Slate and stylus

LEARNING TO READ BRAILLE

Author: Wendy Edey, Edmonton AB

s I have ever done. I learned the alphabet plus the 200 confusing and inconsistent short-form contractions. I wrote Braille with a slate and stylus, punching out the dots of each letter, punching the words in mirror writing, going from right to left, because the stylus makes holes and you have to turn the page over to read the Braille as dots. The process of learning Braille took me five months from start to finish. They were five of the happiest months I ever spent.

The year was 1964. The Beatles were crossing the ocean. Martin Luther King Jr. was making a name for himself. Cars with seatbelts were beginning to roll off assembly lines. And I was ten years old, an Alberta farm girl in Grade 5 at the elementary school in the village of Lougheed. I had started Grade one as a print reader, staring at each letter under a strong light with magnifying glasses. I was hopeful in Grade 1. I always expected to be literate, having inherited a love of reading from a long line of reading ancestors that could be traced back through my father’s stories about learning to read on the lap of his Granddad Renshaw. But I gave up reading somewhere along the line. I gave up handwriting too, since I couldn’t read what I wrote, and nobody else could read it either. If I had to write something I typed it on an old Tower portable typewriter. I waited for others to read to me.

I loved being read to. I liked Nancy Drew books. So they got me a Nancy Drew book and said I should try to read it myself. But there is no joy in reading a Nancy Drew book one letter at a time, losing your place in a watery blur after every second word and then searching, searching for the place again. My report card told the story of my laziness, my inattentiveness, my lack of interest.

Things changed for me in Grade 5. To my enormous relief, they stopped trying to make me read. My desk had always been placed in a corner, next to an electrical outlet, but now the lamp was gone and my desk was in a row with the others. The magnifying glasses were gone also. If I needed to know something, somebody read it to me. Then one day, with no warning to me, there came a knock on our classroom door. A knock on the door was always an interesting event at our school. It generally meant that somebody would be pulled out because of a family emergency, a severe weather warning was making the bus drivers want to take us home early, or the health nurse had shown up to give somebody a needle. We always hoped for the weather warning. As usual the teacher answered the knock, and we strained to hear the whispered doorway conversation. So I truly did not know how to feel when I was quietly ushered out the class and herded down the hall toward the principal’s office which, incidentally, doubled as the needle-giving room. The principal, a full time teacher at our tiny school, had no real use for an office.

Imagine my surprise when I found my mother waiting there for me. The health nurse was nowhere around, but Mom was talking to a stranger, a lively and cheerful young woman from Edmonton. Her name was Doris Goetz. Apparently she was blind. She had been brought to Lougheed by a driver, and she said she had come to teach me to read and write Braille. Mom said she would be learning Braille along with me. The principal's office was too cramped and tiny for a crowd of four, so we all drove out to the farm.

Miss Goetz brought a Braille instruction book along with a slate and stylus. The book was a wonder to me from the moment I laid fingers upon it. Huge embossed capital letters on the front cover said Braille Series 1960. A series of dots I could not yet read repeated the print title. On the first page were more embossed letters, A B C D E. Beneath each letter was its counterpart in Braille. Then there were words: bad; dad; bed; cad. My fingers flew. Immediately I wanted to flip the page, to find F and G, to find H and I.

“Slow down,” said my mother.

Miss Goetz said I could flip the pages later. She reached into her bag and brought out the slate and stylus along with a stack of heavy thick paper. She showed me how to punch out the letters so that I could copy the words on the page. She said there were questions in the book. She said I should write the answers to the questions on the heavy paper and mail them to her. She promised to come back with a new book when I had finished this one. The next book would be the first book of contractions. . She was gone in a flash. Despite Mom’s urging, she would not stay for supper.

“Slow down,” said my mother, later that night. “It’s bed time.” I was already at Z. But I would not slow down. There was a story at the back of the book and I wanted to read it.
Two days after Miss Goetz’s first visit, my mother gave up the idea of learning Braille. She was a busy farm wife and she told the neighbours her time would be better spent reading my school books to me. My learning BRAILLE, she could see, would not be dependent on her learning IT FIRST. My personal motivation had taken me by storm, more pervasive, more encompassing than the unpredictable winter blows that clogged the roads and kept us home for days.

