I had a blind high school student, who was in an Honors English class. I am not sure how she got into this class, I only know that she was there. I am not saying that this student was not smart, she was very smart. She was an expert on Getting Over. As for her writing it lacked detail as do a lot of blind student's writing. But she was able to Get Over on her teachers. Until I started teaching the blind she may have been able to Get Over on me.

You see this student banked on the fact that the regular classroom teacher does not know or understand braille. She banked on the fact that the teacher was going to give her a break because she is blind and in most cases she was correct.

So this student in the Honors English class was asked to write a one page paper on a chapter of a book the class was reading. She was given all the guildlines as was the remainder of the class. These where read to her and a braille copy of them was given to her by her one-on-one. So she knew what she was to do. But instead of completing the assignment laid out by the instructions she turned in one brailled page.(FYI--3 brailled pages = one print page). If this kid was a card shark she would be rich, because she always knew who she could Get Over on. She chose to gamble and take the risk even after her one-on-one and I told her that she had not done enough. We gave her the chance to right her wrong and she chose not to. She just turned the paper in and waited for her grade. We (the one-on-one and I) spoke to the teacher who taught this Honors class and explained the situation. You know what? She finally got was given an A.

Later this same student transfered to the blind school, where all the students are blind and the teachers just do not give them every break in the world. This student's first report card after entering the school for the blind went from A's and B's to C's with a D.

Thoughts:

1. While it is ture that blind children start off 1-1&1/2 years behind their sighted peers this gap can close as long as the teachers and parents have the same exspectations for the blind as they do the sighted.
   
2. As much as possible modify assignments but do not wave them. If you are not sure how to do this ask the VI teacher or the one-on-one.

Blind kids they are just so cute. Walking around the school with their canes tap to the left tap to the right, making sure it is in-front of their body. All the while listening for the open hall so they know when to turn. This is not instinct this is learned behavior. Behavior that they need to continue learning.

Braille is the way a blind student reads and writes. You read braille vertically and you write horizontally. To read braille you have to have a very light touch, you need to use both hands and your fingers need to bend slightly so that your finger tips are flat on the page. To write braille you need to be able to use each finger together and in isolation to form each letter or braille symbol. The student must have his/her fingers in the correct position to do this.

I could go on and on about the learning day of a blind student but I am not going to. Just know that basically the blind student is in learning mode from the time he/she walks into the school to the second they leave. Blind students are not distracted by visual input but they are distracted by every sound they hear and it is a challenge to those working with the blind child to get them to pay attention to the correct sounds.

So when you see the blind student around the school, please be aware that the student may be working. If you just have to say hello to the student please address the student by name and verbally identify yourself ... "Hello Dylan. This is Mrs. Stephens". After all we do not say hello to every student every time we see them. We need to treat the Blind/VI students the same as we treat the others.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please feel free to come see me and ask. However, if I am working with a student, please come another time.