Podcasts about Perkins School

Jessica Awsumb and Hilary Travers are co-leads at Transition TennesseeTimeline: 2:15 Introduction3:15 Hilary's work at Perkins School of the Blind and what led her to Vanderbilt and transitional planning5:00 Jessica's pathway to transitional training and employment for students with IDD.8:13 How do we prepare for transitions (legal and evidence-based practice), which starts at Age 14 in TN. Key points mentioned: - 4 future goals in transitional planning are: post-secondary education, employment, community involvement, and community living. - A Course of Study (9th to 12th grade) is a selection of classes that are needed and individualized to a student to reach their post-secondary goals.- Annual goal to build competency for life skills.- Transition Services- a coordinated set of outcome-based activities to supplement after-school goals ( assigned to parent or third-party provider). 18:00 Job Exploration- What would you like to do for work? Your areas of interest? Explore the skills needed for the job in the community.21:14 Thinking about employment as a family.23:09 Support of job coaching vs natural supports- team-based approach.28:24 Job experiences and work-based learning: rural vs urban. What are students' skills? What is their motivation? What are their supports? It will influence their experience. Another consideration is full vs part-time, self-employed.32:27 VR for formal supports, faith communities are informal supports (these are non-paid opportunities), the Chamber of Commerce, who know the local businesses, and career fairs. 35:00 CTE courses are based on local community needs assessment, and if they align with students' interests, this is a great way for students to gain job skills. 37: 00 Helpful Resources: https://transitiontn.org/ Empowering Youth with Vision Impairments - free resources

In this episode of The BETWEEN Podcast, host Matt Mattson and special guest Kate Boyd dive deeply into faith disentanglement, Batman (the dog), the danger of fundamentalism, and the untidiness of our personal and communal faith lives.Kate Boyd helps weary and wounded Christians rebuild their relationship with Scripture and community... and she helps them love God and their neighbors with their whole selves. Kate has traveled the world to interview and tell the stories of believers around the globe while she has been on mission trips. She is the author of a book we discuss in this episdoed titled, “An Untidy Faith: Journeying Back to the Joy of Following Jesus”. She is also creator of the Threaded Bible studies, and founder of The Remembered Table. She holds a masters in theological studies with an emphasis in biblical studies from Perkins School of Theology.

A couple of Bruins players, Parker Wotherspoon and Matt Poitras, were at the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown this afternoon to take on the school's goalball team. As WBZ's Suzanne Sausville tells us, the sport is specifically designed for visually impaired people.

20250117 In Perspective Originally Broadcasted January 17, 2025, on ACB Media 5   This episode featured John Sanders, retired narrator, and recorder of radio shows at Perkins School for the Blind   Sponsored by: Branco Events     Find out more at https://acb-community.pinecast.co

In our second episode celebrating Braille at 200, Steven Scott discusses the significance of Braille education in the United States with blind QTVI (Qualified Teacher of Visually Impaired Children) Kate Crohan who works at Perkins School for the Blind.The discussion highlights the challenges and opportunities in teaching Braille to visually impaired and low vision students, the importance of acceptance in learning Braille, and the balance between traditional Braille and modern technology. Kate Crohan talks about the need for Braille education to adapt to the needs of individual students, including those with low vision, and both Steven and Kate explore the ongoing debate between different input methods for Braille technology.The conversation also explores the various applications of Braille beyond academics, such as in personal life and community engagement. Also, concerns about the future of Braille in the face of advancing technology and audio resources are addressed, with a hopeful outlook on the continued relevance of Braille.Get in touch with Double Tap by emailing us feedback@doubletaponair.com or by call 1-877-803-4567 and leave us a voicemail. You can also now contact us via Whatsapp on 1-613-481-0144 or visit doubletaponair.com/whatsapp to connect. We are also across social media including X, Mastodon and Facebook. Double Tap is available daily on AMI-audio across Canada, on podcast worldwide and now on YouTube.Chapter Markers:00:00 Celebrating Braille Education02:25 The Role of Braille in Education10:33 Acceptance and Learning Braille15:36 Braille vs. Technology: Finding Balance19:00 The Importance of Braille for Low Vision Children20:51 Navigating Braille Learning Levels23:11 QWERTY vs. Perkins: The Braille Input Debate28:28 The Importance of Braille Usage32:16 Technology's Role in Braille Education36:47 Braille Beyond Academics46:47 Concerns for the Future of Braille