After Z came the numbers. There was punctuation too. I answered all the questions in the book and nagged my mother to put them in the mail. It took so long for Miss Goetz to bring the second book. Learning Braille was easy. It was the waiting for Miss Goetz that almost killed me.

Author: Robert Just, Toronto, ON

I started learning to read and write Braille at the old Halifax School for the Blind in the early 1950's and participated in (and won) several Braille-reading contests.

I have some cherished memories of Braille in school and I would like to share a particularly fond one if I may.

I was in Grade IV at the time. Our Braille teacher, Miss Pearl Campbell, was a stickler for errorless Braille and each day she would conduct a class and check each pupil's paper for errors or absence thereof. She would put two little plastic stars in the right-hand corner of the page to indicate perfection.

A paper with one to three errors was awarded one star. A paper with more than three errors, of course, garnered no stars. At the end of the school year, each student was given his/her book with the year's work in it and I kept mine from Grades III, IV, and V for years afterwards just for the sake of nostalgia. Now, perhaps, I should get to my point. One day while I was in Grade IV, Miss Campbell came to us with an idea:

"Class," she began, I was thinking of taking you on a picnic some Saturday afternoon. In order to earn this picnic, everyone in the class must produce a perfect Braille page on a designated day."

We all cheered and were filled with determination to work towards that goal. The designated day arrived and each student was sitting at his/her desk, slate and stylus at the ready, champing at the bit for Miss Campbell to enter and say "good afternoon" and to instruct us to get ready. Everyone ready with slate and stylus, she began dictating. You could have heard a pin drop in that classroom except for the pecking sounds you would have expected from all styluses working at once. Everyone seemed to be relaxed and ready to work to accomplish the task we were assigned. At the end of the session Miss Campbell collected all the papers and scrutinized them one by one, saying "perfect paper" as she went through each one. We had accomplished our feat and the date for the picnic was set. A sighted teacher, Miss Stella Fraser, was invited to come along and help out and she and Miss Campbell got together and prepared us a wonderful party. We went to a Halifax park and played all manner of games and ran around the park to work up an appetite. The Halifax "Chronicle Herald" was called in advance and a photographer came to the park for a group picture. An article about our picnic and how we earned it was written to accompany the picture. I won the Braille reading contest that year.

For about five years after graduation from high school, I studied piano and learned Braille music from a blind teacher, attaining the Grade IV level in music and theory. In the 60's and early 70's I participated in an annual rally under the sponsorship of the Atlantic Sports Car Club. The instruction sheet was in Braille and each blind navigator was expected to communicate the instructions to his/her assigned driver. In 1977, the first year I was working here in Toronto, I took second place in the rally sponsored by the British Empire Motor club and still have that trophy in my possession.

In 1971, still living in my native city of Halifax, I was chosen to be on a team transcribing textbooks into Braille for the students at the old alma mater. I found this experience most rewarding. The project was submitted to the federal government for its Opportunities for Youth program. The following winter, under the Winter Works/Local Initiatives Program, I started to work again, this time transcribing material for the CNIB's Maritime division. There were many fun-filled events in connection with this program. The first major project I undertook was the transcription of Arthur C. Clark's "2001 a Space Odyssey", which I divided into seven Braille volumes. A little later in that particular project I started doing more transcription work for the old school. I transcribed an excellent historical reference book entitled "Nova Scotia's Two Remarkable Giants", which the then history teacher and her pupils greatly appreciated. When this was completed and thoroughly checked, I transcribed the 448-page Canadian Scout Handbook published by the National Council of the Boy Scouts of Canada. This I divided into 11 large volumes. This took me into the summer of 1972, as our projects were granted a series of extensions. Some of my work included transcription of Shakespearean plays. I did "The Merchant of Venice" and "Julius Caesar" close together. Then came an economics textbook, which, like the Canadian Scout Handbook, I divided into 11 large volumes. That fall and into the following winter adventure books dominated my work, as I transcribed such works as "A Wrinkle in Time", "Two Against the North" by Farley Mowatt", and "A Hundred Million Francs" by a French author by the name of Paul Berna.

From time to time we had to digress from our regular work to transcribe monthly statements for those working in the institute's catering service known as Caterplan. Meanwhile, I became interested in amateur radio, attaining my license in 1973. Each month, when the Caterplan newsletter was released, I transcribed it and sent it out to the Braille readers who worked in the canteens around the Maritimes and each month there would be at least one amateur radio-related article.

