Seeing.org first began in the summer of 1996. I had just qualified as a Bates Teacher and was sure that having a comprehensive profile for the Bates Method on the Internet was a high priority; I started work on it and the site expanded exponentially over the following months.
It wasn’t until August of 1999 that it was ready and went live, rapidly becoming one of the premier sources of information about the original Bates Method. In February 2001 I added a discussion list through the Yahoo Groups service and we’ve built up a community of around 1900 members.
Primarily the project – the site and the community – exists in order to help people understand the Bates Method. The method is easy to mis-interpret and countless people in the past have experienced confusion for a number of reasons. The medium of the printed word has conventionally been a barrier for conveying the method as all understanding is dependent on a person’s mental habits – their ‘modus operandi’ so to speak, and the vital clues to detecting the nuances of meaning in Bates writings are often overlooked.
However, through the Internet it is possible to interact a little more with your sources – feedback: that most vital ingredient in Bates Method lessons is not only possible, but encouraged, so that people have a chance to really begin to understand this most remarkable of educational experiences. The one to one lesson can’t be replaced, but at least there is an opportunity here to get started and point yourself in the right direction.
All work on the site is by myself unless otherwise stated. I’ve had valuable feedback along the way and wish to thank all those who gave me encouragement and input. In particular I’d like to thank Claire West, who meticulously went through locating typos, suggesting spelling changes to make the site more Anglo-American friendly, and providing valuable feedback to help me assess clarity for the reader.
Hopefully you’ll find the site easier to navigate: so much has changed on the Internet since the first site was designed that it was better to build it again from scratch. It’s a big site and takes a long time to create; long may it last and long may you enjoy reading it!
And if you feel like dropping me a line to pass on your impressions, I look forward to hearing what you think!