It’s a Sunday night and all is peaceful. I receive a new toy, a fire truck and learn that I will be allowed to take it with me to “the school”.
Almost two years before I had attended this unusual place the Halifax School for the Blind. and it had been a pleasant experience. But why was I going now why tonight. Children go to school in the morning and come home in the afternoon. My sister went to school in the morning and came home in the afternoon. I remember feeling very apprehensive. I couldn’t understand why I was going away.
It is true that red heads possess inherently bad tempers and I cried, screamed and kicked but to no avail. Off I went, to :”the
school”. I later learned that it was tearing my parents apart to see me go but that was the advice they were given. They were told that if I didn’t live in I would become alienated from the other children. In point of fact the money’s that the then private school received from the four atlantic provinces depended upon the number of students boarding at the school. I now realize that my parents were doing what they thought was in my best interest sacrificing themselves and the family as a result.
Living arrangements
In 1961 the school was located at 5722 University Avenue and was flanked by Tower Road on the West, South Street to the South, and South Park Street to the East.
The Halifax school for the Blind building was located on a fifteen acre lot which possessed grass, trees, gravel pathways – in all beautiful grounds.
The Juniors side was coed housing approximately twenty-five to thirty students from kindergarten to grade II.There were four large dormitories located on two floors- two with female and two with male students.
Essentially there were two rows of beds which faced each other in a semi-circle so that you had approximately seven to eight students per dorm.
Students living on the lower floor were put to bed at six PM while those sleeping on the top floor were bedded down at eight PM.
The beds in which we slept were narrow cots with brass headers and footers which were fastened to metal bedsprings. There were the old felt mattresses with sheets and one blanket and bed spread per person. We all had extra blankets on the foot of the beds if we ever became cold.
There were two supervisors on duty during the day to cover these
thirty students, and only one during the evening. The matron assisted us with the brushing of our teeth and going to bed.
Female and male students were housed in separate dormitories.
It was this period of my school life that I detested. Because of the supervisor student ratio little affection was shown towards many of the students. There were as in any institution of that nature pets so we thought. Discipline was meted out mainly by making one stand in a corner or perhaps when needed a spanking although this was usually a last resort. Even then your rank among your peers might result from your intellect, physical weakness or attitude. I tended to be picked on probably because of my other slight physical impairment. If, for example other kids were beating you up you had to cope with it as best you could. If a supervisor caught the infraction the perpetrators were usually punished, part of the fun was making sure you didn’t get caught. It wasn’t fun however if you were on the receiving end. To some readers it ;may seem shocking because after all “these children are blind.” In truth we were no different than any other children and I have always viewed it as a natural part of growing up. If you were a “mamas boy” you would have a rough go of it in any boarding school
Classes were run over six days a week but with a difference. Until the late sixties classes were held Monday through Saturday with two half-days on Wednesdays, and Saturdays. When I was on the
Juniors side Wednesday afternoons were reserved for baths. This consisted of us taking baths one after another often using the same water.This ritual was once again repeated on Saturday evenings although I was rarely their with the exception of a few snow storms which made it impossible for me to go home.
Otherwise these half-days were given up to play.
Life was quite regimented in that you got up at 07:45 AM with the duty supervisor and matron waking us. There would then be the line-ups in order to get washed. And the soap, how I hated it. It felt like slime, as if someone had spat on it.
This was followed by breakfast which consisted of either a bowl of oatmeal, or porridge both of which I detest even to this day. Their was milk and sugar no cream. Their was also toast which was done on a steam table resulting in a soggy tasteless mess. We were given milk in a picture and we always had a glass of juice.
After breakfast we would return to the dormitories to make our beds and to horse around. At about eight-thirty-five we would make our way into the auditorium for the “Assembly”. The assembly was always the same. We would start off with a rousing protestant him such as “Onward Christian Soldiers”followed by the “Our Father”. Sometimes there would be the announcements by the then principal Lowell Legg followed by my favourite part, the reading of a story by the Superintendent C.K.R. Alan.
After assembly we would head off to class. This pattern varied little until about 1972 when a new superintendent
Daniel S.Harmer took over the job.
Essentially the Seniors department was again divided into floors but there were four dormitories on each. These were designated 1,
2, 3, and 4. Students were placed in a dormitory based on age and grade level appropriateness. Again the number of boys in a dormitory varied from seven to nine students. There were beds, and also bunks. The beds were laid out side by side along one wall, while a row of wooden lockers flanked the opposite wall.
Bed times were also determined by dormitory with the youngest students going to bed at eight PM. and those who were older going to bed at ten PM. Corresponding to this were two lounges on the main level “The eight O’Clock and the Ten O’clock. These were rooms where we could go to watch television and there were also some games available that we could use. I can remember table hockey, bowling, and Ping pong. There were also checker boards, cards and dominos which could be requested from the supervisors.
