Chris:

These are very good points, and they represent issues that must
realistically be addressed.

This is why this particular set of issues represents a good challenge to me.

Thanks very much for sharing your thoughts.

Again, if you have more, it might be best to take things "off list", but
I'll let you and the other folks on the list decide that.

Best 73 from Tom Behler: KB8TYJ

----- Original Message -----
From: "Christopher Moore" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, December 15, 2005 9:17 PM
Subject: Re: Off Topic: inquiry on blind teachers in the public schools


> Tom,
> Though I'm not an educator, I can forsee many difficulties which a blind
> person would encounter in teaching in a primary school setting.  The first
> thing which comes to mind is the whole issue of acceptance and respect of
> students, parents and staff.  A related issue is the ability to maintain
> order and dicipline in the classroom.  How many weeks or months
> would it take young kids to think of a blind person as more than an
> oddity and an object of constant ridicule?
>
> Moving on to the actual content of elementary ed, much of it is visual in
> the early grades (handwriting, art, show and tell, etc.).
>
> If I were a young person considering a profession, I'd want to pick
> something where I felt reasonable comfortable that I could perform most of
> the tasks requirede of the job.  While a blind person could work with yong
> children is certain specialized areas such a tutoring or as a resource
> teacher (say in music), my initial reaction is that most of the tasks
> performed by a sighted teacher will be next to impossible for a blind
> counterpart without an iniordinate amount of assistance.  Let's take an
> obvious example.  Could a blind person monitor recess?
>
> I'd love to be proven wrong, and if you find any leaving breathing
> examples, please share them with the list.
>
> 73 Chris W1gm
>