In 1976 I came to Toronto and took the Dictaphone transcription course and had dictionaries and other references in Braille. Toward the end of the course, I assisted in the compilation of a glossary of drugs, which I utilized until my retirement in 2005, after a 28-year career as a medical transcriptionist at Toronto's Sunnybrook Hospital.

I attend a large Salvation Army citadel here in Toronto. About six months after my enrollment as a soldier in 1992, the officers, in association with the pastoral care committee, arranged to get me the complete Army Song Book from England. It is in eight volumes. Each week, in preparation for the Sunday morning worship meeting, someone E-mails me the song numbers. This way I can go to my seat and look them up in plenty of time. I also have a couple of hymn books and other music books and the whole Bible here in my apartment.

A Braille Story from Betty Nobel

Author: Betty Nobel, Vancouver BC

Before going to school at the Jericho Hill School for the Blind, I attended a kindergarten class in Hope BC. For the most part, it was a very frustrating experience. Every day I was given a piece of plasticine and asked to make something. I wanted to learn the alphabet and couldn’t understand why I wasn’t doing the same activities as the other children.

The next year, at Jericho Hill, I was introduced to Braille. My name was on my desk. I learned to read words. I even got a book to read! In the spring of that year, I was in the hospital having my tonsils out. You can imagine my joy when I was presented with a brand new book all wrapped up in plastic. With some help, I opened it and tried to read it. Much to my horror, the lines were so close together that I couldn’t make out a word. It was my first exposure to single-spaced Braille!

My memories of reading and writing Braille as I was growing up are many and varied. I remember daily practicing with the slate and stylus with the teacher dictating to the students, always pushing us to write faster. I read many books aloud to my sister who struggled to read print due to low vision. I remember long hours in the school library browsing the shelves and choosing books. I remember writing math equations on a perkins Braille writer.

I loved to read so much that I used to hide my book under the covers and read long after I should have been asleep. One night, my mother heard me crying in the bathroom at about 3:30 am. When she asked me what was wrong, I told her that "Eva had died." At the time, I was reading Uncle Tom's Cabin. Braille has always been so useful. My life would be so different without it. On a regular basis, I read notes for meetings and presentations at work, choir anthems and hymns at church, books and magazines for leisure reading, and so much more! Without Louis Braille’s initiative and determination, I would have been deprived of many of life’s experiences. Thank you Louis.

I Loved Braille Right From The Start

Author Sandra Brooks, Kingston ON

I was totally blind from the age of one, and so went to the Ontario School for the Blind in Brantford, Ontario at age six. I can remember learning Braille. We were given cards with words on, written out in uncontracted Braille, and then written in contracted Braille. The first words I can remember on these cards were Mother and Father. We had plastic envelopes that I remember we called "houses" and we kept our cards in these envelopes.

When I was in Grade One at the Ontario School for the Blind, at Christmas my parents received a Braille Christmas Card. I remember that it had a raised velvety feeling poinsettia on the front, and the message in the card was written in Braille and print. When the card was opened completely, the alphabet was shown so that it was possible to see which dots made up which letters.

Using this and a slate and stylus, my Mother learned how to write enough uncontracted Braille that she could write letters to me when I was away at school.

It was such a special thrill for me to be able to read my own letters from home without someone having to read them for me. I can only imagine how long it must have taken her to write them, what a loving thing that was for her to have done for me.

When we were cleaning out my parents house after her death, the card was still there, definitely showing its age and the fact that it had been well used.

If memory serves me, we started learning to write in Braille with a slate and stylus at the same time we learned to read. Once we had a large enough vocabulary, we started reading books all about Dick and Jane and Spot.

I loved Braille right from the start, and have never changed my mind with respect to that. Despite all of today's technology, and the fact that I have a computer, a Braille printer, an mp3 player that will play audio books in Daisy format as well as in mp3 and text format, I prefer to read to myself in Braille and always have Braille library books and Braille magazines on hand. I have a Braille writer, but a day doesn't go by that I don't write myself a message or take down some information with a slate and stylus.

Braille made it possible for me to graduate from high school, to go on to the Royal National Institute for the Blind School of Physiotherapy in London, England, and to receive my diploma as a registered Physiotherapist. Later, still using primarily Braille, I graduated from Queens University with a B.Sc. in Physical Therapy.