Other more popular activities included dormitory wars which might consist of sneaking in and totally demolishing beds by stripping them removing the mattresses Etc. Sometimes we would place buckets of water in transients waiting for unsuspecting victims. What made these leisure activities so enjoyable was the double challenge of not getting caught by the house parents.
It was about this time that my attitude towards the school began to change. I found that for the most part I was enjoying life and I was beginning to form close bonds of friendship with some of the other students This bonding is perhaps one thing which makes life in a boarding school different from that of the regular public
school system. These are people with whom you attend classes, eat sleep and socialize.You know everyone’s business and they yours. Privacy in such a situation is unheard of accept when you quietly slip away on your own. You might even call it an extended family.
And like siblings in a family setting we had our fights. There were those people who enjoyed bullying others smaller than themselves, and other students who would step in if they saw it going on.The house parents too would not allow that kind of thing to go on unattended when they caught students in the act. One individual whom I remember was an ardent player of sports though in a very casual since.
We had two primary games that we as totally blind students liked to play. The first was a form of floor hockey which we would play out-of-doors in a quadrangle happen to have walls on three sides. We would get a crew of guys together and with regular hockey sticks, pop cans or plastic bottles he would pretend to be an N.H.L. team. This student, a Newfoundlander, was a Toronto Maple Leafs fan and did he hate to loose. Sometimes we would fight because of a dispute over who actually won these most informal games.
Another game was a form of baseball where we would roll a basketball along the ground and the person with a bat had to hit it. The most hits within a agreed on time period would determine
the winner.
We all played many games similar to other children, pirates spacemen and so on. In a school with grounds that size one could always find lots of planks and other things to occupy themselves with when playing.
In the winter time a field by the Senior boys side was made into a rink. The older boys would take shifts through the night flooding it and plowing it. Hockey nets would be set up and teams of students with low vision would have games. For a time we had a hockey team that competed against other schools and did quite well.
There were also weekly trips to Saint Mary’s University skating rink.
I also can remember taking swimming lessons at a local swimming pool up to the level of a Juniors badge.
When learning a physical activity such as swimming it is necessary for an instructor to carefully explain to the totally blind student how the strokes are performed. They will also have to physically show the student how the stroke is dun and may have to allow the student to examine the positioning of the legs and arms.If you are blind as one of my teachers remarked: you “see with your hands” it’s a fact of life and you can’t be embarrassed about it. When
you are growing up you don’t think
about it, you just use whatever means you have at your disposal to learn a particular task.
The rules were often influenced by those staff hired to be in charge.
For instance I remember one eccentric Englishmen who ran the Seniors department as if we were in the Bloody British Navy. Being gullible I was accosted by my classmates who informed there was a new man at the helm who insisted on being called “Argent”. Therefore I strolled into the office and calmly said “Good morning Argent” for which I received a severe rebuke. I didn’t know he was navy at the time. Any how life under this authoritarian was like living in boot camp. Hence forward we were all required to line up for breakfast – this had been a common practice, but he assigned numbers to the tables. I can stills hear that British accent at is said “Tables 1,2 3 and 4; 5 6 7 and 8”. Only those tables who were announced could go. If anyone else attempted to moved before they were called they would be required to step out of line. He was what I considered to be strict. You could be placed “on bounds” which meant that you might not be permitted to go outside the school and have to go to bed early – just for talking back. I never liked the man.
Because we were growing our relationships with the House
Parents changed over time. Perhaps it was also a consequence of changing times but things gradually became more relaxed. We were permitted to address the House Parents on a first name basis, which increased my respect for them as individuals. In many ways they replaced your parents. It was the House Parents who addressed the question of Sex. As in any institution there were couples. In our time there were girls who became pregnant. There were student who were caught drinking under age and suspended. Nevertheless we were in many ways reflective of the general social trends of the time be they good or bad.
The ratio of staff to students on the seniors boys side was considerably height. Probably about two House Parents to approximately sixty students. It is impossible to get an exact
Changing Times
My high school years were years of drastic change at the school.
In 1971 the name was changed to the “Sir Frederick Fraser School” after it’s firs superintendent of 1871.
As the Directorship of C.K.R. Allan was coming to a close changes were taking place at a furious pace. These changes were brought about through the influence of several staff persons.
For instance our gym instructor began encouraging the students to become involved with regular programs such as the “High Y” program sponsored through the Y.M.C.A. It was he who also implemented the first Cane Travelling Training. Under this program volunteers came into the school and escorted blind students around the city where they learned how to properly use a cane.
I was also one of three students to receive their Amateur Radio Licenses at the school and we formed an Amateur Radio Club.
An experiment was begun where-by the older students were permitted to stay up and go to bed at late as midnight. This became problematic as some students were not getting enough sleep so the teachers put a stop to the practice.
