Talk:Perkins School for the Blind
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WCVB-TV recently re-aired its piece about the Perkins School for the Blind; on it's nightly newsmagazine show, "Chronicle." Sadly Perkins has, once again, been portrayed as something it is not. Perkins continues to lie to prospective students and parents, and the general public, when it says that they offer an equitable, or better, educational environment than public schools. As a former student, I can tell you that this IS NOT the case.
The majority of Perkins' current students are multi-handicapped and/or mentally challenged. The school's curriculum, like any institution's, is geared towards the majority of its student body. This causes students whose only disability is blindness to receive a sub-standard education. "Chronicle" was blatantly wrong to claim that Perkins has "rigorous academic standards." The fact that very few Perkins students pass the MCAS is a glaring example of this. I had to repeat courses I had taken at Perkins, in order to obtain a diploma from Ashland High School in 1999. While it is true that students who are blind or visually impaired may face many academic, social, and emotional difficulties in public school, it does them an even greater disservice to send them to a segregated institution. This kind of artificial environment does not prepare students for the outside world. Perkins would serve these students, and the public, much better by using its money and influence to advocate for the improvement of special education services to all students with disabilities.
While there is no denying that, at one time, Perkins School for the Blind WAS a good educational opportunity for blind students, this is no longer the case. Perkins needs to wake up and stop living in the past! Inclusion has been the law for a generation, and there is no turning back! Sincerely, Kevin Heaton
[edit] Criticism
The following information was effectively removed by today's revert. The criticism may be true, but one testimonial is not enough to warrant inclusion. Can anyone cite any references to back up these claims? Edwardian 20:35, 8 August 2005 (UTC)
Facts from former students and employees: I# On-Campus Secondary Program
1. They don't take MCAS seriously enough, and they don't do enough to help their secondary students pass it or appeal it if they don't. Also, Perkins doesn't even offer a full curriculum of high-school-level classes (like advanced algebra). 2. They almost never send sick kids home, so they put all the other students and staff at unnecessary risk for contracting infectious diseases (including serious diseases like whooping cough). It's hard for sick kids to get permission to stay in their rooms (not go to class), because the houseparent or the nurse doesn't always take them seriously. Health services does not take students' health complaints seriously. 3. They don't allow students to go out socially without prior written permission (in PRINT, not braille or other accessible format) from Perkins staff or from parents, even if the students are over 18. 4. Perkins staff meddle too much in students' lives. They tell students how to live, how to get along with their families and friends, what to eat, and that they shouldn't bother going to college. Also, case managers are supposed to be mediators between students and staff, but they always take the staff's side in every dispute. 5. Staff do not take dietary needs and preferences of students seriously at all--they try to force everybody to try everything for no apparent reason. Perkins food is not exceptionally healthy or full of nutrients, and all the food is supposedly designed to make people lose weight, even though some students are UNDER-weight!
II# Outreach Program
1. Outreach takes too broad a range of kids (in terms of both abilities and ages) and sticks them together and treats them all the same! 2. Outreach Services applications contain too many humiliating personal questions, and the reports they send back to parents and schools are also unnecessarily personal and degrading, also they contain many inaccuracies! Some things on the reports are completely fabricated. In these reports, they focus on the negative, not the positive, comments.
III# Misrepresenting Students and Programs
1. They misrepresent their secondary program to prospective students and families. 2. They misrepresent their students in public relations materials, even hiding certain kids during Trustees' tours.
IV# Inaccessibility
1. They do not offer the Perkins Brailler Repair Manual in braille or other accessible format. 2. Materials in the Research Library dedicated to the study of blind education are not accessible to the blind! 3. Staff-only areas, such as cottage basements or living areas and parking lots, are not routinely made accessible to blind and low-vision staff, i.e., inadequate lighting, no marking strips on stairs. Even the Perkins job applications are not available in accessible format (in fact, their application uses very small print).
V# Disrespecting Blind People
1. They do not treat blind adults as adults. 2. There's a prejudice against hiring blind people, even as volunteers! 3. On-campus and Outreach staff treat all students as though they are cognitively impaired, and neglect complicated social and emotional issues
- The section above was copied into the article page again on Oct 13 2005. I don't doubt that much of this criticism is true. However, I removed it from the article as I feel it is inappropriate for the article page, which should read like an encyclopedia. This kind of thing is often found on the discussion page associated with an article, and I am happy to leave the above here where interested parties can read it. If there is a student movement against the school policies, or legal action against the school, or criticism of the school published in a notable source, then this can be summarised in the main article (see WP:NPOV and WP:NOR). ntennis 00:59, 13 October 2005 (UTC)