We had Peggy Chong as a guest in episode five of Unstoppable Mindset back in October of 2021. Peggy spends a great deal of her time researching blind people, she calls them her blind ancestors, to learn and write about their histories. For example, did you know that five blind people in the 1930s served as congressmen or U.S. senators? True. Did you know that the typewriter was invented for a blind countess? Did you know that it was a blind person who invented automobile cruise control?   Peggy will talk about all these stories and others. Recently she spent two weeks at the library of Congress researching one project that she will discuss. Spoiler alert: we don't get to hear the end of the story as Peggy has more research to do and more documents to uncover. However, the story she tells us this time is intriguing and spellbinding. So join me on a journey to learn more about the history of blind people and learn why you should even thank blind people for some of the inventions you take for granted today.       About the Guest:   Peggy Chong's first book in print, Don Mahoney: Blind Television Star is on the shelves at many book sellers.  She writes and lectures as The Blind History Lady.  Her infatuation with stories she heard of those she now calls her “Blind Ancestors” surprised and inspired her to learn more, for herself at first and then bring their light to the world.  Peggy researches their stories and brings to life the REAL struggles of what it was and is still, to be a blind person in the United States.   Her works have been published in _The Iowa History Journal, Dialogue Magazine, The Farmington Daily Times, The Braille Monitor and Future Reflections. _ Each month she sends to her email followers another story of a blind ancestor to inspire blind and sighted alike.   Currently, Peggy Chong chairs the Preservation of Historical Documents for the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado, to save the single-source files, records, news clippings and correspondence of the blind of Colorado dating back to 1915.   She has been an active part of the blind community for more than forty years.  Determined to imbue the service delivery system for the blind with a more positive and forward-looking philosophy, Peggy joined with other blind people in Minneapolis, Minnesota to establish Blindness: Learning in New Dimensions (BLIND, Inc.), a training center for the blind designed to encourage its students to achieve self-sufficient and productive lives.  In 1985, Peggy Chong accepted the position of President of the Board of BLIND, Inc., a position she held for ten years.  During that time, she worked with many students of all ages and varying levels of vision, encouraging them to learn the alternative nonvisual techniques of blindness and fueling their imaginations to dream of a life where each of them could live and work in their communities on a basis of equality with their sighted peers.  She also helped many of them to make intelligent decisions about their vision--when it would be helpful and when it would hinder progress toward independence.   After moving to Baltimore Maryland in 1997, Peggy secured a position with BISM as an outreach/instructor.  In 1998, Peggy left BISM accepting a position with the Job Opportunities for the Blind program at the National Center for the Blind in Baltimore, Maryland.  For more than a year, she led a succession of intensive two-week training sessions designed to teach computer and other important job-readiness skills to blind individuals seeking employment.  She also worked individually with each job candidate to refine the job search according to the unique needs of each, and she worked with numerous employers to ensure that the characteristic of blindness was accurately perceived and the blind job applicant treated fairly.  When a job was offered to any of her students, she provided assistance before  and after securing the job to ensure that each of them had the tools needed to succeed in the new position.  Sometimes this involved connecting her student with other blind persons doing that same job somewhere in the United States.  At other times, she provided information and advice about new, non-traditional techniques that could be used to perform the job successfully.   Later, Peggy served for three years as the National Program Manager for NFB-NEWSLINE®, out of the Baltimore MD offices.  In this position, she formed valuable relationships with national and local newspapers, community-based service delivery organizations and rehabilitation programs, and literally thousands of blind men and women--many of them newly-blind--across the country.   After moving to Iowa in 2002, she became a private contractor providing consulting services and employment training to governmental agencies and nonprofit organizations.  Her work involved the dissemination of job-search, résumé creation and distribution services designed to help individuals--with or without disabilities--to secure competitive employment.  She also taught independent travel to the Blind.  She also served as the NFB-NEWSLINE Coordinator for the state of Iowa for several years.   For more than forty years, Peggy has been active in a variety of community organizations: the National Federation of the Blind, the American Cancer society, the Hawthorn Area Community Council, the Cooperating Fund Drive, Iowa and Albuquerque Genealogical Societies, Friends of the Iowa Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, The Friends of the Colorado Talking Book Library, State Rehabilitation Council for the Commission for the Blind of New Mexico, board member-ADA Advisory Committee for the City of Albuquerque Iowa Shares and Oasis of Albuquerque.    Ways to connect with Peggy:   Website: theblindhistorylady.com   Email: theblindhistorylady@gmail.com       About the Host:   Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/   https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening!   Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast   If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset .   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review   Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.       Transcription Notes:   Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 00:16 Hi. I'm Michael Hinkson, Chief vision Officer for accessibe and the author of the number one New York Times best selling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast. As we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion, unacceptance and our resistance to change, we will discover the idea that no matter the situation or the people we encounter, our own fears and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The Unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessibe. That's a C, C, E, S, S, I, capital, B, E, visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities and to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025 glad you dropped by, we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us. Well, hello and welcome to another episode of unstoppable mindset where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. We get to do a lot of all of that today. So it's kind of fun. In October of 2021 I had the honor and pleasure to interview well, let me rephrase that, talk with Peggy Chong, known as the blind history lady. Maybe it was a little bit more of an interview then, but we have really reshaped unstoppable mindset to be a conversation and not an interview. So it does get to be something where we get to talk with each other and ask each other questions and whatever else makes sense to do. Well, Peggy wrote a story about blind lady, and the story was published recently, and she did what she always does, she sends it to anyone on her mailing list. And I'm fortunate enough to be on it and read it, and I suddenly realized it has been two and a half years since we had Peggy on, and that has to change. So Peggy, welcome on to unstoppable mindset. Welcome   Michael Hingson ** 01:20 Well, hello and welcome to another episode of unstoppable mindset where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. We get to do a lot of all of that today. So it's kind of fun. In October of 2021 I had the honor and pleasure to interview well, let me rephrase that, talk with Peggy Chong, known as the blind history lady. Maybe it was a little bit more of an interview then, but we have really reshaped unstoppable mindset to be a conversation and not an interview. So it does get to be something where we get to talk with each other and ask each other questions and whatever else makes sense to do. Well, Peggy wrote a story about blind lady, and the story was published recently, and she did what she always does, she sends it to anyone on her mailing list. And I'm fortunate enough to be on it and read it, and I suddenly realized it has been two and a half years since we had Peggy on, and that has to change. So Peggy, welcome on to unstoppable mindset. Welcome   Peggy Chong ** 02:22 to me. Yes, that's I was really surprised it had been two and a half years. So thanks for having me back.   Michael Hingson ** 02:29 Well anytime. So Peggy is known as the blind history lady because she specifically researches information about blind people, and she really researches their lives and then tells people about them, and we'll dig into a lot of that, but why don't we start? Maybe it'll be a little bit of redoing of what we did. Tell us about the early Peggy growing up.   Peggy Chong ** 02:52 Well, I grew up in a family where my mother was blind, and I have three blind siblings out of a family of five kids. So there's four of us, and my mother had gone to the North Dakota School for the Blind, so she was not eager to send her children to the School for the Blind at all. She wanted us to go to public school. So we well. She did not like the idea of being so far away from her family. She felt that it really there were some family dynamics that go in to that as well. But basically, she went up there in the end of August, early September, many times came home for Christmas, but not always, and then she went home the end of May. So she was really only with her family, mostly in the summers.   Michael Hingson ** 03:53 I remember when I was growing up and we moved to California from Chicago, and my parents had really heated arguments with the school district in Palmdale because they said I shouldn't go to school there. I should go to the school for the blind, which at that point was in well, and still is in Northern California. It hadn't relocated to Fremont, I don't think, yet, but they wanted me to go there, and my parents said, No, he's going to grow up and go to regular public schools. And it was a huge battle. Well, my parents won, but I suspect it was for probably a lot of the same reasons why your mom didn't want you guys to go.   Peggy Chong ** 04:35 Well, my mom came from a town of 400 people, so the public school there. First of all, if she had gone to public school, most kids didn't get past the eighth grade, you know, they went to work on the farms, and I think she would have not been able to get a lot of material in any kind of a format at a. All her ophthalmologist when she was six years old, wrote in her record that she needed to go to the school for the blind and to learn to read and write in braille, which I thought was amazing, yeah, for a doctor to say that at that time,   Michael Hingson ** 05:17 yeah, the doctors told my parents to send me off to a home, because no blind child could ever grow up to amount to anything or be useful at all, and all I would do would be to destroy the family dynamic and but you know, the other side of it is, as we know, you and I, places like the School for the Blind in California really did teach a lot. They were at that time. I think Newell Perry was, was still, still there. You know, Tim Brook had been one of his students, and they did teach a lot of the right stuff, along with providing the right material. But still, was a question of whether that's where you really wanted to be sent to or have your child sent to.   Peggy Chong ** 06:01 You know, one of the interesting things that has changed a lot of my thinking, doing this whole history dive that I have been doing, when I graduated from public school, I didn't really feel like a part of my class, but I thought I had gotten a better education, and at that time, the schools for the blind were changing. More kids were getting into the public schools who were more academic, and the schools for the blind were receiving more of the students who were not academic. So the kids that were graduating from the school for the blind about the same time, I were not always, you know, job ready. They weren't going to do much afterwards. And so my impression at that time was that that's what happens when you go to the school for the blind, not understanding the dynamics that the whole education system was going through and so on. But I look back at some of these people that I've researched, and they talk about how in the farming communities, which many of them came from, because our communities were fairly small, they went to the School of the blind, and they they fit in. They had they had peers at their level. Everything was in enough format. They could read mostly, or it the accommodations were being made for them. They competed in sports. They got involved in some of the community activities in the towns where the schools for the blind were so that they were connected with the community, and they seem to have not all of them. Of course, you you don't always want to tire everybody with the same brush, so to speak, but you don't you see more of a population of kids who had more self confidence, who had more of an idea of what they were going to do as a blind person after leaving the school, as opposed to the public school kids who were exposed to a lot of things, but if they didn't get in with the group, if they didn't get a chance to really participate if they were just sitting on the sidelines. They left the public school system, and they didn't go to college, necessarily. They didn't go to work, they went back to the family home. So when I graduated from high school, I thought a public school education was the best thing for a blind child. I'm not at that time, but I'm not so sure that that's really the case. I think you have to look at the child, the family situation, the school situation. Is the public school gonna provide a good, positive, supportive, learning structure and of course, always happen.   Michael Hingson ** 09:05 Of course, yeah, it still doesn't always happen, although, of course, there is a lot more material and there are a lot of tools available now that even when you and I graduated, were not available and students should be able to get a better public education, but the other part about it is the whole social acceptance and like you, I think I was really mostly on the sidelines. I was active in the science club and a couple things, but really not involved in a lot of the social organization of the schools, and that went all the way through high school, but I did at least have access to Braille books and Braille material, and I had parents who were vehemently in favor of me working to be a. A good student in the school, and they gave me every opportunity that I could. And outside of school, I was in the boy scouts, and so I did have other activities, and again, that was encouraged, and I was very fortunate for the most part. We dealt with scout leaders who encouraged it as well, probably because they had conversations from my parents, or with my parents, who said, look and and gave them an education so but it worked out pretty well. My dad was involved in Scouting as well. But I hear what you're saying, and I think that the schools for the blind, as near as I can tell today, have receded even further and are not really as much focused on the academics of students who are blind, but now they're dealing with multi handicap situations and other things that make it even more of a challenge for them.   Peggy Chong ** 10:50 Yeah, but I do think that you're right. Parents make a big difference. Family Support makes a huge difference. Yes,   Michael Hingson ** 10:59 yeah. Yeah. And the parents really do make all the difference, if they're willing to, as I describe it, be risk takers in that they let us explore, they let us do things. I'm sure they monitor us, but they allowed us to explore. They allowed us to learn about the world, and they knew instinctively that's what they needed to do, just like they would do it with any other kid.   Peggy Chong ** 11:26 Yeah, my parents let us ride bicycles. Yep, which I know that my mother, she did not feel confident enough to ride a bicycle, but as kids, wanted to and and she was, she was gonna just let it happen. And we had a few bike accidents. But, yeah, so does my sighted sister,   Michael Hingson ** 11:49 yeah. I mean, everybody does. So there's nothing, nothing new there. And eventually we bought a tandem bike so my brother and I could deliver newspapers together, and then that worked out pretty well, but I had my own bike and rode it around the neighborhood, wrote it to school for the first three years, and then transferred to a school across town, because there was a resource teacher at who was based at that school, and the resource teacher was the teacher who would work with the blind kids, so I had a period with her every day. And I learned braille in kindergarten in Chicago, but after Chicago, I didn't have access to it for three years, so I had to relearn it, which I did. But you know, things happen. Yeah, they do. So what'd you do after high school?   Peggy Chong ** 12:45 Well, after high school, I met this guy and got married. I thought about going to college, but I was I wasn't quite ready for college. I didn't really think that I was academically ready, so I went to work, and worked as a librarian assistant for two years, and then when our daughter came along, then I quit, became a stay at home mom, and got active in the National Federation of the Blind. I got active in tiny tots, you know, because my daughter went to tiny tots and US mom sat around and exchanged coupons and everything like that. While they were in there.   Michael Hingson ** 13:27 Did you exchange your share of coupons? Oh, yeah,   Peggy Chong ** 13:31 I tried to call my dog food coupons for the things that I needed, like milk or diapers or whatever. And   Michael Hingson ** 13:39 we should say that this guy you got married to, I'm sorry you have to put up with him all these years, but, but his name is Curtis Chung and Curtis has also appeared on unstoppable mindset, but we probably have to get him back on too, because there's lots to discuss.   Peggy Chong ** 13:55 Yeah, we were just discussing actually riding bikes when he was a kid, because his father let him explore and get hurt. His mother was not inclined to do that, and so his dad took a lot of heat, because Curtis would ride around on his three wheeler and crash into the wall or roll out in the street or whatever, but   Michael Hingson ** 14:21 Curtis has to learn to listen.   Peggy Chong ** 14:24 I don't think that's gonna happen.   Michael Hingson ** 14:29 He's not nearby, is he? Oh,   Peggy Chong ** 14:35 catch it on the podcast. Oh, he   Michael Hingson ** 14:36 will. But, but still, but, but even so, he did get to explore, which is, you know, what's really important? And I think that the blind people who have the most confidence or who are the most outgoing are the ones who were really given those opportunities by their parents. I believe. So, yeah, sure. So you didn't go to college, you You did other things, which is cool, and exchanged coupons. I've never been much of a coupon collector, and even with online coupons, I don't do nearly as much of that as I probably should.   Peggy Chong ** 15:14 Well, I don't do that anymore either,   Michael Hingson ** 15:15 but Instacart is our friend. Yeah, that's true. I did   Peggy Chong ** 15:19 go back to college for a while, and it actually was a really big boost in my self esteem, because I went back to college thinking, I've got to start over. Got to start from scratch. And so I took the basic courses that you take when you're a freshman, and I aced them, and I was, I was quite surprised at myself, so it gave me, it gave me a lot more confidence in myself to go ahead and try new things. I got out more into the community, joined the neighborhood group. I wrote letters, wrote articles for newsletters, and really start to come into myself, probably when my daughter was about 10.   Michael Hingson ** 16:10 And she's surprised how much you've learned over the years, right?   Peggy Chong ** 16:13 Well, I was pretty dumb there between her 18th and 21st year, but I got pretty smart after that. Yeah, there you go. Yeah. And since she's 45 now, you know, I've been smart for a while. What a relief. No kidding, I feel very lucky when I look at the relationships that I read about in all these families that I research, and the dynamics of the families and how kids don't get along, and they never spoke to their parents after they were 22 or whatever. And I think, gee, you know, I got my fighting with my daughter all done by the time she was 21 now we're friends, so that's good,   Michael Hingson ** 16:52 yeah, which works out. So when did you start getting interested in this whole business of researching blind ancestors and learning about the history of blind people.   Peggy Chong ** 17:05 Well, that actually started in my 20s. The NFB of Minnesota owned a home for the blind, and we decided that it was it was past its time. We did not need segregated housing for blind people, so we were going to sell the property. That meant you had to clean out the building. And there was a lot of stuff in there, and they had kept the National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota, started as the Minnesota State organization of the blind, and in 1920 so they had some correspondence going back to 1919 and they kept everything. I mean, it was really cool. I was given the job of going through all of the boxes and file cabinets and getting rid of stuff, because we were going from this three story building to 1000 square feet office, and has to all fit, so everything had to go into one file cabinet, and I'm and they gave me the job because I had grown up in The blank community, and as a kid, I had known the people from North Dakota and Minnesota who were the blind newspaper dealers, the blind rug weavers, the blind door to door salesmen, the blind janitors. And they thought I would recognize people more than the rest of them would. So I'm going through stuff and pitching and pitching and pitching all this stuff into the trash. Every so often I stopped to read something, and one of the letters that I read was from the early 20s, from one of the board members to another one, describing their meeting with our blind state congressman, our blind US congressman, excuse me, and of course, they don't tell who it is. I didn't know there was a blind congressman, so I put that aside, and I started to pay more and more attention, so that blind Congressman became my first, what I call ancestor. I kept information that I had found here and there, kept those letters and put them in a box, and I went after who, what turned out to be Thomas David Shaw, who was the blind congressman who was working on a bill called the Robbins bill that would have been kind of a rehabilitation bill, putting some things together that would be similar to what our Randolph Shepherd vendor program is today. That bill didn't go anywhere. Um. But he then became a US senator, and he was one of two blind senators in the US Senate in the 1930s the other being Thomas prior gore. Thomas Shaw was killed by a hit and run driver just before Christmas of 1935 and he's a great ancestor to start with, because he had all this mystery around him, and you just had to know. So the driver of the car got out after he driven about a half a block and yelled back, well, he shouldn't have been in the street anyway. Now he was with his cited aid him one of his legislative aides, who was also hit and seriously hurt but but did survive that aid wrote a book about 20 some years later, as did the daughter of a newspaper man from Minneapolis who was killed in the very same way two weeks before Shaw was killed, and that newspaper reporter moved into this apartment a couple of weeks before he was hit by a car out of Thomas Shaw's house in Minneapolis because he was being harassed for the article He was working on about the mafia infiltrating the Democratic Party, and Shaw was helping him with this article. And so Shaw's family believed, as did the daughter who wrote the book about her dad, the reporter, as did the person who was with him that day, they all said that, you know, it was a he was deliberately hit, a man who hit him, he was deliberately hit because, if you talk to his grandson or his daughter in law, that they they believe it was a contract hit. But the man who hit him, who was unemployed. This was, you know, the middle of the Depression. He was unemployed, and all of a sudden, couple of years later, he has a brand new house that's paid for. He has no job. His children are in private school. They go on to college. He has no job. Where'd the money come from? Everybody wanted to know, and it was so he was somebody who I researched a lot, and that's before computers, and that was before you had an opportunity to go online, and before things were digitized. So you had to always go someplace and have somebody look it up for you. And a lot of times I would call and I would say, Well, can you read it to me over the phone? I didn't tell them I couldn't read it myself. I just asked them to read it. And I was surprised how many times people did read it, read articles to me, read them, the collection information to me, and so on. So he was my first ancestor. And because he was probably somebody I researched for good 30 years, I kind of got that in my blood, and then in about 2000 I decided I was going to do my family tree ancestry.com. Had just gotten started, and I thought, well, you know, why not? Keeps me busy for the winter. That is, it's it is worse addiction than chocolate or coke. I am here to tell you. I have been a subscriber of ancestor.com for a long time, and by and large, things are fairly accessible with that, unless you want to read the original document, because things were mostly handwritten, and these are scanned images, pictures of the originals and so on. But I'm surprised how many people are transcribing for their family trees, the information, the articles, the pieces from the books. So sometimes I get into things and it's already transcribed for me, I'm really kind of impressed   Michael Hingson ** 24:17 that works out very well.   Peggy Chong ** 24:18 I think so. So I was one who didn't like history in school because it didn't apply to me. And the few things that I had saved from Minnesota, you know, that applied to me because that was an organization I belonged to, and some of the people I had known. So I started with some of them because it applied to me. But once I really got into the family history, I just really got the bug. And when I would stall out on my family, I'd reach into now this collection that was more than a box or two of stuff that I have been collecting. And. Say, Well, I wonder what I can find about this person. Wonder what I can find about that person. And I took all these classes on how to research through the genealogical societies, several of them, and because it was when computers were not really used for genealogical research, they gave me a lot of information on the techniques that they use so they don't have to travel. And I used all of those techniques, and a lot of them are very great techniques that a blind person can use because for a $15 donation to this Genealogical Society, or this History Society, or this public library, there's some volunteer that's just willing to dig into something and find out what it is I want to know, and then they'll send me a nice email back, or a bunch of papers in the mail that I'll have to scan. But it's been really interesting to find out how easy it has been to dig into a lot of these old documents with the help of other people who have no idea that I'm blind at all,   Michael Hingson ** 26:13 which, which is, of course, part of the issue. They don't even know you're blind.   Peggy Chong ** 26:18 No, they have no clue. But they would do that for someone else. Yeah? So, yeah, I just take advantage of the opportunities that are already there and maximize them to my benefit.   Michael Hingson ** 26:31 So what are some of the early stories that you found that really fascinated you and that you found interesting that you've published?   Peggy Chong ** 26:41 Well, the one that just came out this month about Helen may Martin, the blind and deaf woman who was a concert pianist, is a fascinating story to me. And here's another example of this. Is a blind and deaf person who was born in 1895 the schools for the blind didn't take a blind and deaf student, and the schools for the deaf didn't take a deaf and blind student. In many parts of the country to get in as a deaf blind student, you either had to have a lot of money, or there just happened to have, happened to be somebody who was donating extra money at the time. You just happened to have a teacher that was skilled in working with one on one with a deafblind student. So Helen may didn't have that. She was born in Nebraska. The Nebraska school for the blind and deaf didn't want or the Kansas School for the blind and deaf didn't one of the Missouri School for the Blind in the School for the Deaf didn't want her, so her mother decided Helen is going to grow up and she is going to be the best of whatever she can be.   Michael Hingson ** 27:53 There's mom again. There's the family again. Well, mom   Peggy Chong ** 27:56 was a music teacher. Dad was a salesman who was on the road a lot, but he was also musically inclined, and they had a piano in the house. Mom taught music, and she kept Helen with her a lot. And Helen thought this was a game on the piano the keys and doing it, so she wanted to learn the game too. Mom, had her put her hand on the piano to feel the vibrations. Later on, it was the heel of her foot to feel the vibrations and how she would press the key harder and the vibrations of the piano were more full. When Helen started to really learn how to play the pieces, her mother would teach her with one hand, then the other, and they would put it together. And then her mother started to explain musical notes by using beans. A whole note was one bean. A half a note was two Beans. Quarter note was four beans. And explained how that worked to Helen. Then they would play these pieces, and the mother would say, Well, this is a song about the flowers, or this is a song about someone's life. And so Helen needed to know the story, and then the music had feeling her emotions. She understood the music better, and she learned to play with feeling as well. And when she was about 18, she wrote to the schools for the blind, asking again to have somebody come and teach her. Now, her mother was a smart woman. She knew there were magazines for the blind, and so she wrote and got everything she could find. Well, somewhere in New York point, somewhere in Braille,   Michael Hingson ** 29:56 Moon type and all of this. Hmm. And   Peggy Chong ** 30:01 so Helen learned several different ways to read. Her mother learned some of it and taught Helen. And then Helen, through reading these magazines, learned to read much better.   