Hi again, Richard!  This is a continuation of my previous message to you:

RW>  they discouraged the use of braille and encouraged
RW>  use of magnification even though it would handicap a
RW>  student later in life, because we couldn't get enough
RW>  braille conversant instructors into the classroom.


          ... and no doubt they'd convinced themselves that they were doing
it solely for the benefit of the students.  In Canada, we tend to adopt new
ideas long after the Americans and/or the Brits have already tried them
& found they don't work as advertised... my time line may be somewhat
different from yours. But luckily for me, my grade two teacher kept saying
"Sound it out!" in an era when basal readers (e.g. Dick &
Jane) were in vogue & the study of phonics was thought to be outdated. 
You may not want to get me started on *that*....  ;-)



RW>  THey almost pigeonholed me into that one, but my mother
RW>  fought them successfully.  .


          As a mother, I can relate.  I admire this gal already!  Mothers
have unique insights WRT the offspring of their womb.  And parents of
either gender may also have the marginally insane devotion which enabled
me, for example, to learn everything you probably never wanted to hear
about leukemia & explain it to our GP although I was not a brilliant
student in high school biology class. The experts know stuff I don't
know... but I know my kid, and if necessary I'd move mountains for her. 
Dissecting clams was a lot less inspiring AFAIC.  :-)

          OTOH the experts don't always know as much as they'd like to
believe they do.  When Nora was in grade one & had recently finished
her treatment for leukemia, she couldn't always muster the energy to walk a
quarter of a mile to school.  Sometimes I dragged her... sometimes I
carried her.  The principal of the school got bent out of shape because the
mother of some other kid, who was in grade five & had very different
issues to deal with, had been seen carrying her son up & down the
stairs.  He felt he had to pacify certain members of the staff who were
afraid they'd be expected to do the same.  Within a year I told Nora she'd
exceeded my load limit & she'd have to walk now.  By then she could do
it.  My long term goal was to help her reach a point where she could get to
where she wanted to go independently of me.  I realized that neither I nor
the old clunker I was driving would last forever.  The principal's solution
was to urge me to drive Nora to school, which I'd thus far refused to do. 
He thought she'd "fit in" that way... but he'd never actually
seen my car!  It would have stuck out like a sore thumb amidst the gaggle
of spiffy new SUV's which we saw parked near the entrance we used because
it was closest to home... (sigh).

          I respect people who, like the aforementioned kindergarten
teacher & GP, are willing to admit to what they don't know.  One of the
great lessons my parents taught me is that you don't have to know
everything if you know how to look it up or you know who to ask.  And
nowadays, when I ask how to get from A to B in a wheelchair, I have more
confidence in those who say "I'm not sure... let me go take a
look!" than in those who assure me it won't be any problem at all. 
Chances are the latter have overlooked some important detail(s)....  ;-)




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+