May 2008 Issue

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From Judy Dixon, Chairperson, Braille Authority of North America:

In October 2007, the Braille Authority of North America (BANA) released "Braille Codes Update 2007." This Update includes official changes to three BANA publications: Nemeth Code for Mathematics and Science Notation; English Braille, American
Edition; and Braille Formats: principles of Print to Braille Transcription. The effective date for these code changes is Jan. 1, 2008.

As the vast array of print characters, styles and formats continues to evolve, so must the braille code intended to represent this constantly shifting array of print. It is indeed a challenge for BANA to keep the medium of braille precise enough to accurately reflect the myriad of print symbols and complex print formats, while remaining flexible enough to maintain readability for the braille user. Many of the changes in this Update are small but have been adopted in an effort to make braille codes more consistent with print and more usable for both braille readers and braille transcribers.

The changes to the Nemeth Code include: a keystroke indicator being added to the list of shape indicators; a subsection added on calculator and computer keystrokes; several examples in the codebook added or fixed; and a section added on the brailling of stem-and-leaf plots. Most of these corrections and changes had been approved by the BANA Board many years ago and are simply being incorporated into the official code with the publication of this Update.

A few of the changes to the literary braille code are likely to be noticed in popular braille books and magazines. These include:

--apostrophe rule: an inserted apostrophe is no longer required in plural abbreviations, numbers or letters where none existed in print. For example, if 1930s is written without an apostrophe in print, it will now be written that way in braille as well. This changed apostrophe rule will give braille readers more accurate information about print practices.

--new symbols: A few new symbols have been added to the literary code:

at sign is now dot 4 followed by a cents is now dot 4 followed by c Euro is now dot 4 followed by e Yen is now dot 4 followed by y ampersand is now dot 4 followed by & copyright symbol is now dots 45 followed by c registered trademark is now dots 45 followed by r trademark is now dots 45 followed by t crosshatch is now dots 456 followed by 1456 slash is now dots 456 followed by 34

Since the symbols no. and lb. both represent a print crosshatch, and are easily misunderstood as representing the print no. and lb. they have been replaced by a new symbol representing the crosshatch, whatever its meaning. This gives braille readers the same information that print readers have. While a common meaning of the crosshatch is "number," it also has a variety of other meanings: number, pound, and even "sharp," as in the programming language C#. A symbol not associated with the word "number" is more easily associated with other meanings.

The new symbol for the slash is meant to be used whenever a slash appears in print that is not a fraction line. In the past, transcribers were required to change slashes that occurred in dates to hyphens. The new rule says to use slashes whenever they occur in print. This revised rule for the transcription of dates provides a step in the direction of giving braille readers more information about print practice.

The symbol (dots 456, 34) was selected to represent the print slash symbol because it is already widely used with letters in textbooks and is used in the Nemeth code, British braille, and Unified English Braille. By preceding dots 34 with dots 456, the
slash will no longer be confused with the braille "st" sign.

Following print with respect to the use of the slash or fraction line gives the braille reader the same information the print reader has. When, in print, a fraction is written as a fraction (numerator above denominator), it is also written as a fraction in braille (using dots 34). When, in print, a fraction or similar construction is written using a slash and with all numbers on the same level, the use of the braille slash (dots 456, 34) shows that. There is no longer a need for the transcriber to know whether two numbers are related to each other as parts of a date, a fraction or have some other relationship. The new rule is simple, easy for a computer to follow and unambiguous for the braille reader regardless of the treatment of fractions. Some agencies and transcribing groups may wish to preserve traditional ways of transcribing fractions in certain publications. The rule allows for this.

Changes in the formats section of the Update include:

--alphabetic page numbers: Sometimes, page numbers are shown as words on a page with the numeric page number. Most often used with math, foreign language, and lower-grade materials, they reinforce the spelled-out version of the numeric number. The new rule puts the alphabetic number in the note position (cell 7) with leading dots 36. This will help the younger reader find the number quickly.

--boxed and screened material: The current guidelines for boxes within boxes did not give a true indication of the position
of these materials on the print page. Changing the top and bottom boxing lines to the full cell indicates to the reader that
everything following the full cell is related until he/she reaches the next full cell. The opening and closing boxing lines
indicate the internal boxes. The graphic nature of textbooks and the print placement of text are often very indicative of the
importance of, or the relationship to, other materials. This new arrangement for boxes within boxes will better indicate the
relationships.

--Wide Tables: The linear format for displaying tables that was used years ago has been reinstated. It saves space and
retains the connection of one piece of information to the next piece.

