2 Reflecting on your own experiences as a student, how did teacher expectations influence your academic performance and motivation? How might you apply these insights to your own teaching practice?
I realize that my academic journey is most likely different from others in this cohort. I am totally blind. I was diagnosed with ROP shortly after birth. Growing up, I was legally blind, with having no vision in my right eye, and very little vision in my left eye. Throughout my elementary years of school I was not receiving vision services due to not having a TVI where I was living. I used a cC-TV throughout my early elementary school years and I worked with an intervention specialist, my general education teacher,and a classroom aide that was assigned to me. My parents wanted to give me every opportunity possible, even though vision services were scarce where we were living. I can remember always being read to at a young age. My parents would read me books. They would let me turn the pages even though I couldn’t fully see the pictures. My mom would describe the pictures to me. They would let me put the books up close to my face to look at the pictures when I was very young, before I even got my CC-TV. I can remember going on bike rides with my dad, sitting in the toddler seat of his bike. We would stop frequently so he could show me things in my environment; trees, leaves, flowers, whatever he thought I needed to know about. When. Was with other family members they would read me books. I especially remember my grandmother reading to me the Little House on the Prairie books. When I would play house with my dolls, I would read to them, recounting the stories that had been told or read to me, I would then retell them to my dolls. I believe all of these experiences helped me foster a love for reading before I entered kindergarten.
Once I was in kindergarten, I got my first CC-TV. It was then that learning took off for me. Teachers were concerned about having me in their classes since I had a severe visual impairment, but once they saw that I was a determined little girl who wanted to learn, their nerves melted away. I was a people pleaser, I still am as an adult, but as a child, I wanted to show the adults in my life that I could succeed despite my blindness. I wanted to do everything that my sighted peers were doing. My parents had expectations for me. They wanted me to go to college,and they wanted me to have the tools to be successful to allow me higher education. In my early elementary years, I used my CC-TV for everything. I learned to read and write in print that way. I had my aide to assist when I needed it, but I wanted to read. I loved a book that had a dramatic story. I was drawn to the books of series, Sweet Valley Kids and Baby-Sitter’s Club books were my favorites. Once I learned the foundations of reading from my general education teachers in kindergarten, first,and second grades, along with working with an intervention specialist for more intensive reading practice, I enjoyed reading even more.
When I entered the fifth grade, my family moved to an area that allowed me to have a TVI. During this time, my learning took off in ways that amazed me, even when I think about them to this day. My TVI taught me braille. She wanted me to know how to read and write Braille in case I were to lose my vision. This excited me. I wanted to learn and do well. I don’t rmember the braille code being hard to learn. I gravitated to it. As a motivator, my TVI would get me books that I found interesting, mainly Baby-Sitter’s Club books by my fifth grade year. She would give me print and braille books to take home to read with my parents to practice my braille skills. I labeled things around the house to help with my braille reading. My mom would dictate her grocery list to me,and I would braille it. I’d then go. Shopping with her,and read my brailled list back to her. I believe all of these things helped to make me a strong braille reader.
Once in middle school, high school,and even college, I was a dual media learner, using my CC-TV and Braille. I would use audio when necessary, but my first choice was to always read it, whether that be in print with my CC-TV or in Braille. Once done with college, and in my first year of teaching, I lost the little sight that I had. I am now totally blind,and I rely on Braille and audio to access print information. As a totally blind, I still prefer Braille to read verses audio. Although, I know that Braille isn’t always possible, but I think that will always be my first preference. I love the words beneath my fingertips. I enjoy being able to sit with the words that I’m reading,and try to create a mental picture in my mind. I feel that we don’t necessarily get that creativeness when listening to audio.
As a TVI, I try to give my students motivation that will hopefully help them enjoy reading. Whether it’s a certain genre of book to read, or it’s something that has nothing to do with the act of reading, I try to find what motivates them to want to read. Music is a real motivator for some of my students. I had a student who loved Taylor Swift. We would have a Braille lesson, and after the lesson she would listen to a Taylor song if she had completed the lesson well. To help with brailling and spelling, I would have her listen to a Taylor Swift song,and braille words that she liked from the song. Music was her motivator. It seemed to fuel her wanting to learn,and I tried to incorporate it into learning every chance I could. I believe that finding that motivator for students,and working it into instruction is key to help foster reading.
