB Convention.
   
   [PHOTO]
   
   Parents register at the
   2000 NOPBC Parents Seminar.
   
   As you have already observed, this issue starts out immediately with a
   detailed list of upcoming events of interest to parents at the 2001
   NFB Convention in Philadelphia. Of course, the events listed are only
   those sponsored by the National Organization of Parents of Blind
   Children (NOPBC). There is much, much more to an NFB Convention than
   what you see listed here! I urge you to check out the April issue of
   the Braille Monitor when it comes out (check the NFB website at
   <www.nfb.org> or contact the NFB Center at (410) 659-9314 and request
   a copy of the April Monitor). That issue will contain descriptions of
   all the exciting workshops and other events planned by the various NFB
   divisions and committees. I believe that the 2001 NFB Convention will
   be one of the best NFB conventions yet! On the other hand, the 2000
   NFB Convention was absolutely outstanding and will be hard to beat.
   Just how hard to beat? Well, read on and judge for yourself. The rest
   of this issue is devoted to speeches, articles, reports, and
   photographs from the 2000 NFB Convention. If you were at the 2000
   convention, I know you will enjoy having copies of those invigorating
   and informative speeches you heard to save and share with family and
   friends. If you did not attend the 2000 Convention, then I hope that
   what you read here will inspire you to attend the 2001 NFB Convention.
   As parent Carrie Gilmer said in the previous article, what you can
   learn in one week at an NFB Convention can otherwise take years to
   accumulate. I know. I've been going for over 20 years, and the
   experience continues to challenge me and renew me. So, if you do make
   it to Philly on July 1-7, look me up! I'll be there!
   
   Barbara Cheadle, Editor
   
   Asking for Help and Taking Responsibility
   
   by Noel Nightingale
   
   Editor's Note: Noel Nightingale, a member of the National Board of the
   National Federation of the Blind and President of the NFB of
   Washington, set the tone and philosophical theme for the NOPBC
   activities in her keynote address at the general session of the 2000
   NOPBC Annual Parents Seminar. Here is what Noel had to say about
   ?Asking for Help and Taking Responsibility?:
   
   [PHOTO]
   
   Noel Nightingale and her daughter,
   Leila Nightingale Peterson.
   
   Jim, my husband, and I have a friend who I
   will call Gemini. He is from the Democratic
   Republic of the Congo, Africa (formerly, Zaire). He came to this
   country on a student visa. However, after he had attended college for
   a year, his country was taken over by a group of rebels. His father
   was a diplomat who was highly placed in the former government and had
   to flee the country for his life. No longer receiving financial
   assistance from his family in Africa, Gemini had no money to pay for
   school. He dropped out but stayed in the country anyway. Since he was
   no longer a student, his visa was not valid. He became an illegal
   alien.
   
   Gemini is a Christian and began staying rent-free in the homes of
   people in his congregation. He stayed in one place for a few months,
   then another Christian would take him in. Various church members have
   been working with him to help him find ways to earn money and to
   straighten out his immigration status. They also work with him to
   integrate him into social circles and meet people his own age.
   
   Jim met Gemini when Gemini was about twenty years old and two years
   after he had dropped out of college. Gemini is a charming person with
   a sympathetic problem. He does not want to return to his country,
   which is in turmoil, because he believes that he would be drafted or,
   more likely, killed (due to his father's association with the ousted
   government). He has lost contact with his parents and siblings in
   Africa. Although he recently began communicating with a sister who
   lives in France, she does not have the resources to help him.
   
   Jim and I agreed to take Gemini in for two months. We set a strict
   time frame for his stay and spoke with him about getting his
   immigration status legalized by applying for political asylum. We
   found an attorney who was willing to work with him on a pro bono basis
   and encouraged him to make a plan for his life. But, at the end of two
   months, Gemini had not made any progress in resolving his immigration
   status. Although he would always nod his head in agreement, he did not
   follow through on any of our suggestions for steps he might take. He
   did not work the entire time he lived with us, and he also did not
   help around our home. He never offered to wash the dishes, take the
   garbage out, vacuum the floor, scoop the cats' litterbox, or do any
   other tasks that he watched us do on a daily basis.
   
   Two years later (and four years since he dropped out of school),
   Gemini has not resolved his immigration status. In fact, he has waited
   so long to address it, he has probably lost any chance of obtaining
   political asylum. We occasionally see him?he always accepts our offers
   to take him out to lunch or dinner. He earns some money by tutoring
   children in French but lives rent-free in a church member's home. The
   church member is in her eighties, and her daughter is so fed up with
   his free-loading that she called Jim to get him to eject Gemini out of
   her mother's home (which Jim did not and could not do).
   
   ?Accept all help that is offered.? That was the advice I frequently
   received to endure the first few demanding months after I gave birth
   to my daughter last year. That is also the precept that Gemini
   unconsciously lives by. That is also the advice that blind people
   repeatedly receive. However, unlike the temporary situation of caring
   for a newborn, the advice is given to blind people throughout their
   lives. I have noticed a pattern: if taken regularly, accepting this
   advice, and thus always accepting the help that is offered or
   available, will have adverse (if unintended) consequences.
   
   The advice to accept all help that is offered is not advice that is
   ordinarily given in our society. Our culture teaches us that we must
   be ?independent? and not rely on others. We no longer come together to
   build our neighbor's barn. Our neighbor builds it himself or pays to
   have it done. Contrary to our pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps
   culture, I can think of numerous situations in my daily life in which
   I am encouraged by others to let them do things for me because I am
   blind?things that I am capable of doing myself.
   
   On a daily basis, I am encouraged to let someone help me cross the
   street and encouraged to let someone direct me to my destination. I am
   encouraged to let someone else open the wine bottle and encouraged to
   let others pour the wine. I have been asked to accept handouts, solely
   because I am blind. The expectation that I need more help than my
   sighted peers is pervasive, and it affects me. Sometimes, out of
   laziness, I accept that help, knowing perfectly well that I don't
   really need it. Then, I feel terrible. I feel marginalized and begin
   to doubt whether I really could have done it.
   
   Although at times it may not seem like it, there are many systems in
   place in our society specially designed to help us. These systems
   include health and welfare, education, rehabilitation, independent
   living, tax relief programs, social security and other income
   supports, specialized transportation, various subsidies, reasonable
   accommodations at work and in public places, and many more. Much of
   the time, these systems hand us things, without teaching us or
   enabling us to do for ourselves in the future.
   
   For many who become beneficiaries of those systems, they become
   experts in squeezing everything they can get out of those systems.
   When I managed injured workers' claims for the state Department of
   Labor and Industries, we had a saying that people who were off work
   for a long period of time frequently changed professions from Worker
   to Claimant. Although they do not start out that way, they eventually
   become professionals at claiming things. Claiming time loss
   compensation benefits for being off work from their injury, vocational
   rehabilitation benefits for not being able to resume their former line
   of work due to their injuries, permanent partial disability benefits
   for not being able to fully recover from their injuries, pension
   benefits for not being able to perform any kind of work as a
   consequence of their injuries, and so on. They spend part of each day
   sitting on their sofa, picking up the telephone, and calling the
   claims managers to demand things.
   
   This is a phenomenon not peculiar to blind people, but because we have
   so many programs designed to help us and so many good people want to
   help us, it clearly happens to us too. There is something about these
   systems that encourages us to wring every little bit of benefit or
   entitlement out of them.
   
   To avoid becoming a Claimant, we must determine when we need to ask
   for help from systems or people and when we should take responsibility
   for our own lives. The general rule of thumb, I think, is to first be
   honest with yourself about whether you really need the help, or
   whether you could do it yourself, and if the answer is that you do
   need the help, determine how you could obtain that help in a way that
   will allow you to do for yourself in the future. I have not always
   avoided being a Claimant myself, but I can give you two examples in
   which I did for myself instead of asking for others to do for me and
   am glad I did so.
   
   First, when I attended law school, I decided not to become a client of
   our state vocational rehabilitation program. I could have become a
   client and persuaded the agency to pay for law school. Instead, I took
   out student loans and paid for the education myself. I figured that
   the loans were as available to me as they were to my sighted
   classmates, and I had enough confidence in my employment prospects to
   believe that I would be able to pay the loans back. However, after law
   school, when I decided to obtain training in the skills of blindness,
   I became a vocational rehabilitation client so that the agency could
   pay for my training (at the Louisiana Center for the Blind). This was
   a program that cost a lot of money for which loans were not available.
   However, completing the program would help me maintain my independence
   and do for myself in the future.
   
   Second, when I obtained my first legal job as a summer associate in a
   large law firm, I knew that I would need a reader to efficiently do my
   work. Since I was being paid a lot of money, I decided to pay for my
   part-time reader out of my wages. In this way, I showed my law firm
   that I really wanted the job and that I was willing to sacrifice for
   it. At the same time, I told my law firm that were they to offer me a
   permanent position, I would need a full-time reader paid for by the
   firm. But, in what was essentially a training period during which I
   was not making any money for the firm, I paid for the accommodation. I
   now work for that law firm and know that my willingness to pay for my
   reader made a favorable impression. In contrast, one summer associate
   submitted his dry cleaning bill to the firm for reimbursement because
   he had spilled on himself while at a work-related lunch (paid for by
   the firm). He did not receive an offer for permanent employment.
   
   When we do for ourselves, instead of relying on others, we gain the
   experience and we learn from the doing. We also gain confidence in our
   abilities, which continues to build each time we take on a new
   challenge. But if we consistently accept the assistance of others, we
   fall into a trap of not acquiring the experiences upon which our
   self-esteem and confidence are built. That is the trap that Gemini has
   fallen into. Never having to do for himself, his life has become a
   series of acquiring handouts instead of skills. He is not living up to
   his potential, and thus his life is mediocre. Unfortunately, I have
   also observed this pattern with many blind people. Constantly relying
   on the help of others, they never learn that they can do for
   themselves. If they were forced to do for themselves, they would learn
   that they can be creative and adventurous in problem solving; and in
   doing so, they would acquire skills that would allow them to flourish
   and live up to their potential.
   
   There is a direct correlation between how much help we accept and how
   satisfying our lives are. The good news is that the kind of help the
   National Federation of the Blind offers is the kind that blind people,
   and parents of blind children, can use to build normal, productive
   lives. We teach people how to do for themselves: how to live
   independently and how to pursue their goals.
   
   Scores of parents came to the 2000 NFB Convention in Atlanta eager to
   learn
   from the NFB?and each other?how they can help their blind children, as
   Noel said above, ?do for themselves? and ?live independently.?
   Among those families were....
   
   [PHOTO]
   
   Bob and Debby Brackett of Florida with children Luke, Winona, and
   Daniel.
   
   [PHOTO]
   
   Robyn Herrera of California with son John.
   
   [PHOTO]
   
   Susan Parsons of Missouri with children Jacob,
   Sarah, and Christine.
   
   Rights, Life, And Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches
   
   by Seth Leblond
   
   Reprinted from the February 2001 issue of the Braille Monitor, the
   monthly magazine of the National Federation of the Blind.
   
   Editor's Note: Seth Leblond, a Maine high school graduate, came to the
   2000 NFB Convention as one of the year's 30 NFB scholarship winners.
   This was not, however, his first convention or his first experience
   with the NFB. His parents have been active in the NFB for many years.
   At the parents seminar in Atlanta Seth took part in a panel
   presentation by blind young people of various ages. His remarks were
   very much to the point and contained excellent advice for all parents,
   but particularly for the parents of blind children. This is what he
   said:
   
   Freedom, Rights, Responsibilities: these
   are three concepts with which all children
   must inevitably become familiar before they may properly enter the
   world of adulthood as contributing members of society. It is natural
   for anybody to assume that, since parents are the primary caregivers
   to their children, parents should be responsible for teaching their
   children about these basic concepts. But we live in a world in which a
   good many professionals in the field of work with the blind believe
   that, since they have been ?specially trained? to work with blind
   children, they are better equipped to raise them than their own
   parents. Many of them are kind, compassionate, intelligent
   individuals. Nearly all of them mean well. But all of the courses they
   may have taken, all of the books they may have read, and all of the
   warmth they may feel are no substitute for parenting.
   
   Several years ago I attended a seminar for parents of blind children
   in Massachusetts. During the course of the meeting, a panel of parents
   and a professional or two in the field of work with the blind
   assembled to discuss raising blind children. After the members of the
   panel had made brief speeches, the members of the audience began
   asking questions. One woman raised her hand and asked in a somewhat
   frightened voice, ?Who's going to teach my son how to make a peanut
   butter and jelly sandwich??
   
   I had consciously to keep myself from laughing as I recalled my own
   first foray into the world of culinary arts, which was,
   coincidentally, the making of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I
   could practically see my mother hovering over my shoulder, watching as
   I flailed my knife around, trying to transfer the sticky peanut butter
   from the dull blade onto the bread. I remembered her calm voice,
   filled with amusement, telling me that I would have to clean up the
   enormous mess I had managed to make all over the counters and
   cupboards of the kitchen. I remembered painstakingly cleaning up that
   mess. I remembered how good my peanut butter and jelly sandwich tasted
   when I finally seated myself and began to eat. I fairly beamed with
   pride when my mother calmly informed the scared mother at the seminar
   that she should be the one to teach her son how to make a peanut
   butter and jelly sandwich.
   
   As I got older, I came to realize that life itself is really much like
   cooking. Nobody in this world lives a perfect life. People, by their
   very nature, make mistakes, regardless of their background or
   circumstances. Sometimes we even make enormous messes of things. But
   it is the way we as individuals deal with our mistakes and clean up
   our messes that defines us as human beings.
   
   In my experience people often exhibit a strong tendency to make
   mistakes and then try to place as much blame on factors outside their
   control as possible, thus diminishing or eliminating the blame due
   themselves. Since a good portion of the public does not understand
   blindness in and of itself, it is often extremely easy for us to blame
   certain of our errors or objectionable actions on our lack of
   eyesight.
   
   In the spring of 1997 I received a letter from a friend that
   illustrates the tendency of many sighted members of the public to
   allow us to do just that. The person who wrote the letter, having been
   stopped by some friends in the hall of her school, arrived a few
   minutes late for a class. Ordinarily, this would have been an offense
   warranting detention at the school in question. However, the teacher
   informed my friend that she would not, in fact, have to spend any of
   her time staying after school. Since she was blind, he told her, he
   could understand why she might be late for class as a matter of
   course. He would simply overlook the incident. Being a responsible
   individual, however, my friend told him that she wanted to serve her
   detention because that is exactly what was expected of her peers. The
   teacher couldn't understand, but he let her stay after school at her
   insistence.
   
   I keep the letter describing this anecdote where I can easily find and
   read it. It serves as a reminder to me that the blind of the world may
   never receive equal treatment in society unless we also accept equal
   responsibility in society. It also serves as a reminder to me that I
   have at least one truly great and responsible friend.
   
   The question some might ask is, ?What's in it for us?? We as blind
   citizens clearly have certain responsibilities in society, but what
   are all these rights I mention? Perhaps Jefferson said it most
   succinctly at the beginning of the Declaration of Independence when he
   wrote that ?All men are created equal? and are endowed with certain
   rights such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Most of us
   are all too familiar with the stories of blind people denied
   employment solely because of blindness. We have seen agencies for the
   blind deliberately try to keep blind clients from choosing their own
   destiny. The more responsibilities we take, the more quickly will we,
   the blind of America and of the world, achieve true equality in
   society. The more we do to help ourselves, the more clearly will the
   public recognize our potential. As we assert our voices, those few who
   still seek to repress us will realize that we are not wrong when we
   say that we are their equals.
   
   So what of your children? What can you tell them? Tell them that they
   are responsible for dealing with their own mistakes as best they can.
   Tell them that, whenever they can, they ought to take the
   responsibility to educate the public about the true abilities of the
   blind. Tell them to share what they learn about doing this with their
   colleagues and their children. And, when they make their first peanut
   butter and jelly sandwiches, make sure they clean up the mess.
   
   Responsibilities of a Seven-Year-Old
   
   by Hannah Weatherd
   
   Editor's Note: A few issues ago (Volume 18, Number 2), readers had the
   opportunity to hear about Hannah's education from her mother, Jill
   Weatherd, in the article ?Suggestions for Working With Hannah.? At the
   2000 NFB Convention, Hannah got a chance to speak for herself. She
   wrote and read?in Braille, of course?her own speech for a kids' panel.
   Here is what she had to say to parents attending the NOPBC Annual
   Parents Seminar about the ?Responsibilities of a Seven-Year-Old.? (Oh,
   by the way, if you had been wondering who the cute little blind girl
   was who read the Braille menu in the McDonald's commercial in 1999,
   now you know.)
   
