I recently saw an amazing post on Facebook, forwarded by Inspirations, a publication associated with the English Montreal School Board that is dedicated to addressing the area of special needs:
This video describes Jake as a child prodigy. He excels in math and science. His passion is math and science. In college at age 13, he is studying math and science... And he attributes his success to his autism diagnosis. What has he done? He has taken ownership of what others call a disability. He has used it to his advantage. He has been positively shaped by what society deems as a 'disadvantage'.
Jake's story got me thinking about what drives people to make excuses. My conclusion? FEAR. Fear of the unknown. Fear of failure. Fear of being different. Fear of not belonging. Fear of isolation. Fear of rejection. What would everyone think if they knew? What would they do? Would they treat me differently? Why they make fun of me? Would they accept me? Would I be able to accept myself? If there is something different about my child will I be able to accept it? And how will I teach my child to accept it?
When teaching children about bullying, we tell them to stand up to their bully. We tell them to take control back from their bully. We tell them to take ownership by turning insults into jokes. We tell them to become empowered and advocate for themselves. We help them gain control back.
I was also recently watching Eminem's movie 8 Mile. And the scene at the end when he is on stage rap battling against a guy who stole his girlfriend, beat him up in front of his young daughter and basically demoralized him is still unbelievable to me. Eminem took responsibility and ownership of everything negative and insulting that the guy could have said about him and he left his competitor speechless; he turned his 'disadvantages' and 'disabilities' into something positive by winning the competition and making a name for himself. He knew that all these things had happened to him and that they were a part of him, maybe even a defining part, but he did not let them break him. Here is the youtube link for this rap battle (I am not posting the video directly because of extreme use of profanity): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHE0wmgljco
The reality is that it is difficult to all of us to accept who we are. Why does a woman never tell anyone her weight? Why do we hide family and/or marital problems? Why do we seek to portray the image that we are living like 'the Jones'? We want acceptance and we want to belong. What's interesting to me though, is that individuals who figure out who they are and why they feel particular ways have adopted an attitude of ownership. They have decided to own who they are, embrace is or combat it, and succeed. And ultimately, what is it that we all want for ourselves and for our children? SUCCESS! It's never too early to help your child figure out who he/she is, what he/she is good at, his/her special talent, and how to use these things to form a successful life. This is where your parental cheer-leading comes in!
What do you think about this idea of ownership? I'd love to hear your comments! Also, if you have any ideas for my next blog or if you are looking for academic support for your child, please feel free to contact me at: robin@brightsidelearning.com .
I was also recently watching Eminem's movie 8 Mile. And the scene at the end when he is on stage rap battling against a guy who stole his girlfriend, beat him up in front of his young daughter and basically demoralized him is still unbelievable to me. Eminem took responsibility and ownership of everything negative and insulting that the guy could have said about him and he left his competitor speechless; he turned his 'disadvantages' and 'disabilities' into something positive by winning the competition and making a name for himself. He knew that all these things had happened to him and that they were a part of him, maybe even a defining part, but he did not let them break him. Here is the youtube link for this rap battle (I am not posting the video directly because of extreme use of profanity): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHE0wmgljco
The reality is that it is difficult to all of us to accept who we are. Why does a woman never tell anyone her weight? Why do we hide family and/or marital problems? Why do we seek to portray the image that we are living like 'the Jones'? We want acceptance and we want to belong. What's interesting to me though, is that individuals who figure out who they are and why they feel particular ways have adopted an attitude of ownership. They have decided to own who they are, embrace is or combat it, and succeed. And ultimately, what is it that we all want for ourselves and for our children? SUCCESS! It's never too early to help your child figure out who he/she is, what he/she is good at, his/her special talent, and how to use these things to form a successful life. This is where your parental cheer-leading comes in!
What do you think about this idea of ownership? I'd love to hear your comments! Also, if you have any ideas for my next blog or if you are looking for academic support for your child, please feel free to contact me at: robin@brightsidelearning.com .
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