TVIs

There are many kinds of educators in the world. By educators I refer to those who are formally trained and who have been assigned some type of title. I would like to tell you about Teachers of the Visually Impaired (TVI).

TVIs are specialists within the field of Special Education who work with students with visual impairments that range from very low vision (like me) to totally blind. The duties of a TVI are varied and many. For the most part the TVI helps to find ways for the student to learn. This means evaluating the student (as quickly as possible) and finding out how the student learns. This includes learning to read braille (for the record, you can spell it without the capital B) how to use a computer, how to use assistive technology, and how to use books on tape. A school or school system will generally not employ TVIs in their own right, TVIs are generaly subcontractors who work in a consortium or colaborative.

I had 4 TVIs as a student. The first I don't remember very well because she worked with me in Pre-school and in first grade (I skipped Kindergarten, but that's another entry). This TVI evaluated me and helped to set up my Individualized Education Plan (IEP) that would help guide my education over the next 12 years. In the 2nd grade I had a new teacher, she would work with me over the next two years. This teacher taught me how to count coins, tell time, work out math problems (I remember she made me practice erasing...a lot) and many other things I don't even recall. After three years she told me she had to go away because she was going to have a baby and I remember being stunned. She was the first person who ever told me she was pregnant (I'm the youngest in my family and the youngest grandchild on one side so not many babies for me to hear about). The next teacher was only with me for a year (a temporary hire until they found a replacement for my previous teacher), she worked very hard with me training me to use books on tape and to become an auditory learner.

The next year I started junior high and now I had another teacher. To say the least, I was not the ideal student (what pre-teen is?) . This poor woman had to bribe me (chocolate no less) to get me to show up on time for our sessions. Now I was leaning computer literacy. How to type, use a computer in all aspects including word processing and other skills but in a way that allowed me to actually be able to learn, and not miss what I needed to know.

Don't misunderstand, these are not tutors. They facilitate learning by making sure their students are using the best possible accommodations and that the student is being empowered to do this independently. How well the student learns that last lesson is always a bit unclear.

The deal is that when you are done senior year, you don't get a TVI anymore, so you have to be ready (whatever that means!). To say the least, I had no idea how not ready I was, but that's a different post.

These folks help students to go out in the world and take it on. They are deserving of our praise and most of all, our support. I know they have mine.