Category: Cram Session
Hi All, For those in college, do your professors treat you differently because of yur blindness? My computer concepts professor treats me like a child! If I miss 1 assignment, she's very concerned and gives me a lecture. She does not do that with the other students! I missed that assignment for a valid reason. I know her policies, and I don't need to be reminded every single time! I'm blind, not dumb!
In my experience, and the experience of VI people around me, it isn't the people who are teaching everybody who treat us differently, but the people who are there to support us. This treatment varies very widely, and it occurs in different ways in mainstream and segregative education.
I've seen both happen where both the profs and support staff have treated me differently. When I was in college some 25 or 30 years ago, I found I had to work harder to earn my teachers' respect. After I got it, however, I had it. Going back to what Senior said, I'm concerned about the custodial/patronizing way in which many support services for studetns with disabilities treat the students they are supposed to "help." I worked in that office for a few years while in college and grad school, but find the trend toward handholding seems to be worse now than it was when I was in college.
katy, all the professor's ignore me, and refuse to give me the same work as everybody else. so much for equal oppotunities.
Wow. I'm surprised to hear all this. So far the professors haven't treated me any different. You have to actually go up to them and talk about any acomidations you may need.
Yes, they treat me differently. The lecturers talk as if I am not there but I can hear what they are saying. I have a support worker called LDavid. If somebody asks about me David will say "Ask herself". Or something like that.
For some reason, all my professors seem surprised as I'm breaking their noses and demanding my A without any assignments turned in or else...
it's baffling—to say the least—not to mention hurtful. Ain't you never seen a blindy brandishing a stout length of maple? Well, we can swing that sucker just as well as any normal student you have in class! Yeesh!
Jim
Poster 5 said something that seems to be lost on many people, and that is the need to communicate with your professors about your disability early. When I could find out who was teaching a given course that might have a set of problems with which I was unfamiliar, I used to take a pre-emptive strike, and talk to that professor the semester before. This way, we could try and anticipate any problems, With this approach, you're starting to work colaboratively, and establishing from the outset the kind of relationship you want to have with the instructor.
Lou
I have been in college for three years and I have never been treated any differently than any other student. I was just wondering if they are nicer to me or if they ever feel sorry for me for being visually impaired.
I had more problems with being treated unfairly in high school. I found it hard to gain my track coach’s respect and I had to work so much more harder to prove myself. I have never let anybody tell me what to do so maybe that’s why I’ve had an easier time with school.
I e-mail my professors a few weeks before the beginning of the semester to inform them of my situation and just to give them a heads up. They usually don’t have to make many modifications and if they do they are usually more than willing to take care of them on an individual level.
I have found that some of my instructors have been overly amazed when I do well on a test. I guess that it’s just one of those things that can’t be avoided. I’m glad this topic was brought up. I like reading these discussions.
To add to my last post, I really feel like we as visually impaired students get short changed in this way. If an instructor has a V.I student who might not have done so well they will assume that the next student will not. On the other hand, some instructors might have a V.I student do extremely well and assume that we’re all just as brilliant.
It’s not right and I know it happens. We generalize in many areas though so it’s not specific to blind students. It’s just unfair.
To Lady Indigo, your last post was my experience on both ends of the spectrum. When I transferred into a four-year college as a music major, the way I was treated by my music professsors can best be described as barely masked hostility. It took two years before anyone told me that because of another blind student, they thought I'd be really demanding, and hard to work with. It took my first year or so to prove that I wasn't like him. A few years later, I ran into one of my professors who said something like "after you graduated, we had another blind student, and we were all shocked and disappointed he wasn't like you." Just another example of how lumping all of any group of people together is a mistake, and how we all have a tendancy to do that in one way or another. Something we all have to be on guard against.
Lou
Letting college professors know about your disability ahead of time is a good idea. i'm sure I'll need to do that throughout these next four years in school, and I am aware that the staff at the school to which I am very possibly going, has dealt with students with visual impairments in the past. I doubt I should be a little bit apprehensive, but until I actually meet these people, what else can I do but wonder what they are like as individuals?
O yes, letting professors know about a disability is a good idea. I did that myself. It helps.
