Re: Shopping problems

January 23, 2005

Well Cy,

I will do you one better. My eighth grade English teacher just didn't know

what to do with me when one day I was a little stinker. You see, he was

trying to hit home the point to write in full and not to use contractions.

This authoritarian walks up to the black board and write in big bold letters

" Don't write contractions. " Calmly, I walked up to the board and pointed to

the word " Don't " . I never saw a teacher turn red before, but lo and behold,

they were just like the rest of us humans full of volatile reaction.

Apparently, I accomplished something nobody else had -- I made him

speechless the rest of the day. Hey, Mr. Whittington, if you're going to

preach it......well, you get the idea.

Bill Powers

January 23, 2005

Bill,

Not all that long ago the subject of Braille erupted like a volcano on a

couple of lists I belong to.

I believe the consensus was that Braille should be taught to all blind

children as well as those who will, most probably, lose their ability to

read print in the future.

It was also felt that many, many special ed teachers in the public

school system are not adequately prepared to teach the use of Braille.

They do not know the difference between sloppily written Braille and

Braille which is neat and crisp.

While all of these electronic devices we have today are a genuine

blessing and asset they are also our bane.

It is much like the calculator. I never had the luxury of using a

calculator when I was in high school or college because the little

bitty, teeny weensy calculator had not yet been invented.

Today students are allowed to use a calculator as soon as they hit

middle school (long about the sixth grade)

Add things in their heads? Surly you jest! (smile)

One of the things I do miss about the New York Times is their spelling

of names. They always spelled a new to the news name the first several

times an article appeared with that name in it.

I don't know about you but some of the foreign names leave me absolutely

clueless.

Anyway, hang in there folks cause yesterday iss in the past, tomorrow is

in the future and today is a present.

Cy, the Ancient Okie...

Re: Shopping problems

That would be hard trying to reinforce good spelling after you've lost

sight, given the fact that you remembered how your words " looked. " This

is

why I believed that when you are able to, you should learn Braille, so

that

a tactile representation of the correctly spelled word is what would

then

replace your visual reference. I have a kind of opposite experience with

some words, since I learned print first until I was FORCED to learn

Braille

by the school for the blind I attended for 3 years. For quite a long

time

after that, my " word picture " of the word " it " was an X, since that is

the

character used in Braille. Others I've known remembered correct

spellings by

the Braille combinations and it has served them well. But then there are

those like me who are not good at feeling the Braille, (I always cheated

by

looking at it). I found my fingers too sensitive to want to read it for

any

length of time and didn't know of a solution back in the day. But were I

to

do it over again with the knowledge I have now, I might have embraced it

more and been even better at spelling. I had to be a good speller to do

medical transcription anyway, or else spend too much time in a

dictionary

for which I would not get paid.

Bill Powers

January 23, 2005

Here in California there is a State law that says all blind children and

children who will be blind because of their particular eye problem have to

learn Braille. the problem is the lack of teachers who know how to teach

Braille. There just are not enough and man of them are teachers who travel

to the different schools (itinerant teachers) who see a child only every

other week or so.iterant

Re: Shopping problems

That would be hard trying to reinforce good spelling after you've lost

sight, given the fact that you remembered how your words " looked. " This

is

why I believed that when you are able to, you should learn Braille, so

that

a tactile representation of the correctly spelled word is what would

then

replace your visual reference. I have a kind of opposite experience with

some words, since I learned print first until I was FORCED to learn

Braille

by the school for the blind I attended for 3 years. For quite a long

time

after that, my " word picture " of the word " it " was an X, since that is

the

character used in Braille. Others I've known remembered correct

spellings by

the Braille combinations and it has served them well. But then there are

those like me who are not good at feeling the Braille, (I always cheated

by

looking at it). I found my fingers too sensitive to want to read it for

any

length of time and didn't know of a solution back in the day. But were I

to

do it over again with the knowledge I have now, I might have embraced it

more and been even better at spelling. I had to be a good speller to do

medical transcription anyway, or else spend too much time in a

dictionary

for which I would not get paid.