Michael Hingson ** 30:16 Let me stop you for a second, because I think it's important that listeners understand. You know, Braille was developed by Louis Braille in 1824, but it was quite a while before Braille itself was adopted. And one of the things that a lot of schools and people did early on, if you will, was assume that blind students could learn to feel raised regular characters, and then when they discovered that wasn't working as well as it could, other kind of languages were developed. Says Peggy said New York point and I said Moon type, which are two different languages, if you will, of raised characters that are somewhat different from Braille than it was a while before people realized finally that there were advantages to what Braille offered, because it was a very simple in a sense, dot configuration, but people could learn to read it and learn to read it well and read fast with it.   Peggy Chong ** 31:18 New York point was two dots high and four dots wide, right. And the New York point was started in New York, of course, with the schools there, Perkins, the Perkins School for the Blind, which began in the 1930 in the 1830s used the raise print system. They had their own printing press and everything. So they had all of the equipment to print their own books. Therefore they were invested in more ways than one into that raised system. The first school that actually taught Braille in this country was the Missouri School for the Blind in 1860 so Braille didn't quite catch on here. New York point had caught on, and what had spread across, especially New England and the East Coast, far more than Braille, the Braille did, which is why the Matilda Ziegler, what magazine was in Braille. Some of the religious magazines were Matilda Ziegler, I'm sorry, was in New York point at first, before it went into Braille. So   Michael Hingson ** 32:33 why do you think Braille finally caught on?   Peggy Chong ** 32:36 Well, it had a lot to do with money, but it also had to do with the fact that, you know, the schools for the blind, up until probably about the 1860s did more lecture and answer, question and answer, and that's how you learn they're just they didn't have either the money or the printing press or the access to actual tactile books for the kids. So the teachers themselves would lecture, and they would memorize and recite a lot more than than the sighted children did in the schools, although my dad tells stories about how they didn't have school a lot of school books, either in his school when he was growing up. I don't know, maybe that wasn't so different. But when Helen was reading things, she was getting some magazines from France, because Europe, England had publications in braille, and they would they could be received here in the United States. So her mother signed her up for those signed her up for newsletters coming out of California. California was quite a literate state in that the school for the blind, the school in Berkeley, the Institute for the Blind, they all had printing presses so that they could manufacture their books and share them. So Ohio was another place that her mother got her books Helen's books from as well. So she got all this material encouraged Helen to read and read and read, and she also taught Helen to type at the age of six, because her mother knew how to type. So her mother taught her how to type again. It was kind of a game. The keyboard was a game, and she learned to type quite well, so she kept a diary in print, and she wrote articles her mother would read to her, and they developed, at first, their own sign language, and then her mother and her sister. Her learned sign language, and they would spell into Helen's hand. Now, her dad died when she was about 1220, her sister was about 12 at the time, and so the mother had to go back to work. She became a seamstress. She had her own shop. She sewed dresses for people in town, and Helen learned how to do that. Helen had learned how to cook. She was constantly by her mother's side, so when her mother went to work, she was in charge of the house. Her mother got her classes at conservatories of music. Her mother went with her and translated into Helen's hand what was being said for the class. She never graduated from a conservatory, but because of her exposure, people were like this. She's deaf and she's blind and she's playing the piano. This is so amazing. She plays it with feeling. And so she would get a little concert here, and a little concert there. And pretty soon it expanded, and her mother thought, well, let's see where it goes, you know? So she started promoting her daughter, getting her all these concerts. There were all these professionals musicians, educators, even from the schools for the blind, who would come and watch Helen perform, because they just couldn't believe a deafblind person could do this. And when Helen would travel, she had the same experience. Her mother would send ahead all this information about Helen may Martin, the deafblind piano pianist who is going to perform, and there would be the announcement in the paper. But many times, the reporters didn't believe that Helen was deafblind, so they didn't put the article in. They would wait till after the performance, and then there would be the article about Ellen Mae Martin, and I went to see her, and she really is deaf and she really is blind, and she plays beautifully. Ripley's, believe it or not, had a program on the radio. He also had a Ripley's, believe it or not, theater in New York, and he sent someone out to check out Helen and see if she really was a deafblind pianist. And discovered that she was, and he brought her on her show. She was well received in New York, and got a multi week contract to perform at his, believe it or not, theater in New York. So she was in New York for quite a while, several months, performing for many concerts and many theaters in New York. Helen died in 1947 so she was like about 5252 years old, so she wasn't really that old. And her sister died in 1939 who was much younger than she was. So Mrs. Martin ended up out living all of her children, neither of Helen or her sister ever married or had children. So her mother ended up, not in poverty, but she certainly was not a wealthy woman when she passed away. But before she passed away, she supposedly gave all of Helen's diaries to some historical society, of which no one can find, which I'm hoping they're in a back box behind the furnace somewhere, and someday they'll be unearthed, because that would be fascinating, the little bits of her journal that were recorded in newspapers. She wrote very well. She had a very strong vocabulary. Some people equate deaf people with having a smaller vocabulary. That was certainly not the case with Helen, and Helen has been somebody that has really touched a lot of people. When you think about what you can and cannot do, nobody told Helen she couldn't. Nobody said, you know, as a deaf person, probably the piano is not something you should try to take up. But encouraged her because she had an interest, and worked with Helen's interests, and worked with what Helen knew, and her mother did that and encouraged her, made sure she was literate because she was a lot older when she went to school, really, when she went to school, she. Took about five years to complete the academic courses at the School for the Blind, and she did get a certificate of graduation she was older than the rest of the students. Her mother had blind pianists come and work with Helen while Helen was growing up, so she had music teachers, and she found some deaf students, graduates from the schools for the deaf, from other states, sometimes Kansas, who would come and work with the family. That's how they learn sign languages. So Helen's mother was extremely important with making Helen who she was I wonder   Michael Hingson ** 40:40 if she ever met Helen Keller. Yes, she did.   Peggy Chong ** 40:44 They both met when they were adults. Helen may Martin had written to Helen Keller, and Helen Keller had heard about the blind woman who was the pianist, the blind and deaf woman. So when Helen Keller went on one of her tours. She went to Nebraska, and Helen and her mother went and stayed with a relative and got an audience with Helen Keller. The Of course, Helen Keller was always followed by reporters, and so they reported on the meeting of the two Helens, and they called Helen may Martin, the second Helen Keller, well, Helen Keller was not happy with that. She said, Are you kidding? She is not the second Helen Keller, she has far exceeded everything I could have ever done.   Michael Hingson ** 41:38 I can see her say that, yes, it   Peggy Chong ** 41:40 was just, it was really wonderful. She scolded the reporter, and that reporter didn't report on the scolding, but another reporter reported on Helen Keller scolding the reporter for saying that she was the second. Helen Keller, and don't you call her at the second? Helen Keller, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 41:59 you know, it's interesting that you, you clearly worked at this pretty hard and found a lot of information about her, even so. And you're you're right. It would be nice to find her journals and the other things, and I bet you will at some point, they're somewhere.   Peggy Chong ** 42:15 I think so I think they're somewhere.   Michael Hingson ** 42:20 Now I have to go back to a story that you talked about a little bit on our first unstoppable mindset episode, because you said something here that brought it up, and that is that Helen may Martin learn to type, tell us about the history of the typewriter. Will you? Oh, I love to I know it's a great story.   Peggy Chong ** 42:42 When I go to talk to the students who are at agencies for the blind learning to be blind people when they're in their adjustment to blindness, training, a lot of them, oh, talk about how difficult the computer is because it's so difficult you can't see the keys. And I love to tell the story of the invention of the typewriter, because it was an invention for blind people. And we have forgotten that as a society, the typewriter was the invention of a man who was overly friendly with this Countess, married to this count. The Count wasn't attentive enough for the Countess, so she had to find other interests, friends, but they would write back and forth. Now the problem was the ladies in waiting who wrote the letters to her friend, her special friend, showed them to the count, and that just, you know, wasn't a good thing. So, and they also didn't get delivered either, because if the count didn't like it, he had the letters tried, so he invented this device where she could type out the letters and then send them to him without having a ladies maid between them. And it caught on the schools for the blind in New York, especially the schools for the blind taught typing at the school and their students by the late 1880s and early 1890s were going to state fairs and the World's Fair demonstrating the typewriter for the Remington company as something that really would help the gentlemen who were secretaries in the office. Lady secretaries were not quite yet the thing and   Michael Hingson ** 44:42 would have helped Bob Cratchit Anyway, go ahead,   Peggy Chong ** 44:46 you never know. Do you humbug? I love that story. Yeah, but yes. So their students graduated, were really good typists and. They saw to him that they got put into insurance companies, law firms, and highlighted their students as typists. And the typewriter was also catching on really well in the business community, because now you didn't have to decipher some of that handwriting. And believe me, that handwriting that still exists from back then is very difficult, always doing to figure out just   Michael Hingson ** 45:27 handwriting of old days or days of your that is hard to understand. So I'm told,   Peggy Chong ** 45:33 No, it's today's but yes, well, and they're actually teaching handwriting again in school. A little side note is that I have a lot of volunteers that have been transcribing documents for me from about 1915 to about 1980 from the collection of old files at the Colorado Center for the Blind that we unearthed and we found we could not use high school students and some younger college students because they couldn't read handwriting. We had to, we had to go into the retirement communities to find our volunteers who were very good, by the way. But anyway, so the typewriter has was really the communication material, tool that was used by so many blind people for a long time, and I think we got away from that now, where we have to have special keyboards for the blind. Some places are really insistent on that. Some blind people are insistent on that when you were meant not to look at the keys. That's why the two little bumps on the F and the H are there is so that you could orient yourself and continue typing looking at the paper. The sighted ladies would look at the paper and type their material and not have to look at their keys. So something that we have forgotten, and you know, like the scanner, is, you know, a product that was originally designed for blind people. We forgotten that, I think, in our society as well. But I like the inventions that blind people have contributed, such as cruise control. That was an invention by a blind man to make the cars in his lot stand out from the other car dealers in his small town. There was a man in Minnesota who had lost his hand as well as his eyesight and part of his hearing. He went to the summer programs for adult blind people at the School for the Blind in the 19 late 20s, early 30s. There were no programs for adult blind in the in the state, really at that point, unless you wanted to make brooms. They suggested that he become a piano tuner. And he said, Well, you know, I really wasn't very musical when I had my sight and my hearing, I don't really see how I can be a piano tuner if I can't hear it and I only have one hand. So what he got out of those summer programs, though, was he met other blind people who gave him job leads, and they told him to go to this broom factory in Minneapolis, because it was owned by a blind guy. And he employed some blind guys and sighted guys as well. So he went up there, and this is during the Depression, and the guy said, you know, I really love to help you. I don't need anybody in the factory. I have all the blind salesmen. Most of his salesmen were blind. I have all the salesmen that I can use for this area, but you know, if you want to branch out and head out to like, say, North Dakota or South Dakota, I'd be glad to hire you. And probably thought he'd never heard from the guy again, but the guy came back and says, Well, I found another guy. He doesn't have a job, he doesn't have a home, but he's got a pickup. So the two of them bought as many brooms as they could put into the pickup, and they headed out. Sold all the brooms. They came back. The two men, in a couple of years, earned enough money where they both bought property, and this guy, he bought the property, and what we would call today flipped. It bought a duplex and got renters in. It continued to sell brooms until he really became pretty handy at flipping houses, buying and selling property. So he got kind of tired, though, because, you know, he's now, like, close to 50 years old. Wild, and he has to change the storm windows on the house in Minnesota. Have to put on the screens in the summer and the storms in the winter. And he's climbing up the ladder. He's only got one hand trying to change the windows on the second story. And thought, There has got to be a better way to do this. I really don't want to keep climbing up this ladder. So I talked to this other guy, a blind guy, who was a furniture builder, had his own furniture shop. And he told the guy, this is my idea. I want to design a window where it comes in on a hinge, and then I can just reach in, pull in the storm, clean it, put it back, and they invented this window. He built a few of them on his own, demonstrated that it worked, put it in his house. This window company came along, bought the patent and the blank, I never worked again. He didn't have to work again. The neat thing though, was when he went blind, his wife had passed away a couple of years before, and he became very depressed, lost his job, lost his house that he had paid for his relatives, and the county came and took his three children away. When he sold his patent, he got two of his children back. His oldest child was now in the service and serving in World War Two. But he got his children back. He provided a home for his mother. He actually remarried again, you know, a man who just came back from nothing, and then out of his own need, created this window that many houses in the Midwest, the older houses built in the late 40s and 50s, have those windows that you pull in on a hinge and open up, clean them and close them   Michael Hingson ** 52:03 back out. Now, of course, we have dual pane windows and other things like that. But, yeah, yeah, so, so who invented the scanner?   Peggy Chong ** 52:12 Well, that was Ray Kurzweil. I   Michael Hingson ** 52:14 just wanted to see if you'd say that it's interesting. Kurzweil   Peggy Chong ** 52:19 is an interesting guy, you know, he is still alive and still very concerned about blind people, and active in the blind community, providing funds for scholarships and so on. We correspond, yeah, and he had this wonderful idea in the 70s to provide a scanner that would read to the blind, and it was as huge. I mean, it was bigger than my washing machine.   Michael Hingson ** 52:48 Yeah, the whole thing weighed 400 pounds, not too gosh, yeah,   Peggy Chong ** 52:51 the library, the public library in Minneapolis, bought one. Unfortunately, not a lot of people used it because they locked it up because they were afraid it was going to get broken.   Michael Hingson ** 53:03 That makes sense somehow. Yeah, right. It's, it's interesting, though, also to try to describe how the scanner worked, because you, you can't really say it took a picture like you would do today with a phone. No, because the way it worked was there was a piece of technology called a charge couple device. Won't go into the theory of that, but basically, the scanner would move up and down the page, like an inch at a time, scanning across, then dropping down, scanning back, dropping down, and so on, building up an image that took almost a minute to do. And then the computer would take probably anywhere from depending on the complexity, 20 seconds, to 30 or 45 seconds, to process it. And then it would read out loud.   Peggy Chong ** 53:52 But it worked, and you had access to that book right, and   Michael Hingson ** 53:58 you had access to that book right away, and it worked. And of course, it did get better over time. And then Ray was also very much involved in unlimited vocabulary, voice input and other things. So you mentioned two blind senators. Were there any other blind national politicians.   Peggy Chong ** 54:22 There were five blind congressmen all together. There was Thomas Shaw and there was Matthew Dunn. He served from 1935 to 1940 he was the last of any of our national representatives as blind people. And Matthew Dunn came from Pennsylvania. He was an interesting person because he did really he was interested in politics, but it was not what he wanted as a career, but he did it because he was a part of the. The Pennsylvania Association for the Blind, which was one of the original affiliates of the National Federation of the Blind. They were very concerned that the welfare system in the country was going federal, which was a good thing and a bad thing, a good thing if it was done right, a bad thing if it was not. And they knew from just Pennsylvania alone, how a charity system, a welfare system, a poor house system, they had all these different types of programs to serve blind people, as far as financial was concerned, and they had many situations in their state where if you lived on one side of the street as a blind person, you could get maybe $8 a month if you lived on the Other side, maybe only two, because you crossed a county line or you crossed out of the sea. And so they wanted to have some input on a federal level to all this, these pieces of legislation, Social Security, the rehabilitation legislation that was being bandied about, they wanted to have some input into it, to make sure that it wasn't a charity, that it wasn't for the poor, that it was something that would make you have A step up, that you could get out of poverty, that you wouldn't be stuck there, that you would have an opportunity to get a job, that you would have an opportunity to go to school and still get some financial support, that you could own your own home and maybe still get some financial support, because if you were a blind person in Pennsylvania, in some parts of the state, and you went blind at, say, 40 years old, your house was paid for. You had to sell that house or that asset in order to get financial support. And they wanted people to have a right to protect what they have so they can get a step up and get back to work. And Matthew Dunn was sent there by the blind people, and he campaigned on those issues, about wanting to go to Washington to make sure that the new laws regarding social security rehabilitation would provide people an opportunity to progress, rather than stay at home, remain in poor farms, remain in nursing homes. So he was, it was an interesting sort   Michael Hingson ** 58:01 and it's a battle that still goes on today. For   Peggy Chong ** 58:06 you know, as much as we look at history, you know, if you don't know your history, you're bound to repeat it. And you just look at things, and they just cycle through and cycle through. I remember in the 1920 minutes of the NFB of Minnesota. Back then, it was called the Minnesota State organization the blind. There were three resolutions that were just about the same as three of the resolutions at the 1995 convention. We haven't gone very far have we   Michael Hingson ** 58:40 not in some ways, you know, we have been doing this mostly an hour. But I can't end this without saying two things. One, we'll have to do another one, but, but the other one is, tell me a little bit about your recent trip to Washington. That had to be fascinating. It was   Peggy Chong ** 58:59 fascinating. I went to Washington knowing very little. What I thought I knew turned out not to be what I should have known. I came across a newspaper article about, oh, four years five years ago, five years ago, I guess, now, about a blind guy, a broom maker, who had gotten an award from the Harmon Foundation, and I couldn't understand why he got the award, because it didn't really say why he got the award. He just got an award. Well, I didn't find out much about the broom maker, so I decided to look in the Harmon Foundation, and what I had learned online was that the Harmon Foundation had given a lot of support, financial awards, loans to the black community who were into art. And I couldn't figure out how this broom maker, this white guy, Bloom. Broom maker fit in, and there was nothing online about it, until I got into the Library of Congress and found the Harmon foundation collection. And I looked at that and went, Oh my gosh, there must be a lot of data there, because the Harmon foundation collection goes from 1913 to 1965 there's 122 boxes. 14 of them are for this one program. Now there's about, oh, maybe 20, 3040, programs that the Harmon Foundation also has in this collection, none of them have that many boxes connected with it. So I thought I had hit a gold mine, and then way I did just not what I anticipated. The first two days, I spent 11 days in the Library of Congress. The first two days, I took the boxes chronologically and could not figure out what the heck was going on, because it none of it made sense. None of it fit into the stuff I knew about the program and the strangest stuff were coming up. People were writing on behalf of a school for the blind, or a public school area wanting a playground for the School for the Blind, and I'm thinking now in an awards a literary award program, why would you write and ask that? And then there were all these letters from blind people wanting to go to college and asking for a loan. And again, I thought, what? That just doesn't fit. So it took me till the third day before I got an understanding of exactly what was going on the Harmon foundation. William Harmon was the chair. He decided in 1927 he wanted a new program that would provide awards to blind people, much like their literary program that was providing scholarships for college students. They had a essay contest for farmers down in the south, and they would award them money to beautify their their property. They also had this program once I saw their newsletters where they had provided within like a five year period, over 50 playgrounds to schools or Communities for Children. And so it's starting to dawn on me that there's this group of people who've done their research on the Harmon Foundation, and there's a group of people that haven't done their research. And then there's what's going on with the award the Harmon foundation knew they had to reach out to the blind community. Part of their structure, when they were doing new awards, and they did many, was to reach out, put an advisory committee together with sewn from the Harmon foundation and those in that community in which they were trying to enhance so they wanted to reach out to the blind community. They found the Matilda Ziegler magazine, and they had the editor as one of their advisory committees, and they reached out to the American Foundation for the Blind, and ended up with a few of their representatives on that advisory committee, their normal process, the Harmon Foundation's normal process was then to take this advisory committee and then reach down into the community and have all these nominators who would take the applications for the awards and seek out applicants. Get the applications filled out, get the supporting documents filled out. For example, in their their farm and land beautification, one photographs needed to be taken sometimes, or they needed to get the names of some of the plants they were using. Sometimes, fruits and vegetables were sent to the Harmon foundation to show, hey, look how good my garden went, that kind of thing. So the nominators were to make sure that all of that was completed before the application was then sent in. That didn't work the application process. The Harmon Foundation put the application together, much like their other programs, and sent it to the advisory committee, and there were about 12 different versions of it after I went to the advisory committee in the Harmon. Original version that they had asked for award. They were going to give out 100 awards in total, and there were about eight categories, and they were going to have an award for the person who submits this great work of literary work, they were going to have an award for people who wrote essays about how they have made a difference in their life, how they made a difference in other people's lives, as blind people, and especially in that one, there's a little sub noted, and it says, when it's talking about what you might include in the essay, which is usually only about a paragraph it mentioned, and talk about how, as you progressed, your posture got better, your became more involved in the community. Well, the advisory committee ended up pulling all of that out. So the final application had a page of, is this person neat? Is this person polite? What is the posture of this person? All these personal things that when the blind people who were reading the Matilda Ziegler magazine, because Matilda Ziegler put all this information about the awards, they did a lot of promotion about the awards. They sent in essays from their previous editions of their Matilda magazine to the Harmon foundation to say these are the kind of essays that blind people can write, and they can tell you about how they have made a difference in their lives. They've made a success of this career. They have been instrumental in building their community school or their community church. But the Matilda Ziegler magazine people got the application and filled out what they thought was important, the the references and so on. And they get to all this stuff about their personal behavior, and one lady writes in and says, you know, I'm submitting my essay, but I'm not going to fill out these pieces because I don't think it has any bearing on whether or not my essay should be, should be judged on that. So I'm, I'm getting the drift here that the people that were sending in essays were not completing their application. The deadline the applications were sent out on April 15 of 1928 the deadline was August 15 of 1928 AFB provided a list of all of the organizations, the mailing list of all the names, organizations, schools, workshops for the blind, and the Harmon foundation sent out letters asking all of their these agency people to be the nominators. The AFB did not do that. They didn't write separate cover, hey, we're participating in this Harmon Foundation award, and we want you to support this award, be a nominator, and we want you to help fill out these applications and send them back so these principals at the schools for the blind or in the public schools who oversaw the program for public schools or the director of a workshop,   Peggy Chong ** 1:08:51 they they would either totally ignore it, or they would write back, well, sure, I'll be a nominator. I don't know what it involves, but you can use my name. So come August 15, the Harmon foundation doesn't have enough accepted applications to fill the awards, so they they're contacting AFB and Matilda Ziegler, what do we do? They extend the award for children and for been blind for two years. How has how have you progressed in two years to November 1, they still don't get enough because what happened is, especially with a lot of these schools, they saw it as a charity award, not a literary award. And so they would send the application in, partially filled out, and say, this student deserves this award because they came to the school and they only had one set of clothing, and we have been needing to support the student, or you need to gi

