Daniel Kish is known as “Batman” because he uses clicking sounds to echo-locate the way bats do.
He goes around the world teaching blind kids this cool technique, but so much more, all to help them become more self-directed. He doesn’t say “self-sufficient” because, in a way, that’s not really fair. If you’re deaf, having a sign language interpreter doesn’t mean you are lazy or over-assisted. It just means you have a way to be part of things.
Similarly, blind kids need someone to “show” them what they cannot see. For instance, a blind child can’t see you making scrambled eggs, so they need you to hand them an egg and have them feel what it means to break it and feel what it’s like to whisk the eggs in the pan. They even need someone to take them to the cupboard so they realize that is where the pans are stored — someone to let them feel and do what they haven’t been able to absorb by observing. As Kish says, “If they’re not doing, they’re not learning.”
That strikes me as true for most of us. Hop over to Let Grow to read my interview with Daniel, and the lessons he has learned from working with literally thousands of families around the world.
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