On February 1st, the book Let Freedom Ring was presented to President Obama. Containing 100 letters from blind children, adults and senior citizens, it explains Braille's role in their lives.
Braille Literacy: the Controversy
Education Secretary Arn Duncan accepted Let Freedom Ring on behalf of the President from NFB's First Vice President Fred Schroeder at the Department of Education. Two blind children, the parent of a blind child, and NFB President Dr. Marc Maurer spoke about what Braille means to them. They asked the Secretary to support the Braille Readers are Leaders Literacy Campaign's goal of doubling the number of children learning Braille by 2015.
Only ten percent of America's blind children read Braille (down from fifty percent in the 1960s. Seventy percent of working-age blind Americans are unemployed. Of those who work, approximately ninety percent read Braille. Many parents of legally blind children are told that Braille is passé. The alternatives they are offered, like audio books and talking computers, don't provide instant access to spelling, punctuation and sentence structure, available only in print and Braille. Children with residual vision using magnification frequently fall behind.
The book tells the story of hope and triumph, the value of Braille not only in understanding language, but in living independently. It also tells of failure and missed opportunities.
"At this moment newly blind individuals are being told that Braille is too slow and is outdated," writes Maurer, a lawyer who was reading over 200 words per minute while teachers claimed 90 was the top speed, "Tomorrow we will have to face their stories of low expectations, heartache, and lost opportunities"
Braille: Catapulting Blind People Toward the Stars
Chelsea Cook, a senior at Denbigh High School Aviation Academy (Newport News, Virginia), reads several steps above grade level. Physics is her favorite subject. She is a voracious reader, writes poetry and science fiction novels and plans to become an astronaut. She's also blind and has been a Braille reader since age four. NASA, which employs several blind engineers recently released Noreen Grice's Touch the Invisible Sky, featuring NASA photos enhanced with raised dots and lines. Chelsea attended the unveiling.
Despite some educators' insistence that Braille is obsolete, new technology allows blind people like Chelsea to access more books than ever. She downloads files to her portable Braille reader and reads them on a refreshable Braille display. She is part of an even smaller group. She knows the Nemeth code; the Braille math and science notation system allows her to memorize equations and formulas.
Chelsea is second vice president of NFB's Writers' Division and secretary of the Science and Engineering Division. She is shocked that most blind kids don't read Braille. It startles her that so many, who are denied Braille education, report hating to read. Cook points to Isaac Newton and others, including herself, whose journeys began with the love of reading.
"We must keep teaching Braille," writes Chelsea to the President, "Those six dots unlock doors. Those six dots help solve the mysteries of the universe. Those six dots give freedom. I do not want to be the last blind child dreaming in America because I have the gift of literacy."
Braille: Missed Opportunities and Struggle for Blind Americans
Rosy Carranza's parents immigrated to California in the 1970s. As fruit pickers in the San Joaquin Valley, they earned $2 per hour, had less than a sixth grade education and limited English skills. They felt intimidated. When Rosy's vision grew worse, they relied on ophthalmologists and special education professionals to make decisions about her future.
Since she had residual vision, Rosy was denied Braille and given thick glasses, powerful magnifiers and large print books. She still had trouble and eventually lost her love of reading. She fell behind academically. She also lost her self confidence and her dreams of a better life. Worse yet was knowing that her parents' sacrifices were in vain; without literacy, she too would have limited opportunities.
Not until Rosy attended a boot camp for the blind would she begin to move beyond the professionals' low expectations. She laments not learning Braille earlier.
"Instead," she writes to President Obama, "my school years were defined by the sleepless nights I spent crying about my vision loss, by the embarrassing moments that I spent feeling inadequate because I could not read aloud when the teacher called on me, and by the looming feeling that I would always be a tremendous burden to my family and society."
Braille: the Future of Literacy for Blind Americans
The Braille Readers are Leaders Literacy Campaign will raise standards for Braille teachers and help prepare them to teach. Online sharing, enhanced production methods, and improved distribution will make Braille resources more available. People like Marc Maurer, Chelsea Cook and Rosy Carranza are opening the public's eyes to the inestimable value of Braille.
Donna W. Hill - Donna W. Hill is an author, singer/songwriter, recording artist, speaker and avid knitter in Pennsylvania's rural Endless Mountains. Her ...
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