HADLEY CONNECTION Student Newsletter of The Hadley School for the Blind Spring 2006 2 2005 Open House & William Hadley Induction 4 2005 Student Award Winners 6 Curriculum Corner 8 Family Matters 9 FAQs 10 Bits & Bytes 11 A Matter of Course A Letter from Hadley’s President “What do you do for a living?” Can you imagine not having a reply to that age-old question? Employment is how we, as adults, define ourselves. Our occupations determine with whom we associate and where and how we live. In fact, our jobs are our major source of identity and self-worth. Yet, a recent Harris Poll indicated that two out of three adults with disabilities are unemployed. This same Harris Poll concluded that to have a disability and be unable to obtain employment is the true meaning of being “handicapped” in our society. Reportedly, some 70 percent of adult blind Americans are unemployed. Clearly, we have yet to extend the American dream of inclusion and full participation in society to many citizens who are blind. Without hope of employment and the training to live independently, blind Americans are denied the opportunity to contribute to our nation’s greatness. The Hadley School for the Blind is a catalyst for those who want to live independently and be employed. Research correlates employment with literacy, indicating that braille readers truly are achievers. In my first month as president, I heard from a 78-year-old student who credits our typing course for his acquiring a job as a reservationist, and a New Orleans resident who lost all her possessions during Hurricane Katrina, but credits Hadley for helping her to get back to work. Please share your experience as to how Hadley has helped you to live independently, become employed or aided in the advancement of your career. The administration and staff at Hadley want to know how we can continue to help ensure our students have an answer to that age-old question, “What do you do for a living?” Charles E. Young School Names New President The Hadley School for the Blind named Charles E. Young as its new president, effective December 1, 2005. Mr. Young brings to Hadley a wealth of experience within the blindness field. He was administrator of the Oregon Commission for the Blind from 1979 to 2000, where his responsibilities included the overall management of an $11 million budget and 60 staff. Over the past five years, Mr. Young maintained a consulting practice, Career Catalysts Inc., specializing in employment and leadership programs for people with disabilities. His clients include the University of Oklahoma and various state vocational rehabilitation agencies. His practice recently took him to China and included a visit with Hadley-China graduates. For three years, Mr. Young taught a nationwide training program titled, “Placement 2000,” which was developed in collaboration with the American Foundation for the Blind and Mississippi State University and won national recognition from the U.S. Department of Education. Presently, Mr. Young co-teaches a similar online course with the University of Arkansas-Little Rock. Looking forward to his new position, Mr. Young said, “I learned about the incredible work of Hadley while growing up in Chicago and witnessed firsthand the impact Hadley’s distance learning had on blind people and their families from Oregon to China. My colleagues in rehabilitation and education value the powerful lifelong resources of Hadley in promoting equality and full participation of blind people worldwide. It is a great honor to be a part of this unique institution, its faithful board, empowering staff and respected teachers.” Board Chairman Clyde Willian said, “We believe that under the leadership of President Young, the outreach of Hadley’s programs will be significantly enhanced both in content and in enrollment. We are very excited by his becoming a major part of the Hadley team.” Open House 2005: Founder William A. Hadley Honored On October 20, 2005, the Hadley School hosted an Open House to commemorate 85 years of service and to celebrate founder William Hadley’s recent induction into the Hall of Fame for Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field. During the induction ceremony, an honorary plaque was presented to the school. Following is the acceptance speech, given by Dawn Turco, senior vice president. William Allen Hadley was a pioneer in every sense of the word. He was a trailblazer who ventured into an unknown territory in the blindness field and the community of blind adults. This territory was correspondence study. Yes, this territory was braille-through-the-mail, and it was and is successful. With all the talk these days of distance education, one might think it is a new phenomenon when, indeed, it has been a mode of teaching in this country for well over 100 years. The University of Chicago offered correspondence education back in 1891. In this 21st century, the age of information, corporate America has turned to distance education to retrain some 50 million workers. Perhaps, a