In case you were wondering, “hymnody” is an actual word and we didn't make it up. It simply means the singing or composition of hymns, religious songs or poems of praise to God. And today's guest has a lot to say about hymns.  Ted Campbell is the Albert C. Outlet Professor of Wesley Studies at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. He has served as a United Methodist pastor and has taught at the Methodist Theological School in Ohio, Duke Divinity School, and Wesley Theological Seminary. He is the author of many books, including Wesleyan Beliefs, The Gospel of Christian Tradition, and most recently A Core Methodist Hymnal, which is more like a devotional and less like a traditional hymnal.Resources:Learn more about Ted at his website, tedcampbell.comBuy A Core Methodist Hymnal

While Kerry is still in Ireland and away from the mic, this week there's a special spot filler in her seat. We're talking magic and monsters on what we've coined our Monster Mixed Bag show. This week on Outlook, the Fab Four return, including sister/co-host Kerry and boyfriend Barry in Northern Ireland and brother Brian and friend Nefertiti Matos Olivares, visiting from New York City, in studio after her first appearance as our guest back in July and the show where we visited Perkins School for The Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts as a group. Nef is visiting Ontario and Brian has been showing her around its capital, around London, and even Kerry's house (without Kerry herself being present). The four of us discuss the adventures Brian and Nef have been having, including tours of Toronto and its Islands, an accessible art gallery experience at Tangled Art + Disability, and a proper Kijewski immersion around the Woodstock area. While Kerry and Barry share about watching two wildly different retellings of Dracula (both audio described) and tell tales of a spooky ghost bus excursion, in Dublin, along with their awesome hotel find at an historic spot included on said spooky tour during their pre-Halloween visit to Bram Stoker's Dublin. Sharp and stabby, flaming hot like the fiery depths of hell, this is Halloween on Outlook as Kerry experiences the holiday, Irish style (including trying monster themed snacks) and tells all on the show on this final episode of October. Learn more about Tangled Art + Disability: https://tangledarts.org Listen to the four of us back in July on Nef's first Outlook appearance: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/outlook-2024-07-15-scars-the-oscars-the-voice/id1527876739?i=1000664231625 And us four exploring Perkins School for the Blind: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/outlook-2024-09-23-our-field-trip-to-perkins-school/id1527876739?i=1000671209448

