Comments on Perspectives from a Blind Point of View: Should Braille Instruction Be Mandatory?

I would want to see braille made mandatory. It fee...

2010-02-26T23:10:32.158-08:00

I would want to see braille made mandatory. It feels racist to say that a job does not require braille. It makes it sound like braille is an option. It is not. It is literacy. To say braille is an option is the person saying that being able to read and write is an option. Another form of literacy is Moon. Yet another is Fakoo. There are many many forms of literacy. Work with each person,

Not clear cut at all. In the school system so many...

2010-02-14T21:30:49.814-08:00

Not clear cut at all. In the school system so many children have other disabilites in addition to blindness. There are so many children that are not able to even read English.
What will happen to them?

Braille literacy is the equivalent of any other ty...

2010-02-01T06:29:23.566-08:00

Braille literacy is the equivalent of any other type of literacy and if a visually impaired does not learn braille, it means they can't read. Seems to me it's a clear-cut decision and a good one!

BTW - Great Blog! Love all of your posts.

Braille Institute is looking for virtual volunteer...

2010-02-01T05:48:32.711-08:00

Braille Institute is looking for virtual volunteers for their new online community site http://www.facebook.com/l/d867d;www.solutionsinsight.org/ the new site is focused on helping people with low or failing vision and the people that care for them.

There can not be a "one size fits all". ...

2010-01-31T19:51:01.733-08:00

There can not be a "one size fits all". There are so many children in the school system that have additional disabilities,and are not going to be able to read, even English.

There must be a better way.

Both a great post and great comments. Obviously, t...

2010-01-22T06:19:33.806-08:00

Both a great post and great comments. Obviously, there is no simple answer to the problem of low braille literacy. I think that having politicians thinking about the issue is a good thing, and hopefully will generate more general awareness regarding blindness and braille education. The more we keep the discussion alive, the more likely we are to start making some changes. I have reposted this

I certainly agree that with all the things the NFB...

2010-01-21T13:57:49.660-08:00

I certainly agree that with all the things the NFB and other organizations are doing it hasn't helped the statistics. Therefore I think this mandate is a great idea. And as for materials if there is greater demand then there will be suppliers cropping up. Presently kids can get any book they want for free from Braille Press in california upon request. But I whole-heartedly feel that any VI

I definitely think braille literacy should be incr...

2010-01-21T09:25:29.259-08:00

I definitely think braille literacy should be increased. But how best to do that? The simple laws of supply and demand dictate that if there are more children who need to learn braille, there will be more of a push to recruit teachers and there will be more demand for materials (which any braille reader can tell you is a big part of the problem). I think as long as schools can skate by without

You raise good points, and it's great to hear ...

2010-01-21T09:25:08.263-08:00

You raise good points, and it's great to hear you are pursuing a career in teching Braille. Braille literacy is very important, and there are many children who aren't being taught Braille who should be because they can still read print. Gradually, most of these children won't be able to read standard print. Their future academic and professional success will depend upon literacy.