   My name is Hannah Weatherd. I am
   seven years old. I'm from Lima,
   Montana. I'm in first grade at school. Lima School is kind of small.
   First and second grades have to be in a room. Third and fourth are in
   a room. Fifth and sixth are in a room. My jobs at school are line
   leader, pledge leader, and helper. The helper's job is to pass out
   papers and take the milk slip to the office, if we have afternoon
   milk. Our teacher, Mrs. Schroder, needs someone to water the plants. I
   was supposed to do that one day but I forgot. There has to be somebody
   to put the trash in the big trash can and put a new liner in it. They
   need a first-grader and second-grader to put the forks, spoons,
   knives, and milk on the table for lunch. We need a librarian to
   straighten out the books so they won't be crooked when Mrs. Kluepner
   is being the helper. I really like four of the jobs the best. I like
   line leader, emptying the garbage, and I like to be the librarian. At
   home I empty the kitchen trash. Sometimes I set the table and in the
   morning I make my bed. I feed our chickens, too. I clean my room. I
   find money in the washer, and Mom says whoever finds money in the
   washer gets to keep it. I pick my clothes out every day except Sunday.
   
   I paid for my little brother's airplane ticket to the NFB convention.
   I had enough money because I was on a McDonald's commercial, and I
   wanted him to come this year. I wanted him to come because he has
   never been on an airplane before except when he was a baby, and he
   can't remember it.
   
   I haven't decided what I want to be when I grow up. I think I really
   want to be a postmaster the most.
   
   The End. Thank you.
   
   [PHOTO]
   
   Hannah Weatherd with NFB President, Dr. Marc Maurer, at the 2000
   Convention.
   
   Teachers of the Visually Impaired: Roles, Rights, and Responsibilities
   
   by Marlene Culpepper
   
   Teacher of the Visually Impaired
   
   Columbus, Georgia
   
   2000 Distinguished Educator of Blind Children Award Winner
   
   Editor's Note: Marlene Culpepper has all the trademark qualities of an
   exemplary teacher of blind children. She has high expectations for her
   students, excellent Braille and other blindness skills, and a positive
   philosophy about blindness. She is a creative and talented teacher,
   and she has initiative. Not willing for her students to settle for
   second-best, she goes beyond her job requirements to see to it that
   they, too, have equal opportunities for a quality education. To top it
   all, Marlene is also a capable speaker. Her enthusiasm and love for
   her work inspired everyone in the audience when she gave a
   presentation at the Annual Parents Seminar in Atlanta on July 1, 2000.
   Here is an edited version of that presentation:
   
   [PHOTO]
   
   Marlene Culpepper displays her 2000 Distinguished Educator of Blind
   Children Award plaque.
   
   Good morning. I am honored to be here
   today to talk to you about the roles,
   rights, and responsibilities of those of us who serve blind children
   in our county. ?It takes a village to raise a child.? I'm sure you've
   heard that before. In our case, it takes a concerted effort from
   parents, from the students themselves, from the teachers that work
   with the students, and from the administrators who provide the
   support, in order to put all the things together that are needed so
   that our children can become independent, capable adults. That is our
   goal in the Muskogee County, Georgia, school system. Our mission for
   the school system encompasses all of these things. Our mission
   statement is: ?The Muskogee County School District is committed to the
   educational experiences that will enable each student to become a
   life- long learner, enter the workforce with necessary work skills,
   and achieve academic and personal potential.? This is our goal for all
   of our children. In order to make that goal a reality for our children
   who have visual impairments, I have to fulfill certain
   responsibilities.
   
   We?the teachers?have to strive to help our students become
   self-sufficient. We have to keep our expectations high and then
   constantly keep raising them as the children meet their goals. We have
   to collaborate. The regular education classroom teachers have to work
   diligently to provide me? the teacher of the visually impaired
   (TVI)?with the education plans and materials in advance so that we can
   set the stage for lessons that will include our students and will be
   meaningful to them. Oftentimes we don't have to provide a person to
   assist our students directly if we do enough advance planning so we
   can provide adapted or modified materials with which they can learn
   independently. For example, our students receive Brailled report cards
   and Brailled grades and comments on their papers so that they can read
   and measure for themselves how they are doing and what they are
   achieving. In fact, anything that is provided in the classroom for the
   sighted children?board work, hand-outs, overhead projector slides,
   etc.?is also provided in Braille for our Braille users. Our teachers
   work hard to see that this happens.
   
   We have found that a child will become better skilled with the use of
   the abacus, for example, if the regular education teacher and the TVI
   teacher work together to plan for repetition and constant use. A
   regular classroom teacher can encourage the child to use an abacus,
   for example, during math instruction on a daily basis. This applies to
   other skills, too.
   
   The regular education teacher can help our blind students to utilize
   their canes with frequency. It is a requirement in our school that
   blind students do not leave the classrooms without their canes. The
   regular education teacher can provide descriptive language of an
   environment that is constantly changing. They can engage and include
   the visually impaired student by describing illustrations, by allowing
   the child with low vision to have preferential seating so that they
   can see some of the materials if they are able, by explaining routines
   and board work, by explaining overheads as they are using them, and by
   describing one-on-one to the blind child what other students are
   doing. Oftentimes, our children can miss out if we don't make a
   concerted effort to let them know what's going on. ?What's so funny??
   ?Why are the other children in class laughing?? And teachers can, very
   discretely and with a sensitive tone, let our children know when what
   they are doing is not appropriate in the class setting in order to
   help them function better within the group.
   
   My role as the teacher of the visually impaired is constantly changing
   depending upon the needs of my students. In fact, I was a preschool
   teacher for years and when I first assumed this position my focus and
   my number one goal at the time was to learn, or relearn, all of the
   Braille skills that I had learned in college but had not utilized in
   years. That included getting to know the Nemeth Code and becoming
   familiar with teaching the abacus. Later, I had to learn all the
   commands that are necessary to utilize JAWS, and how to work a Braille
   'n Speak adequately. With Heather, one of my current students, I've
   had the opportunity to learn Braille music. The children guide me as
   far as what it is that I need to be learning and doing as their needs
   change.
   
   I have to observe what's going on with my students in the regular
   class and throughout the school day and respond to their needs whether
   they be socialization needs, mobility needs, or needs for better or
   different planning and instruction. So my role is first to learn and
   then to teach.
   
   My primary job responsibility is, of course, to teach the students the
   blindness skills that they will need to be successful. For example,
   I've had children who don't appreciate reading, but we still require
   them to read. At our school we have a reading log that all parents
   must complete. All students have to read a certain number of minutes
   per day. When they make progress, we point out to them how their
   skills have improved and what they have achieved. We impose these
   expectations upon them so that, once they realize they can meet these
   goals, they will expect more of themselves.
   
   Children need more than academic skills in order to be successful, so
   I also teach, for example, socialization skills and organizational
   skills. I discuss with them how to maintain and establish
   conversations with peers. I teach them how to manage all of their
   materials within a classroom; how to be accountable for homework, for
   class work, for planning the pace of projects, and for getting
   projects done; how to ask for help when it's needed; and how to
   utilize a reader. All of these things are skills that I consider my
   responsibility to teach them before they graduate from high school.
   Hopefully, they will then be able to utilize these skills to live
   independently.
   
   I also have the responsibility to work hard to keep the lines of
   communication open with parents and with other teachers. Oftentimes
   that involves hearing things we don't necessarily want to hear,
   digesting it, and then reacting appropriately. For example, shortly
   after I first took my current job, a parent, Mrs. Jones, came to me,
   and she said something that I imagine was really hard for her to say.
   She said, ?Marlene, there are mistakes in Heather's Braille work. I
   don't think there should be mistakes.? That was hard to hear. I was
   struggling to learn the Braille code and my paraprofessionals were
   struggling along with me. But we didn't brush it off. As a result, we
   created a system of checks and balances. Even though we use computer
   software and a Braille embosser (printer) to produce our Braille work,
   nothing goes to the children unless it's checked by a person other
   than the one who created it. This doesn't eliminate all the mistakes
   that can possibly occur, but it does minimize them tremendously.
   
   Children can become better Braille readers and writers if the material
      that they have to use is adequate. We strive to achieve the same
                                  standard
                     that is used for sighted children
                        with their print materials.
                                      
   [PHOTO]
   
   Heather Hammond (center) with her mother Donna Jones and NFB President
   Dr. Marc Maurer at the 2000 convention. Heather is one of Mrs.
   Culpepper's students, and her mother nominated Marlene for the
   Distinguished
   Educator Award.
   
   My other role is to ask the ?village? to help in the education of our
   blind students. I think that our children can become independent,
   self-sufficient, capable adults, but along the way we must have help
   from a lot of people to provide the materials that they need. So, one
   of the roles I have taken upon myself is to go out and present the
   community with our needs. When we started our mini-magnet visually
   impaired program in Columbus a few years ago, we realized that we
   didn't have sufficient leisure reading material for our children. We
   had plenty of Braille writers and Braille paper. We had technology,
   but what we didn't have were Braille storybooks in the library. At the
   time I was in the mentor-teacher program operated by the AFB (I needed
   a lot of mentoring, then. I didn't know what I was doing, to be quite
   honest.) Anyway, I contacted my mentor teacher, who was in Florida,
   and I said, ?I don't have any library books. What do I do?? She said,
   ?Well, look on the Internet. Find out in your community if there are
   any Braille books for you to utilize.? I did. Our public library had
   some Braille books that had been sitting around that some people
   didn't even know were there. They sent those to us. She put me in
   contact with a group called the Temple Sisterhood Braille Transcribing
   Group. Those Braille transcribers told me that in between textbook
   production they had time to transcribe books for our program if I
   would send them the paper and tell them what titles I wanted.
   
   Then one day I met a man from the Lion's Club. He was selling brooms
   for the club outside Sam's. I said, ?What do you do for the children
   in our community?? He said, ?Well, we don't know any blind children in
   our community right now. Tell us more.? And I did. I explained our
   needs to them. I said, ?We have children who are just learning to love
   reading, and they need books to read.? The club gave us four hundred
   dollars to buy paper. We sent that paper to the Temple Sisterhood
   Braille Transcribers, and they sent us books. The next year they said,
   ?Was that enough? Would you like some more? I said, ?Yes. We need more
   books.? This time we went to Seedlings and bought books.
   
   We now have about four hundred Braille books in our school library.
   Our blind children can go to the library with their sighted peers and
   check out a new book every time they visit. That's an incredible
   opportunity for our children. Not just to improve their reading
   abilities but also to develop their self-esteem. The books we selected
   are on the accelerated reader list because our school feels very
   strongly about the use of the accelerated reading program. Our
   children take accelerated readers tests. They utilize JAWS in order to
   do it. We buy and produce books that are within our test list so that
   we can measure their reading comprehension.
   
   We have now tapped into some other sources for Braille books. We have
   been getting monthly free Braille books from the American Action Fund
   for Blind Children and Adults Free Braille Books Program. [Editor's
   Note: The book series currently offered through this program are Nancy
   Drew, The Nightmare Room, and the Little House Chapter Books.] We
   also get free Braille books from the Braille Institute program. They
   offer three books per child every four months. You choose from a
   catalog of different books everytime. Well, we have four Braille-using
   students, so we get three books per month per child or forty-eight
   books a year from the Braille Institute and three books every month in
   the year from the American Action Fund, which gives us thirty-six
   books from them. That's a lot of books in one year?eighty-four?for
   free! They are fantastic titles. If you have not had the opportunity
   to visit their web sites or to contact them, please do so. [Editor's
   Note: Contact the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults
   at 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21230, (410) 659-9314 ext.
   361, <www.actionfund.org>. The Braille Institute can be contacted at
   1-800-272-4553.]
   
   We have received not only all of the books we need through help from
   the community but also donations of technology. We have written grants
   in order to provide our children with the Braille 'n Speaks that they
   need and district licenses for JAWS so they can have JAWS in their
   homes. The local Lion's Club just donated computers to two of our
   children, and we have two children who received a thousand dollars
   each towards the purchase of a Braille embosser from the County's
   Midnight Run. All of these things will help these children to develop
   their skills and their independence. To me that is imperative that
   they walk out of our school with the skills to produce independently
   their own work when they go to college and that they also have the
   materials with which to do it.
   
   Which brings me to my final comments about the roles and
   responsibilities of a TVI. It is my job to instill in my students an
   attitude of self-sufficiency.
   
           It is my job to instill in my students an attitude of
                             self-sufficiency.
                                      
   I have very high expectations of my students, and I hold them
   accountable for a whole lot, whether it be communication, keeping up
   with their work, showing initiative, or asking for help when it's
   needed. I also feel it is my responsibility to open their eyes to what
   jobs and professions are available to them as adults. For that reason
   I read a lot to my children from Future Reflections and the Braille
   Monitor because I believe that this organization?the NFB?provides a
   tremendous number of examples of blind and visually impaired people
   who are successful, who are capable as professionals and as parents.
   
   I believe that this organization?the NFB?provides a tremendous number
                     of examples of blind and visually
    impaired people who are successful, who are capable as professionals
                              and as parents.
                                      
   One of my students is a fourth grade honors student. He was sitting
   doing math with me one day, and he said, ?You know, Ms. Culpepper,
   this school stuff just ain't for me.? I said, ?Well, if it isn't for
   you, I want you to understand one thing. I've been your teacher since
   preschool, and I'll be your teacher through high school. The day that
   I hear that you don't have a job, that you have chosen to stay home
   and receive a disability check, that is the day that I will be at your
   door at eight o'clock in the morning. I will lay on the horn until you
   come out, and once you are out, I will drag you to the car, and I will
   take you to a job, and I will make sure that you show up for that job.
   I will not teach you for twelve years just to have you stay at home.?
   
   I think that by making those expectations clear, he can re-evaluate
   his expectations for himself. I told this story to his mom, and she
   just laughed. She said, ?That's true. I appreciate what you said.? The
   attitude behind my student's comment is not an attitude we need to
   develop in the fourth grade or any grade. School is for everybody no
   matter what their ability is. We can all learn. And, that, finally is
   my ultimate responsibility: to facilitate that learning for every one
   of my blind and visually impaired students.
   
   Rights, Roles, and Responsibilities in the Orientation and Mobility
   Process
   
   by Joe Cutter
   
   Editor's Note: Joe Cutter, Pediatric Orientation and Mobility (O&M)
   Specialist, New Jersey Commission for the Blind, is a ?professional?
   in the best and most noble sense of the word. He is also one of the
   most truly humble people I know. He never feels he is above learning
   something new from his students, their parents, blind adults, or
   fellow professionals. Joe regularly attends National Federation of the
   Blind (NFB) conventions and freely shares his knowledge and expertise
   with parents and teachers. He makes presentations, gives group
   workshops, and voluntarily consults one-on-one with any parent who
   approaches him with a problem. The following article is an edited
   version of the speech he gave at the 2000 Annual Parents Seminar at
   the NFB Convention in Atlanta, Georgia:
   
   I know of no better place to come than the
   NFB and the National Organization of Par-
   ents of Blind Children (NOPBC) to hear about, be informed about, and
   learn about your roles, rights, and responsibilities. I know of no
   other venue that respects and values these three R's more than the
   NFB.
   
   There is a Chinese proverb that says: ?To know the way ahead ask those
   coming back.? The richness of human resources in this room today and
   at this convention all week will provide you with much fuel for
   thought and action in meeting your child's requirements on the road
   toward independence. The positive role modeling, the rights that have
   been established by the individual and collective power of this NFB
   movement, and the personal responsibilities that have been taken by
   persons at this convention can provide you with comfort, confidence,
   hope, and skills as you travel the road ahead with your child.
   
   There is an interconnectiveness between these three R's. Your role as
   a parent gives you rights that come with responsibilities. For
   example, you have a need to know about blindness and a right to
   information about it. You have a need for training for yourself and
   your child on the skills of blindness. This information and training
   will facilitate your role and responsibilities as your child's first
   teacher. At this convention a few years ago a learned gentleman from
   India told me, ?The mothers lap is the child's first classroom.? No
   one will have a greater impact on your child's development than you,
   the parent.
   
   [PHOTO]
   
   Two-and-a-half year-old Mikaella Besson of Massachusettes (right) has
   many adventures with her new cane at the 2000 convention.
   
   I would like to talk more about your right to information and
   training. You have a right to clear, reliable, and useful information.
   As a parent you are vulnerable to reading inaccurate information and
   misconceptions about blindness in the form of unreliable research
   about blind children. Much of the time this information will be with a
   negative perspective. Be careful what you read! It may leave you
   functionally illiterate about the true nature of blindness. At the
   worst, such material will leave you with less hope and less
   motivation. At the best, it's like a mixed-up math problem from when
   you were a kid: Mary has three apples and Sally has four apples, so
   how many miles is it to Detroit? You scratch your head and think,
   ?What?? You're left not knowing what to do with what you read (or
   heard, for that matter) about blindness and your child.
   