Braille made it possible for me to take notes on my patients, write down information I would later type up to go on charts, and to label pieces of machinery so that I could use them independently.

Braille has helped me to label equipment in my home, to organize files, to label food items, to label clothing so that I know what colour it is. I think one of the saddest things that seems to be happening these days, is that educators seem to think young children being educated in the regular school system don't really need to learn Braille. They feel computers and audio equipment have taken its place. This is totally wrong. Without being able to read and write Braille, children are being made illiterate. It is vital that we be able to write and read, not need to rely on equipment that may not be portable, or, as we all know, can be unreliable.

I cannot emphasize enough, the enjoyment Braille gives me every day, and the independence it allows me. Yes, Braille books are bulky and take up a lot of space, but the advantages will forever outweigh the disadvantages.

I hope that Louis Braille realized what a wonderful legacy he left us, and I hope that the blind community will always cherish it and insist on its continued and increased availability.

Sighted People Learn Braille

Author: David Edey, Edmonton, AB

During last Sunday’s church service I noticed that there were some braille pages in our church bag. I read the title and realized that the pages were the words to a song. The bulletin said that my wife would soon be leading that song. Since I had the words, I knew that she, in her usual spot among the choir, would not have the words when it came time to sing them. So I took them to her. Though we have been married since 1973, and the people in the choir know us very well, they were amazed to discover that I knew what was on the pages I was bringing to her.

I am a sighted person who learned to write (with a slate and stylus) and read (with my eyes) Braille in 1972. I learned Braille because the pretty girl I had met in University had gone home for the summer and I wanted to write to her. So one afternoon on my way home from work, I got off my bike at the CNIB where they reluctantly sold me a slate, stylus, Braille paper, and a book on Grade 1 and 2 Braille. They cautioned me that very few sighted people learned Braille.

That night I sat down, learned Grade 1 Braille and wrote my first letter. She didn’t keep that letter, but I kept the one she typed in return. She and her dad were both pretty surprised that a guy had sent her a letter in a very large envelope. Her dad wanted to watch her open the letter, but was unable to linger because he glanced out the window and saw a cow grazing on the lawn. She wrote: I left the letter, out of the envelope, with the other mail on the end of the table. All through dinner we talked about the broken fence and what my nephew had to say that morning on the phone. Finally it came ‘Writes in Braille, does he?’ was the casual observation. It was obvious that he was trying to picture the guy who would go to all that trouble just to write to a girl.”

That fall, I left for Acadia University in Nova Scotia for 8 months, and daily letters crossed the country courtesy of Canada Post. In 1972, a Braille letter mailed in Wolfville, Nova Scotia on a Tuesday would be read in Edmonton, Alberta on Friday.

Over 35 years later, I still use Braille”. We have to have Braille labels on items in the freezer and on the spice jars in the cupboard. Some are labelled in print too, but not all of them. I am able to write notes and Christmas tags; I can read Braille pages left lying around the house; and every day at work, I use my own print short-hand which is totally based on my knowledge of Braille contractions. In my handwriting a / means the and a \ means for, so /m means them and \m means form. A g at the end of the word means ing so thg means thing. Th is
a gd thg means this is a good thing. P are alw amazed at how fast I c get an idea down on paper, & x is all bec of my k of brl. Translated back into English, that means People are always amazed at how fast I can get an idea down on paper and it is all because of my knowledge of braille.

With e-mail, scanning, and cheap long distance plans, I’m not sure the motivation would be there for me to learn Braille today. But I believe that learning Braille in 1972, allowed our relationship to grow even though we were miles apart, and helped us build a strong marriage of 34 years.

And it was a great way to impress my future father-in-law even before I met him.

A Braille Teacher

Author: Armando Del Gobbo, Kingston ON

I arrived in Canada from Italy in June of 1959, and in November of that same year, I started to lose my vision! It was a frightening experience! I did not know the language, it was a brand new culture, and the children around me were not very kind!! I was ushered to every doctor in the country, I was picked, poked, punctured and anything else they could thing of doing to me. Finally we were told that there was nothing that could be done, and that I should think about going to the CNIB. I finally had a wonderful doctor who understood my plea for help, and contacted CNIB on my behalf. A short time later a worker by the name of David visited me, and suggested that I learn Braille. Of course, not fully understanding what was being said to me, I was very hesitant!