lesson has been taken from the past. At the end of the 19th century, only 10 percent of the working population had graduated from high school. Still very much a rural nation and one where higher education was not for the masses, a great deal of vocational training took place through correspondence study. Industry had an appetite for trained workers; correspondence study delivered that training. How fortuitous that William Hadley lived in the greater Chicago area. Chicago, at the time, was a hub of correspondence schools, in part, because it was one of the nation’s major railway centers. Like spokes on a bike tire, tracks carried courses by rail to students in all directions. So, on the evening in 1919 when William Hadley commented to his neighbor and ophthalmologist, Dr. E.V.L. Brown, and others gathered on his porch, that he desperately missed teaching, an idea was born. It is recorded in “University of Courage,” a book chronicling the early days of the Hadley School: “Why don’t you teach your fellow blind adults by correspondence courses? You have had a brilliant career as an educator and would know how to go about it; your students can be as close to you as their nearest mailbox.” The thought electrified Mr. Hadley. Those who knew him say that his new vision of a correspondence school for blind students transformed him almost overnight from a discouraged older man into an eager, youthful pioneer. There was no turning back after that first student, a woman in rural Kansas who wanted to learn braille, received her course in November 1920. She was the first “Desperate Housewife,” as she so wanted to continue reading and to read to her children. The school incorporated and developed a Board of Trustees. You know the saying, “What is old is new again.” A list of courses offered by the Hadley School can be found in the school’s first annual report, dated 1923. A total of 526 students were enrolled in 14 courses. While the Hadley School today offers more than 100 courses, I chuckled when I compared content area. Yes, as in 1923, we still teach braille, history, literature, math, Bible studies, typing and English grammar. But, what I found especially interesting is that in 1923, the school had 55 students enrolled in “Business Correspondence.” One of the courses we are all abuzz about in the Hadley course development corridors is “Business Writing,” the newest course in our Business Skills Series. Yes, how groundbreaking we are! I can tell you, however, I am pretty sure we have no intentions of bringing back “Poultry Husbandry,” a course we offered circa 1946. William Hadley died in 1941, but I can tell you with assurance, his spirit is alive and well at The Hadley School for the Blind at 700 Elm Street. I have felt his presence and guidance for 12 years now. How fortunate for the tens of thousands of students over the years to have The Hadley School for the Blind, William Hadley’s legacy, still there for them, still delivering tuition-free courses to their mailboxes, even though, more and more, those are email boxes. On behalf of the school’s Student Advisory Committee, the body that nominated Mr. Hadley, his two surviving grandchildren unable to join us tonight, and the Hadley community as a whole, we accept this Hall of Fame plaque on Mr. Hadley’s behalf, and will proudly display it at the school. Thank you for recognizing his achievements through this honor. 2005 Student Award Winners Over the past 86 years, thousands of Hadley students have demonstrated growth and accomplishment. In 1959, we began what has become an annual tradition of honoring our highest achievers. Since then, we have given awards to more than 100 students. We are proud to present our distinguished 2005 Student Award Winners. Jill O’Connell Student of the Year Jill O’Connell considers herself a lifelong learner. She appreciates the Hadley School’s wide variety of course offerings, and can easily find many that stimulate her interest. Jill enrolled with Hadley in 2001 and has since completed 11 courses, including “Essentials of Nemeth,” “Container Gardening,” “Abacus 1” and “Mathematics 2.” She plans to take a course in the Foods Series. An 83-year-old resident of California, Jill was born blind. She has a secondary teaching credential from the University of California, and has worked as a medical transcriber for local physicians and the Veterans Administration. After retiring and moving to northern California at age 75, she began teaching braille to visually impaired youngsters. She likes the fact that she can study at home, at her own pace. “The school has definitely impacted my life. To me, learning through Hadley has been fun. I feel that each time I take a course I increase my knowledge base.” Pauline Bruns Donald Wing Hathaway Lifelong Learning Award Pauline Bruns, 81, looks back at her life as a diverse mixture of different experiences. She has sold hardware in a large retail store, worked for two telephone companies as a service representative and spent time as an LPN in a