Continuing the discussion from Week 1: July 1-6:
Question 1: Hello everyone, this is Marion. I started my career in the field back in the late 90’s at Perkins School for the Blind, as a Vocational instructor and Horticultural Therapist. I entered the teacher education program at Boston College and earned my M.Ed in Deafblind & Multiple Disability education. My teacher certifications are Intensive Special Needs and Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI). I have worked in both the Secondary and Deafblind Programs at Perkins. My main focus throughout my career has mainly been vocational training while also working in the Horticulture department. Today, I work alongside all of the vocational teachers and job coaches in our school. Throughout my career, I also taught Functional Mathematics to high school students. Literacy is certainly an important aspect of any mathematical instruction while students learn about key concepts for computation and the like. I have been involved in Science MCAS-ALT for our Massachusetts-based students, literacy was much a part of those portfolios. Literacy has been an element I have focused on every year, to provide opportunities to enhance our students’ reading skills through communication routines and social opportunities during work experience, science, and horticulture classes. Working in a larger school, I am on a team with many teachers and therapists from a wide range of disciplines, along with families who are all highly invested in the educational endeavors of every student. As I think about the readings, I connected to Blankenship’s reading, specifically to her statement: “Students who are blind or have low vision deserve high-quality literacy instruction not only from their classroom teachers but also from qualified teachers of visually impaired students and other significant individuals in their lives.” It has been amazing to work with such a talented team of professionals, administrators, and families to coordinate efforts for literacy education for all of our students. As I look back over the years, our teams of professionals have worked together to develop creative and alternative ways to teach students who faced challenges attaining reading skills, including many with learning disabilities and/or multiple disabilities that accompanied their visual impairments. Today, we are faced with our work with EL learners, so we are continually learning ways to adapt literacy to teach these remarkable individuals who come to us with dual-language capabilities as we address their literacy. I was truly impressed with a group of professionals (SLP, TVI, Reading Specialist/English Teacher) who published a braille version of the Wilson Reading program, which went through product development at APH, to assist those students with visual impairments who also struggled with learning disabilities. Over the years, we have delved into many aspects of Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI) and continue to establish ways to enhance literacy for children with CVI. With this first week’s readings, I connected also to Swenson, as she spoke about literacy instruction with young readers, regarding how “teaching braille to young children means also teaching reading–that these two are inseparable”. She also highlighted a concern she had from the ABC Braille Study, which resulted in “only half of the students maintaining their skills and remaining on grade level in reading.” She summarized that “reading plays an important role for educational and vocational success,” This truly hits home with me, as I attempt to instruct my students in work experience opportunities, both on-campus and out in the community. I appreciated how Swenson spoke about the importance of the TVI and how we must skillfully and creatively connect all methodology, resources, and materials to student-centered, individual interests and needs. I was impressed with Swenson’s focus on a student’s level of enthusiasm in literacy instruction, as she concluded that “MOTIVATION is the key to more successful literacy instruction. Motivation engages our students to become more enthusiastic learners, so they take ownership to do the important work to grow through their achievement.” I feel most successful with my students when I can discover the key to motivate them!
