[Menvi-discuss] Your advice for music teachers working with blind and visually impaired students?

[Virgil R'Mante]

I would take the time to explain how different each person is with special
needs but they have unique gifts. My son has ONH (Optic Nerve Hypoplasia)
that varys by each case. Meaning, his born with blindness and autistic
characteristic. However, he has moments of social behavioral norms and
vision. This is different for each person. A person who becomes blind has a
whole different set of needs.  For me, I would want peolpe to know everyone
is different and I would want people to be willing to go outside social
norms and vision behaviors. Most importantly become one with those who have
blindness and autism with no boundaries. Everything is music, so keep in
mind, music is everything to a special needs person and potentially music
can change their life. Lastly, be willing to become visually impaired with
them in order to better understand what a person goes through and what a
person overcomes through patients and hard work like anyone else.

Thank you so much,
Virgil Lee Winebarger, Jr.



On Wednesday, February 17, 2021, Marc Sabatella <marc at outsideshore.com>
wrote:

> Hi!  I'm doing a presentation for NAfME - the National Association for
> Music Education - in a couple of weeks, and I've love to get your input.
>
> The title of the presentation is "Teaching Music to Blind and Visually
> Impaired Students", and the audience is mostly grade school music teachers
> plus high school choir and band directors.  My wife - an elementary school
> music teacher herself - is co-presenting with me.
>
> For those who you who have taught or been taught in that environment, what
> are some things you think it especially important for me to talk about?
> What would you want a music teacher who may never have worked with a blind
> music student to know?
>
> My own experience is mostly in the university area, teaching music theory
> specifically, and I have plenty of information I've gathered over the years
> on various tools and techniques that make sense in that world.  Much of my
> presentation will be focused on sharing what I have learned about
> communicating using different forms of notated music.  But I also know I
> have little experience teaching elementary general music or what unique
> challenges might come up in that environment.  Luckily, my wife has lots of
> experience in that world, but little of it with blind or visually
> impaired students.  Hopefully between all of us, I can find the right 55
> minutes of material to cover!
>
> --
> Marc Sabatella
> marc at outsideshore.com
>


-- 
Always smiling,


Virgil R'Mante
National Talent Director
O: 818.284.6689

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