nursing home. Also, in 1945, she enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. Today, however, this resident of Maine is too busy to look back—the major reason being that she is taking Hadley distance education courses! Since enrolling with Hadley in 1994, Pauline has completed 31 courses. Some of the more recent include “Business Law 2,” “Safety in the Home” and “Economics.” “Without Hadley, I cannot imagine what life would be like,” she says. “I seem to be busier now than ever before just because of all the studying and large print reading I do. The courses are interesting and challenging. I hope I never stop learning.” William Matthews Braille Student of the Year William Matthews, 42, has overcome many health-related obstacles during his life. A lifelong resident of New Jersey, William attended public school until he was 15 years old. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor, which ultimately crushed his optic nerve, resulting in blindness. William underwent surgery two years later and has had no sign of cancer since 1981. “My family really helped me adjust to my blindness. My mother passed away in 2001, and I am now living with my father. I have one sister who is married with two children. I love these children very much and enjoy spending time with them whenever I get the opportunity.” William first enrolled with Hadley in 1995 and has since completed 23 courses. During this time, he has mastered subjects ranging from metrics and English literature to science, personal psychology and braille reading and writing. “Hadley has made working toward my high school diploma a very enjoyable experience. The school has played an important part of my life for the past 10 years.” Christian Sarraf Robert J. Winn Family Education Award Christian Sarraf, 41, says Hadley has been instrumental in helping him and his wife raise their visually impaired daughter, Yasmine, who is five years old. Since enrolling with Hadley in 2002, Christian has completed the following courses: “The Human Eye,” “Early Independence,” “Raising Responsible Children,” “Introduction to Low Vision” and “Self-Esteem and Adjusting with Blindness.” A resident of Michigan, Christian is an aerospace engineer. “My wife Fatima and I have three daughters—Keira (1), Maya (3) and Yasmine—who are our most precious treasures on earth,” he reflects. Christian says the Hadley School is, for him, “an enabler”—helping him to become a better father during this critical stage of his life. “The school helped me focus my confusion, fear and frustration into a constructive outlet, as I could not grasp the full ramifications of the challenges that lie ahead in raising a visually impaired child. Hadley was able to create smaller pieces for me to digest at a rhythm that both helped me cope as well as learn. It was, ultimately, the thing I needed most.” Shirlee Wadlow Professional Student of the Year Shirlee Wadlow, 44, says Hadley has provided her with a wealth of knowledge and, as a result, made her a much better teacher. Since enrolling with Hadley in 2002, she has completed nine courses, including “Introduction to Low Vision,” “Essentials of Nemeth” and “Learning, Play and Toys.” A resident of Arizona, Shirlee has 17 years of teaching experience. For the last four years, she has been an itinerant teacher of visually impaired students, working with the Arizona Schools for the Deaf and Blind. She teaches braille, Nemeth code, abacus, language arts and technology, as well as science and social studies. She also teaches daily living skills. Pim Brouwer International Student of the Year Pim Brouwer, 65, is a computer programmer with the IT Division of Safeway plc, Great Britain. Blind since the age of two, Pim has overcome the challenges of visual impairment and achieved much success during his lifetime. During his 23 years with Safeway, Pim has been involved in many areas of the business, including branch ordering, stock control and producing marketing statistics. In 1997, he was named Safeway Achiever of the Year. Dutch by nationality, Pim, who lives in Isle of Wight, also speaks fluent French and German. He began taking Hadley courses in 1989 and is now taking physics courses at Bristol University. Curriculum Corner Double Your Pleasure People have always been fascinated with studying pairs. Yin and Yang, Anthony and Cleopatra, Romeo and Juliet, Barnum and Bailey, and even Ben and Jerry come to mind. The Hadley School has made a commitment to “double up” your learning this year by developing pairs of courses designed to complement one another. Personal Safety & Safety in the Home Crime in today’s society is an unwelcome fact of life. In response to that reality, Hadley’s “Personal Safety,” EIL-911, explains how students can play a significant role in protecting themselves. The course is designed to help a person who is blind or visually impaired avoid becoming a victim. It encourages students to shift their focus from passively wishing for change in others to actively implementing their