The ability to learn is taken for granted. I don't have the data on that, it is just a given. In the United States, school is a given. When children are 5 and older, it is mandatory to attend a school. Public Education has been the mainstay of the country since 1918 (Fisher Act {1}) The Constitution of the United States of America does not provide for the education of children, before Congress instituted the public school system, it was left up to the individual parents, the states and the society as a whole to see to the education of our children. . The Department of Education was formed in 1867 to collect data on schools throughout the United States. {2} Up to this time, there were school houses, home schools, private schools, and they all taught children the basics. Some were taught foreign languages, some were only taught the rudimentary skills of readin, ritin, and rithmatic. Now while the three 'R's have been a staple and a basis of all other education, there is so much more out there to learn...
Not all children were able to actually have a clssroom, many had a one room school house where all grades learned side by side from one teacher. My Mother, her siblings and my inlaws were all taught in one room school houses.
There have been some acts of Congress that have actually been landmarks in the society of the United States and they had to do with education. 1917 Smith-Hughes Act that gave federal aid to schools..the 1918 Child Labor Law{3}, Civil Rights Act of 1964, Public Law 94-142 The Education for all Handicapped Children Act, and the 2002 No Child Left Behind Act had bipartisan support and passed through Congress{4}... These laws have all leveled the playground so to speak for all children to have access to public education.OK, so the Child Labor law isn't to do with education, but it helped enable children to have the time to go to public schools. Before this time in history, children were able to work the same hours as adults, in the same type jobs, in the same hazardous conditions...
1...The Cabinet Papers 1915-1984. National Archchives. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cabinetpapers/themes/fisher-act.htm
2...The Federal Role in Education. US Department of Education. http://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/fed/role.html
3... http://www.lawnix.com/cases/hammer-dagenhart.html
4...http://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/fed/role.html
Join me for pondering and insight through travels, work, art, family and the day to day struggles with vision.
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Saturday, October 18, 2014
Day 18-Counting Down the Days
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These are the days that try your patience. Counting down to surgeries or any type of procedure really is nerve racking, and can make you irritated and anxious. I am both.
I'm having a procedure done Monday and I'm not looking forward to it. Over the past few years I have been to more doctors than I would like to think about. I don't want to go to another at all, but I do have another specialist to visit after this. ugh.
My last couple of specialists haven't been that great. Oh, they are nice... but they didn't really help, and in the case of one... maybe hurt?
One of the specialists wanted to do another surgery on my eye to see if they could repair some of the damage, another says no... one says that it is not even damaged, the first says yes it is... the second says that medications will help... the third says no... the first says surgery... the second says surgery, but not the same as the first... and so on... No two can agree and heaven help you if you say... well... Dr. so and so said this... they will all disagree!
So here I am.
Waiting to figure out which one is right.
All along it might be that I need to go to a larger city to find a doctor that might have the answer. I need to be evaluated again to find out if I qualify for training for low vision. All the doctors agree that it would help. Not all of them agree that my vision won't return. One says that it won't, another says it might, the third says there is no reason that I shouldn't be able to see... of course he does say that there are several other things going on that the other two say aren't... sigh...
Is this confusing?
Yes!
Is there any easy solution to the doctor problems?
No.
Am I frustrated?
Yes!
Will I ever be able to see any better than now?
I guess that time will tell.
These are the days that try your patience. Counting down to surgeries or any type of procedure really is nerve racking, and can make you irritated and anxious. I am both.
I'm having a procedure done Monday and I'm not looking forward to it. Over the past few years I have been to more doctors than I would like to think about. I don't want to go to another at all, but I do have another specialist to visit after this. ugh.
My last couple of specialists haven't been that great. Oh, they are nice... but they didn't really help, and in the case of one... maybe hurt?
One of the specialists wanted to do another surgery on my eye to see if they could repair some of the damage, another says no... one says that it is not even damaged, the first says yes it is... the second says that medications will help... the third says no... the first says surgery... the second says surgery, but not the same as the first... and so on... No two can agree and heaven help you if you say... well... Dr. so and so said this... they will all disagree!
So here I am.
Waiting to figure out which one is right.
All along it might be that I need to go to a larger city to find a doctor that might have the answer. I need to be evaluated again to find out if I qualify for training for low vision. All the doctors agree that it would help. Not all of them agree that my vision won't return. One says that it won't, another says it might, the third says there is no reason that I shouldn't be able to see... of course he does say that there are several other things going on that the other two say aren't... sigh...
Is this confusing?
Yes!
Is there any easy solution to the doctor problems?
No.
Am I frustrated?
Yes!
Will I ever be able to see any better than now?
I guess that time will tell.
Friday, October 17, 2014
Day 17-- Not Seeing what is in Front of You
Please use the tab above to find the "List of 31 Days Blog Posts" to follow the series. Thank you!