   Therefore, you have a right to read about and hear about a positive
   perspective about blindness. It is my responsibility as an O&M
   professional to never take away hope, to do no harm by promoting
   unreliable practices, but rather to nurture your role with your child.
   To develop, along with you, options and opportunities for your child.
   And it is my responsibility to advocate with you in what, sometimes,
   is a formidable structure of misinformation and misguided practices in
   the education of blind children today, particularly in the field of
   O&M. (More about this point later.)
   
   You have a right to training: the ?what? and ?how? of O&M?or as I have
   come to know it through my involvement with the NFB?independent
   movement and travel. I am talking about training that is concerned
   with skills and skill proficiency and not the endless readiness and
   remediation for these skills. Training that respects early use of cane
   travel with the young blind child. Training in what I like to call the
   really long, long cane. The best way to learn how to use a cane is not
   with a pre-cane (you know, those PVC pipe, rectangular, push devices).
   The pre-cane will only slow down your child's movement and make them
   vulnerable to not learning age-appropriate movement and travel skills.
   No, the best way for your child to develop cane skills is for your
   child to hold a cane in the hand and use it.
   
    The best way for your child to develop cane skills is for your child
                  to hold a cane in the hand and use it. 
                                      
   An unnecessary so-called readiness curriculum serves only the
   professional who uses it and, I believe, is used only by O&M
   professionals who haven't learned the techniques for teaching long
   cane skills to the very young blind child.
   
   [PHOTO]
   
   How much independence and freedom can a young blind teen expect to
   enjoy at NFB Conventions? Wayne Pearcy of Texas, who got his first
   cane when he was two, is as mobile and independent as his sighted teen
   peers at the 2000 convention.
   
   It has been my experience that the most misguided information parents
   get concerning O&M is about the method of sighted guide. It is not the
   practice in itself that is the problem but the misuse and abuse of it
   at home and school. All too often parents and classroom teachers are
   left with the idea that the child should do most of his or her
   traveling off the arm of another person. What the child learns, then,
   is how to observe someone else's movement and not his or her own
   movement. Everything they experience about moving in the outdoor
   community and in the school is dictated and directed by someone
   else?the person guiding them?and they never get the opportunity to
   practice self-directed movement skills with a long cane.
   
   Now, this is so, I believe, because the traditional university
   programs preparing O&M instructors for the field place an overemphasis
   upon this singular skill. It is the first skill taught for indoor and
   outdoor travel. There are pages and pages demonstrating the technique
   in the textbook curriculum and hours and hours in the practicum
   experience for the student learning to become an O&M professional. You
   will not find this singular skill overemphasized and over-utilized at
   the O&M program at Louisiana Tech under the direction of Dr. Ruby
   Ryles. Instead, in this program the students preparing to be O&M
   instructors use valuable time learning about a full compliment of
   independent cane-based travel skills, the real skills of blindness.
   
   It is my thinking, based upon years of experience in the field, that
   the sighted guide technique has become ?filler? in the curriculum and
   practice of the traditional trained O&M instructor. They do not know
   how to move forward with the skills of blindness that are promoted by
   the blindness community, blind travel instructors, and the NFB.
   Instead they fill the curriculum with sighted guide practice, and your
   child pays the price of sighted guide overload on a day-to-day basis.
   The blind child doesn't need filler. Feed your child sirloin steak not
   hamburger helper!
   
   The next point I would like to make about training is that if your
   child is partially sighted he or she has the right to sleepshade
   (blindfold) training. Such training develops confidence in using the
   alternative (non-visual) techniques of touch, smell, and sound. Your
   child cannot develop full confidence in blindness-based travel skills
   if they are still relying mostly upon 10 percent or less of typical
   vision. This will produce doubt, stress, and a tentative style to
   their travel. The often-used argument against sleepshade training is
   that the student will go back to using their vision once the
   sleepshade is off. This is of course true, but what these naysayers
   don't take into account is that the person will now use his or her
   vision with greater confidence and with better judgement about when to
   use their vision and when to use the non-visual technique. They will
   have new options and trust in using these options. It's about
   developing good judgement.
   
   [PHOTO]
   
   Blind role models are important to young cane users. The Cane Walk,
   Youth
   Scavenger Hunt, and Braille Carnival at the 2000 Convention provided
   many role modeling opportunities. In the photo
   above, Sheila Koenig gives some gentle
   hand-under-hand cane instruction to
   Winona Brackett at the Braille Carnival.
   
   Remember how I told you earlier that you are your child's first
   teacher? Well, as your child's teacher you have the right to help
   train the other professionals and educators in your child's life. You
   are the child's most natural resource. The more clear, reliable, and
   useful information you have about blindness, the more persuasive you
   can become in advocating for your child. Your information will be
   confidence based. (The word confidence comes from ?con-fidos? which
   means ?with truth.?)
   
   Along with the parents of blind children in your state, you can work
   toward making a better life for your child and other blind children.
   An excellent example of this is in my own state of New Jersey. A
   decade or so ago Carol Castellano, Vice President of NOPBC and
   President of the Parents Division of New Jersey, informed, persuaded,
   educated, and trained me well. It was a gentle, one-on-one education.
   She worked with other parents in her state, and together they are
   making a difference. Some of these parents are here at this
   convention. Valerie and Ed Ryan, Amy Kaiser, and Donna Panaro.
   
   This September the New Jersey Parents of Blind Children will conduct a
   teacher training workshop for classroom teachers. Carol works closely
   with Joe Ruffalo, President of the NFB of New Jersey, to make these
   kinds of training opportunities happen. Together they have positively
   influenced the quality of life in New Jersey for blind persons. I have
   learned much from Joe and Carol. They?parent and blind adult?have
   taught me to be a better professional, a better person. There is truly
   an educational revolution developing in the field of education of
   blind children, and the NFB is leading the way.
   
   The blind child?your child?has the right to freedom of movement, the
   joy of movement, and the confidence that comes with self-directed
   movement. They have the right to take responsibility for their own
   movement and to practice and master the skills of blindness. It is
   your right, your role, and your responsibility to teach your child;
   and I?as the professional?have the responsibility to support,
   facilitate, and join you in this effort. And together we can be very
   formidable and persuasive in contributing to positive outcomes in
   independent movement and travel for blind children.
   
   CONVENTION MAGIC
   
   by Anonymous
   
   Editor's Note: Do you remember your first adolescent love? Do you
   remember the breathless, giddy joy; the stomach-clenching angst?and
   the terror that your parents will make a big deal about it, or even
   TELL other people that you have a boy/girl -friend? If you do, then I
   don't have to explain why the author of this article asked to remain
   anonymous, or why she asked that the names be changed to protect the
   guilty?oops, ?innocent? parties! But before I give too much away, here
   is ?Anonymous? to tell us her story about ?Convention Magic?:
   
   I remember the first time I witnessed Con-vention Magic. It was at
   National Convention. The day's sessions were over. Several parents
   from my state were relaxing in a restaurant in the Dallas Airport
   Hilton. The son of one of the parents came breezing up to our table,
   brand new NFB long white cane in hand.
   
   ?Mom, I'm going to go have dinner with Al. I'll be back in about two
   hours.?
   
   ?But, Winston, I don't know where I'll be in two hours. And where will
   you be? Where would we meet??
   
   ?Don't worry about it, Mom. I've got a key. I'll see you back in the
   room later.?
   
   Now this exchange would not have been out of the ordinary in any way,
   except that before this day Winston had never ventured off anywhere on
   his own. In fact, though he was totally blind, he had hardly even used
   a cane before. Now, he'd already been gone half the day and suddenly
   he was on his way out to dinner with a new-found friend.
   
   See ya' later, Mom. Convention Magic.
   
   The heady feeling of independence that Winston's mom was
   experiencing?Wow, I'm free! I don't have to take care of my kid!?was
   palpable. My daughter was several years younger than Winston. Would
   there ever come a day when I would be able to sit casually in a
   restaurant while my child just went out?
   
   As the years?and the conventions?went on, I saw Convention Magic
   manifest itself many times. In the relatively small and safe
   environment of our NFB State Convention hotels, I watched kids who had
   simply never gone anywhere on their own get the urge to go and
   explore. Elevators, escalators, soda and ice machines?all were great
   motivators. I watched as one boy decided to go up to his room on his
   own. He made it. A girl located a friend at the foot of the escalator.
   The whole gang of our almost-teen-agers found their way to somebody's
   room for snacks, a movie, and a pillow fight.
   
   But this past year, at NFB National Convention, Convention Magic cast
   its gentle spell over my kid. We hadn't seen her since lunchtime. She
   was hanging out in the Teen Room while my husband, John, and I
   attended the Resolutions Committee meeting. John started toward the
   back of the room for a drink of water but quickly came racing back.
   
   ?Donna, you've got to come back here quick. You won't believe this!?
   
   ?What is it?? I asked as we hurried toward the back of the room. Then
   I saw it. Framed in the doorway of the ballroom was our daughter
   standing head to head with a young man about her age?sixteen. They
   seemed engrossed in conversation and every so often, the boy moved his
   arm up to Belinda's shoulder and rested it there a moment.
   
   I was shocked. Belinda had never even flirted with a boy before, never
   mind let one touch her! Fighting back the wild urge to tell him to
   keep his no good, dirty hands off my daughter, I walked over and
   casually said, ?Hi, Belinda. What's up??
   
   ?Oh, hi Mom. We came in here to see if we could find you and Dad.
   We're going over to the Mock Trial, and I wanted to let you guys know
   where I'd be.?
   
   ?Ah. And who's your friend??
   
   ?Mom, this is Michael.? Dad said hello, too.
   
   ?So, where's the Mock Trial being held?? I asked. ?You guys know where
   you're going??
   
   ?Yeah, we know the room.?
   
   ?Okay,? we agreed hesitantly. ?We'll come and find you in the Mock
   Trial room when it's over.?
   
   ?Okay, see ya.?
   
   And with that, my daughter was off. My daughter and a boy. Whew.
   
   I have to admit my husband and I couldn't resist following the pair,
   first to make sure they got to the room all right and then to see what
   the heck they were doing. We peeked in, oh, only five or six times.
   
   They were fine. They were sitting there listening, talking, laughing.
   Looked pretty normal. Looked pretty good. Every once in a while their
   heads leaned in toward one another's.
   
   We were back at the dot of seven to pick Belinda up. The following
   conversation ensued.
   
   ?So, you like this guy??
   
   ?Oh, yeah, we really have a lot in common. And he's really nice.?
   
   ?That's great, honey.?
   
   ?He said I have really small hands.?
   
   (AND HOW WOULD THIS CASANOVA HAVE FOUND OUT THAT MY DAUGHTER HAS SMALL
   HANDS?????)
   
   ?Well, gee, how come he said that?? I asked.
   
   ?We were holding hands, and he said my hands were small.?
   
   ?Ah ha. Holding hands, that's, um, nice.?
   
   ?And he really likes my hair.?
   
   (HER HAIR??? HER HAIR??? THIS REPROBATE DARED TO TOUCH MY DAUGHTER'S
   HAIR???)
   
   ?Well, you do have pretty hair,? I responded weakly.
   
   ?Yeah, he said it was really soft. Then, Mom??
   
   ?Yes??
   
   ?We discussed how far we would go.?
   
   (AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!! #!$&%#$ sex education classes!)
   
   ?I see,? I managed to reply. ?And what did you decide??
   
   ?We thought a kiss on the cheek. That would be okay in public, right??
   
   Whew. ?Yup, that's just fine,? I said with relief.
   
   The next day Belinda got to discover another typical teen-age
   experience?teen angst. She had been hanging out in the Teen Room with
   a girlfriend the day that she met HIM. When Belinda and Michael
   decided to go to the Mock Trial, Belinda invited Laura along. Laura,
   convinced that she was definitely third-wheel status, rather
   dramatically refused. Belinda left with Michael.
   
   Later, back in the room, we found an emotional message from Laura on
   our tape, expressing her distress that Belinda had ditched her for a
   guy. Overcome with guilt, Belinda called Laura back to beg her
   forgiveness. Alas, no one was in the room, and Belinda had to leave a
   message. ALL NIGHT LONG, through dinner, through our evening
   activities, through getting ready for bed, John and I listened to
   Belinda's anguished laments. ?Will she forgive me? I really didn't
   mean to leave her out. I asked her to come. It's not my fault she
   wouldn't come. She could have come with us. I'm so sorry. Will she
   forgive me??
   
   I am happy to report that Belinda's apology was accepted and the two
   friends went out for ice cream the next day.
   
   That evening, one more sweet thing happened. Belinda and I were
   sitting in a computer meeting when I happened to notice Michael come
   in and sit down in the back of the room. ?Belinda,? I whispered,
   ?Michael is here. Why don't you go back and say hello.?
   
   I pointed Belinda in Michael's general direction and heard her calling
   his name in order to locate him. You should have seen how his face lit
   up when he heard her voice and realized it was Belinda. Wow, a boy
   lighting up over my girl's presence. That was a pretty sight.
   
   Could these events have happened elsewhere? I guess they could have.
   But they didn't. They happened at the NFB Convention, the place where
   our kids can venture out, taste some independence, try out a few
   skills, and have new experiences?all with thousands of blind people
   around to provide help and inspiration!
   
   Convention Magic. It's a beautiful thing!
   
   Teaching the Professionals Who Teach the Blind
   
   by Ruby Ryles, Ph.D.
   
   Reprinted from the November, 2000, issue of the NFB magazine, the
   Braille Monitor.
   
   From the Braille Monitor Editor, Barbara Pierce: For many years now
   Ruby Ryles has been an integral part of the National Federation of the
   Blind. Early on in her son's life we helped the Ryles family discover
   the truth about blindness for themselves. In return Ruby has taught
   blind children creatively and optimistically. She has earned a Ph.D.
   including powerful research about the importance of acquiring Braille
   at an early age. And in recent years she has turned her dedication and
   talent to the field of orientation and mobility. She addressed the
   2000 NFB Convention on July 7. It was late in the day, and delegates
   were beginning to anticipate the excitement of the banquet to come.
   But when Ruby came to the podium, she immediately captured the
   attention of the audience and never lost it. This is what she said:
   
   This afternoon I want to tell you about one
   of the most exciting things going on in
   this organization or in the field of blindness. But before I tell you
   what all the excitement is about, I want to take a few moments to
   share with you why I am doing what I do at Louisiana Tech University
   and the Louisiana Center for the Blind. In nine days it will have been
   exactly twenty-six years since the happiest day of my life. In the
   early morning hours of July 16, 1974, our long awaited, beloved son
   was born. He was absolutely beautiful, and I knew from the moment the
   nurse laid him in my arms that he was, of course, brilliant beyond any
   other child ever conceived. I have never since known the joy I felt in
   those early morning hours twenty-six years ago.
   
   That summer, on the twenty-first of August, five weeks later, the
   doctor delivered the news?our beloved five-week-old son was blind. How
   could that be? Like everyone else, I knew all about blindness through
   movies I'd seen and songs and stories in Reader's Digest and even the
   Bible, but I had never known anyone who was blind. He just couldn't be
   blind.
   
   The doctor said I should take him to New York City for more tests.
   During one of the breaks between the tests I wanted to get away from
   the hospital and its dreary, confining atmosphere, so I put my
   precious little one in a stroller and went for a walk down the
   crowded, busy Manhattan streets. It felt good just to be out in the
   sunshine and in the activity of busy people coming and going from all
   those buildings, until I came to the corner to cross a street.
   
   There, not far from the corner, sitting on a sort of retaining wall,
   was a rather disheveled, unshaven man with his arm outstretched,
   holding a battered tin measuring cup with a few yellow pencils in it.
   But, you know, it wasn't the beggar, his cup, or his pencils that took
   my breath away?it was what was around his neck. Across his chest,
   hanging from a discolored leather strap, was a rectangular piece of
   wood. Someone had taken the tool from one of those old wood-burning
   kits and written on that piece of wood. Across his chest, burned into
   the wood?and into my heart?was the word: ?BLIND.? I know you could
   have heard my heart break. I did.
   
   [PHOTO]
   
   Dr. Ruby Ryles, Coordinator,
   Louisiana Tech University/Louisiana Center for the Blind Orientation
   and Mobility Master's Program.
   
   My feet seemed to be made of lead and my eyes began to blur with tears
   as I turned to cross the street. The sorrow and the welling fear I
   felt for my baby's future were so intense that it is even hard to
   describe it now. I stepped into the crosswalk to cross the street and
   must have been moving more slowly than the other pedestrians because
   people were passing me in that crosswalk. As I neared the other side
   of the street, a pedestrian moved by me, and, even through my tears, I
   couldn't help noticing him. He was tall and slender and wore a
   tailored gray suit and expensive shoes. At his side he carried a
   briefcase and walked with a sense of purpose that conveyed an air of
   definitive professionalism. I watched as his cane touched the curb,
   and he never broke stride as he hurried through the large doors of an
   impressive building adorned with glass and polished brass.
   
