"Write now is good."

Low Braille literacy = lower quality of life for blind population

Photo: "Braille Machine" by marcokalmann

If you care about storytelling, literacy or education, I recommend reading "Fewer than 10 pct. of blind Americans read Braille" by Ben Nuckols of the Associated Press.

The title's statistic of "Fewer than 10 percent" didn't mean much to me until I read of the profoundly negative effects on blind Americans of not being fluent in Braille:

...Today Braille is considered by many to be too difficult, too outdated, a last resort.

Instead, teachers ask students to rely on audio texts, voice-recognition software or other technology. And teachers who know Braille often must shuttle between schools, resulting in haphazard instruction, the report says.

"You can find good teachers of the blind in America, but you can't find good programs," said Marc Maurer, the group's president [the National Federation of the Blind]. "There is not a commitment to this population that is at all significant almost anywhere."

Using technology as a substitute for Braille leaves blind people illiterate, the federation said, citing studies that show blind people who know Braille are more likely to earn advanced degrees, find good jobs and live independently.

"It's really sad that so many kids are being shortchanged," said Debby Brackett of Stuart, Fla., who pressured schools to provide capable Braille teachers for her 12-year-old daughter, Winona.

One study found that 44 percent of participants who grew up reading Braille were unemployed, compared with 77 percent for those who relied on print. Overall, blind adults face 70 percent unemployment...

The article cites technology like audio books as hampering the way blind people learn to read and write. Couldn't someone, perhaps using a new technology, improve Braille learning, instruction and communication? (Does anyone reading this post know anything about this? Please leave a comment if you do!)

On another note, if any group is deprived of outlets to tell their own stories, their experiences will often go unnoticed. Following this, when their stories disappear, the group itself becomes less noticed in larger society.

Writing and reading stories is so crucial to children's (and adult's) growth and development. Clearly the blind population is not being served. I wonder how many great storytellers, thinkers and inventors among this group are being kept from reaching their full potential because of low Braille literacy.

Inspired by the article, I looked up Louie Braille on Wikipedia. He developed his system of raised dots when he was 15 years old.

Our world of storytellers

Our lives are full of the stories we tell: bits about ourselves and those we hear from others; tragic tales and side-splitting comedies; current events and news of the world; expressions of our own interests and those of our employers.

When we are not telling stories, we are listening to them: from close friends and family, from media outlets, from advertisements and marketing campaigns, and from our own "internal storyteller/editor" who cannot stop talking.

One of my favorite blogs recently featured one of my favorite storytellers, and this prompted me to share these: videos of Ira Glass, creator of and voice behind This American Life, talking about what makes great storytelling. There are four installments featured on YouTube as part of "On storytelling":

1: On the basics
2: On finding great stories
3: On good taste
4: On two common pitfalls

In the third segment, Glass talks about his awkward beginnings on radio and how hard he worked to improve. Are you a creative full of artistic vision and a desire to express it? Then listen to his story.

To be real

Photo: Acme Oyster House Waitress by Candlemaker

A good friend told me this story. He heard it on NPR, and now I can't remember on which show and neither can he. Here is my retelling. (If anyone knows who originally told this, send the URL and I'll gladly link to it):

A family sits down in a restaurant and starts to look at their menus. After a few minutes, the waitress comes over and first takes the parents' orders. She then turns to the little boy.

"And what would you like?" she says.

"A hot dog," he says.

The father looks at the son and then says to the waitress, "He'll have the roast chicken."

The waitress then turns back to the little boy. "And what would you like with your hot dog?"

"French fries," he says, quietly, looking sheepishly at his father.

The father states, "No, he'll have the rice and broccoli."

The waitress, writing nothing down, then turns back to the boy. "And what would you like to drink?"

"Chocolate milk," the boy says.

"He'll have the plain milk," says the father, looking directly at the waitress.

"Alright. That'll be a hot dog, french fries, and chocolate milk for the little mister," the waitress repeats back. She turns and walks towards the kitchen.

The boys turns to his mother and whispers, "She knows I'm real."

When you write, think of whom you're writing for; picture your audience, and stay on course for them. Listen to people who give you feedback on your writing; they are giving you something of value, even if you may not agree with it, so be sure to take in what they are saying. Think of the people in your daily life, those who often become invisible.

These people are real. See them.

3,000 photos=3 million words+imagination spark

Photo: Rural school children, San Augustine County, Texas, 1943 April | Photographer: John Vachon, 1914-1975 | Library of Congress Photo Collections

A picture is said to be worth a thousand words. If you have 3,000 photos ... well, I've done the math for you in the post's title (look slightly above these words).

The U.S. Library of Congress has opened a public Flickr account and has posted just over 3,000 photos so far. Why? They are hoping that the world Web community will help tag many of them. More will surely follow; the LoC photographic collection is beyond extensive.

Get ready to spend hours looking at these images. Wonder at them. Daydream about their subjects. Put yourself in their places. What was life like back then? I chose this image above merely as a sample; so many of the photos are quite moving. In true Flickr fashion, other viewers are leaving comments on the photos, sharing their takes on what they're seeing. (Click on the above image to go to the Flickr page and see what others have said — very interesting.)

Browsing last night, I found my imagination completely sparked. I felt transported back in time. I stared, letting my thoughts wander. Many of these images are staying with me; I'll take them in small portions, as they are so visually strong. Their stories speak loudly.

Read more about this Library of Congress—Flickr partnership on the LoC's own site: "My Friend Flickr: A Match Made in Photo Heaven"

Thanks to ExperienceCurve for the heads-up about this (via Twitter).

Storytelling technology, a post in 4 acts

Photo: [click here to imagine a story] by Monsieur J.

This past week, I've discovered some fascinating links and snippets of life along a common theme — storytelling technology. Fitting so well with my blog's theme, these bits are worth sharing here:

1. True stories are the most compelling to me. I became reacquainted with This American Life this past weekend. I set aside uninterrupted time to enjoy it because I can't pull myself away from an episode once I start listening. If you don't know TAL, treat yourself to their free podcast of fascinating, dignified, human tales.

2. What will Google's KNOL do to how people share and gather information online? KNOL, a new online encyclopedia, will focus primarily on identifiable authors as the knowledge sharer; the goal is to create a trusted source, in part because the author is known and is an expert in a field. This differs from Wikipedia, whose contributors are mostly anonymous. Read Google's post on their official blog titled "Encouraging people to contribute knowledge" to find out more.

Stay tuned: Any story will be perceived differently based on who is telling it.

3. Bizarre Books: A Compendium of Classic Oddities is now available for your viewing, reading and laughing pleasure. Publisher Harper Collins released this description of it:

Amazing, illuminating, and gut-bustingly funny, Bizarre Books is the wonderfully twisted product of more than two decades of determined searching in forgotten corners of out-of-the-way libraries and through the literary detritus of eclectic private collections. It is certain to delight every true fan of trivia and the patently absurd.

The authors worked on this for more than two decades? I would love to read about the process behind putting this book together.

4. Last week, I saw a license plate that read "WYSIWYG". A license plate, perhaps the most public label many of us regularly wear, can either be completely innocuous or oddly memorable. Some strive to be among the shortest public storytelling out there. Geek readers among us — what type of person do you think the driver is? What is the story here?