Although I have a Bachelors from Monmouth University and Masters from Walden University, seeking employment has been a ridiculous struggle due to having bad speech and Cerebral Palsy. If an employer offered me a job position regarding on-line teaching, on-line counseling, on-line research assistant, data entry, web design, proofreading / editing, or freelance writing, it would be an honor and a privilege.
| Subject: Re: On-line Teaching - f2f experience was Re: Introduction
From: EDTECH Editor-Eiffert edadmin5@mail.h-net.msu.edu Date: Tue, 23 Sep 2003 00:09:51 -0400 To: EDTECH@H-NET.MSU.EDU Newsgroups: bit.listserv.edtech From: Yvonne Singer ysinger@worldnet.att.net While attending Walden University (on-line school), I never met any professors face-to-face and talked to them on the telephone! I successfully communicated with them through e-mail! After eleven years of hard work as a student, I cannot understand why nobody will let me teach on-line classes! From: Bernie Poole poole+@pitt.edu At the college level we have many professors who have had no formal teacher training. This is not considered to be any sort of a handicap. Indeed, Education Division professors at many universities are looked down upon because they are considered to be poorly prepared for academe, notwithstanding their terminal (ie doctoral) degrees. Why this is so I shall never understand. However, pursuing a line of logic in support of Yvonne's plea to be allowed to teach online, it seems to me that a person such as Yvonne, who has had many years of first-hand experience as an online student, should be considered well qualified to teach online in the same way as my informally prepared colleagues are considered more than adequately prepared to teach off-line. We tend to teach (for better or worse) as we have been taught. What better preparation to teach online could there therefore be than to have experienced it for many years first hand? Can anyone point out the error in my logic? Bernie :)
Bernard John Poole, MSIS |
After endless searching the Asbury Park Press and Star Ledger, I realized that being a cake decorator was not an appropriate career choice. Therefore, I decided to find an advocator to assist me in obtaining a job. I have contacted Governor Gray Davis, Governor James McGreevey, CBS 2: Shame On You, NJ Psychological Association, Middlesex County Association of Psychologists, Employment Service Center Network, Federal Employment of People with Disabilities, Presidential Task Force On Employment of Adults With Disabilities, Fighting for the Rights of Employers With Disabilities, Disability Advocacy Resources, IDEA, NOD, Job & Career Connections, Community Options, Disability Rights Advocates, Advocate's Office, Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities, Disabilities Institute, AAPD, SFSU Disability Institute, ADA, New Jersey's Community Colleges, UCPNJ, TASH, APA, MOCEANS, Epilepsy Foundation of New Jersey, ARC, LIFT, and plenty more. To my dismay, some advocators already have wished me good luck while passing the buck to Uncle Chuck. If any organizations have any complaints about my personal experiences, they are welcome to contact me and explain how they assist people with physical disabilities.
On October 9, 2003, United Way of Monmouth County assisted me in my job search! Basically, United Way e-mailed my resume to additional non-profit organizations. Two organizations were interested in my services. Once the organizations realized that I was disabled, they no longer wanted to take full advantage of my dynamic skills. I still remain completely in a state of shock for the following reasons! Volunteering is an act of kindness. Most people would not volunteer to design / edit / maintain web sites because it is very demanding work. Organizations or individuals, seeking volunteers, really do not need the help. If they needed assistance, they would begin to appreciate folks, like me, who are educated and motivated to make the world better.
For more information, see Masters Thesis: ATTITUDES OF NON-DISABLED EMPLOYERS REGARDING PHYSICALLY DISABLED EMPLOYEES.
Oh Yvonne,
I continue to be dumbfounded at the idiotic stumbling blocks that idiotic people, who have much smaller brains than you, keep putting in your way. Now, if you wrote a BASIC program, come up with some way that you can communicate to these morons -- without having to sit in a broom closet. That is a disgrace to you and your intelligence. When I hear your stories of frustration, I just want to scream!! There has got to be SOME way you can devise a communication mode that the morons can read, without having to go through verbal communication tests. Jeez, I have sat here, night after night, corresponding with you and seeing the real intelligence and beauty in your work. What the hell is the matter with the rest of the people. It's a no-brainer for me, and I don't have nearly the written communication skills that you have. Mine lie in the artistic side. Jolly rotten stinking eggs is what you'd say. I still think that with your brilliance, you could come up with something that would beat them at their own game.
I just hate to see you have to face these constant hurdles. My gosh, once you can get into a company, you will easily prove your worth tenfold. Come up with something. I know you can, as I want to see all that beautiful talent in you challenged in a fine job. I am always willing to help you, in any way, that I can. Just remember that.
I'm rooting for you!
