# Blind vs. partially sighted? Situations in schools for the blind

Category: Let's talk

## Post 1 by Inesle1987 (Account disabled) on Friday, 28-Jan-2005 3:45:43

Hi. I'd like to know your opinions about the situations in schools for the blind. In my school, there's a fight between blind and partially sighted people.
Those who are still at school: How's the situation in your school? Do you know other schools to compare your school with?
Those who left school: How was the situation in the schools you were in? Tell me your opinion!

## Post 2 by sugarbaby (The voice of reason) on Friday, 28-Jan-2005 8:21:49

I went to a school for the blind and there was a definite them and uss attitude between blind and partially sighted. For one, the "blind" students were educated on one campus, well I say the blind students, actually that's not strictly true, the braille users were educated on one campus, but lets not forget that not all braille users are totally blind, some do have residule vision but just cannot use it to read or whatever, and the partially sighted students were educated on another campus. We hated them, and they hated us.

## Post 3 by Inesle1987 (Account disabled) on Friday, 28-Jan-2005 8:50:41

Well, we're on th esame campus, maybe that's a problem. They even started to mix the classes. Of course there are exceptions, but most blind people hate partially sighted, because the partially sighted people bullied the blind ones. And the partially sighted hated the blind, because, well, I have to say this, some blind people run around without their canes and if they run against someone, they don't even apologize. I think both sides make mistakes.

## Post 4 by Puggle (I love my life!) on Friday, 28-Jan-2005 9:10:25

wow I never experienced any of this as I went to a main stream school, and was the only blind one there. There were a few partials, when I say a few about 6 or 7 of us all up, in a school of over 11 hundred. So we all got along fairly well. I did use to go on sport and recriation camps for blind and partialy sited kids, and there didn't seem to be much conflict going on there either. so this is all pretty interesting.

## Post 5 by Chels666 (I can't call it a day til I enter the zone BBS) on Friday, 28-Jan-2005 11:00:55

Yeah, I agree. This is a very interesting topid. I go to a maine streem school, and I'm the only visually impaired student here, so sometimes it sucks, because people who don't know me treat me weird and give me special treatment wich I hate. That part about some visually impaired people reading braille is true. I do have some vission, but not enough to read print. As for the whole, blind verses parcially sighted thing goes, I'm kind of on both sides of the fence, because I do have some friends who are totally blind that I've met through summer camps for the blind and visually impaired. And whoever said the thing about blind people not using their canes all the time and crashing into things, you're right, but I do that too and I have parcial vission. Lol.

## Post 6 by Inesle1987 (Account disabled) on Friday, 28-Jan-2005 11:22:28

Of course, many blind people run around without their canes, I do that too. But some people just don't apologize when they're running into someone and I think that's very impolite.

## Post 7 by hlast (Generic Zoner) on Friday, 28-Jan-2005 20:05:38

For me at the school I attended which was a blind school, there was a balance between blind and partially sighted students, but probably more blind than partially sighted. we were all in the same classes together. I have partial sight and can read some large print but I learned in braille, as did most students. I maybe had one or two print students in my classes at any ont time. No one was treated any different than the other in that respect.

## Post 8 by Godzilla-On-Toast (I've now got the silver prolific poster award! wahoo!) on Saturday, 29-Jan-2005 16:15:19

I went to a school for the blind for three years. I really didn't see any animosity between partially sighted students and blind ones. Sure, some of the kids were jerks, but it was just what they were and had nothing to do with their eyesight. We had kids there with multiple disabilities anyhow, so we had to accept people's differences.

## Post 9 by The Roman Battle Mask (Making great use of my Employer's time.) on Sunday, 30-Jan-2005 5:51:22

blind people==failures

## Post 10 by season (the invisible soul) on Sunday, 30-Jan-2005 8:33:37

well, i don't experience this. i when to a maine streem school too. i'm the only V I student there. i was dealing very good with the rest. of course some of them like to treat me differently cause for them i am so so special. but i hate it. i explain with them what i feel and what i hope. finally all this was solve. now i have left school, and might going to college. well, is another stage of explaining to them what is a blind person need and what blind mean. cheers

## Post 11 by cuddle_kitten84 (I just keep on posting!) on Tuesday, 01-Feb-2005 4:26:49

i first went to a mainstream school, and i was known by everybody, because i was well, "blind" everyone said hi and would ask me questions. after that, i attended a blind school and was bullied very badly by a partially sighted person, of course, i stuck up for myself and fought my corner, i think that is important. After this, i attended a blind college and the atmosphere was so different, the blind got on with the partially sighted. i have a partially sighted girl now who is my friend and i honestly couldn't have got through the past few years without her, she's been my angel and i've needed her for a lot of it. the thing that bugs me is when partially sighted people moan about their sight, they can see more than totally blind people. sorry. i know everyone has their bad days.

## Post 12 by lawlord (I'm going for the prolific poster awards!) on Tuesday, 01-Feb-2005 4:41:33

I went to a blind college too, which contained partially sighted and blind people alike, and I can't say that there was any trouble on that score. There were disagreements and rivalries, but they wern't based on sight. it was very much like Labyrynth has said above. Then at Oxford I was outnumbered by fully sighted people and was the only blind law student, and by that I mean the only law student who was blind not the only student studying blind law, whatever that is. AGain, though, the issue of sight, or lack of, was not an issue and in fact has never been an issue for me. I think blind people must to a degree expect sighted people to ask them questions about how they do things etc. from time to time. It's only natural that they should not know the answers to these questions and wish to know them.

## Post 13 by bermuda-triangulese (Help me, I'm stuck to my chair!) on Tuesday, 01-Feb-2005 7:43:56

I agree wth you on that lawlord. Sighted asking questions is fine, it shows that they at least have the curiosity to ask. What I don't like is when the blind are staunchly avoided by the sighted in a mainstream school, as was my experience, as this leads to...problems, or when the sighted act in ignurrence towards the blind, without a true realisation of what they're doing. I've never seen major rivalries between parcially sighted and blind, but between blind partials and regular sighted people? I see it constantly.
MJ

## Post 14 by Inesle1987 (Account disabled) on Tuesday, 01-Feb-2005 15:02:02

Well, it seems that German students are the most cruel ones. In our school you can see partially sighted people bullying blind ones almost every day, but also blind people who think they have to be treated very special and friendly. Both of them make a mistake I think.

## Post 15 by medical queen (This site is so "educational") on Tuesday, 01-Feb-2005 23:18:49

Well in my high school, there were all sighted people and I was the only one with a disability. Well, I can say one thing about my school, they did respect me for who I was, not cause I'm blind, but they just respected me and treated me as if I was sighted. Lol.

## Post 16 by bermuda-triangulese (Help me, I'm stuck to my chair!) on Wednesday, 02-Feb-2005 9:47:49

you were lucky. That's all I can say, you were luckier than you know.