Today, possibly as you read this, I will be participating... and hopefully PASSING WITH FLYING COLORS, the Dreaded Drop Off.
I am studying at University of Northern Colorado all this month to learn the methods of teaching Orientation and Mobility. Orientation and Mobility is a skill taught to blind people to help them orient themselves to their environment, and safely travel from place to place once they know where they are. There is a HUGE amount of liability in literally teaching blind children to cross the street, and so it requires an additional educational endorsement in order to teach it.
I have been spending much of my month of June blindfolded, learning to walk with a cane, gathering clues from my environment, and traveling around Greeley. It has been a very interesting experience.
Today is the culmination of all I have learned thus far -- my drop off day.
Our professor has given us a specific residential area in which to practice. The area is six blocks by four blocks and she will drop us off anywhere in that 6x4 block area and we have to use our skills to determine where we are, and then accurately walk to a predetermined destination (a specific fire hydrant on the corner of a specific intersection).
Our instructor will be following us the entire time and making sure we do not get into a harmful or dangerous situation, but it nerve-wracking nonetheless.
At 7:30am this morning, my partner and I will be the first two of our class to attempt this major assignment. We have practiced many times. We have both learned the area very well and we each have our method of determining our location. We are ready... we hope.
We have each dealt with disasters and confusion and we have re-oriented ourselves and kept going.
My dad has always taught me when I go into a test that the test is the easy part. I've put in the time, the studying, the effort, the practice, and all the work... taking the test is the easy part. He is usually right, and today, I certainly hope he is.
Please pray for:
I am studying at University of Northern Colorado all this month to learn the methods of teaching Orientation and Mobility. Orientation and Mobility is a skill taught to blind people to help them orient themselves to their environment, and safely travel from place to place once they know where they are. There is a HUGE amount of liability in literally teaching blind children to cross the street, and so it requires an additional educational endorsement in order to teach it.
I have been spending much of my month of June blindfolded, learning to walk with a cane, gathering clues from my environment, and traveling around Greeley. It has been a very interesting experience.
Today is the culmination of all I have learned thus far -- my drop off day.
Our professor has given us a specific residential area in which to practice. The area is six blocks by four blocks and she will drop us off anywhere in that 6x4 block area and we have to use our skills to determine where we are, and then accurately walk to a predetermined destination (a specific fire hydrant on the corner of a specific intersection).
Our instructor will be following us the entire time and making sure we do not get into a harmful or dangerous situation, but it nerve-wracking nonetheless.
At 7:30am this morning, my partner and I will be the first two of our class to attempt this major assignment. We have practiced many times. We have both learned the area very well and we each have our method of determining our location. We are ready... we hope.
We have each dealt with disasters and confusion and we have re-oriented ourselves and kept going.
My dad has always taught me when I go into a test that the test is the easy part. I've put in the time, the studying, the effort, the practice, and all the work... taking the test is the easy part. He is usually right, and today, I certainly hope he is.
Please pray for:
- A clear sky and bright sun -- my partner and I each immediately try to find the sun so we can orient ourselves as to North, South, East, and West. The sun is our key!
- Calm nerves and peaceful stomachs -- we don't need any butterflies
- A clear head to accurately reflect and demonstrate our knowledge and skills
- Safety as we literally travel blindfolded
- Accuracy!!! PASSING the Drop-Off
Praying for you!!!! I cannot imagine!
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