Oh the Places You'll Go

 

 

Graduation season has once again come to a close.  I am overcome each year with fond memories of my graduation and excitement for those I love as they begin their journey.  I look back at that moment and remember just how grown-up I felt.  The minute I walked across that stage, I was an adult.  Granted, by law it would be almost 6 more months before I was the magical 18 years old that truly makes one a "grown-up," but I felt as though, going forward, I would be making decisions that adults make.  Where would I live?  What job would I have?  Where would I go to college, if at all?  Who would I date?  What would I eat and when?  You see, when you are 17, those are big thoughts.

But for some, graduation is not full of excitement.  For many, particularly those with significant disabilities, stress and depression sets in.  The routine and support of the school comes to an end.  The time with peers is no longer routine, but forced.  There is a lag between school services and those from other government agencies. 

It doesn't have to be this way.  Communities, employers, and colleges do want all people to be welcomed and valuable members of society.  ALL people.  Granted it may take more planning and thought and the participation may look different but it is possible.  You see, Dr. Seuss wrote his book for everyone.  Let's all build a dream together and make his words come true.

What do you think?

Strength, Courage and Wisdom = Hope: The Sequel

I'm Back!  And better than ever...

I can't believe it has been more than two years since I published Strength, Courage and Wisdom = Hope.  I stated my goals to do more, impact more families, and become the leader that I knew I could be.

Today, I can say, that has happened.  I didn't know where the journey would lead me.  I didn't know then that I would work with an entire team of leaders who are driven by passion, commitment, and dedication.  I didn't even know at that time that you could find a team 100% on board and dedicated.  I'm here to say, those teams are there, they exist, and all of us should be fortunate enough to work with people for whom the time together energizes and excites you.  I wish that for everyone.

Of course, the journey wasn't simple or clear.  It did, after all, take 2 years.  But each day was worth it because I can appreciate the chance I have been given.  So, I'm settling in to my new role and ready to take up the pen (well, okay, its actually a keyboard). 

Thanks for waiting for me, and all the support so many of you have given to me each and every day.  I will be posting more often.  In fact, my next post will capture your heart as it contains an incredible video (yes, this is a teaser as that story deserves its own headline.)

Mrs. G Wiz

That’s What It's All About

As a Special Education teacher I spend my days planning, teaching, and advocating for a future.  Not my future, the future of my students.  We all talk about, “one day when they are older” or “when they go to  high school” but do we really think about what we want.  I know, you are saying, yes, I think about the students job and living arrangement.  Their social group and how their family will support them.   But do we consider the little things, the moments that we all remember from our high school days but see as small moments.  I have to say, that I forgot the little things. 

Or at least I did until a young man, whom I have been fortunate enough to have in my life the past 12 years reminded me what really mattered.  He is an amazing young man who happens to use an augmentative communication device and wheelchair.  But please, remember, he is a young man.  He has crushes on girls, passions, and hopes just like everyone.  One of his hopes was fulfilled by a cousin who saw what I didn’t;  the little things matter.

reproduced with permission from their mom's and the young woman

Yes, I am talking about prom.  He went to prom, complete with two beautiful dates who danced with him and enjoyed it along side him.  His younger brother fit his chair with a camera and he shared the expeience later with his family in film as using the talker is more tedious.  At one point, as the juniors and seniors all circled around while individuals danced in and out of the circle, the young man’s classmates made room and had him join the center for his few seconds of dance solo.  Yes, one night of prom matters, and to a young junior, it is a highlight.  Prom wasn’t a single night.  No, it was a lifetime of memory.  I will always be grateful that he was my teacher as to how to plan what matters most in a person’s life.  I will carry this lesson with me the next time I start a sentence with “One day….”

Thanks, all three of you!!!

Strength, Courage and Wisdom = Hope

I have been absent from my blog for a while.  I would like to apologize but I can’t.  I can’t because I have been doing something for which no one should ever apologize.  I stepped back and took a look at who I what and what I believe.  You see, this was my response to the political climate of today.

I have my own beliefs and they have been formed in part by my experiences and in part by my education.  How much was education?  A third?  A half? A majority?  I don’t know.  But I do know that I am a teacher.  I spend 175 days a year with children; children that aren’t mine by blood, just by passion and commitment.  Was I making the right decisions for each and every one of them?  Was I making my beliefs the right answer or was I tolerant of free thought.  

What I decided is that I am committed to teaching, leadership, and the belief that our future is good.  Children will grow up to be the great and wonderful people that we hope they become.  I teach because I do value each and every person that I meet.  Each belief a person holds is right for them, shaped by their experiences, and their education.  If I want heard, I need to continue to listen.  I may not agree with everyone but that is not an argument, just a mark of what makes us each individuals.  I am not saying that crimes such as the shooting at the Aurora Theater, genocide in Sudan, or the death of our foreign ambassadors is acceptable.  It isn’t. But beliefs such as what the immigration policy should be, who should be manufacturing our products and at what rate, how we should spend our tax dollars, and whether or not each military maneuver was effective can not be decided by one person.  Each person’s view matters.

Yes, out future is hopeful. I count my blessings that I am able to be a part of that future, in a very small way.

As to my personal future,  it is this blog and public education leadership.  I may not have a leadership job title, but leadership is more than what is written on your door.  I think I am ready.  To that end, I seek your ideas, questions and struggles.  You will help guide me along with the sage advise I say as I go to sleep each night:

Grant me the strength to endure

That which I cannot change,

The courage to change

That which I can,

And the wisdom to know the difference.

(my personal adaption of the Serenity Prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr)