A New Tool In The Fight For Braille Literacy

by Kevin Burton    Last week we ran a story about subjects that are either gone from classrooms or close to it (“Subjects No Longer Taught (Much) In Schools,” March 6.)    That got me thinking about Braille.     While growing up at the Ohio State School for the Blind, I just assumed that all …

The Hopes And Dreams Of Two Blind Students

by Kevin Burton    Those of us with limited vision don’t have to have limited lives. Often we do, for reasons to numerous to tackle today.    Today, stories of two blind students. The first has reached an important milestone to reach her educational goal. The second wants to fill her life with sights and …

Subjects No Longer Taught (Much) In Schools

by interestingfacts.com    Think back to your school days: Are you nostalgic for flipping through a dusty library card catalog or clacking away on a typewriter?    Some subjects you remember from those days are probably things of the past, although the finer points of how schools have changed might surprise you. These six subjects …

MLB To Replace Vandalized Robinson Statue

by Kevin Burton    From something heinous, comes something great in Wichita. And who knows how far it will go?    The Statue of Jackie Robinson which was stolen Jan. 25 from McAdams Park in Wichita was found broken beyond repair and burning in a trash can at nearby Garvey Park Tuesday.    But yesterday …

Students Sue District Over Free Speech

by Katie Stavick The Frontiersman    Wasilla, Alaska – Two students filed a lawsuit against the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District Nov. 30, stating that the district has violated their right to free speech.    The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are Ben Kolendo and Quinlen Schachle, both seniors in the District-Kolendo is a senior at Career …

Syracuse Turns Its Back On The Disabled

by Stephen Kuusisto     (Nationally-known poet and disability advocate Stephen Kuusisto writes the “Planet of the Blind” blog on WordPress. The following is from his posts of  Nov. 28 and Dec. 2.)    When Helen Keller attended Radcliffe she observed that the experience was a “largely lonely triumph” and described how she was ignored by …

Laugh Makers, Head Shakers And The Big Fear

by Kevin Burton    I am passing this list of probably true-life anecdotes for the sake of humor – I think.    I got it of from a fellow alum of the Ohio State School for the Blind. There was no attribution so I am not sure who compiled them. These short notes have me …

Producers Of Braille Are Touching Lives

by Kevin Burton    Today we touch on two stories about braille being produced from unexpected sources.    NBC Connecticut ran a story about female inmates at York Correctional Facility becoming certified as Braille transcriptionists.    Five inmates completed the program Aug. 24. I wish NBC had quoited some of them. But here is part …

Ten Brilliant Facts About Braille

by Kelli Finger (from Mental Floss website)    Braille is a tactile system that blind people use to learn to read and write, invented in 1824 by a blind French educator named Louis Braille.     He revolutionized an existing writing and reading system that allowed blind people to enjoy books  and communication. I certainly don’t know …

Good News From the Math Classroom

by Kevin Burton    Today on Page 7 we do the math.    I found two math-related stories on the Good News Network. The first shows that students did better in math when music is incorporated into the lessons.    “A new study explored the causal role that music engagement has on student achievement in …