FEDERATION PHILOSOPHY AND THE EDUCATION OF BLIND CHILDREN My Personal Experiences
by
,
My Personal Experiences
by Gail Y. Katona, 1993 Recipient Distinguished Educator of Blind Children Award National Federation of the Blind
Editor's Note: The Distinguished Educator of Blind Children Award brings not only honor, national recognition, a trip to the NFB National Convention, and a substantial amount of cash, but it also confers certain responsibilities upon the recipients.
The Need for Reason
by
,
From the Editor: In the January, 1992, issue of the Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness (JVIB), published by the American Foundation for the Blind, Dr. William Wiener and several other researchers presented a summary of the research they had done on the question of whether or not blind orientation and mobility instructors can safely do their jobs. Division IX of the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER) has steadily maintained that they cannot and that, therefore, AER certification for these instructors must be withheld.
GOING CAMPING
by
,
Editor's note: Mrs. Gail Katona was the 1993 recipient of the National Federation of the Blind's Distinguished Educator of Blind Children Award.
Gail Katona Wins Distinguished Educator of Blind Children Award
by
,
Sharon Maneki, Chairperson of the Distinguished Educator of Blind Children Selection Committee, presented the award. She said: We in the National Federation of the Blind constantly challenge ourselves to find new ways to meet our goals. In 1987 we created the Distinguished Educator of Blind Children Award because we not only believed in excellence in education, but we believed that the best way to help blind people is to make it better for the next generation. The members of the Committee have a difficult task.
GIFT OF INDEPENDENCE: Teacher Helps Blind Find Their Own Way
by
,
Jefferson Middle School student Jennifer Espinoza shuffles down the crowded hallway, tapping her white cane uncertainly and hunching her shoulders as if to shield her body form students charging around her toward class. Her eyes see nothing, and her ears strain to hear clues from her cane over the din.
From a spot down the hall, Jennifer's teacher Gail Katona watches but makes no move to help. "If I walk with her, then she depends on me," she whispers, as Jennifer slowly makes her way to class.
WHAT SSI RECIPIENTS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT TRUSTS
by
,
Greg Trapp is an attorney practicing in New Mexico and a member of the National Federation of the Blind of New Mexico. He has done research on the ways in which trusts can be used to assist people receiving Supplemental Security Income. As we were going to press, Mr. Trapp notified us that the federal budget bill, the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA- 93), contains an amendment which will drastically reduce the circumstances under which a trust can be used to qualify a person for Medicaid.
BRAILLE WORLDWIDE
by
,
The following address was delivered at the annual conference of the California Transcribers and Educators of the Visually Handicapped, March 14, 1992, by Fred Schroeder, Director of the New Mexico Commission for the Blind, President of the International Council on English Braille, and member of the Board of Directors of the National Federation of the Blind. It was first printed in the CTEVH Journal, Fall, 1992. Here it is: Much is happening nationally and internationally concerning Braille.
THE BLIND STUDENT TEACHER IN PUBLIC EDUCATION
by
,
From the Associate Editor: Reading the following article made me cast my mind back to my own student teaching experience many years before I found the National Federation of the Blind. At the time I had no idea how lucky I was. Oberlin College was broad-minded and dedicated to giving all its students an equal chance. I was scheduled to student teach high school English the fall of my senior year of college.
PROBLEMS OF PLACEMENT AND RESPONSIBILITY: MAINSTREAMING REVISITED
by
,
Editor's Note: On Friday afternoon, July 3, Fred Schroeder, Director of the New Mexico Commission for the Blind and a member of the Board of Directors of the National Federation of the Blind, delivered an address to the 1992 NFB convention. Because of his many years of teaching and administrative experience in the education of blind children, Mr. Schroeder is an expert in this field, so his remarks on the modern inclusion movement--"Mainstreaming Revisited"--and its impact on the education of blind children, should be taken seriously by everyone with an interest in the subject.
FEDERATIONISTS JOIN IN ADA LAWSUIT TO BLOCK MEDICAID CUTS
by
,
From the Associate Editor: Greg Trapp is one of the leaders of the National Federation of the Blind of New Mexico. He is also an attorney with the Protection and Advocacy System in the state. Last May he and his colleagues brought what appears to have been the first lawsuit ever in a State District Court claiming violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Those of us who have watched and worked for passage of this legislation know that there are very real limits to what it can do to assist disabled people. It is a tool, and we must learn to use it wisely and appropriately.