Learning Nemeth First

A student came to me when she was 16 years old. She had spent years trying to keep a brain tumor at bay, until one day, she woke and the majority of her sight was gone. She could no longer do the world visually. She was very depressed at first because she really wanted to graduate with her class and it was only a couple years away. But her hopelessness quickly transitioned into hope as she learned her blind skills.

She flew on the technology but resisted braille. She loved math though and was clearly unsure how to do it blind. We started with Nemeth code, NOT braille. She learned Nemeth very quickly and sailed through her math classes. Little did she know, she was learning the Braille code along with her Nemeth. When I finally got her to try a Braille book, she was a bit surprised how well she read the book.

Yes, I taught her braille going through the back door of ease versus the front door of resistance. Once a child gets something in their head of whether they will or will not do something, it is not worth the fight. As teachers, we need to bring them along on the journey by showing them how they can do their favorite things. Then the child discovers that they inadvertently learned what you wanted them to learn in the first place.