own safety program. The goal of the course is to enable students to make informed choices about effective self-defense strategies, thus increasing safety throughout the day. We have all seen recent reports in the news concerning tsunamis, hurricanes and other natural disasters around the globe. Hadley’s “Safety in the Home,” EIL-921, gives students the information they need to protect themselves, their families and their homes in case of emergency. Unfortunately, many people find out just how unprepared they are once an emergency occurs. This course is designed to remedy that. It addresses basic emergency and disaster planning. It also discusses how to prepare against fire and weather-related emergencies as well as the potential devastation brought on by floods, hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes. Internet Basics & Internet: Beyond the Basics Many of us remember a time when “online” meant drying your laundry and “the net” was mainly used to catch fish. Today, however, individuals ranging from students to business people to shoppers need the Internet to organize their busy lives. Hadley’s course, “Internet Basics,” FTE- 401, teaches students the history of the Internet; it also explains how the World Wide Web, email, clients and servers, search engines, mailing lists, news groups and online discussions work. Due out in the near future, and in response to many student requests, a follow-up course called “Internet: Beyond the Basics,” FTE-411, was developed to teach students how to follow safe computing procedures and combat computer threats when performing everyday activities. It also explains how to use the best research and reference, travel planning and online shopping tools available on the Internet today. Introduction to Braille & Contracted Braille Another pair of courses allows sighted individuals to read braille visually. “Introduction to Braille,” DPF-201, gives family members and professionals the tools to communicate in writing with their loved ones and clients respectively. This course enables one to read and write uncontracted braille. When a student feels ready to progress beyond uncontracted braille, “Contracted Braille,” DPF-211, gives him or her the ability to read and emboss braille contractions and expand his or her vocabulary enough to communicate with experienced braille users. Thanks to the work of our Computer Services Department, DPF-201 is available as an e- Hadley online course; DPF-211 will be available as an Internet course in the very near future. Business Writing & Using Excel (Coming Soon) Lastly, we are working on a pair of courses that will kick off the new Business Skills Series available at Hadley. Designed to help students improve writing and computer skills, the new “Business Writing” and “Using Excel” courses will teach students how to create email messages, reports and spreadsheets in the context of the business world. If these courses or any of our curriculum in the Course Catalog interests you, visit www.hadley.edu, contact Student Services at (800) 526-9909, or send an email to student_services@hadley.edu to enroll in one of these courses today. Also, watch for additional new courses that complement existing ones in our curriculum. THANK YOU, STUDENT DONORS As chair of the Student Advisory Committee, I would like to congratulate and sincerely thank the student body for their generosity this year. Our contributions to Hadley have increased by almost $1,000 over the past year! Hadley appreciates each of our contributions. In fact, the staff is particularly moved by donations from students. For those who can afford to give back a little to Hadley, I would challenge you to keep contributing what you can. Our efforts are even more important because the Development staff uses our donation numbers to demonstrate to other donors that we remain grateful for Hadley’s services. For those who cannot afford to donate money to Hadley, I would encourage you to donate your time by telling as many people as possible about Hadley’s services for people who are blind, blindness professionals, and family members of those with visual impairments. Again, thanks to all those who contributed in response to the student appeal. On behalf of the Student Advisory Committee, I challenge you to give even more next year, whether by word of mouth or through monetary contributions. Sincerely, Christie Gilson, SAC Chair cgilson@ad.uiuc.edu STUDENT ADVISORY COMMITEE MEMBERS • Christie Gilson, Illinois • Pauline Bruns, Maine • Jill O’Connell, California • Christian Sarraf, Michigan • Shirlee Wadlow, Arizona Family Matters Safety In the Home By George Abbott, Dean, Educational Programs Most of us know a lot about home safety. After all, good safety practices are a combination of common sense and experience, and we all have our share of both. For many of us, though, there’s often a gap between what we know and what we put into practice. That can pose a problem. Home safety is too important to be ignored or postponed. A fully