Teachers’ Features for the 2018 Convention
Most teachers make lesson plans, but the American Association of Blind Teachers (AABT) has been making exciting convention plans for the 2018 ACB convention in St. Louis.
We begin Saturday morning, June 30th from 8:00 to 10:15 with the AABT Food for Thought Breakfast. Come and share a book or quote that has shaped your teaching or saved your sanity. In addition to food for thought, there will also be good food to eat and time to socialize. Our annual business meeting will follow.
Even though it isn’t an official part of AABT’s program offerings, we strongly encourage you to attend the Missouri School for the Blind tour on Monday afternoon, July 2nd. It’s always interesting to learn about schools in other states, and this promises to be an excellent tour.
On Tuesday, July 3rd at 1:15 p.m., Amber Steet, the student representative of the American Association of Blind Teachers from Kutztown, Pa. will present a workshop titled “Transitioning from High School to College.” In her presentation, she will give us an analysis of effective transition planning for students with disabilities. We highly recommend this workshop for teachers and other professionals who work with students with disabilities as well as students and parents.
Also on Tuesday afternoon, from 2:45 to 4 p.m., the Audio Description Project (ADP) is holding a workshop titled “Teachers and Audio Description,” which is chaired by AABT president Susan Glass. Programs like the Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP) and several published papers have demonstrated how teachers can use audio description as a classroom aid and can build literacy for all students. The ADP’s special initiative, Benefits of Audio Description in Education (BADIE), has been a tremendous success at encouraging kids to write about description and described programs they’ve enjoyed. Potential panelists include: Kim Charlson, ACB president and Librarian, Perkins School for the Blind; Jason Stark, Director, DCMP; AABT member Donna Brown, West Virginia School for the Blind; and an autism and AD specialist. Since the ADP is handling program, registration and ticketing details, AABT members interested in attending the “Teaching and Audio Description” workshop should visit www.acb.org/adp.
As you can see, AABT has an interesting convention program planned for you, with plenty of opportunities for education and inspiration. You will be able to meet professionals in your field and compare notes with colleagues. You may even be able to earn CEU’s for attending some convention activities. We hope to see you there.
AAVIA Moot Court in St. Louis
As part of the ACB tour to the historic court house on Tuesday, July 3, the American Association of Visually Impaired Attorneys (AAVIA) will present a moot trial regarding the historic court trial of Dred Scott’s suit to be freed from slavery after being taken by his owner to states and territories of the United States where slavery was outlawed. The multicultural affairs committee will also participate in this presentation. After considering appeals from the lower courts’ decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in 1857 which held that slaves were not citizens and the taking of Dred Scott to states or territories which did not allow slavery would not cause Scott to be freed. This controversial decision contributed to the sharp division in the United States in the late 1850s regarding slavery, and the beginning of the Civil War.
The moot trial will present a courtroom drama which eventually resulted in the Supreme Court decision. It will be held in the original court room where the trial occurred in 1846, and be part of the historic court house building tour.
ACB Diabetics in Action
We have been working hard to get all members more interested in their affiliate by having more general meetings by phone. We meet on the third Sunday of each month at 8 p.m. Eastern/5 p.m. Pacific. The call-in number is (712) 432-3675; follow the prompts to room 0. Everyone is welcome.
Our convention schedule is as follows:
Saturday, June 30th, 1:15 p.m.: Diabetes seminar, $8 pre-reg, $10 at the door
Monday, July 2nd, 4:15 p.m.: mixer, $15 pre-reg, $18 at the door
Tuesday, July 3rd, 12:15 p.m.: luncheon and general meeting (prices TBA)
Hope to see many of you participating in these activities.
The fundraising committee is selling 50/50 raffle tickets. Tickets are $5 for one ticket, $20 for 5 tickets. To get yours, contact Sandy Feldman at (515) 729-8427, or email her, [email protected].
Meet IVIE in St. Louis!
On behalf of the Independent Visually Impaired Entrepreneurs (IVIE), I encourage you to meet me in Saint Louis because IVIE has some exciting activities planned for convention week!
We kick things off on Saturday evening, June 30th with the annual RSVA/IVIE Mixer. This will take place immediately after the ACB opening general session. Join old friends and make new friends from the Randolph-Sheppard Vendors of America and IVIE as we share light refreshments, conversation and relaxation.
The remaining IVIE activities for convention week will take place on Tuesday, July 3rd from 12:15 to 5:45 p.m. We begin at 12:15 with our annual luncheon, program and business meeting. The title of this year’s program will be, “From Employee to Entrepreneur.” In this presentation, we will explore the advantages and disadvantages of moving from a job to having your own business. Our program presenter will be Mitch Pomerantz, independent ADA consultant/trainer and a former president of ACB from Pasadena, Calif. Our business meeting will follow Mitch’s presentation.
The IVIE Business Expo will take place from 2:45 to 5:30 p.m. Blind and visually impaired business owners will showcase their products and services and answer your questions. The expo will also give you the opportunity to start your holiday shopping early, because you will doubtless find some unique gifts there. Browsing is free and no ticket will be necessary to be admitted. However, if you would like to have a booth at the IVIE Business Expo, you must reserve it in advance. The cost will be $10 for IVIE members and $25 for non-members, with the option of applying $15 of this cost toward annual IVIE dues. Since IVIE’s calendar year runs from July 1st to June 30th, this would be an ideal time to pay your dues. Annual dues for IVIE are only $15. You can reserve your expo booth and/or pay your annual dues online by visiting www.ivie-acb.org. Or, if you’d prefer, you can make a check payable to IVIE and send it to our president, Ardis Bazyn, 2121 Scott Rd. Apt. 105, Burbank, CA 91504. Please designate whether your check is for annual dues, an expo booth, or both. If you are submitting your dues, be sure to fill out and include the IVIE membership form, which can be found on our web site. If you have any questions about the IVIE Expo or this year’s program offerings at the ACB convention, contact Carla Hayes at (724) 941-8184, or via email, [email protected].
So, will you meet me in St. Louis? I can’t promise you a fancy movie set or autographs from famous actors, but if you make time for IVIE at this year’s ACB convention, you will be glad that you did!
Randolph-Sheppard Vendors of America 50th Anniversary Celebration
RSVA is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year at the 2018 ACB convention. This year’s theme is “Celebrating fifty years of achievement and advocacy.” Activities will include the 50th Anniversary Awards Luncheon, where the featured speaker will be Jennings Randolph Jr. from St. Louis. He is a retired sports entertainer who often traveled with his father to vendors’ sites after the Randolph-Sheppard Act became law in 1936. His father, Sen. Jennings Randolph, was one of the co-sponsors of the landmark bill giving the priority to blind people to manage food service facilities in federal buildings. This act soon led to state laws known as mini Randolph-Sheppard Acts giving priority for food service facilities in state and county buildings. Watch for other special RSVA events during the upcoming conference.