On 1/30/18, Carl Jarvis <carjar82@gmail.com> wrote:
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Carl Jarvis via acb-chat <acb-chat@acblists.org>
> Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2018 05:34:14 +0000
> Subject: [acb-chat] Thoughts from a teleconference
> To: "General discussion list for ACB members and friends where a wide
> range of topics from blindness to politics, issues of the day or
> whatever comes to mind are welcome. This is a free form discussion
> list." <acb-chat@acblists.org>
> Cc: Carl Jarvis <carjar82@gmail.com>
>
> We spent this morning on a teleconference with some folks from
> Mississippi State. The purpose of this gathering was to poke around
> at our Older Blind Program here in Washington State, and determine if
> our services are meeting the needs of our clients--how to improve
> them--determine if we are still on target--find ways of providing much
> needed training for our new RT's--and do all of this while looking for
> ways to cut budget a bit. Naturally our first suggestions were that
> the program must find more dollars if it is to meet any of its goals.
> But that's how these sorts of things go. Anyway, in my casting about
> for some materials that would make our case, I ran across an article I
> wrote a few years back, talking about how it is so easy to develop
> certain methods of training, and then stuff clients into this one
> mold, rather than developing training that is specific to each
> person's needs. I sent the article with the following introduction,
> to the Mississippi State Team.
> Carl Jarvis
> ******
>
> Greetings:
> Over my ears in the field of work with the blind and low vision, I've
> met many well intentioned RT's and O&M's who focused on Form. It was, "My
> way
> or the highway!" This, of course, was my own early approach, too. After
> all I was the Professional RT, and teacher knows best! And I was a
> rescuer, to boot. When you have time, below is an article I wrote
> some years ago that hopefully makes
> my point concerning just what we are teaching our clients. Are our
> techniques opening the door of opportunity, or are we placing
> roadblocks in their paths by demanding that they fit our mold?
>
> It was good to meet all of you, and thanks for your time.
> Carl Jarvis
>
> From the March 2008 Braille Forum
>
> LOST IN SPACE
> by Carl Jarvis
> (Reprinted from the Washington Council of the Blind "Newsline.")
>
> Have you ever wondered how it is that one blind person can be dropped off
> in
> the middle of a strange city and find his way home, while another blind
> person can't find his way out of a broom closet if he has both hands on the
> doorknob? For more than 32 years I have been working with blind people of
> all ages, shapes, sizes and abilities. During those years I have compiled a
> pile of mostly unscientific, useless information. But one most puzzling
> question keeps recurring. Why is it that some blind people get lost in
> their
> own shoes, while others seem to have a built-in sonar system?
>
> It appears to have nothing to do with when they became blind, their age or
> education or whether they are left-brain, right-brain or no-brain. So, for
> many years I concluded that it was a matter of developing the correct
> teaching technique. My early indoctrination was straightforward. The
> average
> blind person, with proper training and attitudes, could do just about
> anything.
>
> So, when I applied my magic to my students and nothing happened, I
> considered that it was my failure, not theirs. I just had not found the
> right combination of teaching tools to successfully complete the training.
> Remember the old saying, "A doctor buries his/her mistakes"? Not so for the
> rehab teacher. Our mistakes/failures keep bumping into us at meetings,
> conventions, and knocking at our doors requesting more training. Since many
> of us rehab teachers are rescuers by nature, we roll up our sleeves and
> try,
> try again, invariably ending up with the same results. People were coming
> to
> us, lost in space and seeking help. And our inability to resolve this
> problem began to impact all phases of their rehabilitation training.
> Instead
> of aiming them toward success, we were pointing them to the door marked,
> "Destination: Failure."
>
> Over the years I was absolutely certain that somewhere, somehow, there
> existed the right approach for teaching spatial awareness to blind people.
> My wife, and fellow rehab teacher, had never shared my belief. Despite
> discussing and debating this issue many times, my mind was made up. I
> simply
> could not accept that there are some skills that cannot be taught. Finally
> the light clicked on when Cathy, trying to illustrate her point, said, "You
> know, Carl, you have no sense of rhythm. And despite all these years of
> trying, you still can't follow the beat. You sing just fine but you're
> totally lost in the song, which is better, and safer, than turning you
> loose
> on the dance floor." This brought to mind my mother. She was tone-deaf. We
> always said that Mother sang the tune the old cow died on. She had about
> three notes, and yet she loved music. And I loved music, too. How was it
> that Mother and I could be serious music lovers but not be able to hum or
> dance to the tune?
>
> Of course the answer is that humming and dancing are not central to music
> appreciation. And then it hit me: I was focused on the wrong goal.
> Regardless of whether it could be taught, spatial awareness is not central
> to leading a successful, independent life. Not only was I busy trying to
> teach people to develop a skill which they did not possess, but worse yet,
> I
> was implying that without this skill they could not be successful,
> independent people. Just because a kangaroo can hop doesn't mean I can
> teach
> him to fly. Nor does he need to fly to reach his goal. And just because a
> blind person can get from point A to point B does not mean that I can teach
> him spatial awareness. Some of our brains are simply not set up to work
> that
> way.
>
> This was a hard concept for me to wrap my mind around. Over the years I
> watched many blind people travel about and arrive at their destination.
> Some
> did it with ease, while others did it by trial and error. I figured that
> the
> trial and error folks just needed to practice harder and pay closer
> attention to what they were doing. It never occurred to me that just
> getting
> there was a major success for the spatially challenged. The truth is I had
> no clue as to what these folks were struggling with. Think of trying to
> teach a blind man to see. We could put him through the same drills that we
> use for all sighted folks. Over and over we could force him to peer and
> strain, finally giving up in frustration. We might feel that we had not
> pushed him hard enough. He would be left with the feeling that he was
> incompetent. In the end, we had programmed him for a life of failure.
>
> But of course we know that a blind man cannot be taught to see. Even if his
> eyes move, and he blinks and sheds tears, he is missing something that
> cannot be taught. This absence must be accommodated if he is to function
> independently in life. This is exactly the same course of action needed for
> the spatially challenged. Trying to teach them techniques that work for the
> spatially aware will only frustrate them. What is needed is a set of
> alternative techniques that will assist them in accommodating their
> different approach to space.
>
> Whether we are blind or sighted, I believe that there are great differences
> in how our brains process spatial information. Sighted people accommodate
> this difference, unaware that it even exists. But without sight, this
> difference becomes a major problem for the spatially challenged. It is
> essential that we develop positive alternative techniques which will enable
> people to function successfully in their environment, allowing them to
> fulfill their goals to live productive, independent lives.
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