A few days later a wonderful young lady, hardly older than myself, showed up to start teaching me Braille. By this time, I could no longer read print at all. It was love at first touch! With Braille that is! I wanted to inhale the whole think all at once! Myra kept telling me to slow down, or at least, I think that is what she was saying!
I spent hours unend devouring the material!! By the time Myra came back a couple of weeks later, she nearly fell off the chair when she saw how much I had done.
Braille had brought back light into my life, a real gift!! Being a new comer, it helped to learn the language, I could hear the words, but until I saw them in Braille, I had no idea how to spell them. Being able to have the words at my finger tips, it was a huge advantage. The English language is not an easy one to learn!

Later at OSB, Braille became an intregal part of everyday life. Math assignments, poetry, science and all of the other subjects came alive right under my finger tips! Later in university, and on to my job, Braille was always with me! As I have been teaching Braille for the last 35 years, I have had the extreme honor and prililage to pass on the gift to hundreds of others.
As I watch each student complete their goal, and hear the delight in their voice, I experience a real high!! My students have been young children (3-1/2) parents, grand parents and great grand parents. The delight eminating from these folks at the accomplishment of their goals, at times leaves me speechless!! As I show up for a lesson with a parent, and am met by his two-year-old daughter rushing into my arms to show me how proud she is of her accomplishment of taking a pen and joining the dots on the page. The delight of working a new comer to Canada trying to learn the language, Braille, and trying to cope with her recent loss of vision, as we sit during the lesson, her newly acquired kitten derives great pleasure in sitting on my hands while I am trying to read the Braille. When I decided to sit her on my knee to keep her off the book, she decided to place her paws on the page much the same as mine, and following from side to side. Taking a moment now and then to look at me, as if to say “am I doing it right?” Visiting a grand parent, who is learning Braille to be able to read to her grand children.

This lady had a huge dog, who went through a routine at everyone of my visits, as soon as I walked in the door, the dog would come and pin me to the wall, at which time I pushed him away saying “get out of my way you big horse!” One day her grandson had stayed home from school and witnessed the ritual! When the parents came to get him, he was asked what he thought of meeting grandmother’s teacher, and did he notice that I was blind? His reply was “is he ever, he thinks our dog is a horse!” While teaching a young lady, I could not figure out why we were making such slow progress, she just did not seem to be paying attention! I happened to get a little closer, and I could hear music, at which time I realized the she was wearing head phones and listening to her walkman!! At times, I have also received notes in Braille which made me blush!!

Through the years, I have tried to keep Braille interesting and fun for my students, which makes learning much easier! I tried using oranges, marbles, rubber balls in muffin tins to teach the consept of Braille, but it wasn’t until I came up with a little game which I play with children, that I really got their attention! The game is made up a board about 5 by 7 inches, and has six hollows in it, to represent the Braille cell, in these hollows I have little rubber balls of very bright colours! I also have a pair of dice, which lend themselves very well for this purpose, since they have from one to six dots on them the same as a Braille cell. We play a game by playing a ball in each dot position, starting at one and so on. We playing by taking turns placing a ball and calling out the position. Once this is mastered, we then roll a die, and place a ball in the corresponding place. After this is mastered, we start forming letters using the same principle.

After letters have been mastered we play a fishing game, where each fish is holding on to a letter, the student reads the letter and then shows me what it is on the board! This is a very popular game with the little ones, and with some not so little! Another tool which I use, is a Braille alphabet on a small zinc plate which has been glued to a small board, (pocket size) which students can carry with them at all times, and practice the alphabet, while at the doctor’s office, waiting for a buss and so on! Giving the gift of Braille, is to give freedom, privacy and dignity! Ifeel extreme honor and privilege to be the giver of such a great gift! It saddens me to hear people say, “why would you need Braille, when technology has come such a long way?” Yes, technology has come a long way, and it does make it easier to produce Braille, which should make it more available.

No matter how far technology has come, my best friend is still my little Braille slate, which goes with me every where. It works for me no matter what! It does not need to be booted, plugged in, or worry about running out of batteries, or worry about the version of the software!!