This is going pretty far off the original outline for my blog, but this is the first day that I have felt like actually blogging for a few days now, and I felt that this is what I need to write. Bear with me!
I drive my family crazy most days,
In my house, everything has a place. All objects need to be in their place... and if they aren't, I can't find them... even if said object is right in front of me.
I have discussed that I have been going blind over the course of my lifetime, with a few episodes that have brought on a greater degree of blindness. With a few statements, you might have figured that at times, my vision is so bad that I am unable to function. Most days, I can, but those days that I can't... I know that I drive the family crazy. My son will point out what I am looking for (usually right in front of me) and will shake his head.
It is a burden on them I know. What I don't know is... how can I change the way I function so that I am not a burden on my kids or my friends?
I am learning how to read braille, but really? I don't know if I will ever be able to really read. It is tough to learn. I mean, I learned Latin, French, Spanish and some Italian and Greek... surely I can learn Braille. It is unlike learning a foreign language. The whole premise is that you feel the dots on the page and you decipher those raised bumps into language. I can't do that. Oh, I can feel the dots, but my mind is just not going to register the patterns... and I am unable to figure out what the patterns mean. Honestly, I think maybe there is like a block in my brain because it shouldn't be this hard... should it? Is it this hard to learn in childhood? Do other people have this hard a time?
To deal with my hearing loss, I started learning American Sign Language (ASL). Actually I started learning in elementary school and then as an adult I took a video course... before it was cool kind of classes. In elementary, if you were in this certain section of the grade level, and you had good grades... they allowed you to chose a place to "work" . It was a privilege to do this. It meant that you had some responsibility and could get out of doing something... I don't remember now what it was that you got to avoid.
I was offered to work with the "handicapped" kids. I was the only one that ever worked in there. I don't know why... There were hearing impaired kids that taught me to sign and I remembered simple phrases and how to spell. So, when they offered the online classes as kind of a 'perk' for living in an isolated area, I thought, yes... that is the class I can build upon what I know. I even attended a couple of workshops in a larger town, but I never got very good at it. I didn't have anyone to "talk" to. Kind of like learning French to not ever use it to speak to anyone... it was kind of lost on me.
Braille? This is just not going to turn out as well as the ASL...Not only is it difficult to learn, it isn't like a language that you can learn and share... it is something very private. You can use the knowledge to communicate with other people, but to me it is so personal. You can read it and then read aloud, but it isn't like translating it from a foreign language... it is translating it from your fingers to your brain to your mouth...
I really think there is a block in there somewhere that is stopping me...
After discussing this before on the blog, I am really noticing more and more...how signs in Braille aren't very orderly. I am always shocked that they don't really have a uniform height and more of a uniform way that signage is used... maybe the Americans With Disabilities Act will bring about the changes needed to make them uniform here in the States. But it is going to take more than an Act of Congress to be sure that all businesses follow these guidelines. It is going to take the public to notice that signs can be confusing if they aren't used properly.... and ... lack of signs can be confusing...
The whole idea is to enable people to be more independent. To be able to function without having to depend on other people is of the utmost importance to someone like me. I have been independent for so long, it is hard to give up my freedom and mobility. I don't want to depend on my friends to take me everywhere, to have to accompany me to the bathroom... sigh,..
I suppose that is why I remember directions the way I do. I memorize floor-plans, memorize maps, memorize different routes to take. My daughter told me recently that she didn't know how I could do it, whenever we would go to a new town, I could navigate to where ever we were going without any problems. I didn't have to worry about directions... that is because I memorized the maps. This is a problem if I am telling someone else where to go, because I "see" in my mind where I need to go. I have a hard time translating that into spoken directions... maybe that same block that I have with Braille?
This is going pretty far off the original outline for my blog, but this is the first day that I have felt like actually blogging for a few days now, and I felt that this is what I need to write. Bear with me!
I drive my family crazy most days,
In my house, everything has a place. All objects need to be in their place... and if they aren't, I can't find them... even if said object is right in front of me.
I have discussed that I have been going blind over the course of my lifetime, with a few episodes that have brought on a greater degree of blindness. With a few statements, you might have figured that at times, my vision is so bad that I am unable to function. Most days, I can, but those days that I can't... I know that I drive the family crazy. My son will point out what I am looking for (usually right in front of me) and will shake his head.
It is a burden on them I know. What I don't know is... how can I change the way I function so that I am not a burden on my kids or my friends?