implemented, comprehensive home safety strategy is as necessary as a watertight roof or a solid foundation. It can literally save the lives of you and your family. For people with vision impairments, this is especially true. When you adhere to a good safety plan, you don’t need vision to make sure that you and your family are protected from the many avoidable hazards present in the average dwelling. If you want to know how to get started on this critical process, please review the following fundamentals. Fire safety is a priority Smoke detectors are the first line of defense in fire safety. Make sure you have them; make sure they work. Change the batteries twice per year, usually when time changes back and forth from daylight savings, and test them once per month. If smoke detectors go off, don’t ignore them. Treat every alarm as if it’s the real thing and respond accordingly. Your second line of defense is an escape plan. Try to identify at least two exits from your dwelling—the more the better. Bedrooms on a second story might benefit from a fire escape ladder. Never have a bedroom in your basement unless there is code-approved egress to the outside. Identify a meeting place where all members of the household should gather after evacuating the building. Many lives have been lost because people re-enter a burning building trying to locate a missing family member. Fire drills are your third line of defense. Have them at least twice per year. This is very important for people with mobility concerns. Everyone in the household should be able, if possible, to independently evacuate the dwelling and find the meeting place. Just talking this process over isn’t enough; it needs to be practiced. Kitchen and bathroom pose greatest risks The two areas of your home that pose the greatest safety risk are your kitchen and bathroom. Make sure that the outlets in each room have ground fault interrupters. This will eliminate any possibility of electrocution when using plug-in appliances or hair dryers, shavers, etc. Use non- skid mats on floor surfaces, especially in front of sinks or the tub. The floor of the tub itself should have a non-skid surface. In the kitchen, take time to close cabinet doors (to avoid head injuries), and use appliances that are wired safely and correctly. A major source of accidental burns is, of course, the kitchen stove. To minimize risk, turn all pot handles so they face the sides of the stove top, so they can’t be accidentally tipped over. If the burner knobs are difficult to read, use tactile markers to identify the temperature settings. When using the oven, stand to the side of the door before opening it. Don’t forget to make good use of your oven racks. Let the oven racks, not your hands or arms, move your food in and out of the oven. Finally, use extra long oven mitts to avoid burns. Heating and electrical maintenance Other areas of the home need your attention as well, particularly areas that house your mechanical systems. Have your furnace checked at least once per year. The same goes for your chimney and fireplace. Your electrical system should be up to code. If you’re not sure, have a licensed electrician look it over. If you use gas or oil heat, think about installing a carbon monoxide detector; this is especially true if you have an attached garage or a fireplace. Carbon monoxide detectors are readily available at most home improvement centers. Our recent hurricane season has driven home the necessity of good disaster planning. Know the evacuation routes out of your neighborhood. Have an evacuation plan. Make and keep handy a list of emergency contacts; if you are a braille reader, keep a print version of your list in case you are injured and a sighted friend or neighbor needs to access your contacts. Try to maintain a disaster kit. Space is at a premium in most dwellings but try to find an easily accessible spot for your kit. It should contain (at a minimum) food for two weeks, a first aid kit, extra clothes and blankets, a battery-operated radio and a flashlight with extra batteries. If you have a dog guide or a pet, your kit should contain food for your animal. Otherwise, your own supply will be feeding an extra mouth and won’t last as long as you had planned. Most importantly, keep an adequate supply of fresh potable water. Each person in your household needs (for consumption alone) one gallon of water per day. This supply should be enough for two weeks. If that sounds like a lot of water, it is. But we have learned from recent events in New Orleans and elsewhere that drinking water is not easily or readily available following a catastrophic disaster. Having a safe supply can make the difference between survival and tragedy. Many of us gamble that we won’t ever experience a fire, an accident or a natural or man-made disaster. Those who lose that bet discover very quickly that small doses of planning and prevention make a huge difference. Most good home safety practices are based on general knowledge. We must put that knowledge