Hello Everyone, Last evening we had what I feel were some very good and important discussions, especially regarding the situation some of you find yourselves in, working in an agency that does not support you using Structured Discovery teaching methods, or even pushing you to not follow these methods. As a member of The NBPCB I understand your situation, and I don't believe I am speaking out of turn to say that contacting us for advice is always welcome. I wanted to speak to one of the issues that came up, regarding the use of sleep-shades, and agencies pushing you to teach a student that is using their vision during lessons. This is my own opinion, based on my own experiences, and I am not speaking for the Board, or the NOMCT committee; although I believe they would not be opposed to my views on this issue. I want to share a bit of my experience from back when I started teaching, before there was an LATech program, or an NBPCB. My first employer was one that pushed me to allow students to have the choice to not use shades, and in some cases, to not use a cane at all, but to travel using their low vision. I want to say that nobody was injured in these few experiences, but I can tell you it was a very challenging experience, for both the students, and myself. People traveling, whether with a cane or not, using low vision, depend on a very different set of environmental cues, and therefore, their actions are not predictable in the same manner as those traveling non-visually. It is also a fact that they are relying on their unreliable eyesight, and are at much higher risk of making serious errors. What they think they are seeing, can be very different than the realities of the environment they are traveling through. There are also all the things they do not see, and may not recognize there is an issue even with their canes. Even with a cane, they are at higher risk of making these errors, because, they are devoting their attention on the limited visual information on which they are relying, and not on the feedback from the cane. Please, if you agree with this point of view, share these things with your employer, make sure they realize the risk they are creating for both students and you as an instructor, if they encourage this approach to teaching, and writing a response explaining your concerns could potentially help them gain this understanding. If you find yourself in this situation, please be careful, for your students and yourself, especially when working in highly demanding situations. Also, please know that I would be happy to discuss this with any of you, should you have concerns about your situation, or disagree with my views. Jeff Altman MA NOMCT CVRCB The Nebraska Center for the Blind The Nebraska Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired Empowering Blind Individuals, Promoting Opportunities, and Building Belief in the Blind