Braille Literacy

Have you ever read braille? On a tour of a printing house, I got a card with misprinted braille. I looked at the raised dots, and then felt them with my pointer finger. I could only tell it felt bumpy; I couldn't even detect if there were one or three bumps in a line. 

Braille has been used since Louis Braille invented it in 1821; it is a genius system. I would say it is one of the most important advances in the history of literacy. Helen Keller said, in a speech honoring the 100th anniversary of his death, "we, the blind, are as indebted to Louis Braille as mankind is to Gutenberg." Of course, not only those who read braille benefit from it. Imagine if braille did not exist, how the educations and contributions to society of the millions of people with blindness could have been obstructed?

January is Braille Literacy Month.

Celebrate by:

learning more about Louis Braille

writing and/or reading your own name or a word in braille.

Can you read the word at the top of this post? How about if you "embossed" it by poking a pin through card stock?