My college professors treated me just like everyone else. I told them about my disability, and they tried helping out as much as they can, but I did not get special treatments or got excempted from anything thats a good thing though. I just have to say this, no matter what you have as a disability, if your planning to go for college better prepare yourself for a load of work. It
i'd hate to be treated differently from any other st
Sorry about that. I'd hate to be treated differently from other students, or singled out in front of the class. I don't take such treatment lightly either.
Up until this semester, professors have treated me the same, expecting me to do the same work as everyone else, except for a few alternate assignments that I obviously would be unable to do with my visual impairment. However, this semester, one professor changed that. For my first speech test, I did not do so good. Normally, the professor and I agree that if it gets to that result that I obviously need to study harder for the next one. However, my speech professor seemed concerned and wondered if the reader reading it was a problem, or if the test format was the problem. Neither of these things was the problem. I did not read the chapters thoroughly like I should of and zoned out a lot during the test, because I was so busy thinking of answers. Another professor, one of my history ones, had counted off on my first paper for typos, which the reader that was reading me my grade had a very hard time believing. Everyone does typos every once in a while. Although I read over the paper a hundred times before turning it in, I corrected typos as I went and thought that they had all gotten out, but u know how JAWS can be. To solve this problem, I emailed the next paper to my reader, where she proofread it and corrected mistakes. Hopefully, I won't get counted off for typos this time. It is a good idea to get with your professors to tell them about your accommodations. Once Disability Services sends letters of notification to my professors, stating that I will be in their class, I either email them in advance if the subject matter will be difficult or talk to them after the first class or stop by during office hours. Disability Services is really great here at S F A, working with the students and professors. I was told that same thing in high school, when a friend of mine had gone to the same middle school that I did after I did about her not being not like me. However, I was the first totally blind student they had dealt with.
well, my professors treat me as the other students. But now, I have a problem in one of my subjects. I don't know if the problem is on me or on his teaching, or to my reader. The subject is computer architecture and it has a lot of drawing. I will try all the possible things to do. I hope it will not result to worst.
Hi everyone. I'm really surprised to learn how differently some of you were treated by college professors. I can honestly say, I was not. It depends though on what you mean by different. There were times where other accomodations were made. The example that pops out in my mind is I had a professor one time who due to technology problems would allow me to turn in weekly assignments the following week. This happened because I had to go home and print them out. This was several years ago. Talking with or at least emailing your professors before class is an excellent idea. I emailed a lot of mine and it was always a successful strategy. Not only are you not shocking them by letting them know at the last minute that your blind, you're letting them know you're an active participant in the class. They'll apreciate this advanced notice believe me. Have any other questions/comments, feel free to write back.k
Hello all I have only been in college for a year but my first sommestor had three classes I did the same work as the other students, but in my math class when we got to graph she was nice and use playdoy for me that all she need to do for and and my other teachers were nice about recieving all my work though emails.
my contact person has given my professors forewarning that I am totally blind, so I don't expect a lot of shock the first day of school.
Update:
Today, at a brief meeting to discuss accomodations for testtaking and textbooks, I met my Introduction to Psychology Professor. She will allow me to call her by her first name, tammy. this should be fun.
That's Great, Joanne. Hope things continue to go well for you. I agree with the most recent ost about contacting professors in advance if you can. It helps build your own advocacy skills, and the reality is, that you're going to have to do it over and over and over again. It gets to be a pain, and I've been surprised at places where I've had to do self-advocacy, but its one of the realities we deal with.
Lou
All of my professors are aware of my blindness already, thanks to my contact person. I can't wait for people to meet Steven, even if it is just at a glance.
No, my teachers expect just as much out of me as my sighted peers, and I like that. *smile* I would hate to be singled out in front of everyone. mind you, with my guide dog situation, they understand what's going on and have given me permission to leave the room if I get upset, but other than that, i'm treated like everyone else.
Well, since I am the only blind student at my small school, it sucks. Some professors treat me like total crap.
I think emailing my assignments to the professors is very nice. My programming professor is quite wonderful! Since the programming software we use is inaccessible, My assignments are a little different. I even email the professor the homework.