Bill Powers

January 23, 2005

I know Braille, Bill, but can't feel it too well and therefore only use it

for short notes. I did use it to keep all my notes when I worked, but used

Jumbo Braille.

Re: Shopping problems

That would be hard trying to reinforce good spelling after you've lost

sight, given the fact that you remembered how your words " looked. " This is

why I believed that when you are able to, you should learn Braille, so that

a tactile representation of the correctly spelled word is what would then

replace your visual reference. I have a kind of opposite experience with

some words, since I learned print first until I was FORCED to learn Braille

by the school for the blind I attended for 3 years. For quite a long time

after that, my " word picture " of the word " it " was an X, since that is the

character used in Braille. Others I've known remembered correct spellings by

the Braille combinations and it has served them well. But then there are

those like me who are not good at feeling the Braille, (I always cheated by

looking at it). I found my fingers too sensitive to want to read it for any

length of time and didn't know of a solution back in the day. But were I to

do it over again with the knowledge I have now, I might have embraced it

more and been even better at spelling. I had to be a good speller to do

medical transcription anyway, or else spend too much time in a dictionary

for which I would not get paid.

Bill Powers

January 23, 2005

,

I've lived in California most of my life and I never knew about that law.

But yes you are right, teachers doing Braille is in short supply mostly

because of money. If there is no incentive for today's crop of teachers to

learn or teach Braille, why do it? And most kids are so resistive to

learning it, they feel they don't even have to because they will not

actively use it. With Braille illiteracy at such an all-time high, it's a

real problem at both ends of this equation. And I have no idea how we will

ever solve this problem either.

I remember in years past there was a stupid California State law that said

everyone must take Driver's Education. It was abolished but only AFTER my

time in high school. Imagine, I had to take DE but could only get a C+ even

though I had 100% scores on all my written tests, because I couldn't do the

driving part.

And to make my English teacher squirm in his grave.... " ain't it rough out

there? " (Oh, I shoulda used " isn't " instead of " ain't " but I ain't gonna

change it now......) <G>

Bill

January 23, 2005

Cy, When I was in nursing school we had to use ink pens to do our charting

on patients and we would be highly admonished if we used a pencil or a ball

point-this was until there was a flood in the record room an all the

patients files were erased as the ink pen ink dissolved! I can remember

refilling the little ink cartridges with a syringe and a bottle of ink.

Oh, I remember Winston's too as I smoked them for a while. Fortunately I

quit that nasty habit in my early 30's.

Re: Shopping problems

Bill,

I know what you mean by not being able to learn a foreign language in

order to carry on a conversation in it. I did not learn until I was 38

years of age that I had a hearing disability, and that is probably why I

am one of the world's worse spellers today and have always been.

Re: Shopping problems

>

> Cy,

>

> Unfortunately, the caliber of help in a store is not dictated by how

> smart that person is, it's how CHEAP they are. Employers don't

> consider a person's ability to read or communicat anymore, all they

> consider is keeping the bottom line black. They will put up with

> subgrade help as long as it's cheap. And you know what's really

> aggravating? (Here I go on my soapbox for

> the day, and please, I'm not meaning to slam race or nationality, but

just

> to make a valid point.) So much of the help these days is expected to

be

> bilingual. OK, that's fine, but when I actually find help only to find

> that

> person speaks Spanish but NO ENGLISH, I'm in a pickle. What happened

to

> the

> BI-lingual? See, it's OK if they can speak Spanish, but it doesn't

matter

> if

> they don't speak English. We just have to " give them a break " and " be

> understanding. " Oh I better stop now before I really get going on

this.

> It's

> what I run up against as I look for work, the " Spanish " issue. And

with my

> mild hearing impairment I doubt I'd ever be able to learn Spanish well

> enough, as it's hard enough understanding the way some people speak

> English.