We're continuing our education series during October, Blindness Awareness Month - BAM! A lot has changed since the summer of 2020, but not the focus and hard work of returning guest and ally, Caroline Karbowski, who joins us this week from the home of Perkins School for the Blind in Boston, Mass. There she will soon be celebrating October 15th (White Cane Day) with blind and deaf-blind students who she's having a hand in teaching things such as tactile literacy and self advocacy skills. Returning friend of Outlook, Caroline, has been working with the students of this historic educational campus for blind and deaf-blind children for months now. After catching up with Caroline, and for our listeners on her company See3D which produces 3D models for tactile learners, we could have used more than an hour's time to find out all the work she's been doing since we first met her. Like the international outreach Perkins does, as we found out on the tour of the school we took in July, Caroline shares about the international outreach See3D is now working to offer through the mission of the organization she herself started back in 2017 as a high school student. Now she contributes, through her own biology background, to making the STEM fields more accessible and inclusive while finding new ways of making the braille she learned, as a sighted person, even more relevant for herself and her students. Since her time in Ohio, from certified braille transcriber to orientation and mobility specialist, Karbowski left her schooling and her work in her home state and moved to Boston, where she's been experiencing life at the school with the children during the summer camp offerings and now is beginning a new school year on the Perkins grounds. She tells us about the vast array of resources and assistive devices for multi-sensory teaching techniques available to her there and about some of the adventures she's been on with the kids over the summer, what the year ahead is shaping up to be for her in Watertown where we just visited ourselves, and her continued educational and entrepreneurial goals within various inclusion spaces. Plus, she shares about coming across more “braille in the wild” and shares about A Cubed Design and its ideas for how to make electronic braille machines more able to withstand wear and tear when in use. So from the art and experimentation of tactile map making and the range of communication and teaching tools she's both making and making use of there in Boston to the continued work back there in Ohio where she's utilising interns, grants, and other funding and fundraising strategies to continue with 3D printing, Caroline and helpers have been working on making everything from weather guides, to lightening, to the life cycle of a butterfly accessible. And not only is she driven toward all we've so far listed, Caroline also tells us about the ballroom dancing she enjoys and how The Terminator showed up for his interest in the activity. From her now going on to attend U Mass, to Perkins, to growing work with C3D, Caroline Karbowski shares it all with us. She is one sighted ally we'll have back on with us again, but just try to listen to this educational themed episode and not feel inspired to learn something new and be of service to the younger generation. Undoubtedly, as the list of necessary and innovative work she does grows as it has in the years since Covid turned Outlook from strictly a radio show to now a broadcast and a podcast both, we're glad we met her and, this second time around, we're sure you will be too. Learn more about A Cubed Design, a startup for braille literacy that is developing a low-cost and customizable braille display: https://www.acubed.design And listen back to her previous appearance on the show: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/outlook-2020-08-31-interview-with-ceo-of-see3d/id1527876739?i=1000489673485

Here is the NLS annotation Dogwood Blossom: growing up Native American DBC 11736 Noriega, DeAnna Quietwater. Reading time 1 hour, 15 minutes. Read by Laurie Coiley Massing. A production of Perkins Library, Perkins School for the Blind. Subjects: Biography of Persons with Disabilities; Family Description: In Dogwood Blossom, the author invokes a simpler time and how it was growing up in a world that didn’t always accept her. Poverty and oppression are no match for the strong bonds among the members of this hardworking and loving family. The life lessons here will resonate with readers young and old. Adult. Unrated. Our facilitator for this group is Michelle Bernstein (hamletsweetlady@gmail.com).

20241004 In Perspective Originally Broadcasted October 4, 2024, on ACB Media 5   This episode featured John Sanders, retired narrator of radio shows at Perkins School for the Blind   Sponsored by: Branco Events     Find out more at https://acb-community.pinecast.co This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Last week, we celebrated artists who returned to Eurovision to greater glory, but this week, we look at artists who came back to sadly a worse result (sometimes more than once). Let this be a lesson to any ESC artist who's considering a return in 2025: it's not always worth it. Jeremy's had it up to here with the scatting, Oscar goes to bat for the double-double, and Dimitry's hungry for some Fud.Support our listener William's 5K at Perkins School for the Blind: https://www.perkins.org/event/everybody-in/Watch the performances from this week's episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMLx7Isyfvc&list=PLd2EbKTi9fyU5o9btI-kwKs8c2epKADB9This week's companion playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2wl4MFGzX45f9NbqI9yltl?si=541U1dYDR9qq3eTA7cDVpw The Eurovangelists are Jeremy Bent, Oscar Montoya and Dimitry Pompee.The theme was arranged and recorded by Cody McCorry and Faye Fadem, and the logo was designed by Tom Deja.Production support for this show was provided by the Maximum Fun network.The show is edited by Jeremy Bent with audio mixing help was courtesy of Shane O'Connell.Find Eurovangelists on social media as @eurovangelists on Twitter and Instagram, or send us an email at eurovangelists@gmail.com. Also follow the Eurovangelists account on Spotify and check out our playlists of Eurovision hits, competitors in upcoming national finals, and companion playlists to every single episode, including this one!

We are still pinching ourselves that we had the honor of speaking with Suzanne Stabile! This conversation is filled with grace, truth, love, and wisdom as we are all figuring out how to live in such a divided society. As an internationally recognized Enneagram Master, Suzanne has conducted over 500 Enneagram workshops over the past 30 years. She has spoken to College audiences that include Baylor and Drury Universities, Hendrix College, Perkins School of Theology (SMU) and Brite Divinity School (TCU), Formation Gathering 2017 (Harvard Divinity School), Pepperdine Bible Lectures 2017, Seminary of the Southwest, hundreds of churches across America including First Baptist Austin, Highland Park United Methodist, Dallas, First Congregational Church, L.A., Otter Creek Church, Nashville, First Baptist Church, Portland, and teaches in the Baylor Health Care System, in Dallas, in both the Cancer and Transplant Hospitals. Additionally, she has taught at Richard Rohr's Center for Action and Contemplation and has been a speaker for Conferences offered by the CAC. She taught with Father Rohr to an international audience in Assisi, Italy, on The Enneagram and Paradox. Other events Suzanne has spoken at include The North Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church, Christianity 21, The Festival of Courage and Faith in Greenwich CT, the Emerging Christianity and Telemachus Conferences, the Southwest Regional Gathering of the Disciples of Christ, Laity Lodge and The Apprentice Gathering. Suzanne received her B.S. in Social Sciences from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas where she also completed additional graduate work in the Schools of Sociology and Theology. She has served as a high school professor, the first women's basketball coach at SMU after Title IX, and as the founding Director of Shared Housing, a social service agency in Dallas. When she is not on the road teaching and lecturing, Suzanne is at home in Dallas, Texas with her husband Rev. Joseph Stabile, a United Methodist pastor with whom she co-founded Life in the Trinity Ministry and the Micah Center. She is the mother of four children and grandmother of nine: Will, Noah, Sam, Gracie, Elle, Joley, Jase, Piper, and Josie.

How to be a teacher everyone remembers? You teach like Anne Sullivan! Anne Sullivan was an American teacher, best known for being the instructor and lifelong companion of Helen Keller, a blind and deaf student. Sullivan was born in 1866 and became blind at an early age due to an eye infection. She attended the Perkins School for the Blind and later graduated from the Cambridge School for Young Ladies. In 1887, she was chosen to be Helen Keller's instructor, and she began working with Keller when the latter was six years old. Anne Sullivan used the "manual alphabet" to teach Helen Keller how to communicate, and she helped her student to learn to read and write using Braille. Sullivan also taught Keller how to speak using the "oral method" which is based on the idea that the child must be taught to associate the sound and the movement of the lips with a particular word. Sullivan's method was based on the principles of the "oral method" and the "manual alphabet" which are used to teach the deaf and the blind. Anne Sullivan's work with Helen Keller was highly successful and it had a significant impact on the field of special education. Keller went on to become a well-known author, speaker, and advocate for people with disabilities. Sullivan remained Keller's companion and teacher throughout her life and passed away in 1936. We award Anne Sullivan with the best teacher prize of being a 'Master Teacher' for the inspiration and motivation she brought to educating. #AnneSullivanTeachings #AnneSullivanTeachingPhilosophy #LifelongLearning In the ELT (Education* Learning*Teaching): Under The Covers - teaching masters series, we take a look at notable educators who have influenced us and education in general. We use clips from their materials or depictions of their materials in other media and we as education experts give our insights into what makes them masterful teachers. __________________________________________________________________________________ More from Anne Sullivan: __________________________________________________________________________________ Check out more: ✔ Teacher Interviews: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXsBOoTKZz76OWuCuYZnCQRJfjWtrTrKC ✔ Explanation, Analysis & Example of Teaching Methods here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXsBOoTKZz75i6auCa17LUt2k_JAOQLkr ✔ Break downs of teaching clips: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXsBOoTKZz76j2wD3P4mhM0gv5axBtzE2 ✔ Influential teachers: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXsBOoTKZz763iqyfVUEV3qG4ktuVkepc __________________________________________________________________________________ Stay connected with us on other mediums: LinkedIn ► https://www.linkedin.com/in/elt-under-the-covers-b72928229/ Instagram ►https://www.instagram.com/eltunderthecovers/ Facebook ► https://m.facebook.com/ELTunderthecovers/ Spotify ► https://open.spotify.com/show/05KdfLjVuDyrDpytIX5yrS Amazon Music ► https://music.amazon.ca/podcasts/69201c0b-5381-4b06-9168-afb957608494/english-language-teachers-elt-under-the-covers---interview-series Apple Podcasts ► https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/english-language-teachers-elt-under-the-covers-interview-series/id1599657312 Google Podcasts ► https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy80MjdmN2M4MC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw== __________________________________________________________________________________ More from ProfesorRich: • https://www.youtube.com/user/ProfesorRich • ProfRichGaming = https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6I_bfShcpI3Af3a79vORDw More from NeilTEAcher: • www.teamteacherchina.com • TeamTeacherChina = https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCY0VJKjaIamETXCm_alT_tg • TeamTeacherBaby = https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChdVmSne_UvHFdd7uA-SMAQ • TeamTeacherEnglish = https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_7K_Ml4XfdNdY9uQ9LPPqw *This video contains affiliate links. If you click on one of them, we'll receive a commission.*

One of the most popular features on the Discipleship Ministries website is the ongoing series History of Hymns. These insightful articles give worship planners and music lovers a deeper look into our favorite hymns for worship. The editor and most frequent writer of the History of Hymns is Dr. C. Michael Hawn, DMA, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Church Music, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University. He joined Perkins faculty in 1992 and retired from fulltime status in 2017. Previously he was professor of church music at two Baptist seminaries for a total of 15 years. In addition to teaching, he has served churches in Kentucky, Georgia, North Caolina and Texas as minister of music. In addition to over 500 articles, reviews books and curriculum materials, Dr. Hawn began writing the “History of Hymns” in 2004 for The United Methodist Reporter and now for Discipleship Ministries. Join us for this lively conversation, full of stories and music with Dr. Michael Hawn.

