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Phil Hatlen is a past-president of DVI, and a 40+ year member of CEC.
Thank you, Phil, for sharing your knowledge and insights with all of us.
People You Should Know…
~
Phil
Hatlen ~ Superintendent Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired Name:
Phil
Hatlen – I’ve been known as “Phil” my entire adult life, although my
parents and my classmates through high school always called me “Philip”. Organization:
Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired Contact information:
Work: 1100 West 45th Street, Austin, TX 78756
Telephone 512-206-9133 Home: 6402 Copperlily Cove, Austin, TX 78759
Telephone 512-345-9923 Please explain what you do:
My
lifelong profession is as an educator of blind and visually impaired students. I
have practiced my profession in many ways. Currently I am the Superintendent of
the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Why did you choose the career that you did?
In
1954 I was a university student without direction or goal. I happened to wander
into a classroom in an elementary school in Fresno, California. It was a
Resource Room for blind students. The TVI was a man named Bob Bowers. I became
fascinated by the students and by the manner in which Bob provided educational
experiences. Of most interest to me was the process by which blind students
learn. Organizing my world through vision had always been easy. How do these
children organize it through touch and sound? (My entire professional life has
been a pilgrimage, trying to learn more about the learning processes of blind
children). Also,
I learned early in life that I was not gifted with creative talents. I
couldn’t sculpt, I couldn’t paint, I was not a musician. But, with the
guidance of Bob Bowers, I learned that perhaps the most beautiful form of
creativity is the teaching of blind children.
What 2 or 3 accomplishments have given you the most satisfaction?
1.
Discovering that I was good at motivating students
in learning Braille, in interpreting tactile graphics, in adapting the spatial
aspects of mathematics. 2.
Learning, in the late 1960s, that “Algebra
Doesn’t Tie Shoes”. Discovering
for myself something that many of my colleagues and mentors already knew - that
academic learning in inclusive settings would not meet some of the most critical
needs of blind and visually impaired students. Working for 30 years to convince
our profession that the “expanded core curriculum” is as vital for students
as the regular core curriculum. 3.
Establishing the Living Skills Center for the
Visually Impaired in California, an early proponent for the importance of the
expanded core curriculum. 4.
Being a part of a profession that opened its hearts
and its programs to children with multiple disabilities. 5.
Serving as Executive Director of the Blind Babies
Foundation in San Francisco, and discovering first-hand the absolute necessity
of early intervention that is specific to blind babies and preschoolers. 6.
Serving for most of my professional life in
personnel preparation, and seeing my students impact the lives of countless
blind and visually impaired students. 7.
Having a small role in assisting schools for the
blind to re-define themselves as multi-service agencies. Discovering that
providing an atmosphere that encourages colleagues with tremendous talent to use
their skills for effective and creative change, resulting in the Texas School
for the Blind and Visually Impaired. 8.
Knowing that those who will finally judge our worth
and accomplishments will be the blind and visually impaired children and adults
with whom we have been in contact. Knowing
that the highest compliment I could receive is from blind and visually impaired
persons who have known me and can say that I always respected the dignity,
autonomy, and integrity of every one of them. 9.
Living long enough to learn the true priorities in
life:
(a) God; (b) Family; (c) Profession. What is the most important lesson you have learned from your work? That
every human being is precious. That what blind people need is “…the
opportunity to be equal and the right to be different…”. 5. What do you think it takes to be successful in our field? Þ
Excellent skills in teaching blind and visually
impaired children, and knowing that their needs are very different from other
children with disabilities Þ
A pride in those skills Þ
Respecting the dignity and worth of every child Þ
A willingness to place the needs of students above
job security Þ
An unwavering commitment to quality services Þ
An acceptance of the need for an array of placement
options for blind and visually impaired students, and a strong enough commitment
to fight for appropriate, individualized services for all students Þ
Nurturing and being nurtured by our students Þ
Nurturing and being nurtured by our colleagues How would a friend, colleague or professor describe you? A
good and loyal friend, but a lousy letter-writer. A very blessed man with a
beautiful wife, three wonderful sons, and five grandchildren. Overcommits
himself, and sometimes doesn’t produce. Is passionate about his life, his
family, and his work. Is a good educator, but is not a scholar. Has worked long
enough, should probably retire. What are your interests outside of work? Time
with my family, recreating and reading with my son. Travel, especially in
Europe. Reading. Serving my church. What is your favorite book? What are you reading now? Favorite Book: Lonesome
Dove Now Reading: Traveling
Mercies, by Anne Lamott Am reading the Redwall
Series to my 12-year-old son. He
thinks I’m doing it for him, but I like the books as well as he does. If you could do so, how would you
plan your career differently?
