Bringing Out the Best
When we hear the term “mentor,” most of us conjure up an image of an older, wiser person who has positively impacted our lives. For me, it was Art Nierenberg, founder of Breakthrough Disability. He was twenty years older than me and so much wiser! He organized breakthrough workshops that were amazing opportunities to learn how to have a bigger impact in the lives and conditions of individuals with disabilities.
As my mentor for 25 years, he left me with two gifts – what he taught me about being an effective coach and what he taught me about myself.
First, he taught me the power of distinctions – to unleash the power in pivotal words. The example he liked to give was “Snow.”
Most of us have a few distinctions for snow – wet, light, flaky, icy… But those who live in the desert have none. To those with no experience, snow all looks the same.
Skiers have more terms.. powder, fast, packed. Knowing these distinctions allows them adjust their skiing to fit the conditions. On the other hand, natives from the frozen north have hundreds of distinctions for snow. Their survival depends on knowing them. Art would say, distinctions give you the power for action.
Throughout my career and especially lately as I’ve been creating my #TransformInclusion packages, I’ve returned to the value of making distinctions. My video modules and teacher resources all zoom in on key terms with a high powered microscope. What does it mean to be a coach? What does “One Teach/ One Support” look like in depth? What is the difference between accommodations and modifications – and how are they different from specially designed instruction. Knowing these distinctions give teachers new options for effective action.
Don’t let anybody tell you that you are being “picky” or “anal” when you want to linger over a word and engage your colleagues in meaningful inquiry about what that term truly means – and doesn’t mean. The more you deepen your understanding about a topic/ concept/ schema, the more agile you will be in taking action – which of course increases your effectiveness.
Second, what he taught me about myself is priceless. I’m committed to paying it forward. The quotation at the top probably says it best. When I met Art, I was a special educator struggling to make a difference with my students and their families. I felt something like a bottle floating in the ocean. I knew something was wrong. My students were making only minimal progress in spite of my zeal to “fix them.” So I thought it was me. I thought I must be doing something wrong.
Over time, working with Art and learning to flex my distinctions muscles, I came to realize that our system needed changing. I started to see myself through his eyes as someone with a vision – someone who could make a larger difference transforming the system. Of course, I needed to expand what I knew; I needed distinctions and I needed systemic thinking. It’s like he plucked me out of the ocean and read the message deep inside my heart. I am so grateful.
Who are the individuals who could blossom if only someone would uncork their possibilities – students, colleagues, family members? I’m so excited about this coming year! I will be working with Inclusion Coaches across the country in my Inclusion Coach Breakthrough Course.
Throughout the process we will uncork their possibilities and they will become skilled at uncorking possibilities in teachers in their schools. The time is right. Together, we will #TransformInclusion.
PS. I would also like to connect with a higher education researcher who might be interested in working with me to gather data about the experiences and impact of Inclusion Coaches. Let’s publish what we learn!