Over the summer, we visited Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, outside of Boston. It's September and back-to-school is on people's minds so we bring you a special Outlook…into this historic educational environment for blind and deafblind children. What brought us all there together?” Our tour guide asks us. Well, sister/co-host Kerry has known about Perkins for most of her life, which is down to her history with Helen Keller (this episode including a bit of the backstory on the history of Perkins). She wanted to see the place and finally, found herself in the Boston area in July. So she talked her brother/boyfriend/new friend to join her and an adventure they'd never forget. They all had fun in the end, from the playground to the museum, we even came across a giant globe. Of course, the whole museum was so much more accessible and inclusive than most other museums, and the Brailler museum station is the highlight, the machine we used growing up named from the school. Or the tactile map station of the entire campus. It was a specialised learning experience and some of us could have been there all day. You certainly needed it to see and read it all. We wanted to share the highlights of our tour of Perkins School for the Blind - to let listeners know what this place is, what it's stood for all these years, and what it now means to all of us who were there that day. So come along as we take you back to Perkins with us. Bonus material (Not on original radio broadcast): our farewell to Boston with our friend, State Trooper Steve. Learn more about Perkins online: https://www.perkins.org

This episode might leave you fired up for the Holy Spirit, because guest Jack Levison himself is fired up for the Holy Spirit. Not only does he see the boundless work of the Spirit in our world today, he also offers ways for us to dig deeper into finding the Spirit at work in the Old Testament, where we might overlook it.Dr. Levison holds the W. J. A. Power Chair of Old Testament Interpretation and Biblical Hebrew at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University. He is the author of several books, including Fresh Air and A Boundless God, which won a Christianity Today book award in 2021. Resources:Buy Dr. Levison's books, including Fresh Air and A Boundless God here.Find interviews and other podcasts featuring Dr. Levison here.

As we all celebrate 200 years since Louis Braille invented his tactile reading and writing system for blind and partially sighted people through the RNIB Braille 200 year long campaign raising the awareness of Braille to visually impaired and sighted people here on RNIB Connect Radio we are chatting with people who are Braille users to find out what Braille means to them and how Braille has maybe helped them throughout their life. RNIB Connect Radio's Toby Davey caught up Willow Freeman, Global Innovations Product Manager at the American Printing House for the Blind (part of the Perkins School for the Blind in America) to find out how she not only started working as a Transcriber but also about how she learnt Braille, the importance of her English Degree as a Braille Transcriber and the importance of Braille for visually impaired people who are able to use Braille. Willow also talks about some of the myths people might have around learning Braille along with some top tips for people who are starting to learn Braille too.  Ending with Willow sharing that when she is reading words on the page in print in her mind she is seeing the Braille dot formation of the words. To find out more about Braille do visit the following pages of the RNIB website -  https://www.rnib.org.uk/living-with-sight-loss/education-and-learning/braille-tactile-codes/ (Image shows RNIB logo. 'RNIB' written in black capital letters over a white background and underlined with a bold pink line, with the words 'See differently' underneath)

About Maura: Maura Duggan is the founder and CEO of Fancypants, a delicious crispy cookie brand using high-quality ingredients with an elevated twist. She originally started Fancypants as a decorative cookie company in Massachusetts in 2004, along with creating her own manufacturing facility to ensure quality control and scale the business. Maura ​​evolved the company with her husband and COO Justin Housman into a premium CPG cookie brand in December 2023. Maura was inspired by the homemade cookies she made with her grandmother after school, creating a range of classic, approachable, and innovative flavors with a special fancy touch. With sustainability top of mind for Maura, she's proud that Fancypants is a zero-waste, upcycled cookie brand.Before becoming a full-time baking entrepreneur, Maura had a career in neuropsychology education including working at The Perkins School for the Blind. She valued her time at the school teaching students with varying degrees of vision and hearing and other health and cognitive issues, as she learned to see the world differently and gain perspective on what is truly important in life. When she wasn't with students, she was tied to a desk and daydreaming of baking, which led her to pursue an entrepreneurship path. She earned a Masters from Harvard University in Mind, Brain, and Education and a Bachelors in Neuroscience from Northeastern University. Maura currently lives in the Boston area with her husband, two young children, and puppy Hazel, working at the Fancypants facility and offices in Walpole, Massachusetts.Fancypants WebsiteInstagramSupport the showAbout Us - Women Who Brunch:Women Who Brunch is a food community and event series for women who love connecting, networking, and learning from each other over the most important meal of the week...BRUNCH! We're solving the problem of making adult friendships while doing cool stuff in the Hudson Vally, NY.Visit our website for updates on events, recipes, brunch spots, product reviews, and more or say hi on Instagram!Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/womenwhobrunchWebsite: https://womenwhobrunch.com

Rachel Bennett travelled a path that many mothers with a child with Cortical/cerebral Visual Impairment (CVI) encountered. The diagnosis was a long time coming and when it was discovered new world opened up for her son, Henry. Now Rachel helps to support and advocate for other families like hers through CVI Now at the Perkins School for the Blind. Listen as Dr. Cathy encourages Rachel to tell her story as the first episode of Season Four on Feeling This Life.     Want to learn more about CVI Now and their resources?   CVI Now Website: CVINow.org  CVI Now on Instagram: @cvinow   Subscribe to the monthly CVI Now newsletter    Please give us your feedback using this survey link: ⁠https://educationutah.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_39OmBvMih6MlgNw⁠   Make a Donation to-   VIPS: ⁠https://secure.vips.org/np/clients/vips/donation.jsp?forwardedFromSecureDomain=1&campaign=495⁠   Anchor Center: ⁠https://www.anchorcenter.org/get-involved/donate/⁠     Get in touch with us!   Follow us on Facebook @Feelingthislifepodcast and Instagram @Feelingthislife   Email: ⁠feelingthislife@vips.org⁠   ⁠www.anchorcenter.org⁠   ⁠www.vips.org 

It's still summer and the summer months often include summer camp which is where our guests this week first met as teens. To begin with, the three things we have in common are our differing levels on the blindness spectrum, all four of us were integrated into the public school system, and we now record our respective podcasts in studios, them at the studio at Perkins School for the Blind and us at Radio Western. On this episode of Outlook we're speaking with Lina Coral and Juna Gjata from the 2024 debut - “Blind Girl Chat” podcast about their first impressions of one another when meeting at Perkins summer programs, the conditions and syndromes which led to their blindness and to them coming to the States as children, and some of the best and worst things about being blind, even in a progressive state like Massachusetts, all of which they have open and honest chats about. We chat about the lack of truly funny blind jokes, having a sense of humour about our daily disability moments, and deciding when or if to take advantage of the perks of being blind, of which there are plenty. Diversity, identity, intersectionality - just like Outlook's accessibility, advocacy, and equality are the themes of our show and of theirs as we have a chat with the girls from “Blind Girl Chat” on all this and much more. Find them wherever you get your podcasts or at the following link: https://blindgirlchat.podbean.com

Is AI going to take over the world?Probably not in the way pop culture would have us imagine (or in the way Chris fears). Today's guest, Dr. Robert Hunt, offers Eddie and Chris a broad overview of AI--what it is, how we see it, how we see ourselves in relation to it, and how we use it. Dr. Hunt has been the Director of Global Theological Education at the Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University since 2004. He is Professor of Christian Mission and Interreligious Relations and teaches classes on World Religions, Islam, Interreligious Dialogue, Cultural Intelligence, and Mission Studies. He earned his M.Div from Perkins School of Theology and his Ph.D. from the University of Malaya. He is also the creator and host of the podcast Interfaith Encounters.His upcoming book about AI will hopefully be out this fall.Resources:Learn more about Interfaith Encounters or listen to it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.Purchase his books, Muslim Faith and Values: A Guide for Christians and The Gospel Among the Nations on Amazon.

What is the Canadian Disability Hall of Fame? We talk questions like this and more in the first show of an important month for the disability community which we've marked for a few years now on air. Happy Disability Pride Month everyone! We celebrated Canada last week by replaying an episode with a fellow Canadian: Anne Mok's Purpose In View, but we're back, live, on Outlook this week with the three of us and Oyster the guide dog. And we'll be taking Outlook on the road this month, doing lived experience work, with a group of blind friends to celebrate disability pride together. We're talking PRIDE today - on this week's Mixed Bag show we discuss the upcoming trip to Portland, Maine and Boston and what we're doing at an inn in Maine for a week with other blind creatives, the three tourist experiences we have planned to meet each one of our interests, and we discuss why “pride? In the first place. Also, The National Federation of the Blind is one of a few organized blindness movements having their annual convention at the beginning of Disability Pride Month so we go over some of their 2024 resolutions to see what they're up to and these matters in the resolutions, we choose to discuss a few which we have something to say about, including their motion that Perkins School for the Blind should change their name because Perkins was involved in the illegal opium trade and in enslaved people. Between the two halves of our live show this week, our commercial for Outlook was chosen to air by the computer system at the station and it ends with the sound of a Perkins Brailler. It's always been Perkins to us, we're going on a tour of that historic school for blind children later this month, but we acknowledge the collective trauma caused by the honouring of men like Perkins and his hand in perpetrating lasting damage. We're exploring all the issues which matter to blind people where and how and when we can. So happy Disability Pride from us at Outlook On Radio Western. And why call it pride when Pride Month is June for LGBTQ2S+ just the month before? There are blind people in both minorities so we're honoured to follow, (the very next month) their path toward greater representation and inclusion. Check out our past episode featuring 2024 Canadian Disability Hall of Fame inductee Penny Bennett here: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/outlook-2021-06-28-deafblind-awareness-month-with/id1527876739?i=1000527431020

Meet Stephanie. In this "How It's Built" episode, she's sharing the journey of how the Perkins School for the Blind transformed their fundraising, customer experience and brand.  From rebuilding their websites to reimagining direct mail, Stephanie unveils the strategies that have breathed new life into a 200-year-old institution

A weekly podcast exploring stories at the intersection of faith and culture through an inclusive Christian lens. This week: Missy gives Mitch and special guest Amy Butler a quiz about Amy's native Hawai'i. Guest: Cody Sanders, associate professor at Luther Seminary and co-author (with Mikeal Parsons) of "Corpse Care: Ethics for Tending the Dead." "Good Faith Weekly" is produced out of Norman, Oklahoma. Music is by Pond5. Learn more at www.GoodFaithMedia.org and @GFMediaOrg Cody Sanders ~ https://www.luthersem.edu/faculty/cody-sanders/ "Corpse Care: Ethics for Tending the Dead" book ~ https://www.amazon.com/dp/1506471315 Amy Butler ~ https://www.pastoramy.com/ Invested Faith ~ https://www.investedfaith.org/ Asian / Pacific American Heritage Month ~ https://www.asianpacificheritage.gov/ Festival of Homiletics ~ https://festivalofhomiletics.com/ This episode is brought to you by the Baptist House of Studies at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. Learn more at https://www.smu.edu/perkins

We sit down with Rev. Amy Castro of Westlake United Methodist Church to talk about her incredible journey this week. She was driving home after graduating from seminary at Perkins School of Theology on the campus of SMU and drove straight to tornado damage at her church in southwest Louisiana. She shares a heartwarming tale of resilience and community support that followed in the moments after the storm. Tune in for an inspiring conversation about faith, hope, and the incredible strength of community bonds in times of crisis. To hear the episode Todd and Amy discuss in this episode, Praise Him in the Hallway, please click here.

