About Me – Mrs. G. Wiz

Fall Harvest

The bounty of food our plants provide amazes me. Each fall, I am overwhelmed by the sight of farm lands, orchards, and gardens reaching the end of a season. Juicy, sweet apples bloom from wood branches, small kernels become corn stalks, and delicate vines grow large pumpkins. A harvest is the result of hard work, favorable weather, and a little luck. In short, you reap what you sow.

While harvesting vegetables and fruits has a particular season, I also harvest the fruits of my labor throughout the year. I work in education, providing training and support to teachers. I see the result of this work in a million small ways all year, typically through the stories teachers share about their students. Teachers also reap their rewards in the form of smiles, hugs, lightbulb moments, and thank yous. They collect these treasures in their heart, and it is the reward of the work that generates the seeds for the next year.

Our actions and words are our seeds, and we will harvest what we plant, water, feed, and nurture. When we drop seeds of hope, hope sprouts all around us. When we drop seeds of doubt, we are surrounded by doubt.

Ultimately, we are the creators of our garden of life. We can make it as colorful, rich, and healthy as we choose. We can also grow a garden of weeds, ivy, and thorns. If you don’t like your garden, take the time to weed and cultivate it. Cut out the branches that hide the light, pull the spiny thorny weeds from the root, and plant what you want to see grow. It is hard work. It is often messy work.

Ultimately, I can only harvest what I grow.

In times when the world is stressed, I choose to grow hope, love, compassion, empathy, and patience. I am supporting these delicate plants with my trellis of knowledge and stakes of conviction. Weeds do some up, and it is my job to continue evaluating and protecting my plants. When the sun has been hidden for too long, I need to shine my own light. When the rain doesn’t go away, I need to protect them, covering them until the rain stops. Some plants will grow faster than I expected, while others will lag. Both will be beautiful and worth the work.

Starbucks, Disney World, and Me

What could possibly be the same about all 3 of us?

We all turned 50 a few months ago.

Over the past five decades, we have grown, made mistakes, learned, changed, and grown some more. For businesses, growth is a key to sustaining, allowing it to flex and shift as the world around them continues to change.

Humans also need to grow to sustain themselves. First, there is physical growth as the person changes from infant, to toddler, to a child, to teen, and then adult. There is also avoidable growth like the result from too many treats or sweets and not enough movement (my personal challenge.) However, for me, it is the growth of knowledge that continues to be an important sustaining value.

I actively seek opportunities to learn. It could be formal learning, as represented by my multiple diplomas, and continued enrollment in higher education learning. There is also the very important informal learning that comes from listening, observing, questioning, pondering, experiencing, or reflecting. These are just a few of the myriad of ways humans grow and learn.

Growing your mind is optional. It requires risk and often, vulnerability. Starting this blog is just one of the ways I am continuing to stretch and learn. I want it to be perfect. As a result, I have delayed adding posts as I continue to refine, rethink, and revise until it was “perfect.” But perfect is a trap preventing me from moving forward. So, I’m back, with this imperfect post.

This is not the first time that I have had to push past my desire to do things perfectly. (For those who are familiar with the enneagram, yes, I am a 1.)

I wanted to be the perfect teacher.

This is a great goal until the fear of being less than perfect creates a barrier. I can remember times when a colleague or parent wanted me to try something new with a student and because I wasn’t sure I could do it perfectly, I would push back or delay. I would spend hours revising an IEP, reflecting on an email I received or reviewing the day for each “mistake” I made to avoid it moving forward. I allowed the search for perfection to get in the way of the work.

Now, in my role supporting teachers and parents, I have learned the value of modeling imperfection and striving for growth. Today, I model trying again, even when it’s not perfect, and look forward to many more posts in the future.

Hello!

I am so excited to begin a new journey with you. I want to begin by telling you a little about what to expect here.

I am driven by a simple mission: Empower others and change our world together.

My life’s work is focused on empowering individuals with complex disabilities and significant cognitive impairments. I taught in public schools for over 21 years working to raise student and family expectations. Like many, 2020 taught me a great deal, including how much work is still needed to ensuring all members of our communities are heard and valued for their gifts, beliefs, and talents.

The pandemic was devastating, difficult, and isolating. But it also brings us the unique opportunity to define “normal” for our communities. I want to seize this moment, changing perspective to one of possibility, hope, and shared expectations. I genuinely believe that every member of our community can be successful in their career, relationships, and life. I welcome you to this work as we take an honest look at obstacles and challenges. Sometimes these discussions will be uncomfortable, and that is okay. It is only when we risk honesty that we can begin to truly understand each other’s perspectives.

You will come to know me through each post, and, I hope I get to know a bit about each of you too. I know I can learn from each of you.

Alison

This content is a reflection of the individual author and cannot be attributed to any organization, agency, or employer.