to good use to safeguard our families and ourselves. We need to expect the unexpected and plan accordingly. FAQs Q: Is there a proper way to title my subject line when sending email to my instructor? A: Yes. Your email subject line should contain the name of your course and the assignment number. This is important for a few reasons. A subject line that contains this information helps the instructor quickly identify the message as being from a student and pertaining to a course. Without this information, your message may appear as junk email and may not be opened as quickly. Another reason to include the course name and assignment number in the subject line is to facilitate an automatic response from an email program if an instructor is out for an extended period of time, such as vacation. For an automatic response to work, however, it helps to know that certain words will appear in the subject line. Please understand that instructors receive dozens of emails every day. It is Hadley policy that communications via email to your instructor be course-related. Forwarding jokes or other chain email only wastes the instructor’s time. We urge you to avoid sending non-course-related emails to your instructors. Q: What should I do with Hadley material I no longer want? A: If you live in the United States, you should send the material back to Hadley. We may be able to reuse it. Material may be returned using Free Matter for the Blind, providing the package contains only Hadley material. If you ever use a Hadley box to ship something other than Hadley material, or products that are not eligible for Free Matter mailing, be sure to pay the proper postage. If you are using a Hadley course material box to send something to an address other than Hadley’s, be sure to cover the Hadley School address. Postal inspectors do check the contents of packages to ensure that they comply with Free Matter regulations. Students living outside of the United States need not send material back. Although it is fine to share Hadley course material with family and close friends, this material may not be sold. Several courses, or course components, are not exclusively Hadley’s. Bits & Bytes Discussion Board Basics By Allen Maynard, Access Technology Specialist On September 15, 2005, Hadley began offering a forum for online discussions on its Web site. First-time visitors to the forum must register and set up their username and password to read and post messages. Although we cannot provide one-on-one training to those who wish to use the forum, we thought that providing some navigational tips might be helpful. Once you’ve logged in to the discussion board home page, you must select one of the forums. Each forum name is a heading. So if you are using a screen reader that allows you to jump from heading to heading, you can quickly find the forum you want. You may also use your screen reader’s find feature to locate the desired forum name; or you can use your tab and/or your arrow keys. Each forum name is also a link. So when you find the forum name, just press the enter key to enter that forum. Once in the forum, you navigate it the same way you did when selecting and entering a forum because now each title of each message is both a heading and a link. The other columns you’ll find are the user name of the message author, the number of replies, the total number of times that message has been viewed, the date the message was posted, and the user name that posted the most recent reply. You will also find a “View” link, which you can follow to open the message. When in the message, you can read it and any replies. You may do this in several ways. Each message and/or reply is set up in a table format. So if your screen reader allows you to jump from table-to-table, you can jump to the beginning of the message. The beginning of each message is the user name of the author, which is a heading. Before you come to the message, you will find other information, including the total number of messages this author has posted and the status. (Is the author currently online or offline?) The word “Post” is also a heading that marks the beginning of the body of the message. The original message always comes first, followed by any replies. If you wish to create a new message, you must first open an existing message and follow the “New Topic” link. If you wish to reply to an opened message, you must follow the “New Reply” link. Both links can be found toward the bottom of the page. Selecting the “New Topic” link presents you with a short form in a table format. It begins with a “Post Title” edit box, followed by a “Your Topic” edit box, an “Include Signature” check box and a “Post Message” button. The “Reply” link presents you with a similar form, also in a table format, that begins with a “Post Title” edit box followed by a “Your Reply” edit box, an “Include Signature” check box, a “Reset Message” button that clears the form if pressed, and a “Submit Message” button. To reply to a reply, you must press enter on