A revolutionary project “the Common Room” was begun in the Senior Girls Department. This was a room set aside where girls and guys could get together and socialize. It was conducted in a casual manner much like the living room in one’s home. The door was not
to be closed and the House Parents would periodically pop in or simply join us. It was much more like a family setting.
Over the years the House Parents were yonder and more in tune with the students.
We also received a resident Psychologist who dealt with problems ranging from home sickness to sexual indiscretions. He also did IQ testing and some career counselling.
There was also a new doctor a paediatrician who worked at the school essentially a fulltime basis.
Prior to that time there had always been nurses and a doctor who would come in periodically or when needed.
The question of sex was dealt with at that time in an open and healthy way. I remember when in Grade XI I was made to attend a session with a lady who had come into the school to discuss of birth control. During the meeting we were shown a variety of devices used for birth control. Explanations of each were given and we were encouraged to examine them and ask questions. I highly commend the staff for their foresight in dealing with this issue as it might have been easier to simply sweep it under the carpet. But we were in our late teens and even though there rules there could never be absolute certainty. It also implied that we were normal
human beings and not freaks from whom such issues should be with held. Blind people don’t have sex?
At a convention of North American Schools for the Blind held in the early seventies there was some concern expressed over the freedom provided to us by the staff.According to one of our staff it was felt that the school was somewhat too liberal.
Simultaneously with this liberalization there was a reactionary group “Blind Rights Action Movement” (BRAM) which had been form by former graduates who felt that the school was far too strict and that the time for change had come. Ironically the changes were already taking place when the group took win These students had grown up in an institution where the strap had been used. Where there were strict curfews, and where a fence had run along the main corridor and through the grounds separating the sexes.
Classes
In general their were ten periods that ran as follows:
08:45 to 09:00 AM. Morning Assembly.
First Period 09:00 to 09:40 AM
Second Period 09:40 to 10:20 AM
Third Period 10:20 to 11:00 AM
Recess 11:00 to 11:10
Fourth period 11:10 to 11:50
Fifth period 11:50 to 12:30
We then had an hour-and-a-half off for lunch.
This was then followed by five more periods of thirty-five minutes each. Two of these were used in the higher Grades VII and up for academic study while the remaining three might be used for gym, music lessons, quire. The last period, the tenth was study. The day ended at 05:50 PM. Depending on your timetable you would usually not have to be working the whole day. period.
In all there were Twelve Grades – Kindergarten through grade XI, and four Auxiliary classes – Auxiliary A, B, C, and D.
The “regular” grades primary through Grade XI were comprised of those of us who had normal or above intelligence. I use this term from the Leigh person perspective as no instruments were used to measure us at that time to my knowledge. The Auxiliary classes were comprised of those who were thought to be not academically inclined. One never knew why they ;might end up in such a class. They could be a slow learner, have another handicapped other than visual-impairment, have behaviour problems, or an emotional disturbance. I don’t believe that even the staff knew why in all cases. It was simply a matter of what else could one do. In a number of cases however, with extra help from their teachers some of these students were eventually transferred over to regular
grades and were able to complete regular academic requirements.
In my view the negative aspect of the auxiliary system was that it was often used as a means of placing someone for whom you didn’t seem to know the answer. One positive affect however, was that teachers seemed not to label a student which meant that if he or she could with help progress out of these classes they were “mainstreamed” back into our regular classes.
In the auxiliary classes the teaching was more individualized in that different students in the same class could be working in different subjects at different levels. For instance you might have a student at a Grade V mathematics level and yet reading at a grade III level.
I was placed in a regular class which would latter be channelled toward an academic programme geared to university.
The instruction we received was the regular Nova Scotia standard curriculum. Therefore the texts and other materials used were those given to sighted children.
I was instructed in Braille – a coded series of six raised dots first invented in the eighteenth century by Louis Braille. (see Appendix A).
All subjects including French and musical notation were taught using Braille. All of our teachers knew Braille and had to be proficient in its use.
Other subjects taught included “Braille, reading and writing”, English, Geography History Science, – Biology, Chemistry; Industrial Arts – Wood working, pottery, basket weaving, some leather work and Caning for working on chair seats. I always particularly enjoyed the industrial arts classes as it gave me a chance to work with my hands.
At that time we were not taught how to cook, wash and iron clothes or any of the simple survival techniques which any modern North American Male requires to live on his own.
Students were encouraged to use what vision they had to the best of their ability. Unfortunately in my opinion this resulted in some students struggling with print that they could hardly read. You could have a situation where two students who seemed to have relatively the same vision using two different reading methods. Braille or print. There were magnifying glasses, and glasses with lenses for magnifying print size but certainly not the visual technology we have today. I could never understand how students could walk around not needing a cane, but yet couldn’t read print comfortably. At that time I had no understanding of visual fields blurring Etc.
Over the years that I attended the school 80 to 90% of students were “low-vision” or what we called partially-sighted or low-vision students. I was totally blind and part of a small minority of the student population.