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 Chapter 1:
Adding a Dimension to the Teaching Process

One of the more important skills a visually impaired person can acquire is the ability to travel with relative independence. It is an important skill, because it frees him from the need to depend on family and friends whenever he wishes to travel. The freedom from dependence he gains affects how he feels about himself and about those who can see.

Because this is such an important skill, it is essential to consider each element of the instruction process. It is not enough to simply look at Orientation and Mobility instruction as the transmission of knowledge by a qualified instructor. Nor is it enough to add that it is the acquisition of that knowledge by a visually impaired student. It is also important to know what happens to feelings and emotions during the instruction process.

The mobility instructor has feelings and attitudes that might well influence the student he is teaching. The student has feelings about what he is learning, what he is asked to do, and even about the instructor. In some ways, these feelings and attitudes will affect the course and the outcome of mobility instruction. They will have this effect whether or not the student and the instructor are aware of what they feel and think during training. If the instructor is unaware of the flow and influence of feelings and attitudes that are an integral part of the teaching process, he misses an opportunity to use them to the advantage of the student. If, however, he is sensitive and perceptive concerning psychological aspects of the instruction process, he has access to a useful tool that will help him to control more completely the course of the training and will facilitate the progress of his students. He will, as a result, be a more effective instructor. Both he and the student will benefit from the experience.

 

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