> So, as the Spanish say, " que lastima. " (I probably spelled it wrong

<G>).

>

> Whew!

>

> Enough venting for one day. Think I've heated up the apartment with my

> hot air......

>

> Bill

>

January 23, 2005

Cy, When I was in nursing school we had to use ink pens to do our charting

on patients and we would be highly admonished if we used a pencil or a ball

point-this was until there was a flood in the record room an all the

patients files were erased as the ink pen ink dissolved! I can remember

refilling the little ink cartridges with a syringe and a bottle of ink.

Oh, I remember Winston's too as I smoked them for a while. Fortunately I

quit that nasty habit in my early 30's.

Re: Shopping problems

Bill,

I know what you mean by not being able to learn a foreign language in

order to carry on a conversation in it. I did not learn until I was 38

years of age that I had a hearing disability, and that is probably why I

am one of the world's worse spellers today and have always been.

Re: Shopping problems

>

> Cy,

>

> Unfortunately, the caliber of help in a store is not dictated by how

> smart that person is, it's how CHEAP they are. Employers don't

> consider a person's ability to read or communicat anymore, all they

> consider is keeping the bottom line black. They will put up with

> subgrade help as long as it's cheap. And you know what's really

> aggravating? (Here I go on my soapbox for

> the day, and please, I'm not meaning to slam race or nationality, but

just

> to make a valid point.) So much of the help these days is expected to

be

> bilingual. OK, that's fine, but when I actually find help only to find

> that

> person speaks Spanish but NO ENGLISH, I'm in a pickle. What happened

to

> the

> BI-lingual? See, it's OK if they can speak Spanish, but it doesn't

matter

> if

> they don't speak English. We just have to " give them a break " and " be

> understanding. " Oh I better stop now before I really get going on

this.

> It's

> what I run up against as I look for work, the " Spanish " issue. And

with my

> mild hearing impairment I doubt I'd ever be able to learn Spanish well

> enough, as it's hard enough understanding the way some people speak

> English.

> So, as the Spanish say, " que lastima. " (I probably spelled it wrong

<G>).

>

> Whew!

>

> Enough venting for one day. Think I've heated up the apartment with my

> hot air......

>

> Bill

>

January 23, 2005

Cy, When I was in nursing school we had to use ink pens to do our charting

on patients and we would be highly admonished if we used a pencil or a ball

point-this was until there was a flood in the record room an all the

patients files were erased as the ink pen ink dissolved! I can remember

refilling the little ink cartridges with a syringe and a bottle of ink.

Oh, I remember Winston's too as I smoked them for a while. Fortunately I

quit that nasty habit in my early 30's.

Re: Shopping problems

Bill,

I know what you mean by not being able to learn a foreign language in

order to carry on a conversation in it. I did not learn until I was 38

years of age that I had a hearing disability, and that is probably why I

am one of the world's worse spellers today and have always been.

Re: Shopping problems

>

> Cy,

>

> Unfortunately, the caliber of help in a store is not dictated by how

> smart that person is, it's how CHEAP they are. Employers don't

> consider a person's ability to read or communicat anymore, all they

> consider is keeping the bottom line black. They will put up with

> subgrade help as long as it's cheap. And you know what's really

> aggravating? (Here I go on my soapbox for

> the day, and please, I'm not meaning to slam race or nationality, but

just

> to make a valid point.) So much of the help these days is expected to

be

> bilingual. OK, that's fine, but when I actually find help only to find

> that

> person speaks Spanish but NO ENGLISH, I'm in a pickle. What happened

to

> the

> BI-lingual? See, it's OK if they can speak Spanish, but it doesn't

matter

> if

> they don't speak English. We just have to " give them a break " and " be

> understanding. " Oh I better stop now before I really get going on

this.

> It's

> what I run up against as I look for work, the " Spanish " issue. And

with my

> mild hearing impairment I doubt I'd ever be able to learn Spanish well

> enough, as it's hard enough understanding the way some people speak

> English.