LEARNING TO READ BRAILLE

Author: Wendy Edey, Edmonton AB

Learning Braille is one of the easiest things I have ever done. I learned the alphabet plus the 200 confusing and inconsistent short-form contractions. I wrote Braille with a slate and stylus, punching out the dots of each letter, punching the words in mirror writing, going from right to left, because the stylus makes holes and you have to turn the page over to read the Braille as dots. The process of learning Braille took me five months from start to finish. They were five of the happiest months I ever spent.

“Slow down,” said my mother.

Braille and Me

Author: Robert Just, Toronto, ON

I started learning to read and write Braille at the old Halifax School for the Blind in the early 1950's and participated in (and won) several Braille-reading
contests.

I have some cherished memories of Braille in school and I would like to share a particularly fond one if I may.

"Class," she began, I was thinking of taking you on a picnic some Saturday afternoon. In order to earn this picnic, everyone in the class must produce a perfect Braille page on a designated day."

In 1971, still living in my native city of Halifax, I was chosen to be on a team transcribing textbooks into Braille for the students at the old alma mater. I found this experience most rewarding. The project was submitted to the federal government for its Opportunities for Youth program. The following winter, under the Winter Works/Local Initiatives Program, I started to work again, this time transcribing material for the CNIB's Maritime division. There were many fun-filled events in connection with this program. The first major project I undertook was the transcription of Arthur C. Clark's "2001 a Space Odyssey", which I divided into seven Braille volumes. A little later in that particular project I started doing more transcription work for the old school. I transcribed an excellent historical reference book entitled "Nova Scotia's Two Remarkable Giants", which the then history teacher and her pupils greatly appreciated. When this was completed and thoroughly checked, I transcribed the 448-page Canadian Scout Handbook published by the National Council of the Boy Scouts
of Canada. This I divided into 11 large volumes. This took me into the summer of 1972, as our projects were granted a series of extensions. Some of my work included transcription of Shakespearean plays. I did "The Merchant of Venice" and "Julius Caesar" close together. Then came an economics textbook, which, like the Canadian Scout Handbook, I divided into 11 large volumes. That fall and into the following winter adventure books dominated my work, as I transcribed such works as "A Wrinkle in Time", "Two Against the North" by Farley Mowatt", and "A Hundred Million Francs" by a French author by the name
of Paul Berna.

I Wanted To Be Independent

Author: Khadija Mohamedbhai, Brantford ON

I have been using Braille since 1997. I use it for a lot of things, recipes, phone numbers, notes when doing presentations, making short notes for myself when I am out with friends and family, just about anything you would want to write down with a pen and paper. I am currently studying to be a rehabilitation teacher. I am attending Mohawk College. My practicum will begin in April 2008 and I will be finished and ready to look for a job in August 2008.

I grew up in Tanzania. I learned Braille by correspondence from the Hadley School for the Blind. It took a long time, about a year, because the lessons had to travel back and forth between Tanzania and the United states by mail. I was 17 years old and had finished high school. I had struggled to use print with my poor eyesight. We didn’t have much technology in Tanzania. We borrowed a Perkins Brailler from a primary school for blind children.

I wanted to be independent. The CNIB in Edmonton accepted me as an international student and so I came to Canada. I lived with family friends and adapted to the Canadian life style in a very short time. I completed a diploma in office administration at nor quest College in Edmonton so that I could meet the entry requirements for Mohawk College.

In my opinion, Braille is very important for any blind person because these days a lot of public places are implementing the use of Braille for example, in the elevators, bank machines, washroom signs, restaurant menus etc. I learned to use a slate and stylus in Edmonton and I find it very convenient. I don’t carry my laptop with me everywhere I go but I do carry slate and stylus in my purse every where I go. I also use JAWS and Openbook, but I still need Braille. As a Rehabilitation Instructor, one of my duties will include teaching Braille. I am looking forward to teaching my clients and share the joy of independence with the use of Braille.

Bravo Braille!

Author: Mary Randall, London ON

I know that braille reading and writing has been essential to me as a way to communicate and learn throughout my life.

I am a teacher of thirty years, with three children of my own. This September i retired from formal teaching and immediately stepped into volunteering at an adult learning centre. Needless to say I love teaching people to open up their lives with
language. What I want to talk about is the importance of hand writing, that is, slate and stylus for we braille users.

