From the mid-'60s to the present, the percentage of school-aged
blind children in this country who use braille as their primary
reading medium has dropped from 50 percent to 12 percent, and
more than a generation of blind children has been largely allowed
to grow up illiterate under the damaging notion that tape
recordings and talking computers are sufficient for them.
This decline in the teaching and learning of braille has occurred
not because the value of literacy has in any way diminished. On
the contrary, in our democratic society for which a literate
public is the cornerstone and in an economy which is increasingly
complex and information-driven, the ability to read and write is
increasingly crucial. This is all the more true as society's
vision of the capacity of blind people to achieve despite their
handicap grows, as prejudices against them diminish, as the law
supports them in equal employment opportunity, and as
opportunities for blind people to produce and contribute are
expanding.
Braille is the only means by which blind people can truly read
the written language. It is certainly true that for easy reading
materials such as novels, audio intake using the recorded human
voice, or the electronically synthesized mimicking of the human
voice, is not only satisfactory but sometimes preferred by blind
people, just as it is by sighted people. By the same token, just
as sighted people have by no means given up the written language
in favor of audio only, so blind people should not be expected to
give up their written language. Here are just a few examples of
situations in which being able to truly read is critical:
- Studying, not simply reading serially, complex material such
as a chemistry book, cookbook, or financial statement
- Keeping two channels open to the mind at the same time, as
in delivering a speech when referring to notes
- Taking notes and keeping records for easy reference, such as
address books and "to do" lists, and labeling items such as
food containers, file folders, and CDs
- Reading aloud, e.g. to children, in religious services, in
class
- Learning the intricacies of language: spelling, grammar, and
punctuation
- Communicating with and among people who are deaf and blind,
who have no other means of human communication other than
hand to hand "talking"
Academic research has shown that the early learning of braille
correlates strongly with both academic and employment success
later in life. Reading is not only a major -- if not the major --
source of practical information for effective thinking and
productivity; but also a major source for knowledge, inspiration,
creativity, and the development of values.