   I stood on the corner with tears drying on my face, but in the noise,
   the heat, the crowded street I didn't understand what had just
   happened. I don't know when I really figured it out?probably eight or
   nine years later when I met Jim Omvig, Joanne Wilson, Kenneth
   Jernigan, Marc Maurer, and hundreds of others who have crossed that
   street in life. That hot summer day in the space of the few seconds it
   took to get to the other corner, not only had the light changed, but
   forever in my heart what it meant to be blind had changed.
   
   Twenty-six summers have come and gone, and recently in the infamous
   southern sunshine of Louisiana things came full circle. I now run a
   master's degree program in Orientation and Mobility at Louisiana Tech
   University and the Louisiana Center for the Blind in Ruston,
   Louisiana. Among our many projects is a new certification for
   orientation and mobility instructors?a certification based on
   performance and understanding of blindness rather than academic
   assumptions. Such an undertaking obviously demands copious amounts of,
   not only time, but also patience and dedication to the cause that such
   a project represents.
   
   On a summer day two weeks ago seven professionals in the field of
   Orientation and Mobility met to pilot two sections of this new O&M
   certification document. Six of the seven professionals were
   experienced Orientation and Mobility professionals, and five were
   blind. We were working, four in a group, on the streets of Monroe,
   Louisiana. Several hours into our work I noticed a disheveled,
   unshaven blind man and his equally disheveled sighted companion,
   pushing him along the sidewalk. As they approached us from the
   opposite corner of the block, it was particularly the man's cane that
   caught my eye. It was the folding aluminum type, badly bent, and held
   together at the joints by duct tape. He presented a dismal image to
   the world indeed. He approached our group, proclaimed his sad plight,
   and asked for money. One of the group stayed behind to talk to him for
   a moment, then the two blind men parted ways, and my friend hurried on
   to the corner to catch up with the rest of us. I felt an old memory
   stir?a memory when for me blindness meant sorrow and fear of the
   future?feelings long since obliterated by the years of association
   with dynamic blind professionals and friends in the National
   Federation of the Blind.
   
   We were all actually too busy to pay much attention to the brief
   encounter, but in the days since I've thought of the completed circle
   that the scene represented. And it feels great!
   
   I've told you a story of how I personally came to the Federation
   corner. Now let me share with you what we at Louisiana Tech University
   and the Louisiana Center for the Blind are doing on that corner.
   
   In the fall of 1996 a longtime dream of many Federationists began to
   materialize when Louisiana Rehabilitation Services in cooperation with
   Louisiana Tech University and the Louisiana Center for the Blind
   received RSA funding to start an innovative university master's degree
   program to train orientation and mobility instructors. For many years
   competent blind people have been effectively shut out of the
   university training programs for orientation and mobility. Mainly
   because of the ADA many university programs now accept blind O&M
   students; but because of the field's long history of opposition to the
   idea of blind mobility instructors, university O&M-training programs
   have no earthly idea how a skilled blind mobility instructor should or
   could do his or her job.
   
   In the past three years we have had twenty-three students in our
   program; eighteen of those students have been blind. Our instructor
   for the countless hours of practical training required in the program
   is blind. He is 100 percent agency-trained and is an incredible role
   model and an incredible instructor?Roland Allen. Eddie Bell assists
   with academic teaching responsibilities as well as O&M teaching
   duties. Eddie is blind and a graduate of the program and, like Roland,
   understands that the best way to teach independent travel is by
   example.
   
   Because we are an NFB program, not only our philosophy but also our
   training methods differ dramatically from those of traditional
   university training programs in that we believe that, if an instructor
   intends to teach a skill, the instructor should be able to perform the
   skill.
   
                     We believe that, if an instructor
   intends to teach a skill, the instructor should be able to perform the
                                   skill.
                                      
   Simply put, we believe travel instructors, O&M specialists,
   peripetologists?whatever people who teach cane travel want to call
   themselves?they ought to be able to travel without sight with a long
   white cane?blind and sighted instructors alike.
   
   Wow! What a unique concept that is. To expect a teacher actually to
   perform the skill she expects her students to learn.
   
   This exciting program has just completed its third year of operation
   and is drawing national attention for its innovative methods of
   training and quality graduates. An overwhelming number of blind adults
   and children in the United States do not receive even adequate skill
   training in cane travel or Braille.
   
     An overwhelming number of blind adults and children in the United
                 States do not receive even adequate skill
                    training in cane travel or Braille.
                                      
   Many of us in this room will agree that the lion's share of the blame
   for this tragedy lies squarely on the shoulders of the university
   programs that graduate professionals who are not proficient in the
   basic skills of blindness?cane travel and Braille.
   
   Now let me say this before I say another word?it does not take a
   master's degree to be an outstanding orientation and mobility
   instructor. I repeat: It does not take a degree to be a highly skilled
   travel instructor. Well, go ahead; say it: ?Why in the world are
   Federationists running a master's degree program in O&M at a state
   university?? Because it is a fact of life that in today's world, no
   matter how skilled you may be, more and more state and private
   agencies and commissions cannot even hire you, blind or sighted,
   without a master's degree. This is the direction of the future, and,
   since it is, we intend to make every effort possible to see that the
   graduates of the Louisiana Tech/Louisiana Center for the Blind
   master's degree program get the highest quality training possible with
   the right attitudes about independent travel and blindness.
   
   All too often graduates from university professional training programs
   have very little personal association with real blind people and the
   real issues you face. All of the current Louisiana Tech University O&M
   master's students and a number of graduates are here at this
   convention. If you want to know about blindness, the NFB is the place
   to learn, and this convention is the ultimate classroom.
   
   I hope you are starting to get a sense of what the master's degree
   program in O&M is about, but that's only a part of the picture.
   Recently Louisiana Center for the Blind received funding from RSA for
   the Professional Development and Research Institute on Blindness. I
   also coordinate the Institute's activities. The Institute is a
   significant development, and exciting projects are already
   underway?one is the development of additional master's degree
   programs?one for teachers of blind children and another for
   rehabilitation counselors of the blind.
   
   Recently Dr. Ron Ferguson began working for us. Until we were able to
   lure Dr. Ferguson to Louisiana, he distinguished himself as a widely
   published associate professor at Ball State University and a
   well-known member of the NFB's Michigan affiliate. Dr. Ferguson, Dr.
   Jeff Walczyk from Louisiana Tech, and I are currently working on a
   research project in the area of orientation and mobility and will
   complete five such studies in the next five years?I can promise you
   that our research will not end up as material for Dr. Maurer's banquet
   speeches.
   
   Dr. Ferguson will take the lead in developing and editing a
   professional journal which will provide a forum for new and exciting
   material in the field of blindness. He is submitting to various
   journals a call for papers for a professional conference to be held in
   the fall of 2001 at the National Center for the Blind. Dr Ferguson is
   working on a comprehensive history of the field of orientation and
   mobility which will highlight the contributions of blind instructors
   in the professional field?a subject ignored or marginalized in
   traditional O&M textbooks. His book will be one of the program's
   required texts.
   
   For the past three years the Louisiana Tech/Louisiana Center for the
   Blind O&M program has been diligently working on a new certification
   for orientation and mobility instructors. We appreciate those
   instructors who have helped us with the pilot and validation of this
   document. When completed, the National Orientation and Mobility
   Certification will provide certification to qualified instructors,
   blind or sighted, degreed or agency-trained, who have the skills to
   pass two performance sections and one competency section of the test.
   A word to the wise?if you plan to apply for National Orientation and
   Mobility Certification, be sure you can travel well under sleep shades
   with the cane.
   
   If you are interested in earning a master's degree in teaching
   orientation and mobility, please contact me through the Louisiana
   Center for the Blind.
   
   Seventeen years ago, when I became active in the National Federation
   of the Blind, I learned the truth about blindness. I didn't understand
   it twenty-six years ago, but the indomitable spirit of the National
   Federation of the Blind was standing proudly on that opposite corner
   long before I ever got there. It is the collective voice, the
   collective action, the collective work of every one of us sitting in
   this room today that create that indomitable Federation spirit.
   Thousands of Federationists who have come before us have taught us
   that with our collective voice there is no need to fear the future,
   and our sorrow is reserved for those who have not heard or will not
   listen to the message we have shared for sixty years. Thank you.
   
   [PHOTO]
   
   Mike Neese, a former student at the Louisiana Tech/Louisiana Center
   for the Blind O&M program, and four-year-old
   Jodi Jones of Indiana pair up at the Cane Walk. The Cane Walk is an
   NOPBC- sponsored convention activity. It gives parents, kids, and
   teachers a chance to
   use a cane under the direction of an experienced blind cane user.
   
   Distinguished Educator Award for 2001
   
   by Sharon Maneki
   
   Editor's Note: Sharon Maneki is President of the National Federation
   of the Blind of Maryland. She also chairs the committee to select the
   Distinguished Educator of Blind Children for 2001.
   
   [PHOTO]
   
   Sharon Maneki
   
   The National Federation of the Blind will recognize an outstanding
   teacher of blind children at our 2001 convention July 1 to July 7, in
   Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The winner of this award will receive an
   expense-paid trip to the convention, a check for $500, an appropriate
   plaque, and an opportunity to make a presentation about the education
   of blind children to the National Organization of Parents of Blind
   Children early in the convention.
   
   Anyone who is currently teaching or counseling blind students or
   administering a program for blind children is eligible to receive this
   award. It is not necessary to be a member of the National Federation
   of the Blind to apply. However, the winner must attend the National
   Convention. Colleagues, supervisors, or friends may nominate teachers
   or other eligible individuals. The letter of nomination should explain
   why the teacher is being recommended for this award.
   
   The education of blind children is one of our most important concerns.
   Attendance at a National Federation of the Blind convention will
   enrich a teacher's experience by affording him or her the opportunity
   to meet other teachers who work with blind children, to meet parents,
   and to meet blind adults who have had experiences in a variety of
   educational programs. Help us recognize a distinguished teacher by
   distributing this form and encouraging teachers to submit their
   credentials. We are pleased to offer this award and look forward to
   applications from many well-qualified educators.
   
   *See reverse side for application
   
                      National Federation of the Blind
               Distinguished Educator Award Application 2001
                                      
   Please print or type
   
   Name:_________________________________Home
   address:____________________________________
   
   _________________________City:____________________________State:______
   _ Zip:_______________
   
   Day phone:__________________ Evening phone: __________________
   E-mail:______________________
   
   School
   Address:______________________________________________________________
   ____________
   
   City:______________________________________ State:_________________
   Zip:___________________
   
    Please attach another sheet of paper with the following information:
                                      
   ? List your degrees, the institutions from which they were received,
   and your major area or areas of study.
   
   ? How long and in what programs have you worked with blind children?
   
   ? In what setting do you currently work?
   
   ? Briefly describe your current job and teaching responsibilities.
   
   ? Describe your current caseload, i.e. number of students, ages,
   multiple disabilities, number of Braille reading students, etc.
   
   Please complete this application and attach the following: a letter of
   nomination from someone (parent, co-worker, supervisor, etc.) who
   knows your work, a letter of recommendation from someone who knows you
   professionally and knows your philosophy of teaching, and a letter
   from you discussing your beliefs and approach to teaching blind
   students.
   
   In your letter you may wish to discuss topics like the following: *
   What are your views about when and how students should use Braille,
   large print, tape recordings, readers, and magnification devices? *How
   do you decide whether a child should use print, Braille, or both? *
   When do you recommend that your students begin the following: reading
   Braille, writing with a slate and stylus, using a Braille writer,
   learning to travel independently with a white cane, using computers,
   and/or using electronic note-takers? *How should one determine which
   students should learn cane travel and which should not? *When should
   keyboarding be introduced, and when should a child be expected to hand
   in print assignments independently?
   
                  Send all materials by May 15, 2001, to 
                                      
            Sharon Maneki, Chairwoman, Teacher Award Committee,
               5843 Blue Sky Street, Elkridge, Maryland 21075
                              (410) 379-6130.
                                      
               2000 National Organization of Parents of Blind
                      Children (NOPBC) Annual Meeting
                                      
                    by Christine Faltz, Secretary, NOPBC
                                      
   [PHOTO]
   
   The NOPBC Board, back row, left to right: Board Members Maria Jones,
   Kentucky; Samuel Baldwin, Missouri; Mark McClain, Ohio; Brad Weatherd,
   Montana;Sally Miller, South Carolina; and Tammy Hollingsworth,
   Indiana. Front row: Second Vice President, Martin (Marty) Greiser,
   Montana; Secretary, Christine Faltz, New York;
   President, Barbara Cheadle, Maryland; First Vice President, Carol
   Castellano,New Jersey; and
   Treasurer, Brunhilda Merk-Adam, Michigan
   
   By the time we all gathered for the 2000 Annual Meeting of the
   National Organization of Parents of Blind Children on July 4, 2000, an
   infectious spirit of fun, comradeship, and shared goals suffused the
   group, a microcosm of the greater convention at the Atlanta Marriott.
   The Parents Seminar had provided the usual staples, such as the
   Beginning Braille Workshop, and fantastic new offerings, such as the
   pre-seminar breakfast and information tables. At these tables parents
   could pick up information packets and ask questions on topics as
   varied as early childhood, the multiply-handicapped blind child,
   home-schooling, and so forth. Another new feature was the mentorship
   program for teens sponsored by the National Association of Blind
   Students (NABS). On request, NABS matched blind college students with
   blind teens for the duration of the convention. Once names and room
   numbers were shared, it was up to the parent, the teen, and the
   college student to arrange times and places to meet.
   
   NFB Camp, as usual, provided a safe, fun place for our kids. There
   were also plenty of recreational opportunities, both organized and
   otherwise, for the older children and teen-agers, sighted and blind
   alike. Family Hospitality Night provided a time and place for casual
   chatting, establishing new acquaintances, and recharging existing
   friendships with people we hadn't seen in a year or more. The only
   drawback was the conspicuous and deeply-felt absence of Tammy
   Hollingsworth, our usual Family Hospitality Night and Raffle maven,
   who developed a serious throat infection. Happily, it only managed to
   neutralize Tammy's energy and commitment for a couple of days.
   
   It was in this atmosphere of friendship and eagerness to learn that
   NOPBC president, Barbara Cheadle called the 2000 NOPBC Annual Meeting
   to order on Tuesday afternoon, July 4. This year the brief business
   meeting included a motion to expand the NOPBC board by two positions.
   The membership clearly felt that the growth of the NOPBC over the past
   few years warranted a larger and more diverse board. The motion passed
   unanimously.
   
   Everyone was saddened to learn that Julie Hunter, our treasurer for
   the past six years, was not running for re-election. Julie has done an
   outstanding job in her position, and NOPBC owes much to her
   leadership. Julie will remain active in NOPBC through her leadership
   of the NOPBC in Colorado.
   
   At the conclusion of the brief business meeting, we kicked off the
   afternoon's program with a delightful presentation by Amanda and April
   Jones about their first year in a magnet high school (their speeches
   are reprinted on page 41 in this issue). Amanda and April, blind twins
   from Chattanooga, Tennessee, have been active in the NFB from a very
   young age.
   
   Mary Ellen Gabias and Christine Faltz then provided information about
   Art Education for the Blind, a nonprofit organization devoted to the
   idea that blind children should have the opportunity to appreciate art
   and art history through touch and sound and other adaptive techniques.
   A thoroughly-researched, fantastic series, ?Art History Through Touch
   and Sound? is now available through the NLS regional library for the
   blind system, American Printing House quota funds, and residential
   schools for the blind. The introductory volume was available for
   perusal at the convention. It is beautiful and pleasing?both tactually
   and visually. Astonishingly, some regional libraries for the blind
   sent their free volumes back to NLS for ?lack of space? or ?lack of
   interest? (one even threw it in the garbage). But the libraries
   reversed those decisions and agreed to take the volumes when people at
   the NFB Convention heard about it and expressed their dismay at such
   short-sighted actions. It was made clear, however, that not all of the
   libraries had responded this way and that many were very supportive of
   the project from the beginning. Christine Faltz and Mary Ellen Gabias
   discussed how important they felt art awareness was for blind
   children, and urged attendees to ask their cooperating network
   libraries and schools for the blind for the books, and to tell their
   area art museums about the project.
   
   [PHOTO]
   
   Dr. Sheila Breittweiser, President of the South Carolina School for
   the Deaf and the Blind accepts the $200 cash award for Outstanding
   Participation in the 2000 Braille Readers Are Leaders Contest.With her
   is Anna Miller, a student at the school and the daughter of NOPBC
   board member, Sally Miller.
   
