Michael Book Discusses the Sciences, Technology and the Commission

        In July of this past year, a support group for the employment and general advancement of blind/visually impaired technical professionals met at the Joseph Kohn Rehabilitation Center in New Brunswick.  The purpose of these brain storming meetings was to come up with ways to implement our goals for greater employment and educational opportunities in technical fields for blind and visually impaired individuals.

          It was at that meeting, that I first suggested the idea of a consortium, or cooperative partnership, between the private sector, academia, non profit organizations and state and federal agencies. The purpose of this consortium would be twofold.

          The first purpose would be for all parties involved to work together in order to develop or create technologies that would level the playing field so that the blind/visually impaired population of working age would be able to compete for and obtain positions at all levels, including all of the top-notch technical/managerial jobs offered by the private, academic, non profit, and federal sectors within the state. If successful, we would hope to extend this model to the rest of the nation. There could be a panel consisting of (as a minimum) one member from each interested organization, including one member from the Commission and a member from our working group to discuss the pressing issues at hand and what would be the best approach to solving them. This would be a great opportunity for New Jersey to take the lead. In the future, I foresee the day when it will be common to see blind/visually impaired people competing for and holding faculty positions at all levels and in all disciplines and departments in all colleges and universities all over the United States.

          The second and more far reaching goal or objective would be to make sure that all present and future generations of blind/visually impaired students reach their full potential academically, intellectually and monetarily.  This could be accomplished via the development and creation of technologies, methodologies, and techniques that would not only encourage, but mentor, nurture, enable and empower blind/visually impaired youth, not merely creating interest in the sciences, engineering, mathematics, and technological areas, but the conditions for them to excel in these areas as well.

          We can begin to implement this course of action by making certain that this and future generations of blind/visually impaired youth are well grounded, exposed and mentored, in the essentials and basics that are required to succeed in the various fields of science, engineering, and technology. 

         This could be done by making sure that qualified readers and/or note takers, lab assistants, or assistants in general be provided by the public schools from as early as possible in grammar school through high school.

          In the case of college, this could be done by hiring upper level undergraduate, beginning graduate students, or any qualified scientists, mathematicians, and engineers, including those who have recently retired from either academia, industry, or government to aid those in need.  These retired scientists, engineers and mathematicians could and should be well compensated for this service as well.

          The Commission must realize that the key to obtaining competitive, well paying jobs and the ability to advance up the ladder in these positions lies in one of two paths.  The first requires formal training or education in a field of technology. The second requires less formal education, but requires strong knowledge, abilities, and skills in the application/use of computer technology. This path could apply to those who are more interested in jumping into the job market right out of high school, or perhaps after one or two years of college. Both the Commission, as well as its client base must raise the bar, standards, and indeed their expectations of what we can accomplish.

          What should be done is have either a prominent representative from the Commission, or one or more of us from the committee of the blind/visually impaired technical professionals support group, or both, contact all of the major private and public, profit and not for profit organizations within the state. Another possibility is to contact the Presidents of prominent colleges or universities within the state to get the ball rolling.  In addition, media organizations should be contacted and solicited in order to get the word out about the capabilities of the blind/visually impaired work force.

          Remember, in order to maximize and guarantee the success of the blind/visually impaired in the future, this success must start with a solid technical education as its foundation in the present.  Let us rise to the challenge!