Trouble Is Everywhere

Goodbye From FWD.

In one of those things that I find terribly funny (but other people may not), my final post on FWD is about Glee. It's a transcript of the WBAI program "The Largest Minority", in which various people discuss Glee and it's depictions of disability, and includes more details on that thing I mentioned where Ryan Murphy was invited to a major industry event about disability and accessibility hosted by the Screen Actors Guild and didn't show up: Glee and Disability in Pop Culture.

What I find funny about this is the reason FWD stopped posting anything about Glee was because I asked everyone not to. I still get a few emails a month from people telling me to kill myself over my posts on the topic at Bitch and on FWD, and at the time I was having panic attacks at even the idea of looking at another discussion of the show.

I updated my Bundle of RSS feeds for disability-focused blogs. Check out my awesome gReader bundle!. It does include parent-focused blogs and educator focused blogs. It doesn't include anyone from DW or LJ, sadly. I may update it in a few days to include those, I'm not sure. Feel free to use it in any way (or no way!) that you wish, and ping me to add someone if you think I should. I in no way think it's at all even a tiny tiny fraction of the disability-focused blogs out there.

I'm taking the next month or so (ish) off from the internet. If there's anything personal experience has taught me, it's that this is difficult for me, since about 90% of my friends are online, and a lot of them communicate primarily through blogs & LJ/DW. But, I will have email, so don't hesitate for one moment to email me should you wish. Be aware, though, that I'll be only checking my email once a day, because I need to focus on everything I need to get done in January if Don & I are going to blow the pop-stand of Halifax.

I hope you all have or had a wonderful Gregorian New Year's Eve, and many joyous returns of the day.

♥

1) My taxi-driver's grandmother used to teach at the School for the Deaf when it was still out in the North End and he told me stuff about the School and it was awesome and it matched a lot of my assumptions which means I am smart!

2) There's another researcher here at the Archives! She is doing her PhD on vision & seeing and was looking for details about the Home Teaching Society for the Blind and I had all these notes on it so I could tell her where to look in the Annual Reports and stuff for more details because I am awesome yes I am.

Helpful Anna!

Noting the following:

On Site Research Policy.
Updated October 28, 2009
Research requests must be presented in writing; on paper or via email. Written requests must include the nature of the research, the anticipated outcome, and the nature of the records sought after. Please be as specific and include as much information as possible.

Research will be subject to a $50/hr research fee. This fee applies to the time spent searching for documents and records, and is billable, even if the records are not found, or do not prove to be useful. The first $50 is payable before the research begins. The Archdiocese of Halifax reserves the right to refuse a research request. Records deemed closed to the public will not be made available to researchers.

Appointments for on site research requests must be made a minimum of three weeks in advance. On Site research will be subject to the following regulations, which will be strictly enforced:

-Researchers must sign in when they arrive, and out before they leave.

-Researchers are NOT permitted, under any circumstances, to enter the archives vault. Researchers will work with the Archivist to determine what records or type of records would be useful, and the archivist will bring the documents up from the vault to be viewed. Researchers will be closely supervised.

Do you think it's worth making a request to the Archdiocese to see if they have any records regarding their involvement in either the School for the Deaf (there was a war of letters c. 1900 in the newspapers that was fun to read) or the School for the Blind (which they seem to be directly and personally involved in)?

Someone on twitter suggested that, at 50$ per hour, I should be drinking cocktails while someone else attempts to deal with the horrible handwriting.

I suspect if my appointment is approved I can get the money from my $700 grant that the uni gives all grad students for such research projects.

(Now, of course, I'm imagining what they've got squirreled away over there. If i were more awake, I would fling out some grand flights of fancy.)

