What a Kid Named Alan Taught a Teacher like Me

March 25, 2014March 25, 2014 Leigh Ann ErricoLeave a comment

A teacher and ambassador for Wear the Cape, Christina M. attended the New Jersey Alliance for Social, Emotional, and Character Development (NJASECD) convention at Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey on March 19, 2014. Powerful ideas were exchanged at the conference, and we’re glad to be able to share highlights! From Christina:

Hope was the feeling that filled the day at the New Jersey Alliance for Social, Emotional, and Character Development (NJASECD) convention last week. Hope for a better world for our children. Hope for their future. Hope for change.

Along with this hope, the NJASECD provided the many educators, administrators, and parents in attendance with the tools needed to launch a heroic journey toward these goals. The crux of the NJASECD’s approach is the collaboration of school and home climates to both improve and promote positive character education.

I had the pleasure of hearing Rutgers Professor of Psychology Dr. Maurice Elias address several ideas on how to begin creating a “School of Character” in any district. His recommendations included the following:

Don’t be afraid to be direct with your children and with their school. If you feel they are doing a great job, tell them. If not, tell them.
Determine the climate and culture of your child’s school. What is the common language? What are their policies?
Work together, grow together. Schools and homes need to integrate a common, shared language, which includes their core values.
Make kids feel like they matter. Treat each child as if he or she is your own grandchild.
Encourage buddying throughout all ages. Team up students with those older and younger.
Turn learners’ “on switch” on. Create a mindset for success.
Nurture “rainbows in students’ clouds.” Adapted from Maya Angelou, this phrase reminds us to allow children to overcome their problems in order to succeed.
Encourage what kids can do. “All children must nurture their amazing sense of potential,” explained Dr. Elias. We need to push students to believe in their potential, not focus on their failures.

The feedback I heard from many teachers, administrators, and parents was, “YES! We want to work together to create a synchronized home and school climate for our children.” Dr. Elias’ suggestions did not seem overwhelming, intimidating, or unattainable. We all agreed when he stated:

“Our greatest reward is the smiling faces of our students, not test scores.”

Beyond this inspiring session, the highlight of my day was hearing a testimonial from a young man named Alan. Alan is a recent graduate of the POSSibilities Program (Providing Opportunities for Student Success) at North Brunswick High School. Alan is living with a rare blood disorder, as well as specific learning disabilities. In 2013, he was featured on ABC’s news special Above and Beyond due to his profound success in the program. He credits his success to the teachers, family, and program, which includes an Autism Awareness campaign and work assistance program. Alan shared that, before the help of his teachers and friends in the program, “I was stuck inside myself and didn’t know how to bring out the inner me.” His message was simple, yet so profound: We can help others bring out their inner selves.

Alan is right…and following the eight tips above may help us do just that.

Special Cheer Team Uniquely Inspires from the Sidelines

January 26, 2014January 27, 2014 Leigh Ann ErricoLeave a comment

We are thrilled to share with you today’s guest blog from a remarkable lady named Debbie House. Debbie is the organizer and head coach of the Contender cheer team, a unique group of special needs cheerleaders. The team was formed three years ago with the five girls pictured below. A year later, the squad increased to eight, and this year there are 10 team members. The girls cheer at Hunterdon Huskies home games at Union Forge Park in High Bridge, NJ.

From Debbie House:

You know, sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it.

We Bought a Zoo (2011)

I waited nervously at the field for the girls who were coming to see just what this was all about. Eventually they all arrived and, for the first of many times, I saw the smiles of the five girls who would become the very first Hunterdon Huskies Contender Cheer Team, a squad for kids with special needs. We loved each other, and we loved cheerleading together from that first day forward.

I am the lucky voice for the team. Those first five teenage girls, with varying special needs, joined a team that never existed, coached by a woman they had never met, with a game schedule that was incomplete, and all part of an organization that had never had a special needs athlete before. I can’t help but admire the courage it must have taken the girls and their families to even consider being on the team.

Kids with special needs don’t always get the warm fuzzy welcome we would hope, and their parents are full-time advocates often fighting a system that doesn’t always work for their child, often settling for what they are offered. Most of the extracurricular activities that these kids previously participated in were only for kids with special needs – this was definitely not going to be that – this was cheerleading, the sport with arguably the most stereotypical participants and parents.

What I asked these families to perceive, envision, and believe in was something they were unfamiliar with – yet they came to the field that first day. They believed me, and they took a leap of faith that most would probably not. Why? For the love of the sport. For love of a body in motion that may not necessarily present the most skilled maneuver, but nonetheless, is a body in motion. It’s simple, if you ask: The girls just want to be like other girls their age.

The members of my team don’t even realize the walls they break down simply by putting on their uniforms. They possess the courage to be put in a position of vulnerability without concern for criticism. Hundreds of people have watched them perform. Hundreds of people have been and will continue to be changed by seeing what these girls can do – hearts become lighter, edges blur, and tears flow. It becomes clear that while judges’ scores may be immediately important, the reality is that enjoying what you’re doing needs to be more important. And perfection is relative. If you ask any member of any audience that has seen this team perform, they will say they were PERFECT.

They are a team of ten now. Ten ambassadors. Not just ambassadors for the special needs community, but ambassadors for every person who ever wanted to try something they weren’t sure they were good at. And trying with 100% determination so that, whatever the outcome, trying is the victory.

Their courage and enthusiasm is paving the way for other teams to emerge, and for other girls with special needs to join in and cheer, and be part of something completely amazing.

Short and SO Sweet

November 26, 2013November 26, 2013 Leigh Ann ErricoLeave a comment

Recently, a teacher named Stephanie who is a fan of Wear the Cape witnessed the actions of a pint-sized everyday hero while on the job. As relayed by Stephanie:

A few days ago when I was on lunch duty, I noticed one of my students sitting at a table with several of our special needs students. Many of them are non-verbal, so they too often spend their lunchtime among other students’ chatter without being included.

I watched this particular student wondering, “Is he sitting with them or just near them?” After several minutes, it became clear that he was there because he wanted to be, drawing pictures for them and offering them jokes.

It’s so rare that we see children or even adults leave their comfort zones to give others comfort. I almost cried in the middle of a lunchroom full of 5th graders; I was so touched by how truly sweet he was. He was Wearing the Cape and showing – without knowing – the entire 5th grade how to be a great person, a self-made superhero.

After learning about Wear the Cape and spreading the word amongst our faculty, the teachers at our school now wear our “capes” – Wear the Cape t-shirts – to school on Fridays. We received so many questions about our shirts that my co-teacher Tara took the time to explain what Wear the Cape is all about – restoring the power of kindness and good character.

Highlighting the actions of the student who had recently taken the time to bring a little sunshine to his special-needs schoolmates at lunch was the perfect way to help the whole class see how to Wear the Cape on a daily basis. Without a word, this student had modeled good character and what it looks like to embrace our differences. He even explained to his classmates that sitting with the special needs students makes him feel good, that they like him being there.

It’s important that teachers recognize children who are Wearing the Cape. It makes them feel good and makes others want that feeling, too! Real-life examples help kids understand what it means to exude good character, and they give them ideas that can be applied in their own lives. I have a feeling that many of my students will start sitting with the special group at lunch…and I can’t wait!

Many thanks to Stephanie for sharing this heartwarming story! We hope it inspires more people to step out of their comfort zones in order to bring others comfort.