The listed table is a new method of brailling tables and is useful for large tables with multiple row and column headings. The repetition of the headings makes it easy for the student to follow the information, and not have to back up to check individual headings. It is clear and easy to understand.

To stay up to date on the activities of the Braille Authority of North America, subscribe to BANA-Announce. BANA- Announce is a one-way list to facilitate the dissemination of official BANA information--summaries of meetings and other BANA activities, new publications, announcements about code changes, and general information to promote braille, its use and production.

To join this listserv, send a blank e-mail message to bana-announce-subscribe@brailleauthority.org and follow the directions in the confirmation e-mail, which will be sent automatically in response to a subscription request.

From Jennifer Childs, Red Oak, IA:

I think the editor does a marvelous job with the magazine, but in the February issue, there was an article called "Romeo and Juliet Redux." Now, some people may have enjoyed it, but I found it to be a thoughtless interpretation on Shakespeare's great work. To alter a story for your own and possibly others' benefits while the true author is dead and probably rolling in his grave by now shows the lack of talent some have.

On another note, I would just like to say that some schools for the blind may be very helpful, but if you want to see one that isn't, visit Des Moines, IA. You'll find people who seem willing to help, but then once you finish and go out on your own, many times their promises of helping you to find work or transportation fall short. If you dream of being an artist, writer or some other career that doesn't pay by the hour, don't think of asking them for help--because they will call that dream of yours a hobby.

For me, as a writer, that cut very deeply, but thanks to Sanford Rosenthal and our merry group of writers who won't take no for an answer, we are now published in Behind Our Eyes. A very big thanks also goes to IUniverse. Never let anyone tell you that your dream is just a hobby.

From Sue Ellen Melo, Stuart, FL:

I would like to respond to Tim Hendel's challenge in the February Readers Forum to share positive experiences of residential
schools for the blind. I attended Perkins School for the Blind from 1970 to 1972. I have to say that those three years were the
best time I ever had in school. I consistently performed near the top of my class. I had teachers who were first-rate, even if
my particular brand of logic could sometimes be a challenge in combination with my strong-mindedness. The teachers and the houseparents had an excellent relationship with both me and my parents. The cottage staff never tried to take the place of our parents, but they were there if we needed them, and often they challenged us to be independent much more than our parents did. I still remember Mrs. O'Hara insisting that we select our clothes every night and the next morning make our own bed.

I was only five when I began attending, but by the time I was 8 I was given responsibilities normally given to older girls.
Often I was held up as an example because of dedication to my work. I had a ton of friends and activities. There was no can't
in my world.

The can't only started to enter my life in the fall of 1972, when well-meaning but, in my mind, misguided souls guilted my parents into mainstreaming me. The methodology that was used on my parents was unforgivable. In public school, I quickly learned to retreat into myself, as the kids wanted nothing to do with me. Every time I wanted to try something exciting, I was told either it was too dangerous for a blind person or that I would be a burden, interfering with the good time of the sighted kids. My grades also suffered, as I was faced with teachers who didn't know how to teach a blind kid. I got the feeling they really didn't want to learn how. The only reason I got the education I got was that I was privileged enough to have a woman who was a fabulous teacher of the blind. Without Cecelia Grynzell riding herd on the school staff and pushing my mother not to over-protect, to say nothing of seeing I had a top-notch parapetologist, Peter Waterfield, I would be living in my mother's guest room in a small town in New Hampshire, with no college degree, no independence skills, and, worst of all, no self-confidence.

Even still, when I think back on my school days, it is to those precious few years in Perkins that I look with fondness--and not the 10 years of Hell on Earth that were my public-school education.

From Hugh Pharis, Conyers, GA:

I was intrigued with Tim Hendel's comments on residential schools for the blind. As the expression so aptly puts it: "Been there! Done that!"

In September 1941, my parents enrolled both my younger brother, age seven, and me, age 11, in the Georgia Academy for the Blind in Macon, supposedly to save what sight we had at the time. So much for that! I had already finished the fourth grade in public school, but repeated it at the Academy in order to learn braille. Many were the happy memories as I went through my elementary and high-school years. Neither of us ever could have gotten the well-rounded education we received during our residency at the school, much less the fantastic music instruction from a piano and organ teacher who expected perfection from those he thought had talent.

Between the years 1943-1949, the superintendent cut down 10-foot high hedges that cut the school off from the outside, unlocked and threw open the three gates to the school's entrances, and virtually told those of us who were old enough to go where we wanted, to do what we thought we could do, but above all, to behave ourselves. All we had to do was check out, giving the time when we expected to return. To publicize the Academy and its benefits for the education of the blind, he took the school chorus and boy's quartet to churches, civic and service clubs, and even public schools to let the sighted world know that "these kids are no different from your kids." The school chorus repeatedly racked up superior ratings in the annual Georgia Music Education festivals on both the district and state levels. The boy's quartet, of which I was a member in my high-school years, won both district and state competitions in the GHSA literary
festivals.

