German Institute for the Blind

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The Deutsche Blindenstudienanstalt e. V. (blista) in Marburg is an educational institution that caters to the special needs of blind and visually impaired people and offers various school and professional qualifications. It also includes the only elementary grammar school for pupils with blindness and visual impairment in Germany from grade 5. The institution, which has existed since 1916, has developed from small beginnings into a competence center for people with blindness and visual impairment in the Federal Republic of Germany and beyond.

The current board consists of Claus Duncker (chairman) and Patrick Temmesfeld (vice chairman) (as of 2019) .

history

Five young men and a woman sit around a table with their hands on large, brightly open books, presumably with Braille. A chair with a curved wooden backrest is still available. In the background a bookshelf in the corner of the room and a bright, double-leaf window.
German lessons, books in Braille , 1953
Dormitory of the college for the blind, 1953

During the First World War , many young men returned home with visual impairments or total blindness. Due to their disabilities, they were almost unable to access the world of work. The then director of the Marburg University Eye Clinic , Alfred Bielschowsky , set up courses in 1915 to enable war blind people to gain access to aids and to learn techniques for the blind. He commissioned the then student Carl Strehl to lead the courses. Together they founded the Association of Blind Academics in Germany and, among other things, made contact with personalities from the Prussian state in order to raise funds and support.

On September 17, 1916, it was decided in Berlin to found the German Institute for the Blind in Marburg. Alfred Bielschowsky took over the chairmanship of the association . Representatives of the Association of Blind Academics in Germany, the Prussian Ministry of War and Culture, Ophthalmology and members of the Reich Committee for the Welfare of War Disabled were involved in the establishment . A board of trustees was formed and from October 1, 1916, Carl Strehl was employed as the institution's managing director.

Initially, the primary goal of the facility was to integrate war blind people into working life and to catch up on school leaving qualifications. In 1921 the grammar school was officially recognized. In order to enable young blind people to receive qualified school and vocational training, special learning and teaching materials were required, which were provided by the Braille printer and the library , which were being created at the same time . In 1954 the first hearing library for the blind was founded in Germany. In the mid-1970s, the rehabilitation facility for the blind and visually impaired (RES) was established and is one of the most important in Europe. It offers special advice and instruction in the areas of practical life skills , orientation & mobility , IT and aids , low vision advice and fitting of visual aids . It also includes basic blind technical training for people who go blind due to illness or accident, early support for children up to school entry and the training of rehabilitation teachers.

Blista braille machine

Since the students come to Marburg from all over Germany, they live in a boarding school. The blista boarding school has been completely decentralized since the 1970s. H. no student lives on the school campus. Boys and girls live together in currently 35 residential groups spread across the entire city center. The underage students are supported by supervisors around the clock. When the necessary degree of independence has been reached, adults move into shared apartments in which they live alone but have a permanent contact person to support them. The residential groups are largely self-sufficient (shopping, cooking, washing, etc.). This living concept promotes self-reliance and independence and is intended to prepare you for an independent life after visiting the blista.

In 1978 the Carl-Strehl-Schule officially became a grammar school for visually impaired students. In the last few decades the educational offer has been continuously expanded. A technical college for social affairs was established as early as the 1970s, and training to become an IT clerk in the 1980s. Since September 2007, the Deutsche Blindenstudienanstalt has also been training IT specialists for application development. From the 2020/21 training year, blista will be offering a total of six modern training courses or retraining courses (businessman / woman for digitization management, businessman / woman for office management, businessman / woman in e-commerce, IT specialist for data and process analysis , IT specialist for application development, IT specialist for system integration).

The university town of Marburg has also adapted in a special way to people with disabilities. Every traffic light in downtown Marburg is equipped with special acoustic and tactile support.

Facilities

Carl Strehl School

Carl Strehl School
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Image wanted BW
type of school Gymnasium for blind and visually impaired pupils
founding 1916
place Marburg
country Hesse
Country Germany
Coordinates 50 ° 48 '56 "  N , 8 ° 45' 38"  E Coordinates: 50 ° 48 '56 "  N , 8 ° 45' 38"  E
carrier German Study Institute for the Blind V.
student approx. 250 (as of 2019)
Teachers approx. 70 (as of 2008)
management Peter Audretsch
Website www.blista.de
blista Am Grassenberg in 2016
Short description of the picture (more detailed on Commons): A staircase begins at a zebra crossing and leads up to the buildings slightly above.