I am learning how to read braille, but really? I don't know if I will ever be able to really read. It is tough to learn. I mean, I learned Latin, French, Spanish and some Italian and Greek... surely I can learn Braille. It is unlike learning a foreign language. The whole premise is that you feel the dots on the page and you decipher those raised bumps into language. I can't do that. Oh, I can feel the dots, but my mind is just not going to register the patterns... and I am unable to figure out what the patterns mean. Honestly, I think maybe there is like a block in my brain because it shouldn't be this hard... should it? Is it this hard to learn in childhood? Do other people have this hard a time?
To deal with my hearing loss, I started learning American Sign Language (ASL). Actually I started learning in elementary school and then as an adult I took a video course... before it was cool kind of classes. In elementary, if you were in this certain section of the grade level, and you had good grades... they allowed you to chose a place to "work" . It was a privilege to do this. It meant that you had some responsibility and could get out of doing something... I don't remember now what it was that you got to avoid.
I was offered to work with the "handicapped" kids. I was the only one that ever worked in there. I don't know why... There were hearing impaired kids that taught me to sign and I remembered simple phrases and how to spell. So, when they offered the online classes as kind of a 'perk' for living in an isolated area, I thought, yes... that is the class I can build upon what I know. I even attended a couple of workshops in a larger town, but I never got very good at it. I didn't have anyone to "talk" to. Kind of like learning French to not ever use it to speak to anyone... it was kind of lost on me.
Braille? This is just not going to turn out as well as the ASL...Not only is it difficult to learn, it isn't like a language that you can learn and share... it is something very private. You can use the knowledge to communicate with other people, but to me it is so personal. You can read it and then read aloud, but it isn't like translating it from a foreign language... it is translating it from your fingers to your brain to your mouth...
I really think there is a block in there somewhere that is stopping me...
After discussing this before on the blog, I am really noticing more and more...how signs in Braille aren't very orderly. I am always shocked that they don't really have a uniform height and more of a uniform way that signage is used... maybe the Americans With Disabilities Act will bring about the changes needed to make them uniform here in the States. But it is going to take more than an Act of Congress to be sure that all businesses follow these guidelines. It is going to take the public to notice that signs can be confusing if they aren't used properly.... and ... lack of signs can be confusing...
The whole idea is to enable people to be more independent. To be able to function without having to depend on other people is of the utmost importance to someone like me. I have been independent for so long, it is hard to give up my freedom and mobility. I don't want to depend on my friends to take me everywhere, to have to accompany me to the bathroom... sigh,..
I suppose that is why I remember directions the way I do. I memorize floor-plans, memorize maps, memorize different routes to take. My daughter told me recently that she didn't know how I could do it, whenever we would go to a new town, I could navigate to where ever we were going without any problems. I didn't have to worry about directions... that is because I memorized the maps. This is a problem if I am telling someone else where to go, because I "see" in my mind where I need to go. I have a hard time translating that into spoken directions... maybe that same block that I have with Braille?
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Day 16--Trying
Please use the tab above to find the "List of 31 Days Posts" to follow the series, thank you!
I have been to the dentist twice this week, and I am in a bit of pain. I am hoping that the work done is going to relieve some of the swelling and pressure on the left ear, I didn't realize that I had a swollen gland and that could be a bit of the lessening of my hearing in that ear... hopefully. I still have the specialist to see after all the medications are done with. He will hopefully have answers to my latest hearing loss. As for my eyes.. I wish that having a tooth fixed might fix that... sigh... It has been trying to say the least in reading the instructions given by the dentist, the antibiotic... the pain reliever. I have a hard time making sure I get the right dosage and make sure that I can remember the times... the quantity to make the right dosage. My son, the angel that he is... opens the child proof caps for me and will read the labels for me. He is a love.
I am wondering if I should be the one raising this beautiful spirit. He deserves someone that he doesn't have to take care of.
Sigh.
I hope to finish the blog that I had started for today... tomorrow.
Please come back and join me. Share a cup of decaffeinated coffee with me... or a cup of herbal tea...
I have been to the dentist twice this week, and I am in a bit of pain. I am hoping that the work done is going to relieve some of the swelling and pressure on the left ear, I didn't realize that I had a swollen gland and that could be a bit of the lessening of my hearing in that ear... hopefully. I still have the specialist to see after all the medications are done with. He will hopefully have answers to my latest hearing loss. As for my eyes.. I wish that having a tooth fixed might fix that... sigh... It has been trying to say the least in reading the instructions given by the dentist, the antibiotic... the pain reliever. I have a hard time making sure I get the right dosage and make sure that I can remember the times... the quantity to make the right dosage. My son, the angel that he is... opens the child proof caps for me and will read the labels for me. He is a love.
I am wondering if I should be the one raising this beautiful spirit. He deserves someone that he doesn't have to take care of.
Sigh.
I hope to finish the blog that I had started for today... tomorrow.
Please come back and join me. Share a cup of decaffeinated coffee with me... or a cup of herbal tea...
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