> So, as the Spanish say, " que lastima. " (I probably spelled it wrong

<G>).

>

> Whew!

>

> Enough venting for one day. Think I've heated up the apartment with my

> hot air......

>

> Bill

>

January 23, 2005

That law came into affect about 8 years ago bill. the CCB was instrumental

in proposing it and getting it passed-for all the good it did! If you don't

have teachers, it doesn't help to have a law. But you are right about lack

of incentive. What is really sad is that the teachers who are at the

different schools for the blind and who are required to have more education

than regular teachers, actually get paid less. So they are there only

because of education.

Re: Shopping problems

,

I've lived in California most of my life and I never knew about that law.

But yes you are right, teachers doing Braille is in short supply mostly

because of money. If there is no incentive for today's crop of teachers to

learn or teach Braille, why do it? And most kids are so resistive to

learning it, they feel they don't even have to because they will not

actively use it. With Braille illiteracy at such an all-time high, it's a

real problem at both ends of this equation. And I have no idea how we will

ever solve this problem either.

I remember in years past there was a stupid California State law that said

everyone must take Driver's Education. It was abolished but only AFTER my

time in high school. Imagine, I had to take DE but could only get a C+ even

though I had 100% scores on all my written tests, because I couldn't do the

driving part.

And to make my English teacher squirm in his grave.... " ain't it rough out

there? " (Oh, I shoulda used " isn't " instead of " ain't " but I ain't gonna

change it now......) <G>

Bill

January 23, 2005

That's pretty funny, bill. My husband is partially sighted and never

learned Braille. As they did not have a lot so stuff in large print, he

never learned to spell either as the schools taught him everything by

reading it to him or putting it on tape.

Re: Shopping problems

I can understand using Jumbo Braille and can understand not reading it very

well. As I said, my problem is being " ticklish " when it comes to Braille, so

it's irritating to me, hence I read it with my eyes. OK, call me a

cheater....

Bill

January 23, 2005

You're right, . I found when I was working however, that very few

type 2 people (who are usually at least middle age) don't want to learn

Braille.

Re: Shopping problems

,

I know that many blind diabetics have problems with reading Braille,

particularly, those with type A diabetes. However, I do think that type 2

diabetics that are already blind, and have a knowledge of, and use Braille,

could help themselves far more, by not pricking their index finger when

testing their own blood. After all, it should be pointed out to them, when

they become a diabetic, that the index finger and the thumb have the

majority of the nerve endings, and after a period of time, these can become

damaged if they consistently take their blood from these points.

Some nurses who should know better, even forget this point sometimes, and

do need reminding now and again. To overcome this problem, I always tuck

the tip of my index finger, round the thumb, offering them, either, the

middle, fourth or little fingers, when they need to do this at the hospital.

.

Re: Shopping problems

>

> That would be hard trying to reinforce good spelling after you've lost

> sight, given the fact that you remembered how your words " looked. " This is

> why I believed that when you are able to, you should learn Braille, so

that

> a tactile representation of the correctly spelled word is what would then

> replace your visual reference. I have a kind of opposite experience with

> some words, since I learned print first until I was FORCED to learn

Braille

> by the school for the blind I attended for 3 years. For quite a long time

> after that, my " word picture " of the word " it " was an X, since that is the

> character used in Braille. Others I've known remembered correct spellings

by

> the Braille combinations and it has served them well. But then there are

> those like me who are not good at feeling the Braille, (I always cheated

by

> looking at it). I found my fingers too sensitive to want to read it for

any

> length of time and didn't know of a solution back in the day. But were I

to

> do it over again with the knowledge I have now, I might have embraced it

> more and been even better at spelling. I had to be a good speller to do

> medical transcription anyway, or else spend too much time in a dictionary

> for which I would not get paid.

>

> Bill Powers

>

January 23, 2005