   It was then time for another of the favorite highlights of the annual
   meeting: recognition of the winners and the outstanding participating
   school for the blind in our annual Braille Readers Are Leaders
   contest. The contest runs from November 1 through February 1, and is
   co-sponsored by NOPBC and the National Association to Promote the Use
   of Braille (NAPUB). Braille readers from kindergarten through twelfth
   grade are eligible to enter. Ellen Ringlein, one of the contest
   judges, gave a report about the contest and announced the winners.
   This year we had 388 students and 15 schools for the blind enter the
   contest. The South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind won the
   award this year for its high rate of participation, and the Kansas
   School for the Blind received an honorable mention. A Massachusetts
   teacher of the visually impaired, JoAnna Stenbuck, was recognized for
   her efforts over many years in promoting the contest among her
   students. Past and present contest winners and the parents of winners
   were asked to stand and be recognized. Macy McClain of Ohio, Hannah
   Weatherd of Montana, and Elizabeth Causey of Georgia were among those
   recognized.
   
   At the conclusion of the Braille Readers Are Leaders update, our 2000
   Distinguished Educator of Blind Children award winner, Marlene
   Culpepper from Columbus, Georgia, was announced and called upon to
   give the keynote address. Mrs. Culpepper talked about standardized
   testing and the challenges and rewards of including blind students
   (see Marlene's article ?My Experience with Standardized Testing and
   Blind Students? elsewhere in this issue).
   
   Following Mrs. Culpepper's informative address, Deborah Kent Stein of
   Illinois described the NOPBC-sponsored Slate Pals program, a pen pals
   program through which blind kids can perfect Braille skills while
   staying in touch with blind peers in other geographical locations (see
   the Slate-Pals application on page 53 in this issue). The success of
   the program depends upon the number of requests we receive for slate
   pals. The more requests we receive, the easier it is to tailor matches
   according to interests, age, eye condition, level of Braille skill,
   etc. Parents like the service because, among other benefits, it
   improves their child's Braille reading and writing skills. Children
   and youth who become slate pals sometimes find life-long friends, and
   all discover much needed peer support and encouragement from another
   blind kid who shares common interests. But mostly it's just plain fun
   to get personal Braille letters in the mail.
   
   We then heard from Susan Richardson of North Carolina who gave a
   report about NOPBC's home-schooling network. This group has become one
   of our most active networks. Considerable credit for this goes to
   coordinator Debbie Day of Washington State. Her home-school website
   is, as Susan Richardson stated in her report, ?awesome.?
   
   [PHOTO]
   
   Families and friends relax at the 2000 NOPBC Family Hospitality.
   
   After Susan's report Maria Jones of Kentucky described her experiences
   at the NOPBC Southeast Parents Leadership Conference at the South
   Carolina Rocky Bottom Camp of the Blind last March, 2000. It was
   agreed that similar conferences and retreats should take place
   throughout the country, if possible. Ms. Jones felt one of the best
   parts of the conference was the role-playing activities to teach
   parents how to assert themselves on behalf of their children and how
   to teach their children to advocate for themselves. Parents also got a
   cane travel lesson under sleepshades (blindfolds) and got to sample
   some very tasty homemade chicken soup prepared right in front of them
   by a blind cook. Small groups of parents were given tasks to work on
   together, such as planning a fund raiser or a social activity that
   integrated blind adults and blind children. There were workshops on
   IEP's and the IDEA Amendments of 1997, how to decide when to teach
   print or Braille, the slate and stylus, transition from school to job
   or college, and so forth.
   
   It was then time to move to reports from our state POBC divisions.
   With some 26 divisions, the reports had to be brief and to the point.
   As always, however, it was exciting and rejuvenating to hear what our
   parent groups are doing around the country. We heard about the family
   camping trip in Ohio, the Bowl-A-Thon fund raiser in Indiana, the
   Braille literacy legislative initiative in Michigan, the Braille
   Storybook Hour in Maryland, the mentorship programs pairing blind kids
   with blind adults in Colorado and Illinois, the Mall Cane Walk in West
   Virginia, the seminar for classroom teachers and aides in New Jersey,
   and many, many other innovative projects.
   
   Before we moved on, Daniel Lamond, a blind entertainer and member of
   the NFB, arrived with his guitar in-hand to lead us in a much needed
   song break with plenty of hand-clapping, foot-stomping, stand-up,
   sit-down, action. Soon, we were all pumped up, refreshed, and ready to
   move to the next agenda item.
   
   This item was a panel of representatives from our Louisiana, Colorado,
   and Minnesota NFB training centers for the blind and Blind Industries
   and Services of Maryland (BISM). They came to talk about the summer
   programs they sponsor for blind kids. One of the panelists described
   her experience when she was a summer student at the Louisiana Center
   for the Blind a few years ago. She talked about her initial hostility
   toward the idea and her anger at her mother for sending her. By her
   third day, however, she was thoroughly hooked on the program, and to
   all of our delight, whispered into the microphone, ?Sometimes . . .
   parents know best.?
   
   From that panel we moved to another panel. Kristen Cox, NFB Associate
   Director of Governmental Affairs; David Andrews, Director, Minnesota
   Communications Center; and Sharon Maneki, Chairman of the NFB
   Resolution Committee, spoke about the timely provision of textbooks,
   standardized tests, and other materials in adapted formats for blind
   students.
   
   Sharon Maneki concluded the panel with an in-depth look at the issue
   of standardized testing for both children and adults throughout the
   nation. She again raised the issue of the complexity of adapting
   standardized tests for blind children. It is especially difficult to
   adapt tests after they have been developed. It would be much easier if
   blindness professionals were consulted while the tests were being
   developed. Then there is the problem of practice test materials.
   Sighted kids get a lot of practice, but adapted practice materials for
   blind kids are virtually nonexistent and often unreliable. Other
   problems include providing blind students instruction and experience
   in using tactile graphs and charts so they can be prepared to use them
   in testing situations and the problem of who decides what medium a
   student shall use for a test?Braille, print, large print, readers,
   etc. [Editor's note: All these topics were the subject of resolutions
   passed at the 2000 NFB Convention. See page 54 in this issue.]
   
   The NOPBC meeting concluded with the final order of business, the
   election of officers and board members. The slate of officers
   submitted by the nominating committee that was chaired by Julie Hunter
   was elected by acclamation, and the meeting was adjourned.
   
   We parted ways rejuvenated and excited about being a part of an
   organization that is on the leading edge of Changing What It Means to
   be Blind.
   
   Blind Kids and Magnet Schools: Our Experiences
   
   by Amanda Jones and April Jones
   
   Editor's Note: This article is edited from the remarks that April and
   Amanda Jones made to parents at the NOPBC 2000 Annual Meeting in
   Atlanta. And yes, they are twins, and they are blind. They are also
   independent, bright, articulate, assertive, sociable, and curious.
   These characteristics have been carefully nurtured and cultivated by
   their grandparents, Pat and Jerry Jones.
   
   The NFB has also played an important part in their development.
   Shortly after the girls came to live with them, Pat and Jerry came to
   their first NFB Convention. They were delighted with the positive
   ?can-do? NFB philosophy and decided right then and there that this was
   the spirit with which they would raise April and Amanda. And so they
   have, as you can see below, with quite admirable results. Here is what
   Amanda and April have to say:
   
                                   Amanda
                                      
   [PHOTO]
   
   Amanda
   
   The first year at my new magnet school was a great success. It started
   in Summer Spectrum. I explored creative writing for my first choice
   and drama for my second choice. I enjoyed both of them immensely. I
   have always loved to write so that wasn't very new, but I decided to
   try drama because I felt the drama teacher would be a great help in
   getting me to feel more comfortable in front of audiences.
   
   The first week of school was quite hectic for me. My schedule was very
   wacky because my creative writing and drama were switched around. I
   wound up in the commons (cafeteria) for about a week. Then I went into
   April's drama class for a while to see if I would like it. The school
   almost didn't offer creative writing because there weren't enough
   students who were recommended for the class. But they did, and I
   finally got to take it. There were only six of us in the class. We
   wrote short stories, monologues, poems, and commercials. All of it was
   fun, but I liked writing short stories the best. We had a coffee house
   where students who wanted to share their writings could. I didn't
   share any of my writings, and a few people weren't happy about it, but
   I didn't feel comfortable doing it.
   
   I didn't get to take drama because it wasn't offered to students who
   wanted to take it as a minor. I was very disappointed. I took musical
   theater (which I didn't like at all) for the first semester and piano
   for the second.
   
   My math and American history teacher, Mrs. Schoonover, made us do two
   major projects this year, but they were both fun. The first project
   was to read a book and either put it on tape or make a cartoon board
   of it. I put mine on tape. I only got a 93 because it was too long.
   The second project was to make a poster of a person who influenced
   American history. I chose to do Mark Twain because I wanted to do
   someone who was a famous writer. Mrs. Schoonover is a horse lover like
   me. She now owes me a horseback ride for she promised the class that
   anyone who kept a 3.0 average would get a ride on her horse. She
   actually owes me two rides, one per semester.
   
   Speaking of projects, my English teacher, Ms. Hartline, also made us
   do a poster of the ?Diary of Anne Frank.? Mrs. Johnson, my science
   teacher, made us do a Rube Goldburg project. Harold Snider helped
   April and me with that project. We had to change a few things for the
   project to work, but we finally got it to work. [Editor's note: Dr.
   Snider is a blind scholar who studied in Oxford. He is an active
   member and leader in the NFB.]
   
   All the students and teachers accepted me quite well. I made more
   friends at this school than I have at any of the schools I have
   attended in my whole life. The majority of my friends were sixth
   graders, but I had a few high school friends as well as friends my own
   age. We had an award ceremony at this school. I won the Creative
   Writing Award and the President's Award. I kind of had the feeling
   that I would win the writing award, but the President's Award stunned
   me. I won it because I demonstrated the most improvement in my
   academic classes.
   
   Next year I am taking playwriting, creative writing, foundations of
   acting, and French. We're required to have 32 credits to graduate from
   high school. Everyone is on a college bound track, so those who don't
   want to attend college are not permitted to attend. I hope next year
   will be as successful as this year has been.
   
                                   April
                                      
   [PHOTO]
   
   April
   
   I am attending a brand new magnet school called The Center for
   Creative Arts. I was very nervous about leaving my old school where I
   knew virtually everybody since first grade. My new school had a Summer
   Spectrum to help new students figure out where everyone was most
   comfortable. I found out that others were just as nervous as I was. I
   tried drama and band. I played in the band at my old school, so it
   wasn't anything new. My new band teacher was going to learn Braille
   music.
   
   Being a new school, the schedules were subject to change almost every
   day for a while. Amanda and I were in the same drama class for a short
   time. I didn't like it, but my drama teacher wouldn't let me drop out.
   I'm very glad that he did not let me drop out because I learned a lot
   and really liked the class. My drama teacher had us play games to
   teach us how to be more comfortable in front of audiences. One of the
   games we played was called Swat Tag. In this game a student with a
   ?noodle? (the kind you use in the swimming pool) walked behind the
   seats, and as they came by they would give the seated person a gentle
   tap. If they wanted to tag you, they would smack harder. The tagged
   person would run to the center to a stool and wait for the person who
   tagged them to come to the stool. Then the person who had the noodle
   would lay it on the stool. The tagged person would grab it and try to
   swat the other person before he/she got to their seat. For my benefit
   when it was my turn, he would make the person who had tagged me close
   their eyes. They would have to find the stool on equal terms with me.
   All the games we played he adapted in some way so I wasn't at any
   disadvantage.
   
   In the second semester our drama class was going to put on a play. The
   parts I had were the narrator of Cinderella, the witch for Morgan, and
   the pot of brains, and several parts I can't remember now. We did the
   rehearsals in class. They were pretty good except when there were
   interferences. On the last week before our performance some people did
   not show up. Mr. Ray was pretty ticked, but he let it go after he
   heard the reason. On the last day of rehearsal two of the kid's
   parents came to pick them up an hour early. Mr. Ray came back and told
   us that the show was cancelled.
   
   I ended up not being in band because it was not offered as a minor. So
   I took chorus for my first semester and creative writing for my
   second. I also took a technology class that gave you a high school
   credit if you passed the exit exam. I learned all the shortcut keys
   for JAWS for Windows and passed the exit exam. My teacher didn't know
   the shortcut keys, but we had a print copy to give her from the
   National Center for the Blind in Baltimore.
   
   My P. E. teacher had the notion that I should count my steps around
   the gym when I ran laps. She was a high school teacher and couldn't
   handle middle schoolers very well, so we had a lot of trouble with
   her. I have her for one more year.
   
   Everything in the Magnet School was focused around the arts. One of
   the things we were required to do was see ?Madame Butterfly,? an opera
   sung in Italian. We were tested on this in every class. The school
   purchased tickets for us, and we had to meet at the theater in proper
   dress attire without our parents. Our parents had to pick us up after
   the opera.
   
   These are just some of the things that we did this year. Next year I
   am taking puppetry, band, oral interpretation, and French.
   
   I think that if other blind students have the opportunity to attend an
   arts magnet school, they should.
   
   [PHOTO]
   
   Amanda and April take a break between youth activities at the 2000
   convention to talk over old times with their former teacher of the
   visually impaired, Cheryl Gateley (center).
   
   My Experience with Standardized Testing and
   Blind Students
   
   by Marlene Culpepper
   
   Editor's Note: Mrs. Culpepper, winner of the Distinguished Educator of
   Blind Children Award for 2000, gave two major presentations at the
   2000 NFB Convention in Atlanta. She gave a speech as part of a panel
   at the annual Parents Seminar on Sunday (see page 18 in this issue)
   and then she made remarks to the Annual Meeting of the National
   Organization of Parents of Blind Children on the following Tuesday.
   The following article is based upon the remarks she made at that
   meeting:
   
   Let me preface this article by saying that I
   am in no way an authority on testing
   children with visual impairments. I am, however, a teacher who learns
   through trial and error about what makes a child successful in
   standardized testing situations.
   
   Without a doubt, the single most important factor in any student's
   success with standardized testing is experience.
   
                        Without a doubt, the single
                        most important factor in any
                    student's success with standardized
                           testing is experience.
                                      
   The more opportunity a child is given to learn to manage the stress
   involved in a test-taking situation, the more comfortable they will
   become. Subsequently, when the child's stress is reduced and their
   confidence strengthened, there will be an improvement in their
   performance on the standardized test.
   
   When I first started teaching school-aged children with visual
   impairments, our students were in the third grade and were taking a
   standardized test for the first time. In our state, the state-mandated
   tests are given in the first, third, fifth, and eighth grades. The
   test that our state utilized at the time was the Iowa Test of Basic
   Skills. For our students that meant a three-volume test, approximately
   18 hours of test-taking, and lots of anxiety over the unknown.
   
   As with anything that is perceived as difficult, my students
   approached this task differently. Some of the children spent too much
   time analyzing what should have been simple questions, while others
   rushed through the testing and guessed at the answers. The test
   results were not representative of the students' performance in class
   and did not reflect their potential. But it was a worthy experience,
   because they completed the test!
   
   After the test, we talked about the methods they employed in taking
   that test and began refining our test-taking skills. We talked about
   strategies (reading the question once, reading the answers,
   eliminating obviously impossible choices, re-reading the questions)
   and methods for solving the problems. In talking with them, I found
   that my students needed more experiences in reading graphs, charts,
   and diagrams.
   
    I found that my students needed more experiences in reading graphs,
                           charts, and diagrams.
                                      
   We discussed how the test is scored and whether it is better to guess
   the answer or leave the unknowns blank. This is an important bit of
   information since each test is scored differently. We talked about
   what I observed as they were taking the test and how the strategies
   they used would impact their scores. For example, ?If you didn't use
   any scratch paper during the computation section, how did you solve
   the problems??
   
   In the end, the children were glad that they had taken the test like
   the other students in their classes and were not as intimidated by the
   thought of taking another standardized test in the future. Since then
   we have taken several tests and the children have done better than
   they did before. Our students who participate in the regular education
   program achieve scores at or above grade level when compared with
   their sighted peers.
   
   As their teacher, I too have sharpened my test-administration skills
   with each test taken. I have learned that students should have a
   choice in how they record their answers. Since answer sheets are not
   provided with the Brailled version of the Iowa, we have experimented
   with a number of ways for them to provide their answers. The
   non-standard administration of this test allows for students to record
   their answer in Braille or answer orally and have their answer marked
   on the print sheet by the test administrator. I found that if each
   student is empowered to make that decision, they will be more at ease
   and will approach the test with greater confidence.
   
   I have also learned that our students need frequent opportunities to
   experience standardized testing situations just as sighted children
   do. They need to take the same tests as their sighted peers with
   necessary modifications and materials in place. They need to be
   equipped with knowledge about the test and strong test-taking
   strategies. They also need to get the same preparation or pre-testing
   (with appropriately modified or adapted materials) that their sighted
   classmates receive.
   