When i was a fairly unmotivated eight year old we were given cumbersome slates with four large metal parts to play with. It sounds silly, but those big clunky pieces of equipment made writing a challenge and fun to conquer. We used slate and styluses to write with until we reached high school, and consequently became very fast accurate braille writers.
when I went to university in the early seventies, i wrote all my class notes and everything else that needed portability with a small four line slate. even when I came into the computer world kicking and screaming in the nineties, I still carried a slate along with my braille note-taker. (you never know when the battery will disappear etc.) I have used my little slates, both card sized and page sized to teach all of my blind
students to write, (their pen!) i have created endless art projects for my children and students; I use them to label everything and sign cards and make quick notes. In short I need my braille daily to read books and computer displays, and to write with computers and by hand. Braille makes me literate, and helps me to teach other people to read regardless of age, culture, gender, or level of vision. Yesterday my son helped me to
braille a beautiful book, (goodnight moon_ for my friend who has a new grandson and was wondering how to read print books with him. Guess how we did it. Right with a slate and plastic tape.

Bravo Braille

The Importance Of Braille

Author: Thomas Woodward, Milton ON

I am a person who has made my mistakes in life and am now paying for those mistakes. I am 32 years old, and for years I took advantage of the sight I had. At 16 years old I was in the wrong place at the wrong time and ended up being shot in the through my left eye. My life fell to pieces, I got into trouble with the law for stealing and fraud. In 2005 I developed a rare disorder called sympathetic ophthalmia, which has cost me my total sight. In January 2007 my past caught up with me and I was arrested and charged with fraud and sentenced to ten months in jail. I was sent from there to London where I received an additional two years. To where I am now, Maple Hurst, Milton Ontario, I was transferred to now await trial in Kitchener for charges I am actually not guilty of, defrauding of $700. So as I sat in jail I learned to read Braille and to use m white cane and to develop some skills and techniques to independent living. But I found there is nothing to do with my time here as I am not allowed Braille books. The jail says they are a security problem because of how they are bound and because I am a blind person and not allowed my cane n the living units I am kept isolated in the infirmary unit. So with no radio, television books or even a cell partner to talk to I sit and do nothing all day. I am allowed out for a shower and a 20-minute period in the yard by myself. CNIB did get them to approve a slate and stylus for me to write, and I can and I can receive Braille as long as the pages are not bound together. So I pass my time writing to Paul, Bob and Sharlene in Calgary. I always loved reading and passed a lot of time doing so. Now I have learned to read Braille, at least I will still have that joy in my life. So Braille has become part of my everyday life, and I love it. I think of all the important things that I need Braille for and realize that without Braille blind people everywhere would be forced to rely on other people to do a lot of things for us. A simple task like getting an elevator, using a microwave, or keeping track of phone numbers are but a few things I rely on Braille for as well as labelling things so I know what is what. Louis Braille, in his search for continued wisdom and freedom, has given all who choose to learn Braille to be self-supportive and have their independence. So I make a toast to Louis Braille, a man who, though his struggles, created the blind revolution, granting all those who choose to learn Braille a continued chance for independence, employment and joy, as well as to stand proud and say, “I can do this.” Allowing us to have hope and faith and to continue in our lifelong search for knowledge and wisdom. Next time you go to use your microwave, close your eyes and try to use it, or when you get on an elevator, likewise, try to use that. Sight is something we all who ever had it have taken great advantage of, and paid no attention or thought to what we would do without it. Take me, I knew my sight was going and I panicked. I resorted to my old ways and stole money and defrauded money from people because all I could think was, “What will I do for money once my vision is gone, and what about all the things I will never get to se?” So I stole and I travelled and I saw some stuff that I am truly grateful for. But what I didn’t think was how much more there was for me to see after. Through Braille I have learned to see the world and I have learned that without my sight I see more acutely the things in life that matter, such as family, friends, employment and just sitting alone enjoying a good book in the warm sun. So the next time you see a blind person, or you use an elevator, remember the importance of Braille. Through reading, wisdom is achieved. Without Braille, that knowledge would be impossible to achieve.

So if you live in an apartment building, look in the elevator and on the mailboxes for Braille. If it is not there, stand up and say to the others, “Let’s get this done so we may all use these.” Do the same at work.

If you have a desire to learn, and want to achieve wisdom, take a Braille course and learn our language, because it is a language created and developed by love and true passion.