BTW, this article is about the Indiana School for the Blind, which is where 
I went to school.  I just went back there for aan alumni convention last 
year, and, well, while much of the school was the same, a lot had changed 
too, most notably, the physical renovations made to the building.

Ginny


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "BlindNews Mailing List" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, September 17, 2006 6:51 PM
Subject: BlindNews: Seeing their future: School for Blind prepares 
studentsfor life


> Indianapolis Star, Indiana USA
> Sunday, September 17, 2006
>
> Seeing their future: School for Blind prepares students for life
>
> By Y-Press (details below)
>
> By Perri McKinley, 16; Jordan Denari, 15; Ali Rader, 16 Y-Press
>
> True or false?
>
> 1. All blind people wear sunglasses.
> 2. If you read Braille in the dark, you need a flashlight and your fingers 
> get tired.
> 3. All blind people have Seeing Eye dogs.
>
> Answers: False. False. False.
>
> Yet students at Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired hear 
> these assumptions from people who have no idea what it means to be blind.
> "There are a lot of misconceptions about blind people," said Kyle Lewis, 
> 16, who is from the Clay County town of Brazil. "A lot of people think 
> because we're blind we use sign language -- that's the deaf people."
> Kyle is a student at the state school for the blind, which is on a wooded 
> Northside campus marked by historic brick buildings. The Indianapolis 
> school drew 168 students last year who ranged in age from 3 to 21. All are 
> from Indiana, although the school hosted a German exchange student last 
> year. About 20 percent of the student population is minority.
> The school is free for Hoosier students, who are admitted through a 
> process that involves their families, employees at the blind school and 
> educators from their public school districts. Their disabilities range in 
> severity.
> "There are people who are labeled as totally blind, but they have light 
> perception and they can see shadows," said Mika Baugh, 16. "And then 
> there's some that see only black -- there is no light, there is no 
> anything."
> Mika was born with optic-nerve hypoplasia and has never been able to see 
> normally. She can see many images but has trouble picking out detail. 
> Still, Mika enjoys watching TV, something she says totally blind students 
> often listen to along with movies and concerts.
> In all, more than 50 eye disorders are represented at the blind school. 
> Some students have other disabilities, including developmental disorders.
> Students enjoy the individual attention they get in their classes, most of 
> which have fewer than 10 students.
> Aside from traditional classes like math, reading and science, the school 
> also offers specialized classes that teach students how to get around, 
> exercise and live on their own.
> "Things that other people might take for granted -- simple things like 
> cutting up meat, laying out your clothes, making your bed, things like 
> that -- I learned at a young age from the school," said R.J. Crace, 19, 
> who was last spring's valedictorian.
> "They've taught me things that will stick with me for the rest of my 
> life."
> Students can take classes elsewhere, too. R.J., a Westfield native, took 
> radio broadcasting and physics at North Central High School in 
> Indianapolis.
> Kids at the blind school also are thankful for cutting-edge technology, 
> which goes beyond the traditional PC and magnifying glass.
> Students have access to Braille typewriters and note takers, talking 
> computers and computerized book magnifiers, which modify the size or color 
> of letters on a TV screen. They also have computer screen readers.
> "Without that," R.J. said, "it'd be awfully difficult for some of us to 
> use computers."
> The special equipment makes these classrooms stand out over their 
> traditional school counterparts. What sounded like a classroom full of 
> students hammering in woodshop actually was a writing class. Kids pounded 
> out poems on Braille typewriters that resembled old-fashioned 
> typewriters -- only with fewer keys.
> Like most young people, the blind-school students have interests outside 
> the classroom.
> They have a homecoming dance and a prom. The school also offers band, 
> chorus, piano, scouting, creative dance and a speech team. Students 
> participate in wrestling, cheerleading, track and field and swimming; 
> competition in the latter two sports are against other blind students in 
> other states.
> Because home is far away for some students, the blind school offers 
> housing during the week. Students usually go home on the weekends, 
> although some students stay on campus for sports or other events.
> "Of course, the whole going to school is a totally different experience 
> because I basically live here," said Mika, who is from Greenwood. "You 
> know, I've gone here since I was 5, so it's kind of like that in itself is 
> a different thing."
> R.J. said some of the kids, teachers and school employees are just like 
> family. They watched him grow from a toddler to a teenager. Their 
> affection shows up in little ways -- like the cafeteria lady who rushed 
> over to comb Kyle's hair before a photographer took his picture.
> The key lesson kids have learned is that they are normal.
> Teachers "help us realize that just because we're blind or visually 
> impaired doesn't mean that we're not like everybody else," said Jazmine 
> Jenkins, 17, who has grown up at the school.
> R.J., now a Ball State University freshman, is grateful that the school is 
> basically a "normal school" that offers extras.
> "Oh, it's been wonderful," he said. "The school has done everything that I 
> could've imagined and then some."
>
> CAPTION: Aid: A Braille Lite note-taker is a lightweight device with a 
> Braille typewriter and speech synthesizer. - Provided by Indiana School 
> for the Blind
>
> Want to be part of Y-Press?
>
> Y-Press is a nonprofit news organization in which young people ages 10 to 
> 18 research, write and report stories. Training sessions for potential new 
> members will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 30 and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 
> 1 at Y-Press offices in The Star building, 307 N. Pennsylvania St. To 
> learn how to apply, call (317) 444-2010, or send e-mail to [log in to unmask]
>
> ASSISTANT EDITOR: Meera Patel, 14. REPORTERS: Eric Chen, 13; Alexis 
> Schaefer, 11; Joi Officer, 12
>
> http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060917/LIVING/609170331/1007/LIVING
>
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