At 12 I knew that I was here to help every hurting child. How did I know this? It was an intuitive knowing that isn't understood in our culture. I learned that this was not something that you shared with others, but it added a layer to my depth of understanding about myself and guided me to my vocational path of service. All of my life experiences leading to becoming an educator and now an education problem solver provided my individualized learning plan.
In school, I would often look at the students next to me and wonder why it seemed to take me longer to understand new content than others. Test-taking caused panic attacks. I would spend hours memorizing for a test. Sometimes the information could not be accessed if I had to also remember the formulas. Sometimes I would be fortunate to remember what I studied, but then it would be gone the next day. I did not know about Dyslexia, ADHD, Autism, Gifted, Twice-Exceptional, Executive Function, Processing Speed, Working Memory, etc... What I did know was that I learned differently. At the time, it made me feel horrible about myself. School was not the place where my academic strengths shined, but it was where I learned grit. I learned that while I may forget information that wasn't important to me, I could always look it up again if and when I ever needed it. My strengths that could be seen were in my interpersonal, intrapersonal communication, and leadership skills. My learning path required that I use those skills to play the game of school and make it work for me. Those skills then supported me in my work as a classroom teacher, teacher coach, district leader, and now in my work at Cope Consulting LLC.
Why would my intuitive heart voice lead me to the field where I had the most difficulty? I knew that helping hurting children was where I was supposed to be. What I now realize is that this knowledge about myself is what kept me from quitting! The obstacle is the way; education provides many layers of "learn by doing" opportunity! Facing fears and obstacles was the essential component of my step-by-step lesson plan for finding my voice in respectful advocacy for all stakeholders.
- Arrive on time,
- Always try my best,
- Listen to feedback because everyone is our teacher,
- Ask for support/clarification in a respectful way
#neurodiversity #neuroequity #education #removingbarriers
#zoneofproximaldevelopment #accessforall #thereisonlyoneyou
#allmeansall #problemsolving #universaldesignforlearning #bettertogether