The Carl-Strehl-Schule is a state-recognized private secondary school and has a supraregional advice and support center for pupils with blindness and visual impairment. It begins with the 5th grade and aims to complete vocational training , the technical diploma or high school diploma . Matthias Weström ran the school until the beginning of February 2007, when he was replaced by his deputy Joachim Lembke. Peter Audretsch has been the headmaster since 2017.

In 1992 the blind daughter of the former Federal President Horst Köhler , Ulrike Köhler, graduated from the Carl Strehl School.

Since the school year 2018/19, pupils without visual impairment have also been attending the Carl-Strehl-Gymnasium. After intensive preparatory work and careful coordination, the “School in Diversity” was approved by the state education authority in 2018.

School branches

Rehabilitation facility for people with blindness and visual impairment

The range of tasks extends from early intervention to vocational training to advisory services for senior citizens. Children and adolescents who are handicapped from birth belong to the clientele as well as adults who are later blind and who prepare for a new career with the help of rehabilitation.

Specialists in rehabilitation for the blind and visually impaired train children, young people and adults in the areas of orientation and mobility (O&M) and / or in practical life skills (LPF). The focus is on the goal of an autonomous and self-determined lifestyle.

The state-recognized technical school of blista for specialists in rehabilitation for the blind and visually impaired is unique in Germany. Full-time training lasts twelve months from 2020 onwards. The participants choose one of the two possible focuses: Orientation and Mobility (O&M) or Practical Life Skills (LPF).

Boarding school

The boarding school and its residential groups are decentralized. The currently 35 residential groups of the boarding school are located in the core city area of ​​the city of Marburg . Only a small number of the residential groups are located near the school premises (7). The residential groups are differentiated internally according to the age and various needs of the students. There are different types of residential groups:

  • Entrance level flat share for pupils in grades 5 to 6; They are located near the school, the supervisors mostly work in dual duties and are also supported by a young person in the FSJ .
  • Mixed-age flat share from class 7, on request up to graduation. The care includes night standby and weekends.
  • Lateral entry in flat share from grade 11, if desired up to graduation. Care is also available at night and on weekends.
  • Independent living group for the independent and adult pupils. A social worker comes here around two days a week and discusses problems and concerns. The pupils manage their everyday life largely independently.

German Library for the Blind

The German Blind Library provides books in Braille and audio books on DAISY CDs for free loan. The focus of her work is on specialist, technical and scientific literature. In addition, it produces and publishes the weekly listening version of the news magazine "Der Spiegel" - also as a DAISY edition - as well as its monthly offshoot for children, "Dein Spiegel".

Braille printing company

With many years of experience, the Braille printer transfers textbooks, school and non-fiction books, scientific literature, fiction and legal texts into tactile Braille. Other areas of responsibility include a. the creation of voting templates for blind and visually impaired people as well as the creation of barrier-free PDF documents and the labeling of business cards with Braille.

Connection to the parental home

So that the young pupils in particular do not lose touch with their parents, they drive home every weekend in the 5th grade. In the 6th grade there is three times a month, and from the 7th grade onwards, there is usually twice a month to go home. Classes are held on two Saturdays a month. This is necessary because the extensive school material also includes individual support.

At the age of full, the pupils are free to choose when to visit their parents' home. At a minimum, however, they have to go home for four weeks during the summer vacation. During the rest of the holidays, you can request to stay in the residential group, provided that the students live in an independent residential group.

Leisure time

Working groups

In numerous working groups, the pupils should be able to cultivate and deepen their inclinations and skills: choir, band AG, theater groups, chess AG etc. a. m .: For example, the Carl-Strehl-Schule received the award for environmental school in Europe four times in a row , and this is how the "Marburg Planetary Path" along the Lahn and the energy path on the blistaCampus were created.

Sports

As part of the successful visually impaired sports community ( SSG Blista Marburg )

Personalities

Co-Founders and Board Members
Schoolchildren and alumni

See also

Web links

Commons : Study Institute for the Blind  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ "The blista in National Socialism. On the history of the Marburg (Lahn) study for the blind from 1933 to 1945", Friedrich, Klaus-Peter; Form, Wolfgang, Marburg 2016, black print edition : 103 pages, ISBN 3-89642-037-2 , audio book: order number: 817291, running time: 4 hours 33 minutes.
  2. ↑ http://www.blista.de/internat/ accessed February 1, 2016
  3. ^ "Horst Köhler for joint teaching of disabled and non-disabled children" (tagesspiegel.de)
  4. ↑ Marburg Planetary Path "Marburg Planetary Path - Experience the Size of the Solar System" (Meine-marburger-region-entdecke.de)