1 . Recently I visited the classroom of Jeremy Coleman, a music teacher. Coleman was preparing for a fresh group of students at his school in Austin, Texas.

Coleman has taught classical guitar at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI) for many years. “Everyone should be given a chance to learn music and guitar," he said.

The TSBVI was founded in 1856 to provide a specialized education for young Texans who couldn’t see clearly. In the early years, students made brooms (扫帚)and other products that were sold to pay for the school’s operational (运营的)costs.

Since then, the school has developed, and hundreds of students from across the state live and learn there. The educational focus (重点) has changed from vocational (职业的) training to academic (学业的) and life skills. Students also take part in sports, music, and other after-school activities.

Coleman brought classical guitar lessons to TSBVI in 2011. “Teaching guitar to students with poor eyesight isn’t easy,” Coleman said. For one thing, the music course has to be translated into Braille, a form of printing for blind people to read.

“Instead of sight reading, these students will read Braille music and remember it,” Coleman said. “Once they realize what they can do, they love making music.”

Coleman said that after kids leave his program, they often find it difficult to continue their study of music. “The real difficulty is when the students return to their own communities,” Coleman said. “Finding a proper teacher for lessons is sometimes impossible.”

For that reason, Coleman and some other TSBVI teachers developed an online program called “Let’s Play.” The program serves as a guide for classical guitar training for students with poor eyesight and their teachers.

“The program continues to grow,” Coleman said. He hopes that it will help musicians with poor eyesight continue to develop their skills.