       They [blind students] also need to get the same preparation or
                pre-testing (with appropriately modified or
                       adapted materials) that their
                        sighted classmates receive.
                                      
   I urge educators and administrators to give our visually impaired
   students every opportunity to take standardized tests so that they may
   develop their skills. By doing so, our visually impaired students will
   be able to pass high school exit exams and compete for scholarships.
   Because of our efforts in our school district, our visually impaired
   students are competent test takers today. They expect to do well when
   they take a standardized test and are prepared to do so. A little
   effort goes a long way!
   
   The Scholarship Class of 2000
   
   In celebration of and preparation for leader-
   ship in the new millennium, the National
   Federation of the Blind expanded the scholarship program yet again in
   2000. During the annual banquet on July 7 we awarded thirty
   scholarships: twenty-two in the amount of $3,000, four of $5,000,
   three of $7,000, and the newly named Kenneth Jernigan Scholarship of
   $21,000. This last award was made in recognition of the new century.
   It will return to $10,000 next year.
   
   In addition, in memory of Dr. Jernigan, the Kurzweil Foundation again
   presented an additional $1,000 scholarship, a document scanner, and,
   from the Kurzweil Education Group, the latest software for the
   Kurzweil 1000 reading system to each winner. Dr. Ray Kurzweil was on
   the platform to present a check and plaque to each student during the
   ceremony.
   
   This year's class was a remarkably strong one. At the banquet Peggy
   Elliott, Chairman of the Scholarship Committee, made a few remarks
   while the winners were making their way to the platform and then read
   each name in turn with the name of the award being made, the name of
   their home state, the state where they are attending college, and a
   brief description of what the student is studying and planning to do
   in the future.
   
   Following are photographs of each winner at the convention. Next to
   each photo is Peggy's introduction and description of that student.
   
   Rod A. Barker, Oregon, Oregon
   
   Rod is completing his senior year at Portland State University, where
   he is earning a bachelor's degree in business and finance and is about
   to enter his career as a law student at the University of Oregon
   School of Law in the fall. Rod's vocational goal is obviously to be a
   lawyer. [Scholarship: $3,000]
   
   Denise L. Cunningham, Missouri,
   Missouri
   
   Denise is currently not in school, being employed full-time teaching
   first- and second-graders near her home in St. Louis. She is entering
   the University of Missouri at St. Louis in the fall as a first-year
   graduate student, where she intends to earn a Ph.D. in education and
   become a professor of elementary education.
   [Scholarship: $3,000]
   
   Nicole E. Ditzler, Minnesota, Minnesota
   
   Nicole has just completed her junior year and will begin her senior
   year in the fall at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, where
   she is earning a bachelor's degree in psychology with a concentration
   in child and family studies. She intends ultimately to earn a Ph.D. in
   psychology and to become a Head Start teacher and eventually a family
   therapist. [Scholarship: $3,000]
   
   Lisa Ann Hansen, Wisconsin, Wisconsin
   
   Lisa is currently enrolled at the University of Wisconsin at Eau
   Claire, where she has just completed her sophomore year. Lisa is
   earning a bachelor's degree in elementary education with a minor in
   Spanish. She intends to earn an advanced degree in education and
   become a middle-school teacher of language arts and Spanish. Lisa is a
   chapter president in the National Federation of the Blind.
   [Scholarship: $3,000]
   
                      Jessica Ann Hosier, Iowa, Iowa 
                                      
   Jessica is currently not in school and will be returning to her
   studies at the University of Iowa in the fall, where she will be a
   junior. She is currently earning a bachelor's in social work and
   intends to make herself a career as a social worker in the
   rehabilitation context. [Scholarship: $3,000]
   
                         Robin L. House, Missouri,
                                 Missouri 
                                      
   Robin is enrolled at the University of Missouri at St. Louis and is
   classified as a senior. Robin is currently earning a bachelor's in
   elementary education. She intends to go on and earn a master's degree
   and become an elementary school counselor. [Scholarship: $3,000]
   
               Kelsey Lynn Cox Korsgard, Oklahoma, Oklahoma 
                                      
   Kelsey is a graduate student at Oklahoma State University, where she
   will be beginning her second year in the fall. She is earning a
   master's degree in marriage and family therapy, and she intends to be
   in private practice as a marriage and family therapist. [Scholarship:
   $3,000]
   
   Melissa A. Lehman, Wisconsin, Wisconsin
   
   Melissa is attending the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where she
   will be a senior in the fall. Her degree program is a bachelor's in
   psychology, and she intends to earn advanced degrees in her chosen
   field and to be a child psychologist. Melissa is the President of the
   Wisconsin Association of Blind Students. [Scholarship: $3,000]
   
   Amy Crystal Mason,
   Nebraska, Illinois
   
   Amy is attending Lincoln Christian College, where she will be a
   sophomore in the fall. Amy is earning a bachelor's degree in
   counseling and intends to be a Christian counselor for children in
   crisis. She is an officer of her state student division. [Scholarship:
   $3,000]
   
   Jessica Bates McKinney, South Carolina, South Carolina
   
   Jessica is currently attending Furman University, where she will be
   classified as a junior in the fall, earning a bachelor's degree in
   psychology and political science. It seems to me that some of our
   politicians should do the same. Jessica intends to become a
   psychologist. [Scholarship: $3,000]
   
                        John A. Miller, California,
                                 California
                                      
   John is the first of our five tenBroek fellows this year. He won his
   first scholarship from the National Federation of the Blind in the
   year 1988. John is currently a graduate student at the University of
   California at San Diego. He is earning a Ph.D. in electronic and
   computer engineering, and he wants to be an electrical engineering
   professor. His professors say he is a truly brilliant student and
   teacher.
   [Scholarship: $3,000]
   
   Teresa (Tai) Tomasi, Massachusetts, Vermont
   
   Tai is studying at the University of Vermont, where she will be a
   junior in the fall. Tai is earning a bachelor's degree in political
   science and in French. She intends to earn a juris doctorate and to be
   a disability advocacy lawyer or lobbyist. [Scholarship: $3,000]
   
   Melinda Louise Zuniga, Montana, Montana
   
   Melinda is currently studying in the graduate program at the
   University of Montana, where she is earning a master's degree in
   physical therapy. Melinda intends to be a physical therapist and to
   emphasize the treatment of back pain. [Scholarship: $3,000]
   
   Brook Nichole Sexton, California, Utah
   
   Brook is a tenBroek fellow who won her first scholarship in 1996. She
   is currently a senior at Brigham Young University, where she is
   earning a bachelor's degree in family science with a concentration in
   human development. Brook intends to be a teacher of blind children and
   serves as President of the Utah Association of Blind Students. [NFB
   Educator of Tomorrow Award, $3,000]
   
   Kristen M. Witucki,
   New Jersey,
   New York
   
   Kristen is a graduating high school senior from Overbrook Regional
   High School. She is entering Vassar College as a freshman in the fall.
   She will be earning a bachelor's degree in English, and she wants to
   be a high school English teacher. [NFB Humanities Scholarship, $3,000]
   
   Zachary J. Battles, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania
   
   Zachary is earning three different academic degrees?two undergraduate
   and one advanced, at the same time. I'm not exactly sure what they
   are, but he is at Pennsylvania State University. He is earning degrees
   in the areas of computer science and mathematics, and he will conclude
   his studies with a Ph.D. in computer science. Zach obviously intends
   to be a computer scientist, but I also want to mention that Zach has a
   vocation of teaching English as a second language to his current
   country of interest, the Ukraine. [The NFB Computer Science
   Scholarship, $3,000]
   
   Stacy Leigh Cervenka, Illinois, Minnesota
   
   Stacy will be a sophomore in the fall at Concordia College, where she
   is earning a bachelor's degree in political science and French. She
   intends to conclude her studies by earning a juris doctorate degree
   and then to become a foreign service officer. Stacy serves in her
   state student division as an officer. [Hermione Grant Calhoun
   Scholarship, $3,000]
   
   Priscilla Ching, California, Louisiana
   
   Priscilla is currently attending Louisiana Tech University in a
   master's degree program in educational psychology with a concentration
   in O & M, and she wants to design and coordinate programs for blind
   children. [The Mozelle and Willard Gold Memorial Scholarship, $3,000]
   
   Nathan Earl Danes, Idaho, Idaho
   
   Nathan is currently studying at Albertsons College in Idaho, where he
   will be a sophomore in the fall. He is earning a bachelor of science
   degree in physics and computer science. He intends to earn a master's
   or further advanced degree in physics and computer science and then to
   be a nuclear physicist with a particular interest in research into
   anti-matter fusion. [Frank Walton Horn Memorial Scholarship, $3,000]
   
                         Suzanne Rowell Westhaver,
                                Connecticut,
                                Connecticut
                                      
   Suzanne is currently a student at the University of Connecticut at
   Waterbury, where she will be classified as a senior in the fall. She
   is earning a degree in the discipline of English. Her final degree she
   hopes will be a Ph.D. Suzanne intends to be an English professor. She
   also announced her intention to be a best-selling author and has
   organized a chapter of the National Federation of the Blind.
   [Kuckler-Killian Memorial Scholarship, $3,000]
   
                   Erik C. Motsinger, Oklahoma, Oklahoma
                                      
   Eric is currently a sophomore at Oklahoma State University, where he
   will continue in the fall toward a bachelor's degree in business
   administration. Eric intends to earn a law degree, and he wants to be
   a prosecuting attorney. [Howard Brown Rickard Scholarship, $3,000]
   
   Debra Delorey, Massachusetts, Virginia
   
   Debbie is a tenBroek fellow and a colleague of many of ours. Debbie
   won her first scholarship in 1996, and, if any of you have ever been
   to a Washington Seminar or to an occasional convention of the National
   Federation of the Blind, you will find Debbie walking around with
   roses in her hand selling them to you. She's currently a graduate
   student at Virginia Commonwealth University, where she is earning a
   master's degree in rehabilitation counseling. She intends to complete
   her studies with a Ph.D. and become a rehabilitation counselor. [E. U.
   Parker Scholarship, $3,000]
   
   Kimberly Aguillard, Texas, Texas
   
   Kim has just graduated from high school in Beaumont, Texas, and will
   be matriculating at Texas A & M University as a freshman in the fall,
   where she will begin her studies in psychology. Kim would like to earn
   a Ph.D. in psychology and then to serve as a psychiatric counselor.
   Kim serves as an officer of her state student division and at the age
   of eighteen founded a chapter of the National Federation of the Blind.
   [NFB Scholarship, $4,000]
   
   Peter Andrew Berg, Illinois, Illinois
   
   Peter is currently a senior at North Central College, where he is
   working on a bachelor's degree in history. Peter will be starting
   studies as a first-year graduate student at DePaul University in the
   fall and intends to complete his studies with a master's degree in
   history. Peter wants to be a high school history or social studies
   teacher. [NFB Scholarship, $4,000]
   
   Seth Justyn Leblond, Maine, Maryland 
   
   Seth has just graduated from Deering High School in Portland, Maine,
   and will be attending Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland, in the
   fall, where he will start his studies on a degree in communications
   with a concentration in radio and TV journalism. Seth intends to be a
   writer and a broadcaster. This eighteen-year-old gentleman serves as
   an officer of his state affiliate and also as a chapter president.
   [NFB Scholarship, $4,000]
   
   Michael Anthony Leiterman, Ohio, Ohio
   
   Michael is currently a senior at the University of Cincinnati, where
   he is earning a bachelor's degree in biology with a minor in
   chemistry. He will be continuing at the University of Cincinnati in
   the fall and plans to complete his studies ultimately with a law
   degree so that he can be a genetic biologist and lawyer. [NFB
   Scholarship, $4,000]
   
                      Cheralyn Braithwaite, Utah, Utah
                                      
   Cheralyn, as we all know, is currently not in school because she is
   teaching. She will be starting her studies as a graduate student in
   the fall at the University of Utah, where she intends to earn a
   master's degree in special education. She wants to be a special
   education school administrator. Cheralyn is an officer of her state
   affiliate and is also a chapter president. [Melva T. Owen Memorial
   Scholarship, $7,000]
   
                            Thomas Ladu Philip,
                                 Minnesota,
                                 Minnesota 
                                      
   Thomas is a student at the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities.
   He is currently classified as a senior and will be continuing his
   studies in the fall, earning a degree in English literature and
   creative writing. Thomas will ultimately earn a Ph.D. in the same
   subject and intends to be a professor of English literature and also a
   creative writer. He is already a published poet and serves as the
   President of the Minnesota Association of Blind Students. [NFB
   Scholarship, $7,000]
   
                                 Nathanael
                         Thomas Wales, California,
                                California 
                                      
   Nathanael is a tenBroek fellow, having won his first scholarship in
   1997. He is currently studying at the University of California at
   Davis, where he will be classified as a senior in the fall, completing
   a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering. He intends to earn
   a law degree and wants to work as a civil and environmental engineer
   and as a lawyer. Nathanael serves on the board of his state affiliate,
   is a chapter officer, and is also the President of the California
   Association of Blind Students. [NFB Scholarship, $7,000]
   
                            Angela Renee Sasser
                                      
                              Louisiana, Texas
                                      
                        Kenneth Jernigan Scholarship
                                  $21,000
                                      
   Angela is a tenBroek fellow, having earned her first scholarship?and
   apparently quite a number of friends and colleagues?in 1997. She is
   currently studying at the University of Texas at Austin, where she
   will be a senior in the fall. Her current degree program is entitled
   ?Humanities Honors,? and she is also earning an elementary education
   certificate. She intends to complete her studies with a master's
   degree in elementary education and to be an elementary art teacher.
   That's only one of many aspirations. She also intends to be an artist
   herself and to work in the field of museums and presentation to both
   blind and sighted persons. Angela, as you would expect, also serves as
   the President of the Texas Association of Blind Students.
   
                           Slate Pals slate pals
                                      
          A pen pal program for blind Braille reading students who
       want to write and receive Braille letters from other students.
                                      
   Mail to: SLATE PALS, 5817 North Nina, Chicago, Illinois 60631 or
   <dkent@ripco.com>
   
   SLATE PAL PROFILE 
   
   Name__________________________________ Age_____ Birth Date______
   Grade______
   
   (circle one) *male *female
   
   Address________________________________ City____________ State____
   Zip________
   
   Interest/Hobbies______________________________________________________
   _______
   
   I would like (fill in the number) _______slate pal(s)
   
   I would like my slate pal(s) to be ___________age (please specify a
   range)
   
   I would like my slate pal(s) to be (circle one) *male *female *no
   preference
   
    Sponsored by the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children
                                      
               NFB Policy and the Education of Blind Children
                  Resolutions from the 2000 NFB Convention
                                      
   Editor's Note: The complete text of all resolutions is available in
   the August/September, 2000, issue of the Braille Monitor. This issue
   is available on the NFB website at <www.nfb.org> or in print, Braille,
   or cassette tape from the NFB Materials Center, 1800 Johnson Street,
   Baltimore, Maryland 21230; (410) 659-9314. Copies of resolutions
   adopted at every NFB Convention throughout its history are also
   available in various formats from the Materials Center upon request.
   
   The National Federation of the Blind adopted 34 resolutions at the
   2000 convention in Atlanta, Georgia. Six of those resolutions
   concerned education. The trend in kindergarten-through-twelfth-grade
   education is to measure progress in education by proficiency testing
   in subject areas and school-accountability testing. Three resolutions
   address problems with these tests experienced by blind students across
   the country.
   
   Resolution 2000-02 concerns the provision of electronic versions of
   textbooks to school districts serving blind children. This topic was
   discussed in the last issue (Volume 19, Number 4) of Future
   Reflections.
   
   In resolution 2000-09, introduced by Pam Dubel, Director of Youth
   Services at the Louisiana Center for the Blind, we urge state
   departments of education to adopt policies to insure that blind
   students have the opportunity to participate in all testing programs
   and to obtain standard high school diplomas.
   
   Kim Aguillard, a 2000 national scholarship winner who just graduated
   from high school, proposed resolution 2000-13. In this resolution we
   urge state departments of education to adopt policies compelling all
   developers of standardized educational tests to consult with
   professionals in the blindness field and blind people as they develop
   proficiency and accountability tests so that these tests can be
   readily and appropriately adapted in nonvisual formats for blind and
   visually impaired students.
   
   Resolution 2000-22 was also introduced by a student, Allison Hilliker,
   from Michigan. This resolution affirms the authority of the student's
   Individualized Education Program team to determine appropriate
   accommodations for the student to use when taking these standardized
   tests.
   
   Another area of testing in which problems with accommodations have
   developed is the General Educational Development (GED) test, the
   alternative path to completion of high school. Doris Willoughby, a
   renowned author of books and articles on the education of blind
   children, addressed this issue in resolution 2000-25. The GED test
   regulations illegally prohibit the use of a live reader to read test
   questions. A second problem is that there is some indication that the
   test will not be available in Braille when it is revised. In
   resolution 2000-25 we call upon the American Council on Education to
   administer the GED test in compliance with the Americans with
   Disabilities Act.
   
