Nancy Cozart, a Teacher of the Blind and Visually Impaired (TVI) for the Littleton Public Schools in Colorado, is one of those teachers who you hope is assigned to your child. She is generous with her time and thoughtful about organizing activities, not only for her students but for their friends and classmates.
This January, I was invited to talk about how to use a raised-line drawing board to make art. The Sensational BlackBoard is a tool that offers a technique to make drawings with a pen and paper that can be felt as well as seen. There are nine boys who regularly get together to explore the secret code of Braille and also enjoy learning about alternative ways to go about everyday and special activities without using sight.
I was invited to talk about art making. The first activity was to learn how to use the board. Nancy said, “the first word my student who is legally blind said after his first drawn line using the blackboard was “WOW”.” I can describe and show you how to draw using the board but people don’t seem to really get it until they are able to touch the line and feel it for themselves. So, it is always fun to be there when someone discovers how drawing can become a tactile activity!
Engaging kids in activities that demystify the differences between people is a powerful technique to connect students. I was talking to a friend who said that she is still sad that when she was in grade school a child came to their school who had some significant challenges. But instead of teaching the children how to talk about it, they were told to ignore it. Unfortunately, that led to them ignoring the child too.
