So, of course I learned some awesome technical skills, and I feel really good about the travel skills I’ve acquired, but I think the biggest change I’ve noticed through the semester has been my confidence level while traveling. At first I was really afraid to take any chances. I’d get stuck, and I’d over think things so much that I’d be afraid to move. But lately, I haven’t been quite so worried about trying something that may or may not work. I really think this confidence arose as I began to trust myself and the people keeping me safe more. So, I suppose I take from this lesson the fact that to have my students feel confident and be successful, I’ve got to build strong rapport and trust, but I’ve also got to take the time to help them become more confident in their own skills.
One change that I didn’t really put together until this weekend was that my expectations of blind people are even higher than they were before. I think before I was afraid to challenge what I thought were bad traveling skills, but now that I have some knowledge, I know for sure they were bad skills, though I won’t be challenging much until I’m all certified and legit. I see a real correlation between dependence and poor O&M skills. I was at camp this past weekend, and I just couldn’t believe the horrible skills that the majority of our campers have. About half of the campers walked off the back of the trailer from the hayride holding their cane under their arms. There was complete trust that someone else would tell them about the two drop offs and keep them safe. It makes me so angry that other people facilitated this dependence and also that our campers don’t do anything about it. I think O&M skills really are the key skill and the difference between being successful and being an awkward, dependent blind person. I think it bothers me so much because I think sighted people make so many excuses for blind people. “Oh, but they’re blind, so they can’t possibly do something hard.” Of course, without the high expectations, they never will. Here’s where our class comes in: since I’ve done so many of these O&M tasks myself, I’m not really too sympathetic to blind people. I know it’s scary, and we’ve just had a taste of how nerve-wracking being blind could be, but I’ve learned that you’ve just got to suck it up and keep moving, even when you’re scared.
I’ve also developed a lot more confidence in my teaching. The whole time we were inside, I really dreaded teaching because I was so worried I would mess up, and as a result, Lauren wouldn’t learn what I wanted to teach her. I think I finally realized that if I think carefully and keep my student safe, then we will both be successful.
So, I’m really, really excited to keep learning more semester. I just love the mental challenge and the problem solving, and I can’t wait to try more.
No comments:
Post a Comment