Unit 5Unit 5Darkness at NoonDarkness at Noon

Designer: Joy Liu

Activity OneActivity OneThe Visual HandicapThe Visual Handicap

Activity TwoActivity TwoBias & DiscriminationBias & Discrimination

Activity OneActivity One

Things We Got to Learn About the Visual Handicap

Harold KrentsBraille

Blind Celebrities

About the AuthorAbout the Author

• Harold Krents is a graduate of Harvard Law School.

• He was also a strong advocate for the rights of the handicapped through his entire life.

About the AuthorAbout the Author

• Darkness at Noon written by H.K. was appreciated in textbooks of many countries. This article was first released on The New York Times, May 26, 1976.

About the AuthorAbout the Author

• To Race the Wind(1980) was a film based on Krents’ autobiography. It offers the story of the free-spirited, girl-chasing Krents as he attempts to achieve to be as normal as others in the sighted world. This film has inspired many unsighted youths.

http://www.classzone.com/novelguides/litcons/miracle/related.cfm

BrailleBraille• Braille was first

developed in 1824 by a 15 year old French student named Louis BrailleLouis Braille, who was blind but wanted a better way to read and write. home.t-online.de/ home/bsvsa/publi.htm

Louis Braille Louis Braille

(1809-1852)

Braille is created with six raised dots six raised dots to stand for each English alphabet

http://www.nyise.org/blind/britbrl2.htm

Some Short-Form Braille

Short Form

Original Short Form

Original

ab about alw always

2n beneath myf myself

ac according tm tomorrow

2c because imm immediate

Braille for

P E A C EP E A C E

Guess what this braille means?

http://www.cfb.ca/blcan.htm

For Your Reference A GOOD DAY

More FactsMore Facts

• People use their fingertips to read braille.

• The average braille reading speed is about 125 words per minute.

www.dolphinuk.co.uk/ products/supernova.htm

More FactsMore Facts

• With the aid of braille, unsighted people can read music, play cards and other games, ride elevators, read books and even surf the internet.

http://www.nyise.org/blind/irwin2.htm

Blind CelebritiesBlind Celebrities

Can you name any blind celebrities in history or at our times?

Helen Keller

Stevie Wonder

How about in Taiwan?

• 蕭煌奇• A brilliant singer,

music producer and judo player.

• Born in 1976, Taipei.

http://www.huangchi.idv.tw/profile.html

BlindBlind CelebrityCelebrity—Stevie Wonder—Stevie Wonder

• An African-American Rock-en-Roll star.

• The most influential Black Music artist over the last 4 decades in US.

BlindBlind CelebrityCelebrity—Stevie Wonder —Stevie Wonder • He’s been generou

s in offering his services as a writer, producer, singer and musician to other performers.

Enjoy Stevie’s Music !Enjoy Stevie’s Music !

I just called to say I love you…

http://www.duchessathome.com/music/calledtosay.html

Click to hear the music

Activity TwoActivity Two

Bias &

Discrimination

The following are a series of questions about the concepts you’ve just learned from Harold Krents’ essay.

You can try to answer them in class or write down your opinions.

• Give some examples of the common misconception people have toward blind people.

• Imagine that you’re visually handicapped, what do you want people to view and treat you?

• After reading Darkness at Noon, what do you think the author Harold Krents wants to tell us?

• People tend to have bias or discrimination toward those who are different from us or those whom we are not familiar with. For example, biases or discriminations toward the handicapped, Africans, Asians, aboriginals, homosexuals, immigrants,

This one is kind of tough!

the elders, female capacity in working field, etc.. What can we do to eliminate those unreasonable biases? Try to think about it or share your viewpoints with the class.

This is question is optional.

Extended ReadingExtended Reading

• http://www.mhhe.com/primis/catalog/pcatalog/D10-1.htm?http://www.mhhe.com/primis/catalog/pcatalog/CLUSE-TH.htm

• This website offers various novels about bias and discrimination on certain aspects of human societies. Many of them are worth reading and the issues raised there are worth thinking.