Years later, as I was teaching general music education in public schools in my home town, I encountered the beginning of
mainstreaming, when children were put into classrooms with sighted kids. The teacher for the visually handicapped kids had
them an hour or two each day for braille instruction and to coach them where they might need help. Both she and I agreed--even in those years, the 70s--(she had also attended a residential school for the blind)--that those kids were missing a vital part of their education. So much for government meddling in the education of the blind and others with disabilities. Imagine, if you can, trying to teach a deaf boy assigned to my music-appreciation class. How did I do it? I don't even remember. I
think I gave him the benefit of the doubt.

Residential versus mainstreaming? No doubt about it! Even now, if I had a child who was blind, I would much rather have his or her education in a residential school.

From Lucia Marett, New York, NY:

Tim Hendel is correct when he says that people do get social-skills training in schools for the blind. In actuality, due to
prejudice and discrimination, many children who are blind or vision-impaired may get no social-skills training in the
mainstream. It may well be wise for someone to receive education, first through sixth grades, in a school for vision-impaired or blind people, then progress on to mainstream education.

That's what I did. Mom and dad knew just how to teach skills, and I realize that not everyone has that opportunity. The difficulty is that this itinerant teaching program is a fallacy. There are travel restrictions, so a blind student is fortunate if he gets a few hours a week of instruction. This is inadequate. Boards of education do not care about mainstreaming--only about saving money.

Yes, I realize that, in some situations, a school for the blind can be a disaster. It all depends on a school's staff and students. The same holds true for mainstreaming. I know of a few situations where the school (small schools--not these large public schools) went all out for their vision-impaired or blind students. It all boils down to the best solution being the best place where a person can acquire the skills that compensate for visual impairment or blindness, and not suffer abuse at the hands of staff and/or students who fear no reprisal or retaliation from staff at a school.

From a reader in Louisiana:

I wish I had mainstreamed more consistently. I attended the blind school in Baton Rouge, LA, and they wanted us to mainstream
while we were on the campus of LSVI. It was like not quite being fish or fowl. We had a resource teacher at our blind school, but
he could be unpredictably self-serving. That school was not as hard as the lab school I attended during my junior year. They
didn't let me go back there because they had other students they wanted to mainstream, and the majority ruled--even over seniors. If I had had better mobility, I'd have taken the bus and told them to kiss my butt.

I have always thought of writing a novel about that particular time and place in blindness, when everything was on
the verge of major mainstreaming. My class of 1984 was one of the last ones.

Young people today have more options than we did. Now I sound like my old lady blind teacher who taught us English in middle school.

From P. William Meinecke, Virginia Beach, VA:

I had the best of both worlds. I attended the Lavelle School for
the Blind in the Bronx, NY, and then mainstreamed to public
school in my home area. At Lavelle, I had good braille skills
and social training that I took with me to public school when I
mainstreamed. I made friends in both schools. In fact, this
fall I hope to be attending my 40th high-school reunion from the
regular school.

The sighted school taught me how to interact in the sighted
world, a skill you don't get in a school for the blind. I
discovered that I had to take the initiative and approach my
sighted peers. Once they discovered that my social and
interactive needs were the same as theirs, they were OK with me.
I even went to the senior prom and the senior class overnight
trip. For many people who attended blind schools, it seemed to
be the high point of their life. They seem to be fixated on the
period when they attended the blind school--even after 40 or so
years. Yes, attending school for the blind taught me a lot of
things, but there were many times that I felt like a guest when I
went home on the weekends. This is unnatural. One time my
family members were having some kind of discussion, but they did
not invite me to join them. I really felt hurt about that, and
when I confronted them, they told me that they forgot that I was
there. I decided right then and there to mainstream in the
public school.

Yes, the experience in the blind school was educational, and
I obtained a lot of useful skills. But whether we like it or
not, we live in a sighted world, and we have to learn to cope
with that reality. I believe that the sooner we can do that
before we are thrust into college or the work world, the better
we'll be.

From John Wesley Smith, Hallsville, MO:

Thanks for the terrific array of articles in the March Ziegler. I especially enjoyed the articles on shortwave. It's good to see shortwave getting some favorable publicity these days. One significant advantage of shortwave is its portability. A shortwave radio doesn't require being connected to a computer or wireless network. I have been a shortwave listener since November 1985, when I obtained my first receiver. I only wish I'd had one when I was growing up during the 1970s.