Thursday, January 31, 2008

Review Jeopardy and Radio Stories

Here is a link to the Progressive Era Review Jeopardy game from my page at the SBS website. (The picture was taken at a college golf tournament in Santa Barbara, California. I shot 71 and 72 that day, and pardon the pun, but ballooned to a 78 in windy conditions the next day in the final round.)

In other news, this week National Public Radio aired several stories that relate broadly to Helen Keller, her history, and her legacy.

1. Listen here about a man who sees yet is without vision.


2. Check out this story about sight technology for the blind.
I've witnessed this technology at work. While working on my Master's degree, I was the graduate assistant in 2000 for Dr. Stan McGowen, a history professor who is visually impaired. I'd read student essay exams to him, open and read his mail to him, and simply just talk history with him. Stan lost his sight in a flying accident (he was a test pilot with the Army), and then went on to finish a Master's degree and Ph.D. degree at Texas Christian University in history while blind. He published his first book with Texas A&M University Press and another book on the history of helicopters, and another book on Vietnam. Also, he is an activist for those with visual impairment; read the story here and here. Stan also recently won a humanitarian award.


3. Finally, listen to this story about a deaf woman who still hears sounds.

Any thoughts?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

There are so many things i take for granted daily. Sight and Hearing are two major abilities that after reading those stories i am more relieved than anything else to have them. Yes those cases are interesting, especially the sight hallucinations, but underneath it, is a person who does not have a major part of what being human is all about. Eyesight and hearing are very crucial in order to function normally and those people are successfully trying to work around the fact that they cant see or hear. That is pretty awesome.
-claire b.

Anonymous said...

These articles were all very interesting for me to read. Mainly because my mom suffers from the same exact disease that David Stewart also suffers from. However, my mom lost her sight completely at age 13 due to a more serious case of retinitis pigmentosa that ultimately cause her to develop a detached retina. I read the articles to my mom and the one about David Steward really caught her eye. (no pun intended) Also, when I read about your experience assisting Dr. Stan McGowen and it made me think of our daily routine with my mom. Whether it be reading the mail, being the carpool mom, or going to get groceries, as a mother, my mom wishes she could do these simplistic activities that other mothers may dread. So many times I take for granted my eyesight, even when I have a constant reminder living under my roof.
-Sarah L.