Hugs and all that stuff,
Love, Linda
On February 13, 2007, Dr. Anthony Balzano, Social Science Coordinator from Sussex County Community College, also responded to my e-mail concerning on-line teaching. He asked me to teach two sections of General Psychology! Since I will probably teach Introduction to Psychology and Psychology of the Handicapped next Fall for Middlesex Community College, I will only teach one section of General Psychology.
From 2/15/2007 to 3/1/2007, I designed General Psychology on-line classroom in WebCT 4.1.5 format for Sussex County Community College. I plan to teach this course as adjunct during the Fall semester (9/4/2007 – 12/21/2007).
On September 8, 2005, the psychology chairman, from Middlesex Community College, responded to my e-mail regarding on-line teaching. To my amazement, he was so impressed with my credentials! Together, we both decided that I should design an on-line version of Introduction to Psychology! He mailed all the course materials to me. Then, I, with the wonderful assistance from the director of online instruction, created the on-line classroom in WebCT format! Since I prepared my class before designing the on-line classroom, learning WebCT was very easy! Hopefully, I, an adjunct, will be able to teach Introduction to Psychology next semester (Spring 2006)! For more information, see recommendation letters.
Being offered this opportunity is a dream come true because so many people have been saying, "You need to teach in a traditional manner before teaching on-line." for years! Also, I have been rejected from numerous schools since 2002. Since I have been fighting the good fight all of my life and accomplishing so much, I refused to give up on teaching on-line. I would like to thank Bernie Poole, my best friend and colleague, for being my touch stone. Second, I would like to thank Donna Rose, from the Monmouth Housing Alliance, for writing a brilliant recommendation letter. Third, I would like to thank John Gutowski, Middlesex Community College's psychology chairman, for giving me the chance to teach on-line! For additional information, click on Yvonne Singer: A Paragon of Perseverance by Irene Towt and Her greatest lesson is her tenacity by Chandra M. Hayslett.
Beginning 11/28/2006 to 12/9/2006, I designed and revised an Introduction to Psychology on-line classroom in WebCT format for Middlesex County College. I plan to teach this course as an adjunct during the Spring II semester (2/20/2007 - 5/8/2007).
Starting 2/20/2007 to 5/8/2007, I taught an Introduction to Psychology on-line course at Middlesex County College for eleven weeks (Spring II semester). My responsibilities included:
Beginning 4/13/2006 to 5/19/2006, I designed and revised an Introduction to Psychology on-line classroom in WebCT format for Middlesex County College. I plan to teach this course as an adjunct Pre-Summer and Fall II semesters (5/22/2006 – 7/7/2006 & 9/25/2006 – 12/14/2006).Beginning 9/25/2006 to 12/14/2006, I taught an Introduction to Psychology on-line course at Middlesex County College for eleven weeks (Fall II semester). My responsibilities included:
From 5/22/2006 to 7/7/2006, I taught an Introduction to Psychology on-line course at Middlesex County College for seven weeks (Pre-Summer semester). My responsibilities included: Starting 9/19/2005 to 12/14/2005, I designed and revised an Introduction to Psychology on-line classroom in WebCT format for Middlesex County College. I plan to teach this course as an adjunct during the Spring semester (2/21/2006 - 5/9/2006).Beginning 2/21/2006 to 5/9/2006, I taught an Introduction to Psychology on-line course at Middlesex County College for eleven weeks (Spring semester). My responsibilities included:
In a word, the star has finally landed! Many people, with severe physical disabilities, are not employed! So, what makes me special? Not a damn thing!From May 2, 2005 to March 2, 2006, Monmouth Housing Alliance HIRED ME as an independent contrator! My website maintenance functions are to update general information as requested, to maintain bulletin board and notify staff of need for response, to respond to outside requests for links, to insure banners / ads are current and events haven't expired, and to change / update technology and language as appropriate. For more information, see recommendation letters.
Beginning 9/17/2004 to 5/2/2006, I have volunteered to edit web content, and to create and maintain a bulletin board for Monmouth Housing Alliance (http://www.housingall.com/). This volunteer assignment was made possible thanks to the United Way of Monmouth County. For more information, see recommendation letters.
Starting 7/13/2004 to 12/19/2005, I have volunteered to upgrade and maintain Dr. DeWindt’s DLA/DVTI Project Homepage (http://www.dla-dvti.org/). Before this, I volunteered to review her web site on 6/24/2004. For more information, see recommendation letters.
From 11/14/2003 to the present, I have volunteered my services to help maintain the EdIndex, a web portal to K-12 education resources managed by Bernie Poole, Associate Professor of Education at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. Additional assignments included designing an animation, two menus, and a table with pop-up links. This portal may be viewed at (http://www.pitt.edu/~poole/edmenu.html). For more information, see recommendation letters.