A weekly podcast exploring stories at the intersection of faith and culture through an inclusive Christian lens. This week: Missy shares with Mitch a plan for persuading climate-change deniers. Guest: Jim Wallis, author of the new book "The False White Gospel: Rejecting Christian Nationalism, Reclaiming True Faith, and Refounding Democracy." "Good Faith Weekly" is produced out of Norman, Oklahoma. Music is by Pond5. Learn more at www.GoodFaithMedia.org and @GFMediaOrg Jim Wallis ~ https://www.jimwallis.org/ "The False White Gospel" book ~ https://www.amazon.com/dp/1250291895 This episode is brought to you by the Baptist House of Studies at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. Learn more at https://www.smu.edu/perkins

Weekly Shoutout: Cruznotes is back! One email a month to bring you everything happening across the cruzfolio network, join Jaime's newsletter here: cruzfolio.com/cruznotes. -- Hi there, Today I am so excited to be arts calling author Paul Cody! (paulcodywriter.com) About our guest: Paul Cody was born in Newton, Massachusetts, graduated from Newton North High School and from the University of Massachusetts at Boston, magna cum laude, With Distinction in English, and Senior Honors in Creative Writing. He worked at the Perkins School for the Blind for three years, and earned an M.F.A. from Cornell University, where he was twice co-winner of the Arthur Lynn Prize in Fiction. He has received grants from the New York Foundation for the Arts, the Saltonstall Foundation, and was awarded a Stegner Fellowship by Stanford University (declined). He has worked as a housepainter, teacher, editor and journalist, was associate editor and staff writer at Cornell Magazine, where he twice won CASE awards for articles; and has taught at Cornell, Ithaca College, Hobart and William Smith Colleges and the Colgate Writing Seminars, and in Auburn Prison. His published novels include The Stolen Child (Baskerville, 1995), Eyes Like Mine (Baskerville, 1996), So Far Gone (Picador USA, 1998), Shooting the Heart (Viking, 2004), Love Is Both Wave and Particle (Roaring Brook, 2017), Sphyxia (Fomite, 2020) as well as a memoir, The Last Next Time (Irving Place Editions, 2013). His work has appeared in various periodicals, including Harper's, Epoch, The Quarterly, Story, the Boston Globe Magazine, and Cornell Magazine, and he has appeared on Voice of America as a Critic's Choice. He lives with his wife in Ithaca, New York. Thanks for this wonderful conversation, Paul! All the best! -- WALK THE DARK available May 27th from Regal House Publishing! https://regal-house-publishing.mybigcommerce.com/walk-the-dark ABOUT WALK THE DARK: Oliver Curtin grows up in a nocturnal world with a mother who is a sex worker and drug addict, and whose love is real yet increasingly unreliable. His narration alternates between that troubled childhood and the present of the novel, where he is serving the last months of a thirty-years-to-life sentence in a maximum-security prison in upstate New York for a crime he committed at age seventeen. His hope for redemption is closely allied with his memories, seen with growing clarity and courage. If he can remember, then life in the larger world might be possible for him. Praise for Walk the Dark "Paul Cody's Walk the Dark is creepily beautiful, full of stillness and darkness. Cody takes us into places we don't know and shows us strange states of mind that feel absolutely true. It's both soothing and terrifying being in Oliver's mind, because he sees such beauty but also feels forever separated from it. For decades now I've seen Paul Cody's work as the ultimate cross between horror and literary fiction, taking us deeper into the weird American night than anyone in either camp.  Walk the Dark is a continuation of that same world we know from Cody's The Stolen Child and So Far Gone, both of which are great, terrifying novels." - Stewart O'Nan, author of Last Night at the Lobster,  Emily, Alone; and Wish You Were Here   "Walk the Dark is harrowing and vivid, taut as a wire. Paul Cody intertwines terror and hope; he knows how to hook his readers from the start -- and on every page. Keep the lights burning when you open this spell-binding book." - Julie Schumacher, author of Dear Committee Members -- Arts Calling is produced by Jaime Alejandro (cruzfolio.com). HOW TO SUPPORT ARTS CALLING: PLEASE CONSIDER LEAVING A REVIEW, OR SHARING THIS EPISODE WITH A FRIEND! YOUR SUPPORT TRULY MAKES A DIFFERENCE, AND I CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR TAKING THE TIME TO LISTEN. Much love, j

In this episode of Double Tap on YouTube hosts Steven Scott and Shaun Preece dive into the world of keyboards, specifically focusing on a unique product that brings the tactile typing experience back to modern smartphones. They interview Jeff Gadway from Clicks Tech, discussing the innovative keyboard accessory for iPhones that mimics the beloved BlackBerry keyboard. This product, showcased at CES, has garnered attention for its potential benefits, especially within the blind and visually impaired community. Jeff shares the backstory of Kliqs, highlighting the blend of expertise from consumer technology and specialist tech products that brought this idea to life. The conversation shifts gears to discuss Braille and its significance for blind and partially sighted individuals. They bring in Jake from the Perkins School for the Blind, who shares his journey with Braille and its impact on his education and future career aspirations. The conversation emphasizes the importance of Braille literacy, the challenges of accessing Braille education, and the role of technology in enhancing Braille learning. Lastly, the hosts explore the latest features in Android 15, focusing on accessibility improvements like fingerprint unlock guidance for visually impaired users and enhanced support for Braille displays. They discuss how these updates aim to make Android devices more accessible and user-friendly for the blind and visually impaired community. Get ahead of the conversation and check out the Double Tap YouTube channel every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday on the platform which you can find using this link: [https://www.youtube.com/@DoubleTapVideo]

In this episode of Double Tap, Steven Scott flies solo but brings on a special guest, Kate Crohan, a seasoned teacher for children at Perkins School for the Blind. Their conversation delves deep into the world of Braille, exploring its significance, challenges, and future. Kate shares her extensive experience, from her early days teaching newly visually impaired adults at the Carroll Center for the Blind to her current role at Perkins. They discuss the emotional and practical aspects of learning Braille, particularly its role in accepting vision loss and gaining independence. Kate emphasizes the importance of Braille beyond just reading books; it's about labelling, navigating public spaces, and even personal enjoyment, like creating drawings or enjoying tactile jewelry. The discussion also touches on the challenges of teaching Braille, the debate between QWERTY and Perkins keyboards, and the role of technology in enhancing Braille literacy. Steven and Kate explore the concern that audio might overshadow the need for Braille, but they also see technology as a beacon of hope for its future. They stress the importance of Braille for employment and independence, especially for individuals with additional disabilities like hearing loss. The conversation concludes with a promotion of an upcoming YouTube interview with Jake, a student at Perkins School for the Blind, who shares his connection to Braille and his aspirations for the future. Keep in touch by emailing us feedback@doubletaponair.com or call 1-877-803-4567 and leave us a voicemail. You can also find us on social media.

A weekly podcast exploring stories at the intersection of faith and culture through an inclusive Christian lens. This week: Missy points out to Mitch what Christian Nationalism has in common with a musty home. Guest: Brian Kaylor, president and editor-in-chief of Word&Way, as well as co-author, with Beau Underwood, of the new book "Baptizing America: How Mainline Protestants Helped Build Christian Nationalism." "Good Faith Weekly" is produced out of Norman, Oklahoma. Music is by Pond5. Learn more at www.GoodFaithMedia.org and @GFMediaOrg Brian Kaylor ~ https://briankaylor.com/ "Baptizing America: How Mainline Protestants Helped Build Christian Nationalism" book ~ https://www.amazon.com/dp/0827203381 Word&Way ~ https://wordandway.org/ This episode is brought to you by the Baptist House of Studies at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. Learn more at https://www.smu.edu/perkins

Evangelism is not exclusive to a specific personality type; there are multiple models to suit different individuals and contexts. Join host Christina Perera as she interviews Dr. Priscilla Pope-Levison, an esteemed academic and author in the realm of theology, currently serving at the Perkins School of Theology. She is the author of Models of Evangelism (Amazon). Dr. Levison discusses various ways to evangelize, including personal evangelism, small group evangelism, and prophetic evangelism. She emphasizes the importance of hospitality and coming alongside others in their faith journey. Dr. Levison also encourages listeners to have open conversations about God and not to write off younger generations but instead invest in their growth and leadership. Tune in for practical insights and inspiration on sharing the gospel. "Evangelism is one beggar telling another beggar where to get food,” said Levison. Listen to explore the evangelism model that works for you and a prayer to step out in faith. CONNECT WITH OUR GUEST: Priscilla Pope-Levison Facebook, LinkedIn, Models of Evangelism (Amazon) RESOURCES: Are you a new believer and don't know where to start? New Believer Workbook: Foundational Gospel Truths To Begin Your Relationship With Jesus (Amazon) Will equip you as you begin the most beautiful relationship of your life. ABOUT: Christina Perera MinistriesSOCIAL CONNECT: Facebook, Instagram & YouTube @christinapereraministriesSUPPORT: We can only bring you this faith-building podcast with your financial gifts.revealing Jesus, Christina Perera, Priscilla Pope Levison, evangelism, models of evangelism, small group evangelism, personal evangelism, prophetic evangelism, church growth, media evangelism, discipleship, intergenerational ministry, hospitality, young people, millennials, Gen X, technology, faith conversations, planting seeds, sharing the gospel, Christian ministry, Christian leadership, Christian witness, Christian community, Christian outreach, Christian service, Christian discipleship, Christian mentoring, Christian teaching, Christian living, Christian faith, Christian spirituality, Christian theology, Christian mission, Christian church, Christian evangelism

A weekly podcast exploring stories at the intersection of faith and culture through an inclusive Christian lens. This week: Missy shares with Mitch another illuminating experience on an airplane. Guest: Rev. Dr. Jaime Clark-Soles, Professor of New Testament and Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Professor at the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. Clark-Soles recounts her experience with, and research on, the intersection of so-called "psychedelic" substances and faith. "Good Faith Weekly" is produced out of Norman, Oklahoma. Music is by Pond5. Learn more at www.GoodFaithMedia.org and @GFMediaOrg Jaime Clark-Soles ~ https://www.smu.edu/perkins/facultyacademics/facultylistinga-z/clark-soles and https://jaimeclarksoles.com/ This episode is brought to you by the Baptist House of Studies at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. Learn more at https://www.smu.edu/perkins

This month, the Academy Podcast features Elaine Heath's understanding of neighborhood shalom. Her lecture from Academy 40 speaks to us of hopes and expectations, of well formed theology that is undone by lived experience. Knowing about Jesus and experiencing the compassion and presence of Jesus in the neighborhood is nothing short of transformational. Listen on, dear one, and as you listen, breathe deeply and expand gently. Elaine Heath's vocational journey includes having served as Dean of the Divinity School at Duke University, and the McCreless Professor of Evangelism at Perkins School of Theology.  She is a pioneer in new forms of theological education. In that capacity Heath is co-founder and former President of Neighborhood Seminary. The author of thirteen books, Heath is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church and served in pastoral ministry prior to her academic ministry.  She lives with her husband at Spring Forest, an intentional Christian Community and farm in rural North Carolina where she serves as Abbess. JOIN US The Academy for Spiritual Formation presents  Spirituality in Practice. This newest offering is a unique six-session hybrid model that consists of three immersive, five-day in-person retreats and three online one-day retreats plus monthly two-hour online practice sessions to support integration of learnings and nurture community. Spirituality in Practice is structured to provide an in-depth spiritual journey while keeping the time and financial commitments at more manageable levels. We are accepting applications now. Session 1 begins September 6, 2024, in Mundelein, IL (near Chicago). Find more details and apply at https://academy.upperroom.org/event/spirituality-in-practice2024/. Show Notes: Episode tracks: “Far Side of the Sea,” “Versailles,” and “Fearless” by Amy Stroup, used with permission. For more information and resources visit: academy.upperroom.org/resources Support Our Work If the Academy Podcast or any of the ministries of The Academy for Spiritual Formation have benefited your life and spirituality, please consider making a one-time or monthly donation to show your support. You can learn more about how your gifts make a difference at https://academy.upperroom.org/donate/

Many of us are rushing out to get those glasses that enable us to view Monday's solar eclipse. People who are blind can't see the eclipse, but that doesn't mean they can't hear it. WBZ's Suzanne Sausville explains.