   The last education issue that the convention dealt with by resolution
   was the role of disabled student services offices on university
   campuses. The two sponsors of this resolution, 2000-31, have direct
   knowledge of the problems: Shawn Mayo is President of the National
   Association of Blind Students, and Jim Marks directs a disabled
   student services program in Montana. The resolution states that: ?This
   organization urges the Association on Higher Education and Disability
   and the U. S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights to
   join with it in developing and publishing a guideline and
   best-practice model for accommodating blind students in higher
   education to maximize learning and eliminate the unnecessary,
   unintentional, and widespread fostering of dependency now occurring on
   America's college campuses.?
   
   Although not directly an education issue in that it impacts both blind
   adults and blind children, resolution 2000-36, proposed by Kristen
   Cox, NFB Associate Director of Governmental Affairs, concerns
   orientation and mobility services. In this resolution we call upon all
   state and local education agencies to refrain from recognizing
   certification by AER or by the Academy for the Certification of Vision
   Rehabilitation and Education Professionals in determining
   qualifications for orientation and mobility instructors.
   
   Here are the full texts of these resolutions:
   
                      Blind Students and Standardized,
                           Accountability, and/or
                            Proficiency Testing:
                                      
                             Resolution 2000-02
                                      
   WHEREAS, a high-quality education is essential in order to compete for
   jobs, participate in community life, and sustain economic
   independence; and
   
   WHEREAS, Congress recognized the right of individuals with
   disabilities to receive a free, appropriate public education by
   enacting the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which
   requires individualized plans of instruction to meet the particular
   needs of each disabled student but does not always put in place
   efficient systems to meet those needs; and
   
   WHEREAS, despite IDEA, the lack of accessible instructional materials
   is still a barrier to a high-quality education for blind students,
   largely due to the labor-intensive and costly process of converting
   texts and other materials into accessible formats such as Braille when
   the conversion must be done by hand; and
   
   WHEREAS, this conversion process could be streamlined significantly to
   reduce the burdens of both time and cost currently placed on local
   school districts if publishers of textbooks would promptly furnish an
   electronic version of each textbook that could then be converted into
   specialized formats for blind children; and
   
   WHEREAS, some states have enacted legislation to address this need by
   requiring publishers to provide an electronic version of materials to
   education agencies when such agencies purchase print editions for
   sighted students, but this state-by-state approach does not address
   the needs of all blind children covered by IDEA since publishers do
   not often furnish electronic texts in states not requiring them to do
   so; and
   
   WHEREAS, the Association of American Publishers (AAP) acknowledges
   that providing electronic text to support conversion of instructional
   materials into specialized formats for the blind is part of the
   responsibility of publishers; however, in spite of expressed good
   intentions, this responsibility is not being met voluntarily: Now,
   therefore,
   
   BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in convention
   assembled this eighth day of July, 2000, in the City of Atlanta,
   Georgia, that this organization call upon Congress to turn the promise
   of IDEA into the reality of books for our nation's blind children by
   enacting legislation to compel publishers to provide usable electronic
   versions of textbooks purchased for sighted children to school
   districts serving blind children.
   
                             Resolution 2000-09
                                      
   WHEREAS, standards-based reform has dramatically increased the
   prevalence of high-stakes proficiency and accountability tests in
   school systems across the country; and
   
   WHEREAS, preparation for these tests consumes a significant portion of
   classroom instructional time; and
   
   WHEREAS, results of these tests may determine the type of diploma a
   student receives upon graduation; and
   
   WHEREAS, the loss of vision alone in no way impairs the capacity of a
   student to meet or exceed the academic standards set for his or her
   non-disabled peers; and
   
   WHEREAS, if students who are blind or visually impaired are not
   present during test-preparation instructional time, they will not
   benefit from the knowledge gained during these instructional periods,
   an all-too-common practice since teachers send the blind student out
   for Braille or mobility lessons while other students study for the
   test; and
   
   WHEREAS, equally unfortunate is the common failure to provide blind
   and visually impaired students with study materials, survey tests, and
   practice tests in the appropriate alternative medium so that these
   students can prepare for high-stakes tests on an equal basis with
   non-disabled peers; and
   
   WHEREAS, without the educational or credentialed background that
   proper instruction and testing with appropriate alternative media and
   IEP-based accommodations could have provided for them, these students
   will transition into the workplace with enormous, if not
   insurmountable, disadvantages; and
   
   WHEREAS, IDEA requires that students with disabilities must be
   included in all district and statewide assessments; and
   
   WHEREAS, IDEA further requires that students with disabilities have
   access to the regular education curriculum; and
   
   WHEREAS, state departments of education bear a significant
   responsibility for implementing policies in their states to assure
   that blind and visually impaired students receive a free and
   appropriate education under the provisions of IDEA; Now, therefore,
   
   BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in convention
   assembled this eighth day of July, 2000, in the City of Atlanta,
   Georgia, that this organization strongly urge state departments of
   education to adopt and implement statewide policies that will require
   blind and visually impaired students to receive the full range of
   instruction, support, and materials available to their sighted peers
   in the process of preparing for state-required, high-stakes
   proficiency or accountability tests; and
   
   BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization strongly urge state
   departments of education to adopt policies which insure the right of
   blind and visually impaired students to pursue and earn a standard
   high school diploma, to the extent to which their abilities enable
   them.
   
                             Resolution 2000-13
                                      
   WHEREAS, performance on proficiency and accountability tests is often
   used to determine student placement and advancement, and the use and
   reliance on such tests for students in grades one through twelve is
   growing year by year around the country; and
   
   WHEREAS, many students who are legally blind must by law participate
   in these examinations; and
   
   WHEREAS, too often the materials on these tests, particularly the
   tests for students in lower grades, is highly visually oriented and
   extremely difficult, or sometimes impossible, to adapt to a nonvisual
   format for students who are legally blind; and
   
   WHEREAS, the education, placement, and advancement of blind and
   visually impaired students is negatively affected when the test items
   on proficiency and accountability examinations are not susceptible of
   being properly adapted; and
   
   WHEREAS, this problem could be avoided and test items perfected which
   are easily adapted to alternative formats if the tests were developed
   from the ground up with the idea that they will necessarily be
   administered in nonvisual formats to students without vision; and
   
   WHEREAS, the lack of standards for production of visual graphs and
   charts in alternative, nonvisual formats can also negatively affect
   the performance of blind and visually impaired students on such exams;
   and
   
   WHEREAS, state departments of education bear a significant
   responsibility for implementing policies in their states to assure
   that blind and visually impaired students receive a free and
   appropriate education under the provisions of the Individuals with
   Disabilities Education Act (IDEA); Now, therefore,
   
   BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in convention
   assembled this eighth day of July, 2000, in the City of Atlanta,
   Georgia, that this organization strongly urge state departments of
   education to adopt policies compelling all developers of standardized
   educational tests within their borders to consult with professionals
   in the field of blindness and persons who are blind in the development
   of proficiency and accountability tests so that any tests which are
   adopted for use by the state can be readily and appropriately adapted
   in nonvisual formats for blind and visually impaired students; and
   
   BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization urge state departments
   of education to consult with professionals and persons who are blind
   to establish standards for production of graphical material in
   alternative formats.
   
                             Resolution 2000-22
                                      
   WHEREAS, The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
   establishes as the fundamental tool for guiding the education of a
   student receiving special services the IEP (Individualized Education
   Program), a document periodically prepared and updated by all those
   most familiar with and responsible for the education of the student
   (parents, teachers, administrators, and the student); and
   
   WHEREAS, no special education or related services can be provided to
   such a student without a valid IEP in effect nor can any such services
   not specified in the IEP be provided to the student; and
   
   WHEREAS, the accommodations and methods specified on the IEP have been
   determined to be the most appropriate for that particular blind or
   visually impaired student, a determination having the force of federal
   law since all special education and related services must be defined
   and delivered through the IEP process; and
   
   WHEREAS, state-required proficiency or accountability tests are
   becoming increasingly common in school systems across the country; and
   
   WHEREAS, these tests are often the deciding factor in determining
   whether a student may graduate and get a high school diploma or pass
   on to the next grade or educational level; and
   
   WHEREAS, in some instances problems have arisen concerning the medium
   in which a test should be administered to a blind or visually impaired
   student when policies by state departments of education conflict with
   the IEP team's authority to determine appropriate test-taking methods
   and accommodations for that student; and
   
   WHEREAS, instances have arisen in which a blind or visually impaired
   student is required to take a proficiency test in a medium (such as
   Braille) in which the student is not yet fluent due to recent sight
   loss?a situation which forces the student to take a high-stakes test
   without proper skills due to no fault of his or her own and contrary
   to the dictates of the student's IEP in effect at the time; and
   
   WHEREAS, other instances have arisen in which state officials refuse
   to produce a test in Braille when the IEP team has provided for all
   instruction and testing in Braille, a situation in which the student
   is unfairly subjected to high-stakes testing in a medium contrary to
   the IEP and in which the student is not fluent; and
   
   WHEREAS, state departments of education bear a significant
   responsibility for implementing policies in their states to assure
   that blind and visually impaired students receive a free and
   appropriate education under the provisions of IDEA: Now, therefore,
   
   BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in convention
   assembled this eighth day of July, 2000, in the City of Atlanta,
   Georgia, that this organization demand that state departments of
   education establish policies which acknowledge and defer to the
   authority of the blind or visually impaired student's IEP team in the
   selection of appropriate accommodations and methods for all tests,
   including all state-required proficiency and accountability
   examinations.
   
                          The General Educational
                           Development (GED) Test
                           and Blind Individuals
                                      
                             Resolution 2000-25
                                      
   WHEREAS, the certificate of General Educational Development (GED) is
   offered in all fifty states as the alternative path to high school
   completion, essential for vocational preparation and success; and
   
   WHEREAS, one-half million people per year achieve this important goal
   by passing a five-part standardized test; and
   
   WHEREAS, among these test-takers are blind men and women seeking a
   high school equivalency certificate along their personal path to
   growth and development; and
   
   WHEREAS, the GED Testing Service of the American Council on Education
   produces this test and issues the regulations for its administration,
   including regulations that provide for use of large print, Braille,
   and taped versions of the test and for use of a live scribe to write
   down answers during administration of the test to blind test-takers;
   and
   
   WHEREAS, the GED regulations puzzlingly and illegally prohibit the use
   of a live reader to read the questions even though this is a standard
   method for taking tests by the blind, used in the administration of
   every other standardized test in this country; and
   
   WHEREAS, this prohibition is totally unacceptable, placing an
   unnecessary and unlawful stumbling block in the path of blind persons
   taking the personal responsibility of doing their best to better their
   condition and is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act
   and its implementing regulations; and
   
   WHEREAS, the next revision of the test (projected for the year 2001)
   is expected to rely much more on graphics than the current version
   does, making it more likely that more blind test-takers will wish to
   choose live readers since providing effective graphics in Braille and
   on tape is an inexact science; and
   
   WHEREAS, despite the fact that modern technology has made Braille easy
   to produce, there is some indication that the test will not continue
   to be provided in Braille: Now, therefore,
   
   BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in convention
   assembled this eighth day of July, 2000, in the City of Atlanta,
   Georgia, that this organization call upon the American Council on
   Education to administer the GED in compliance with the Americans with
   Disabilities Act, including the amendment of its regulations where
   necessary, to ensure that all blind test-takers have and continue to
   have their choice among all of the four standard media routinely used
   by blind persons to access standardized tests: large print, Braille,
   tape, and live reader.
   
                           Blind College Students
                                      
                             Resolution 2000-31
                                      
   WHEREAS, history demonstrates that blind students in higher education
   achieve success through self-reliance and mastery of the alternative
   skills and techniques of blindness; and
   
   WHEREAS, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), passed in 1990,
   has been misinterpreted to overemphasize the universally accessible
   learning environment and institutional management of legal
   liabilities, causing colleges to do for blind students what they are
   perfectly capable of doing for themselves; and
   
   WHEREAS, in yet another misinterpretation of the ADA, state
   rehabilitation agencies for the blind dump many of their
   rehabilitative responsibilities on colleges in the mistaken assumption
   that the law requires colleges to be fully responsible for blind
   students, thus taking on aspects of rehabilitation; and
   
   WHEREAS, the purpose of higher education is to provide an education
   and the purpose of rehabilitation agencies is to provide
   rehabilitation, which includes training as well as auxiliary aids and
   services such as funding for readers, purchasing adaptive equipment,
   and providing training in the alternative techniques of blindness; and
   
   WHEREAS, no comprehensive guideline or best-practices model for
   accommodating blind students in higher education is available as a
   reference for colleges, rehabilitation agencies for the blind, the
   U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, and blind
   students, leading to overaccommodation and college imposition of
   unnecessary and unwanted custodial restrictions on blind students
   simply because the disability service staff are untrained and unaware
   of the capabilities of the blind, including their need to learn
   independence; and
   
   WHEREAS, the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD),
   an organization of disability service providers in post-secondary
   education, has the ability and duty to participate in the publication
   and distribution of guidelines and best-practice models on how to
   accommodate blind college students: Now, therefore,
   
   BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in convention
   assembled this eighth day of July, 2000, in the City of Atlanta,
   Georgia, that this organization call on state rehabilitation agencies
   for the blind to perform their duties of preparing blind students for
   college study and providing the necessary services for study in
   college; and
   
   BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization urge colleges to refrain
   from doing for blind students what blind students are capable of doing
   for themselves and to refrain from assuming responsibilities correctly
   borne by state rehabilitation agencies for the blind; and
   
   BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization urge the Association on
   Higher Education and Disability and the U.S. Department of Education's
   Office for Civil Rights to join with it in developing and publishing a
   guideline and best-practice model for accommodating blind students in
   higher education to maximize learning and eliminate the unnecessary,
   unintentional, and widespread fostering of dependency now occurring on
   America's college campuses.
   
                          Orientation and Mobility
                                      
                             Resolution 2000-36
                                      
   WHEREAS, the 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities
   Education Act (IDEA) added orientation and mobility to the list of
   related services available to students with disabilities; and
   
   WHEREAS, orientation and mobility services must be provided by
   qualified personnel as determined by state and local education
   agencies; and
   
   WHEREAS, the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind
   and Visually Impaired (AER) is actively encouraging state education
   agencies to include AER certification in its definition of who is
   qualified to provide orientation and mobility services and has been
   successful to this end in some states; and
   
   WHEREAS, the AER certification process may provide instructors with
   the functional knowledge of cane travel techniques, but it does not
   provide either a constructive or an enlightened view of the capacity
   of the blind, which is the essential ingredient to successful and
   independent travel for the blind; and
   
   WHEREAS, without a deep and firm understanding of the capacities of
   blind individuals, AER-certified instructors often convey a negative
   and limiting attitude about blindness to young blind students
   receiving orientation and mobility instruction under IDEA at a time
   when the child's beliefs are being formed that will have lifelong
   consequences; and
   
   WHEREAS, methods and standards are available to determine qualified
   orientation and mobility instructors other than AER certification
   which contain not only the functional knowledge of cane travel
   technique, but the important positive attitude about blindness: Now,
   therefore,
   
   BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in convention
   assembled this eighth day of July, 2000, in the City of Atlanta,
   Georgia, that this organization call upon all state and local
   education agencies to refrain from recognizing certification by AER or
   that of its successor organization?the Academy for the Certification
   of Vision Rehabilitation and Education Professionals?in determining
   qualifications for orientation and mobility instructors; and
   
   BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization call upon state
   education agencies to consult with the National Federation of the
   Blind when developing and implementing standards and requirements that
   will be applied to orientation and mobility instructors.
   
   Climbing in Thin Air: An Interim Report
   
   by Erik Weihenmayer
   
   Reprinted from the October, 2000, issue of the Braille Monitor.
   
   From the Braille Monitor Editor, Barbara Pierce: Those who attended
   the National Convention last July will remember the electricity that
   sparked through the hall on Friday morning when Erik Weihenmayer came
   to the platform to make his interim report about his experience
   climbing Ama Dablam, the mountain beside Everest in Nepal. As Erik
   explained to us at the 1999 convention, the purpose of this climb was
   to enable the team that will attempt Everest in the spring of 2001 to
   work together on a rugged Himalayan climb. They needed to learn about
   each other and to climb together in the difficult conditions that
   characterize the highest mountains in the world. The climb turned out
   to provide all the challenge the team could ever have wished for and
   then some. But as team leader Pasquale Scaturro told me following the
   climb, ?After this experience on Ama Dablam I can safely say that this
   is the strongest team I have ever climbed with.?
   