the “Quote” link, one of three links below each reply on the current page. You will receive the same reply form as above. The only difference is that the text of the reply you are replying to will appear right below the text of your new reply. It’s a reference for others who might read your message without having read the original reply first. When creating a new post, please note that the word “topic” and the word “message” are interchangeable in the forums. Toward the bottom of each forum page is a drop-down box, labeled “Show posts from the.” You can set it to show posts from the last 10, 20, 30, 60, 100 or 365 days. This value determines how long messages will remain in the forum. Finally, if you’ve entered a forum and want to return to the page of forums, follow the “Public” link near the top of the page. If you’ve opened a message and you want to return to that forum to review a new topic, follow the link labeled with the name of that forum (also located near the top of the page). The URL is www.hadley.edu/dboard. A Matter of Course In this issue, we learn about Hadley instructor Julie Kay and the courses she teaches. Q: When did you begin working with Hadley? A: I started in 1996, as the head of the Parent/Family Department. Q: What was your area of study? A: My bachelor’s degree is in education with certification to teach the visually impaired and other health impaired. My minor is in history and my master’s degree is in human services administration. Q: What courses do you teach for Hadley? A: I teach World History, U.S. History and Government courses, which are very popular. We loan tactile maps with the World History course to students who are enrolled. I also teach a course for students in our Family Education Program called “Raising Responsible Children.” This course is very individualized. It enables parents to assess their child’s need for increased responsibility and come up with a plan to incorporate those ideas. I will soon be teaching a course called “Art History: The Art of Ancient Egypt” and am very excited about it! Q: What makes “Art History: The Art of Ancient Egypt” interesting? A: I grew up with art, as my mother was an artist and my brother is one as well. Art appreciation and execution is one way people are so special. It enhances our lives. Socially, I think it is important to understand what art is all about. This course has tactile representations of the art of ancient Egypt, including sphinx, tomb paintings and pyramids. Information about these works of art is included in large print and braille. Q: How can people who are visually impaired enjoy visiting museums? A: One way is to take this course! Another is to talk to museum staff before you visit to set up a special tour. Reading about various artists before visiting an exhibit is also a good idea. Hopefully, the museum you choose to visit is one that has worked with the American Foundation for the Blind; they have materials on making art accessible. Another organization is The Art Education for the Blind, which sets up special exhibits. (See www.artbeyondsight.org for more information.) Q: What other resources help learn about history? A: A fun book to read on American history, “Don’t Know Much About History” by Kenneth Davis, includes short stories that make our history come alive. My favorite book is “First Ladies” by Margaret Truman. Both are available through the National Library Service. Here are some great Web sites: • www.americaslibrary.gov • www.eyewitnesstohistory.com • www.historychannel.com • www.pbs.org • www.womeninworldhistory.com I hope you will join me in studying the “Art of Ancient Egypt” or one of our many history courses. School Announces Keynote Speaker for High School Graduation Richard Nelson Bolles, author of the best-selling book “What Color is Your Parachute?” will be the commencement address speaker at this year’s high school graduation ceremony, to be held June 14th in Winnetka, Ill. He will also visit the Hadley School while in the Chicago area during the week of April 16 to support his latest version of the book, which is updated annually. Bolles’ book addresses the issue of finding meaningful work and discovering one’s mission in life. REVISED COURSE CATALOG The revised 2006-08 Course Catalog is now available in large print and braille, on audiocassette and CD-ROM. (The CD contains PDF as well as text, MP3 and braille-formatted file versions.) Or, visit our Web site (www.hadley.edu) to view all course offerings. If you are a current Hadley student with access to the Internet, you may request a new catalog through OASIS. Be sure to specify your preferred medium. Otherwise, you can write or call Hadley, or email student_services@hadley.edu. Hadley School for the Blind 700 Elm Street Winnetka, IL 60093-2554 USA Telephone: (847) 446-8111 Toll-free: (800) 323-4238 Fax: (847) 446-0855 Web site: www.hadley.edu Email: info@hadley.edu The articles in Connection are for information only and in no way endorse one service or product over another.