One of several tasks I have been responsible for on this website has been writing reflections based on quotes from famous people in Poole’s Archive of Thoughts for Teachers located on the web at http://www.pitt.edu/~poole/ARCHIVE.HTML. Our goal is to have a Thought and accompanying Reflection for each day of the K-12 school year--180 in all. If there is interest, we plan to publish this in hard copy as a motivational booklet for K-12 teachers. For more information, see recommendation letters.
Beginning from 10/15/2003 to 10/17/2003, I volunteered to review Project Linus, NJ (http://www.blankiedepo.org/) Web Site.
Starting from 8/31/2003 to 9/28/2003, I volunteered to promote and to crop photos for LifeWise Community Projects, Inc. (http://www.lifewise-nh.org/) Web Site.
Beginning from 8/21/2003 to 8/23/2003, I volunteered to edit content to the World Association of Persons with disAbilities (WAPD) Web Site.
Starting from 11/7/2002 to 8/11/2003, I volunteered to help maintain the Monmouth County Department of Human Services web site. On 12/2/2005, I discovered that all my hard work was deleted from the site, and the site had been restored to the way it was before I worked on it. This meant that nobody else volunteered to work on this site. This is still very upsetting because I never understood why I was given the cold shoulder for designing a great site out of the goodness of my heart. For more information, see recommendation letters.
I appreciate your explication of a personal situation; I enjoyed reading your story. I do wonder what it does in relation to assist others with budgetary possibilities better understand what it is to use a paper-clip, a stapler, etc. How do others understand that we all use adaptive/assistive technology of some sort or other? How can we intergrate a better knowledge management of sensitive technologies that represent our needs in research and personal growth? I'm particularly interested in grants and facilities within public and academic libraries which allow us to further the cause.
--Chris
Chris Bloss
Assistant Professor and Librarian
University of South Dakota
Subject: Monmouth County Office on Disabilities
From: JNBillock@aol.com
Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2003 06:56:02 EST
To: abuono@co.monmouth.nj.us
CC: ysinger@WORLDNET.ATT.NET
Mr Bruno..... My compliments to you for your efforts in establishing the Monmouth County Office on Disabilities! I just finished visiting your site and want to congratulate you and whoever else may have been involved in this endeavor for the disabled persons of your community. This is the first such site of this type I have come across and hope that yours becomes a model for other County and State offices across the country!!
I am sure the information and services provided are most appreciated by disabled persons in need who are fortunate enough to know of its existence!
Keep up your much needed good work!!
My sincerest regards and best wishes,
John N. Billock, CPO/L, FAAOP
Vice President & Government Relations Co-Chairman
National Association for the Advancement of Orthotics & Prosthetics
1875 Eye Street, NW, 12th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20006-5409
Phone: 202-624-0064
Toll-Free: 800-622-6740
Fax: 202-737-2517
Internet: http://www.oandp.com/naaop
Personal Contact Info:
John N. Billock, CPO/L, FAAOP, Clinical Director
Orthotics & Prosthetics Rehabilitation Engineering Centre
700 Howland-Wilson Road, SE
Warren, Ohio 44484 USA
Phone: 330-856-2553
Phone: 888-856-8686 (Toll Free USA Only)
E-Mail: jnbillock@aol.com
Internet: http://www.oandpcentre.com/
Subject: RE: New Disability Site
From: Brewster Thackeray Thackeray@nod.org
Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2003 09:59:56 -0500
To: "'ysinger@worldnet.att.net'" ysinger@worldnet.att.net
I'm glad the one site gave you the chance to prove you could contribute. The ones that didn't made a mistake. I hope more will work with you so you can build your experience and resume, and that that will lead to paid work down the road.
Many people with all kinds of disabilities are looking for ways to volunteer. We stress that in our literature and in public presentations, and will be doing so increasingly. The message we want to share in part is, that this community isn't looking just to be served--but also wants, like so many other Americans, to be of service! To participate and contribute both.
Right now I've been weighing in with the Muscular Dystrophy Association. They have banned counselors with disabilities from volunteering at their camps. Their line is that they need volunteers who can lift the kids. Sure, I can agree that in some roles lifting is important, but it's ridiculous to suggest there is nothing that a person who cannot lift can contribute. Seeing counselors who have disabilities demonstrating their abilities, rather than being sidelined for their disabilities, would surely inspire the campers, don't you think?
Keep up your good efforts and don't let the closed-minded folks who won't give you a chance get you down. It's their loss.
Brewster Thackeray
Director of Communications
National Organization on Disability
910 16th St. NW
Washington, D.C. 20006
202/955-6327
Thackeray@nod.org
http://www.nod.org/
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