Hello Ardith,

On Sat 2011-Aug-06 22:56, Ardith Hinton (1:153/716) wrote to Richard Webb:

RW>  they discouraged the use of braille and encouraged
RW>  use of magnification even though it would handicap a
RW>  student later in life, because we couldn't get enough
RW>  braille conversant instructors into the classroom.


AH>           ... and no doubt they'd convinced themselves that they
AH> were doing it solely for the benefit of the students.  In Canada, we
AH> tend to adopt new ideas long after the Americans and/or the Brits
AH> have already tried them & found they don't work as advertised... my
AH> time line may be somewhat different from yours. But luckily for me,
AH> my grade two teacher kept saying "Sound it out!" in an era when
AH> basal readers (e.g. Dick & Jane) were in vogue & the study of
AH> phonics was thought to be outdated.  You may not want to get me
AH> started on *that*....  ;-) 

Learned that way, sound the word out, etc.  ONce my mother
won the braille fight I took off with it.




AH>           As a mother, I can relate.  I admire this gal already!
AH> Mothers have unique insights WRT the offspring of their womb.  And
AH> parents of either gender may also have the marginally insane
AH> devotion which enabled me, for example, to learn everything you
AH> probably never wanted to hear about leukemia & explain it to our GP
AH> although I was not a brilliant student in high school biology class.
AH> The experts know stuff I don't know... but I know my kid, and if
AH> necessary I'd move mountains for her.  Dissecting clams was a lot
AH> less inspiring AFAIC.  :-) 

INdeed, mothers, and family can often tell you things you
might want to know to help you decide on a course of action, whether you be
teacher or doctor.  Kathy's doctor, (current
version) seems to be much better about this.

AH>           OTOH the experts don't always know as much as they'd like
AH> to believe they do.  When Nora was in grade one & had recently
AH> finished her treatment for leukemia, she couldn't always muster the
AH> energy to walk a quarter of a mile to school.  Sometimes I dragged
AH> her... sometimes I carried her.  The principal of the school got
AH> bent out of shape because the mother of some other kid, who was in
AH> grade five & had very different issues to deal with, had been seen
AH> carrying her son up & down the stairs.  He felt he had to pacify
AH> certain members of the staff who were afraid they'd be expected to
AH> do the same.  Within a year I told Nora she'd exceeded my load limit
AH> & she'd have to walk now.  By then she could do it.  My long term
AH> goal was to help her reach a point where she could get to where she
AH> wanted to go independently of me.  I realized that neither I nor the
AH> old clunker I was driving would last forever.


That's the attitude to take with our children, and I argue
for that approach all the time with people.  Having that
argument with Kathy and her daughter about daughter's eldest daughter.  YOu
have to give them opportunities to take
responsibility if you want them to develop the ability to do so.  Kathy and
her daughter are both sheltering protecting
people if given the choice, and I'm arguing they're
overprotecting teenage girl instead of giving her
information which she can use along with her intellect to
make responsible intelligent choices.

AH>           I respect people who, like the aforementioned kindergarten
AH> teacher & GP, are willing to admit to what they don't know.  One of
AH> the great lessons my parents taught me is that you don't have to
AH> know everything if you know how to look it up or you know who to
AH> ask.  And nowadays, when I ask how to get from A to B in a
AH> wheelchair, I have more confidence in those who say "I'm not sure...
AH> let me go take a look!" than in those who assure me it won't be any
AH> problem at all.  Chances are the latter have overlooked some
AH> important detail(s)....  ;-) 

Boy do I know that feeling with my lady in a wheelchair.
DOn't get me started on "accessible" for people in
wheelchairs.  I still think every architect designing
"handicapped accessible" facilities should spend some time
during his/her course of study strapped in a wheelchair, all day, every day. 
Go through the cafeteria line, prepare
dinner, go to class, go here, go there.  THen consider such
things as the paper towel dispenser that is at a nice low
height but is set too far back for the wheelchair user to
get to, or the double doors that work wrong for the person
in the wheelchair to independently navigate them.  I've
entered more ladies' rooms to rescue Kathy from a situation
in public places than I cleaned when I was a janitor for
awhile .

IN fact, that's one of next week's projects, a stop to price materials, at
present she makes it to the van on her walker
from the front door, but that's even becoming more difficult for her, and a
ramp is in her near future.  I've seen some
of the fly by the light of the moon construction of
wheelchair ramps common around here, and would rather build
my own and hire a couple flunkies for the day than hire one
of them to do it.

Regards,
           Richard
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 * Origin:  (1:116/901)