Picture it: Halifax, 1878. A man of wealth and good breeding writes the following:

...Our Superintendent in his report claims the right of our Blind to be considered in the general system of Education. This principle is recognized in the United States, and in many of the European Nations. The Emperor of Brazil not only had an institution erected for the Blind of that country ; but also got a state endowment for it of $24,000 per annum. Turn to wherever we may, the value of Blind Institutions are being generally recognized ; so much so in England within the past few years, that a College for the higher education of the blind sons of gentlemen has been erected at Worcester, and a Royal Normal College and Academy for Music, at Upper Norwood. The Legislature of Massachusetts a few years since appropriated the sum of $80,000 to the Perkins Institution of Boston, for the erection of new buildings. Other examples of munificence might be given. Are we then in the face of these examples to stand still or go on progressing. Cannot the Institution be made practically one for th Blind of the Maritime Provinces. Cannot we be brought to recognize the fact that although the sight may be lost there is a human brain behind the forehead and a human heart beating within the breast. We should ask that the same consideration be extended to the Blind, as is given to other afflicted classes of the community. In order to advance our sympathy for all, let us do what is right for all.

I'm pretty sure that last little bit is basically "Yo, we want want the Deaf school has. And we want it now!"

I was a bit confused by the references to the Emperor of Brazil, but it turns out that Brazil was an Empire between 1822 and 1889, under Emperors Pedro I and Pedro II. The More You Know.

I'm mostly interested in how the Perkins School (that's the one that Gridley Howe was running) is perceived in Halifax. It seems to be viewed as the Greatest Thing Ever, which makes some sense being that the Superintendent is a graduate from there. But reading it in tandem with Woeful Afflictions is... interesting.

Anyway.

The individual members of your Board are personally familiar with much that is herein contained, your frequent visits to the Institution make you conversant with every detail of its internal management, but as these Reports constitute the only available literature respecting the Blind and their education, it is advisable that their circulation be extended to every part of the Maritime Provinces, in order that the public may fully understand the purposes for which the Institution is stained, and the sources from whence its annual income is derived.

That's another good one. I read it in two ways. First, I don't think the actual Board Members are nearly as involved as Fraser describes them. Second, it's again a veiled reference to the Deaf school, which is pulling in a lot more in donations right now. And also has students from everywhere.

I'm also intrigued by the constant needling at the public and the government. An example:

Realizing the importance both to the individuals and the public of utilizing a non-working class, your Board have liberally granted instruction in handicrafts to three young men, whose ages prevented their taking advantage of the course prescribed for regular pupils. This action, on your part, deserves every encouragement from the public, whom you have thus relieved from the indirect burden of their support. [emphasis mine]

Look! Look at the work we are doing! We are doing it for you, John Q. Public! You!

In case you are curious what the kids in the school were learning (by 1879):

Classes in the following branches are formed each year: Spelling, Reading in Boston, Moon, and Braille systems, Pencil and Point Writing, English Grammar, Geography, History and Arithmetic. In addition to the foregoing, two extra studies are taken up in each successive year as follows:
1 - Composition and Elocution
2 - Natural History and Heathen Mythology
3 - Natural Philosophy and Physiology
4 - Geometry and Astronomy
5 - Algebra and English Literature

IOW: Please learn to read three different styles of writing the same language because we haven't all agreed on what language to use yet. Also, learn two different ways of writing because Sighted people can't be bothered to learn Braille.

Note to self: 1880 is when the Annual Reports finally started publishing newspaper reports about the School. I wonder if they didn't show up before then, or if the new management (the President had retired) is the reason.

Copy of Radio Messages

Sir R---- B---
H. M. S. Renown,
Via Campberdown.

Will His Royal Highness the Prince honor the School for the Blind of the M. P. and the pioneer work for the blind of Canada by a brief visit to the school tomorrow. Our boys and girls aquiver with excitement at the Prince's second coming to Halifax. PERSONAL: As an old friend I would ask you to do what you can to have His Royal Highness visit the School for the Blind. It would do a power of good.

I like the idea of being aquiver with excitement myself.

As for the only other comment I have about today's researching (I'm about to go home. I got through about half a file folder):

Damn it, dead people.

I've just read something that implies that a large number of braille letters were thrown out. Or they're filed entirely separately from the other correspondence. I hope it is the latter, or the baby Anna is going to cry.