A Look Back: 100 Years of Professionalism in Services for People who are Blind or Visually Impaired

Abstract

When Charles F. F. Campbell launched Outlook for the Blind in 1907, he offered it as a "forum for the free and open discussion of all topics connected with work for the blind." He hoped that "those who have the experience and the expert knowledge on these subjects will give us the results of their work and observations that all may benefit thereby." He added, "Our only desire is to be of service to the great cause of helpfulness to the blind. Come, let us reason together." In this succinct mission statement for this new journal, Campbell captured some of the central elements of a profession: the rational use of experience and expertise in service to people in need.At that time, many regarded the field of work for people who are blind as primarily charity work for less fortunate people. Those who worked with people who were visually impaired in the mid-1900s were primarily guided by tradition, superstition, or religious faith. But Charles Campbell had been influenced by his father's commonsense and "scientific" approach to this work. Sir Francis Campbell was one of the most prominent and most practical blind teachers of students who were blind. He had risen from his original work as a music teacher at the Tennessee School for the Blind to the faculty of the Perkins School for the Blind and then went on to lead the Royal Normal College for the Blind in England. He also began one of the first university training programs for teachers of students who were blind in England. The success of his practical approach to managing the challenges of blindness was responsible for his strong reputation in this field (Wilson, 1914). In keeping with the approach of the elder Campbell, the early issues of Outlook