Embark on a journey with Lauren Lobrano, the Global Disability Inclusion Leader at Amazon, as she unpacks the complexities of creating a workspace that embraces employees of all abilities. Lauren's vast experience, from her invaluable work with veterans to her current role at Amazon, provides a unique perspective on inclusion within a corporate powerhouse. Our conversation traverses her backstory, the global impact of disability inclusion at Amazon, and the nuanced interplay between the disabled community and the corporate world.As we wade through the waters of corporate responsibility, we emphasize the power of Amazon's workforce diversity, particularly the voices of those with disabilities. Lauren illustrates the transformative nature of technologies like the Echo devices and shares insights into how Amazon's internal advisory groups shape the company's inclusive environment. We scrutinize the accommodations process, focusing on Amazon's dedication to ensuring new employees with disabilities feel supported from the moment they join the team, a testament to the company's commitment to a diverse workforce.Wrapping up, we celebrate Amazon's proactive partnerships with disability organizations and their triumph in achieving a 100% score on the Disability Equality Index. We'll also ignite your curiosity about Amazon's creative approach to hackathons, fostering innovation to break down accessibility barriers. The collaboration with the Perkins School for the Blind and MIT is just one example of how these events serve as educational platforms for tech leaders while advancing accessibility. Join us for this eye-opening discussion that not only honors Amazon's initiatives but also underscores the ongoing mission to embed true equity and inclusion within every facet of the workplace.Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

There are multiple ways to build a community around your brewery, and one way is through membership clubs and offering your beer through community supported agriculture-type programs. Two brewers embracing that model are here to discuss their initiatives. January and February can be tough months for brewery taprooms. The collective societal hangover both on the waistline and wallet looms large. It can make running a small brewery even more difficult. But there are some ways to cultivate a loyal audience while also creating beers of note. The brewer-owners of Lady Justice Brewing in Colorado and  Stoneman Brewing in Massachusetts are here to share the stories of their membership programs and offer insight on how it might work for your small brewery. Betsy Lay is the co-founder and owner of the social enterprise Lady Justice Brewing in Aurora, CO. She holds a certificate from the Siebel Institute of Technology's Concise Course in Brewing Technology and also earned a Master in Theological Studies from Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. In her time off from the brewery, Betsy can be found with a good whiskey, a good book, and a good dog.Justin Korby is the owner / brewer of Stoneman Brewery in Colrain MA. Stoneman Brewery opened in 2012 and started the first beer CSA in the country brewing on a small farm using nearly 100% NorthEast grown ingredients in every batch of beer. Justin was a Stonemason for 10 years before deciding to change careers and take the hobby of home brewing to the next level and start a Nano Brewery.   As a one man business Justin also helps raise pigs, chickens and helps weed the homestead garden.The BYO Nano Podcast Episode 49  is sponsored by:Fermentis  There are occasions when a single micro-organism is not enough, you know it! That's why Fermentis gives you All-In-1™, a brand of specifically blended products, which can be made from a mix of micro-organisms, catalysts, nutrients and more. – Available in 500g and 25g. To learn more about how Fermentis can improve the quality of your fermentation visit  www.fermentis.com.BYO Nano+ MembershipGet access to hundreds of hours of on-demand videos covering small craft brewery strategies with BYO's new Nano+ Membership. Learn from craft beer experts watching replays of past NanoCon seminars plus a complete library of in-depth workshops. You'll also have full online access to all of BYO's digital content and an annual print magazine subscription. Check out byo.com/nanoplus for more details.BYO Nano Brew Podcast Episode 49Host: John HollGuests: Betsy Lay, Justin KorbyContact: nano@byo.comMusic: Scott McCampbell

In this episode, we are excited to catch up with Ms. Shelby Erskine, former Dorm staff and all around rock star! We learn about her new role as the Residential Program Improvement Coordinator on-campus at the Perkins School for the Blind in Boston, MA. Though we are separated by miles, Ms. Shelby will forever be a part of KSSB family.

This week, we share Chris's interview with Emily Macklin, Neha Sharma, Amber Skerry, three SLPs working with the deafblind population at Perkins School for the Blind! They share a wealth of information about working with deafblind students, including how sensory impairment influences their incidental learning, the importance of trial and error in teaching language, the different ways deafblind students use AAC, and more!   Before the episode, Rachel shares about a client who uses Read & Write for Chrome. Some school team members felt assistive technology was a “crutch”. until Rachel and the client made a story together using the Read & Write that convinced them was an important tool!   Key ideas this week:  

Update to the Final Ordering Dates from the Va Store   8 December except for WA which is the 1st of Dec to make sure you get your orders in by Christmas.   Another Way to access the Va Library   My Experience having more time with the daisy function in the Brailliant, especially accessing the Vision rare Australia Library.   Obstacle Detecter  App   An interesting app using LIDAR for detecting distances from objects on the iPhone Pro or from front camera on other units.   https://apps.apple.com/id/app/obstacle-detector-professional/id6461118479   My Most Interesting Device for 2023   I think it has to be the SensePlayer OCR ET. FM Radio, Smart Keyboard to my iPhone, web radio, podcasts, daisy books, stopwatch etc.     OctoStudio A Block Based Programming App by Perkins School for the Blind   Actually, pretty amazing and accessible to teach the concepts of coding.   https://www.perkins.org/resource/announcing-octostudio-a-block-based-programming-app/   An Article on AppleVis — Why I cannot Recommend a Mac to Fellow Blind Mac Users   Since this article got a lot of mostly negative comments, thought it would be good to put my ten cents worth on todays program. What is the old saying “don't throw the baby out with the bath water.”   https://applevis.com/blog/we-deserve-better-apple-why-i-can-no-longer-recommend-mac-fellow-blind-computer-usersSupport this Vision Australia Radio program: https://www.visionaustralia.org/donate?src=radio&type=0&_ga=2.182040610.46191917.1644183916-1718358749.1627963141See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

⭐ My guest today is Steven Rothstein, the founding Managing Director of the Ceres Accelerator for Sustainable Capital Markets. Previously, Steven ran the world-renowned Perkins School for the Blind, as well as Environmental Futures, Citizen Schools, and the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation. ---

Each summer, Perkins School for the Blind hosts summer programs for children and young adults who are blind and visually impaired. We hear what summer learning means for those students and how it prepares them to live more independently.

Father Bill begins a series of interviews with spiritual recovery teacher and guide Tyler D. from Dallas, Texas.  Long active in 12 Step recovery, Tyler is a registered yoga instructor and mindfulness teacher as well as a recent graduate in Spiritual Direction from SMU's Perkins School of Theology. In this opening episode Tyler shares her story and sets the theme for the series built around the rewards a solid foundation can bring. Tyler genuinely “walks the walk” in 12 Step recovery and invites you to join her on this journey. Show Notes: Contact and information for Tyler D. http://tylerdawn.com/ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fatherbillw/support

The Gospel According To... is the first and only podcast looking at the intersection of pop culture and Christian faith. On today's episode, Dave and Dan are joined by Kate Boyd author of An Untidy Faith: Journeying Back to the Joy of Following Jesus. We'll be giving away a copy of her book on our Instragram. But today we discuss all things Barbie! Kate Boyd is the author of An Untidy Faith (Herald Press, April 2023) and host of the Happy & Holy podcast. She helps weary and wounded Christians rebuild their relationship with Scripture and community and love God and their neighbors with their whole selves. She is currently pursuing a masters in theological studies with an emphasis in biblical studies at Perkins School of Theology.  Book: anuntidyfaith.com   Website: kateboyd.co Instagram: @kateboyd.co Twitter: @thekateboyd Untidy Faith Newsletter: kateboyd.co/newsletterPodcast: kateboyd.co/podcast Be sure to follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

The Boston Athenaeum; Mass General and Mclean hospitals; Perkins School for the Blind are just few institutions funded by opium money.

Today we are joined by Bishop Michael McKee! Bishop McKee is the dean of SMU's Perkins School of Theology. He has served as episcopal leader of the North Texas Annual Conference since his election by the South Central Jurisdiction in 2012, and he retired from that position on January 1, 2023. We catch up with Bishop McKee and his involvement at the Texas Annual Conference and about his hopes for the future of The United Methodist Church.

Joe Dlugo is a TSVI, COMS, and Certified Assistive Technology Instructional Specialist (CATIS) at the Washington State School for the Blind. Joe is also the Vision Grant Program Mentor for Washington Sensory Disabilities Services. Always at the forefront of technology in the field of blind, low vision, and deafblind education, he brings us an introduction to ChatGPT and potential implications for our work.    Perkins School for the Blind recently published an article by Joe on this same topic: https://www.perkins.org/resource/generative-artificial-intelligence-impacts-on-professionals-in-the-field-of-educating-students-with-blindness-and-low-vision/

Reverend Debra McKnight talks about her journey to being ordained in the United Methodist Church, living her faith as a practice, and a love for liturgy. She also talks about founding Urban Abbey, a congregation flourishing in downtown Omaha despite national trends showing church attendance in decline, and shares how, as an advocate for social justice, women's rights, and the LGBTQ+ community, she seeks to heal the wounds created by conservative Christianity.Reverend Debra McKnight earned a Master of Divinity degree from the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University in 2008 and she was ordained in the United Methodist Church in 2010. Reverend McKnight is the founding pastor of Urban Abbey, a United Methodist congregation in downtown Omaha, Nebraska. In 2015, Urban Abbey became an independent, chartered congregation and grew to three Sunday services and weekday programming. During an era in which attendance at mainline protestant churches in the United States has declined, Urban Abbey has succeeded as a new church start and is continually growing.

April 6, 2023 Vernon interviews Bob Allnutt, and Leslie Nordin. Vernon and his guests Bob and Leslie will discuss how co-ops are solving housing needs for their adult children with special needs, Bob and Leslie also introduce The Neighborhood of Maryland, Inc, and the Big Wave Project, two programs they have established as a vehicle for their efforts. Bob Allnutt is a real estate broker and developer in Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC. Bob and his wife Amy are parents to three children, daughters Elizabeth and Emma, and their son Jack. Non-speaking and autistic, Jack learned to communicate via typing at age 10 and was mainstreamed in the public school system. Now 21, Jack has graduated from high school and will start college to pursue his interest in finance and the stock market. Jack was one of the stories featured in the 2017 documentary Far from the Tree, based on the Andrew Solomon bestseller. Bob has used the knowledge and contacts accumulated from over 40 years of real estate experience – supplemented by zealousness, passion, and urgency created by the needs of Jack and his peers – to make progress in creating a community for which there was no perfect template to be found. Bob has a degree in finance from Virginia Tech and an MBA from The George Washington University. Before launching his own commercial real estate practice in 1995, Bob was a vice president at Boston Properties. Bob enjoys sports, outdoors, and music, playing harmonica and singing in a local blues band. The Neighborhood of Maryland, Inc. was established in 2021 as a charitable non-profit to facilitate the creation of a community focused on addressing the requirements of special needs adults. The Neighborhood of Maryland has been shaped by the myriad of applicable laws and regulations, and in its current form is two distinct entities. The public benefit, non-profit will build and own a regional community center catering to the special needs population in general. The privately funded housing cooperative comprising primarily of special needs parents, will develop and own the adjacent residential community. Leslie Nordin is an attorney and mother to Sawyer, who will be a future resident of Big Wave. Since Sawyer's birth in 2004, Leslie has been actively involved with the work of various non-profit organizations. In addition to serving on the Board of Directors of Perkins School for the Blind, Leslie has acted as a public spokesperson for multiple organizations that benefit children and adults with disabilities, including autism and visual impairment. Leslie's perspective and experiences parenting a child with special needs have been featured on the radio and in print. In 2009, Leslie ran the Boston Marathon blindfolded in an effort to inspire Sawyer and raise awareness of the abilities of people who are blind or visually impaired. Her blindfolded marathon run was highlighted in local media, and appeared in Runners World magazine and the book, Boston, Inspirational Women. Leslie and her husband, Dayton, are passionate about the mission of Big Wave. They believe that Big Wave will provide Sawyer and many others with an environment where they can establish friendships, engage with their community, and live life at their highest potential. Leslie and Dayton were particularly drawn to the diversity of residents at Big Wave and the level of commitment that all families share. Leslie has a B.A. in Political Science and a J.D. from Duke University School of Law. Dayton and Leslie are also parents to a daughter, Riley, who is Sawyer's true best friend. The family loves to enjoy the outdoors together, including hiking, fishing, kayaking, and much more.

We take a look this week at the incredibly inspirational life of Helen Keller. She accomplished SO much despite completely losing her sight and ability to hear at the age of just 19 months. Had the miracle worker Anne Sullivan not entered her life when she did, I don't think we'd know Helen's name today. Anne's life - also so incredible. Their intertwined story got me all fired up. We also take a look back at what went on at Bad Magic in 2022 and what we hope to accomplish going forward. Thank you all for sticking by us while we navigated through a lot of behind-the-scenes drama this past year. Despite the drama, still had SO many great moments, and hope to have even more in 2023. Bad Magic Productions Monthly Patreon Donation: We gave a total of $37,547 to the Bad Magic Giving Tree! Thank you for helping us make the holidays extra special for 53 families and 125 kids :) And we also were able to contribute another $1612 to our scholarship fund.Get tour tickets at dancummins.tv Watch the Suck on YouTube: https://youtu.be/1vpMYLLlxFQMerch: https://www.badmagicmerch.comDiscord! https://discord.gg/tqzH89vWant to join the Cult of the Curious private Facebook Group? Go directly to Facebook and search for "Cult of the Curious" in order to locate whatever happens to be our most current page :)For all merch related questions/problems: store@badmagicproductions.com (copy and paste)Please rate and subscribe on iTunes and elsewhere and follow the suck on social media!! @timesuckpodcast on IG and http://www.facebook.com/timesuckpodcastWanna become a Space Lizard?  Click here: https://www.patreon.com/timesuckpodcastSign up through Patreon and for $5 a month you get to listen to the Secret Suck, which will drop Thursdays at Noon, PST. You'll also get 20% off of all regular Timesuck merch PLUS access to exclusive Space Lizard merch. You get to vote on two Monday topics each month via the app. And you get the download link for my new comedy album, Feel the Heat. Check the Patreon posts to find out how to download the new album and take advantage of other benefits.