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Friday, November 20, 2009

Blindness is no handicap to great teaching, educator shows


Blindness is no handicap to great teaching, educator shows:

"Though the Yankee parade was in full swing right outside the window, the High School of Economics and Finance’s marine biology class began without any hesitation. Homer Panteloglou, 38, paced up and down the aisle of his classroom. Nobody was talking, on their cell phones, or doodling, even though the kids in the back could easily have gotten away with it. Because Panteloglou can’t see past the first two rows, he usually paces the room to make sure everyone’s engaged and on track.

Working with only one hand and legally blind in both eyes, Panteloglou refuses to slow down. In fact, he’s become one the most popular teachers in the high school. “He’s a little crazy, so we have more fun with him than with any other teacher,” said Gissette Guzman. “He’s not a regular teacher.”

He doesn’t write on the board much because he only has one hand, so PowerPoint has been a longtime teaching tool for him, even before other teachers started to incorporate it into their classrooms. “You know what to do when you see a picture,” he told the class as he pulled it up on the projector. “Write the caption.”

He also teaches honors living environment, A.P. biology, and introduction to business."