   Will the team reach the summit of Mt. Everest next May? There are no
   guarantees in the Himalayas. Certainly the team's experience with the
   storms of 2000 on Ama Dablam demonstrates that Mother Nature and the
   mountain itself have a great deal to say about who succeeds in
   summiting and who does not. But according to Scaturro this team has a
   better chance than many of making it to the top of Everest, and Erik
   will be an integral part of the effort.
   
   What follows is the text of Erik's interim report to the NFB as he
   delivered it to the 2000 convention. This is what he said:
   
   About four years ago I climbed a rock
   face, a 3,300-foot rock face called El
   Capitn, in Yosemite Valley in California. It was exciting. If we
   really compared our climbing ability, my friend Jeff, with whom I
   climbed, is probably a bit better climber than I am. But we topped out
   on this rock face, and Jeff's head lamp was broken. Even though Jeff
   is a better climber than me by day, guess who was a better climber at
   night? We had to get down from this rock face. Just as the last bit of
   sun was setting on the mountain, Jeff looked at this book, and it
   said, ?Do not try this descent in the dark; eight people died last
   year.? We were in trouble. I had to lead Jeff out of the mountains. I
   climbed below him, and I put his feet in these little holes on the
   rock face. He made little noises like ?AAAH, AAAH, AAAH!? which I
   found quite amusing. Then when we got off the rocks, I kept us on the
   trail by feeling the packed dirt under my feet, just as I do during
   the day. I was a little nervous to be guiding Jeff, but I knew that in
   that situation I was the person for the job.
   
   I think the powers-that-be, those great forces in the world, convince
   us as blind people that certain people are born to lead, that people
   who are the strongest and fastest and see the best are the leaders in
   the world. That is just not true. We know that as blind people we can
   be leaders just like anyone else. We know that the only qualities we
   really need to be leaders are a little bit of skill and a lot of
   courage. We know that the best way to lead is to get out there and, as
   climbers say, ?Take the sharp end of the rope and lead by our
   example.?
   
   The National Federation of the Blind is sponsoring a couple of climbs:
   a climb to Ama Dablam in the Himalayas and a climb of Mt. Everest. We
   just got back from Ama Dablam, which was a practice climb. We chose
   the spots for these climbs for a couple of reasons. One, because for
   some reason when a blind person hangs by his finger tips off an ice
   face or a thousand feet off the ground, it gets a lot of attention.
   Because of that, climbing is a wonderful platform for talking about
   blindness, talking about the issues of blindness?the story of
   blindness, the wonderful work that the National Federation of the
   Blind does?and a platform to make the NFB sort of a household word
   among the population at large. As Dr. Maurer put it so well, ?To
   attach blindness to a sense of adventure?; I like that one the best.
   We can also begin to pass on leadership, and I think that for me is an
   incredible legacy.
   
   [PHOTO]
   
   Erik Weihenmayer on the mountain.
   
   As I say, Mt. Everest is the highest peak in the world, 29,035 feet,
   but it will take us conservatively about nine days to get to base
   camp. It's a long, rocky trail up to base camp at 17,800 feet. We'll
   take yaks for our gear. You can't climb mountains like Everest
   outright; you can't just go straight up it. From base camp it'll take
   us between a month and two months to get to the top, weather and
   health permitting. If you just drop a person off at the summit of Mt.
   Everest via helicopter, within thirty seconds you pass out, and within
   another thirty seconds you'd be dead. That's because at the top of Mt.
   Everest there is only about a third of the oxygen that we have at sea
   level. So you have to acclimatize; you have to climb the mountain
   slowly; you're shuttling up the mountain through the succession of
   camps, getting a little bit higher and a little bit higher, convincing
   your body that it can breathe less and less oxygen, that it can
   survive up there in what they call the death zone.
   
   I believe that as a climber and in life that your contributions to a
   team need to outweigh the accommodations that are being made for you.
   That's why, when I'm climbing and I go to sleep each night in my tent,
   I want to be able to point to a few things that I've done that day
   that have contributed to the team's success, like building snow walls
   or setting up tents or carrying just as much weight as everyone else.
   I never wanted to be just a token; I wanted really to contribute to
   the team.
   
   One of the accommodations made to me as a climber in climbing Mt.
   Everest will be communication. My sighted teammates?I will have nine
   strong Himalayan climbers with me, none of whom is a paid guide; we're
   all just friends?but they will communicate with me, tell me terrain
   changes, tell me whether we're on a steep ridge, whether we're
   climbing up over a big rock and down the other side. I'll need to know
   those kinds of things. Because at 25,000 feet you start going on
   bottled oxygen, you cannot communicate in the oxygen mask. It
   restricts you from talking, so we'll have to create some microphones
   inside our oxygen masks that will enable my team to communicate back
   and forth.
   
   We'll wake up on summit day about 11:00 at night, and we could summit
   anywhere from 10:00 in the morning until 1:00 in the afternoon. Mt.
   Everest has pretty bad storms usually most afternoons, so you want to
   be down off the mountain as soon as possible and back safely in your
   tent. Some of you know the story, Into Thin Air, in which some people
   got stuck out in those afternoon storms and got into some trouble.
   
   We just got back from Ama Dablam. Ama Dablam is right next to Mt.
   Everest. It's almost 23,000 feet. It's much more steep and technical
   than Mt. Everest. Mt. Everest is basically a snow slope, which takes
   you to the top with some periodic rock. Ama Dablam is a very steep
   rock face. The Sherpa people, who are the local people, call Ama
   Dablam the mother's jewel box, because of the mother, the goddess of
   the Himalayas, and the jewel box, a giant hanging glacier that you
   have to climb up and over to summit the peak.
   
   We started out on this trail; it took us about six days to get to base
   camp. Some interesting things happened along the way. Number one, my
   friend Chris and my other teammates, they hike in front of me wearing
   a bell?I stick a bear bell to their pack and one to their ice ax so I
   can hear them jingling in front of me. But the yaks going up Ama
   Dablam and Mt. Everest also have these same kind of bells jingling
   from their necks, so the Sherpa people thought we were these strange
   yak people from the west because we were jingling along the trail.
   They thought it was really strange. They would point and say, ?Yak
   man, yak man.?
   
   Second, because I have a reasonable amount of skill using my long
   trekking poles and hiking and I'm not tripping and stumbling, a lot of
   the Sherpa people, the local people of the region, started feeling
   like I was cheating, like I wasn't really blind?maybe I could see a
   little bit, and I was there trying to get attention or something like
   that. This rumor got around among the women in the market place that I
   could really see, so they waved their hands in front of my face to
   test me. I would feel the wind from their hands, so I would flinch,
   and they would say, ?See that proves it, he can see.?
   
   I didn't know what to do. This was becoming a real problem because
   everyone was telling me, ?We think you can see.? Part of the point was
   that I was blind, and I wanted them to know that. So I thought, okay I
   am reduced to drastic measures. I didn't know what else to do. I don't
   want to gross anyone out, but I lost my eyes a few years back to
   glaucoma, so guess what I had to do to prove to the Sherpas that I was
   actually blind? Well I proved it to him. He was a little grossed out,
   but when he left the room, he was thoroughly convinced. The head
   Sherpa passed it on to the rest of the Sherpas. He said, ?He is blind;
   there is no doubt about it.?
   
   I think sometimes as blind people we are reduced to drastic measures
   to prove to the sighted world, whether it's in this culture or the
   Sherpa culture, that, even though we are blind, we can do the job. We
   can do it successfully.
   
   When we got to our base camp at 16,000 feet on Ama Dablam, we started
   working our way up the mountain. We had to cross a giant boulder
   field. The upper mountain is so steep that rock pours off it, and it
   creates this giant hodgepodge of boulders that you have to leap
   across. There can be big gaps between them. Sometimes there are
   boulders up on a ridge where you don't want to fall off the sides.
   They are very uneven; there is no rhyme or reason to them. Boulder
   fields do not meet Americans-with-Disabilities-Act requirements. It's
   a blind person's nightmare for sure. Actually, if I was really mean
   and I really hated a blind person, I would stick him in the middle of
   a boulder field.
   
   We had to get across this boulder field. There wasn't any easy way,
   but we kind of trudged across it, and we got over it. At 19,000 feet
   we met the steepest part of the climb, a vertical thousand-foot rock
   base, climbing it to almost 21,000 feet with heavy gloves and plastic
   boots. It was really beautiful climbing. We got to over 21,000 feet,
   and at that point we were stopped by weather. The monsoons were coming
   in from the south earlier and earlier every day, blasting us with
   horizontal snow and huge wind and freezing weather. All the rocks were
   piled up with snow, and ice covered over our ropes so it was difficult
   to rappel off them. We tried to get a little bit higher. Rocks and ice
   were pelting our helmets. It was very dangerous, and we decided this
   is really a practice climb. The point isn't to summit this peak?it's
   to get prepared for Mt. Everest, so we decided to turn back.
   
   We came down the mountain. We had to cross down over those vertical
   sections and across about a thirty-foot traverse with no footholds
   that we nicknamed Abject Terror, because there's about 5,000 feet of
   air under your feet, and you are hanging off these old ropes, and your
   feet are just slipping on the rocks. It's really terrifying.
   
   I had spent eight days at 21,000 feet with my friend Eric Alexander.
   This climb was being covered by Quokka.com, giving the NFB lots of
   publicity. When we were at 19,000 feet, they reported that Eric?and
   this was true?that one of our climbers had slipped and fallen 150
   feet. That was not me; it was my friend Eric. Luckily he landed on a
   tiny ledge. He had on a pack that saved his spine. He had a helmet
   that saved his head. It was a real miracle. He climbed his way back up
   through slab rocks, and soon after that he went into shock. He got
   pulmonary edema, where his lungs filled up with fluid and the oxygen
   in his blood went down to forty percent, which is really bad, near
   death. So Steve Gipe, our doctor, brought him all the way down through
   the boulder fields to base camp.
   
   At the same time, our teammates who were down at camp one climbed all
   the way back up the mountain, crossed Abject Terror, and helped us
   carry loads down the mountain. About ten o'clock at night, after
   coming down in this twelve-hour storm, we all came into base camp
   together. We met Eric and the doctor down there. It occurred to me
   that, if we had summited Ama Dablam in perfect, beautiful weather, we
   wouldn't necessarily have proven what we went there to do, which was
   to find and prove our strength as a team. But we did, and I think that
   meeting such adversity and bad weather on this climb enabled us to
   find our strength as a team, to find the very best qualities within
   us. I saw it as a very positive training and preparation experience.
   Eric, by the way, got helicoptered off the mountain, out of base camp
   that next day, and he is recovering safely in Colorado now.
   
   We are excited to go up Mt. Everest next year. We're ready, we'll be
   honed physically and mentally, and we are accustomed to the region now
   and the people. We'll make a really good team as we climb Everest. I
   think the most beautiful legacy of this climb will be in the way that
   we pass leadership down to other people, especially young people. I
   have a friend named Steve Akerman. He's a partial quadriplegic; he
   pedals his hand cycle, using just the power of his arms. He pedaled
   his bike around the world. It took him almost ten months. He went
   through eighteen countries. At the end of his ride he said to a group
   of people who had gathered to watch him come into Washington, D.C.,
   ?The word encourage is the most powerful word in the English
   language?to give people the courage to do great things by our own
   example of doing great things.?
   
   I think that is so powerful because this climb can go a little way in
   helping blind people in particular to live their lives as they see
   fit, to make their own rules, to build their own parameters, to
   shatter perceptions, to blow through stereotypes, and to throw out the
   sighted world's expectations and rise to the level of our own internal
   potential. If I can be a part of that through this climb, then I'm
   very proud. I'm also proud to be part of the National Federation of
   the Blind. I think it is appropriate that the NFB, the most powerful
   blindness organization in the world, is climbing the highest mountain
   in the world?a perfect match.
   
   ? Learn more about Erik Weihenmayer 
   
   ? Follow the NFB 2001 Everest Expedition on its historic climb
   at
   www.2001everest.com/
   
   National Research and Training
   Institute for the Blind
   
   We Are Changing What It Means to be Blind
   
   The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), America's oldest and
   largest organization of the blind, is conducting a Capital Campaign to
   the build the National Research and Training Institute for the Blind
   (NRTIB). The new five-story, 170,000-square-foot building will be
   connected to the present 200,000-square-foot National Center for the
   Blind which houses NFB's national headquarters located in Baltimore,
   Maryland.
   
   ? The Institute will be the center of technological advancement for
   the blind. Along with development and promotion of adaptive
   technology, training will be provided to ensure that the blind move
   smoothly with their sighted peers into the emerging technological age
   and do not become casualties of the ?digital divide.?
   
   ? Statistics show that the current outlook for the 57,000 blind
   children growing up in this country is one of substandard education,
   social isolation, and probable unemployment. The NRTIB will identify
   the elements which characterize effective educational programs for
   blind children and implement research projects and services that will
   break down the barriers blind children face in reaching their full
   potential.
   
   ? Braille is crucial to literacy and future employment opportunities
   for blind and visually impaired children, yet, today, only 10 percent
   of legally blind children read Braille and more than 40 percent read
   neither Braille nor large print. There is also much needed in the way
   of upgrading the Braille skills of teachers of the blind and improving
   Braille production and Braille teaching technology. The National
   Research and Training Institute will be the center of a growing
   Braille Literacy Initiative that will ensure that the progress led by
   the NFB to reverse Braille illiteracy continues and that Braille is
   recognized to be as important to blind children as print is to their
   sighted classmates.
   
   ? The National Research and Training Institute will bring together
   knowledgeable professionals who will design materials and develop
   training programs to assist state and local agencies in helping blind
   and visually impaired seniors remain independent and continue to
   participate in the activities they hope for in their retirement years.
   
   ? The new National Research and Training Institute will be the center
   for research, demonstrations, and job-development partnerships with
   private industry. These partnerships in combination with successful
   employment preparation programs will create national momentum toward
   the full employment of the blind.
   
    The projected construction cost of the Institute is eighteen million
     dollars. Your pledge can help us Change What It Means to be Blind.
                                      
   For more information contact the
   National Federation of the Blind
   (410) 659-9314
   www.nfb.org
   
              The Campaign To Change What It Means To Be Blind
                                      
                     Capital Campaign Pledge Intention
                                      
             1800 Johnson Street * Baltimore, Maryland * 21230
                                      
   Name:_________________________________________________________________
   __
   
   Home Address:________________________________________________________
   
   City, State, and
   Zip:____________________________________________________
   
   Phone (H):_______________________Phone (W):___________________________
   
   Email:________________________________________________________________
   
   Employer:_____________________________________________________________
   
   Work Address:_________________________________________________________
   
   City, State,
   Zip:________________________________________________________
   
   To support the priorities of the Campaign, I (we) pledge the sum of
   $_______.
   
   My (our) pledge will be payable in installments of $___________ over
   the next ______years (we encourage pledges paid over 5 years),
   beginning__________, on the following schedule (check one):
   [ ] annually, [ ] semi-annually, [ ] quarterly, [ ] monthly
   
   I (we) have enclosed a down payment of $______________________
   
   [ ] Gift of stock:___________________shares of
   ___________________________
   
   [ ] My employer will match my gift.
   
   Please list my (our) names in all Campaign Reports and on the Campaign
   Wall of Honor in the appropriate Giving Circle as follows:
   
   ______________________________________________________________________
   __
   
   [ ] I (We) wish to remain anonymous.
   
   Signed:________________________________________________Date:__________
   ____
   
                             Future Reflections
                                      
     The National Federation of the Blind Magazine for Parents of Blind
                                  Children
                                      
              1800 Johnson Street * Baltimore, Maryland 21230
                                      
                 (410) 659-9314 * www.nfb.org * nfb@nfb.org
                                      
                                                        New Subscriptions
                                                             * Renewals *
                                                          Address Changes
                                                                         
   Date: ________________________Phone
   number(s):___________________________________
   
   Name:_________________________________________________________________
   ________
   
   Address:______________________________________________________________
   _________
   
   City:___________________________________State:______________Zip:______
   ______________
   
   Name of child:_________________________________________Birth
   date:_________________
   
   [ ] Parent [ ]Teacher [ ]Other_____________________________________
   
   [ ]$8.00 Subscription. I understand this includes a family membership
   in the National
   Organization of Parents of Blind Children
   
   [ ]$15.00 Non-member subscription
   
   This is a: [ ]New Subscription [ ]Renewal [ ]Address or other change
   
   I prefer the following format(s): [ ]Large print [ ]Cassette tape [
   ]Both
   
   Changes: Please print old or duplicate name and/or address as it
   appears on your magazine label in the space provided below. Please let
   us know if this is an old name/address to be changed to the one given
   above, or if it is a duplicate that you wish deleted.
   
   ______________________________________________________________________
   ____
   
   ______________________________________________________________________
   ___
   
   ______________________________________________________________________
   __
     _________________________________________________________________
   
   
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