I would have spent more time with my older sons when they were growing
up. I would have learned earlier in life that work should not be my highest
priority. But those have to do with my personal life, and your question is about
my career. I would do nothing differently. I have been deeply blessed with every
aspect of my career. I have shared with many colleagues that there has not been
a day in my working life that I haven’t wanted to go to work. More than that,
I am eager to discover what I will accomplish, what I will learn, and what
mistakes I will make every day. The beginning of a work day is exciting and
challenging, and I can hardly wait to begin the day. Who is more blessed than
me? How could I have hoped for
anything more? What words of wisdom would you like to share with the members of DVI? I
have already shared with you my expectations of you as colleagues. In summary, I
expect you to be well-prepared to serve blind and visually impaired students. I
hope you are passionate about your chosen profession. I expect you to be firm in
supporting the “fundamental truths” of our profession, and that you will
never, ever, allow a school district to make decisions that are detrimental to a
quality education for the students you serve. Finally, I urge you to become
active supporters of you professional organizations. You will always need the
support and nurturing you receive from colleagues in your organization.
And, just as important, insist that your organization be proactive in
supporting what we all know are the ingredients for a solid foundation for our
profession. Perhaps that is the most important message I would like to share to
fellow DVI members—As a part of an organization, we have the potential to
influence public policy, legislation, and decision-makers.
I hope we will do this better in the future. What challenges do you see before us? 1.
We must be firm and vocal about what we know
regarding the need for an array of placement options.
Sometimes I relax a little, believing that the zealot inclusionists have
gone away, then something will happen, and I realize that they are still with
us, still as adamant in their belief that one placement option is all we need.
DVI must continue to be assertive in its knowledge that “one size doesn’t
fit all” when it comes to blind and visually impaired students. 2.
The expanded core curriculum has been endorsed by
all professional organizations in our field. Individual teachers often speak of
its importance. Yet, I see now concerted effort to implement instruction in the
expanded core curriculum in most places in the country. I fear that we value
inclusion over vital instruction, and are attempting to deliver adequate
instructional services to children in almost impossible situations. The
itinerant teacher who covers a radius of 100 miles and serves 35 children will
have no time to teach the expanded core curriculum.
One of two things is happening. Either instructional services for
visually impaired students are being dictated by administrators, and teachers
are not objecting, or our own profession values inclusion over quality
instruction. Has DVI really stepped
up to the plate on this issue? 3.
Closely aligned with #2 is my fear that we have
allowed paraprofessionals to assume the role of teachers. When the TVI cannot
provide the time a child needs from a specialist, is the job being given to a
paraprofessional? Are we allowing
untrained people to do the highly specialized instruction that only we are
competent to do? I often think about
what I would do if I were the parent of a blind child, and the TVI said to me,
“I’m sorry, but I just don’t have the time to teach your child Braille. So
the school has hired a teacher aide to do this”. Would you accept this? If
your child was sighted, would you accept this? Perhaps this practice is not as
prevalent as I think, but even if one child in this country has this type of
service, then I would hope that we as a united profession would stop it. 4.
We need to really confront the issue of tactile
graphics. My observation is that
many groups are working on methods to produce the most readable, most easy to
produce tactile graphics, but teachers are not routinely teaching children how
to read tactile graphics. Therefore,
we’d better start making certain that teachers know how serious this problem
is, and begin to devote time to teaching the reading of graphics in a
sequential, systematic manner. If we cannot do this, then let’s stop
pretending that anything in print (picture, diagram, map, etc.) can be produced
in a form that will provide learning and information for the blind student. 5.
We need more well-prepared teachers, and we need
more leaders in our profession. Anything else you'd like to add.... ¨
Stand tall, be proud of your profession. Decide what
your “bottom line” is, and do not compromise. Commit to your fundamental
truths, and live your profession by not compromising. ¨
Do not let others with limited, or no, knowledge
about the needs of blind and visually impaired students determine the services
that children will receive. You are an expert—use your expertise. ¨
Be gentle, be creative, and respect the dignity of
all children. ¨
Love life, work hard, live with a passion for
everything that you do. Laugh a lot, and help your students to learn to laugh. ¨
Know how much I respect and admire all of you. Back to DVI Home Page |