My Journey

When I started out as an educator back in the 1990s, I was a preschool teacher at a Montessori school. Another role I had was as "The Time Out Lady" at the University of Florida P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School. This is when I learned to walk 'n talk or stop to pick strawberries in the school garden with students. Then I moved to Georgia for a year and worked as a Behavior Specialist in a mental health inpatient program. I learned so much about how to reach students who were resistant to the predominant way behavior modification was being presented at the time. There was still corporal punishment in many schools in the South and education was only just beginning to move away from a more punitive model towards one of proactive, positive, behavior modification education. Educators were figuring things out and more often at experimental education schools, where I was lucky to learn. The new tools of the time were behavior plans and contracts. To this day I believe making your own positive mindset plan is a powerful way to reach whatever life goal you are trying to reach.

The students taught me that they were more receptive to listening, communicating, and improving their behavior if they were doing an activity in a nonjudgemental nonpunitive environment. In fact, teachers would visit my after school program beadworking club and remark that the club had several of the students who often had a difficult time with the traditional classroom expectations.

As a student I fit well in the traditional classroom, but as an adult learner I was drawn to activity-based learning and remembered the material better. As I continued to develop my teaching style I also discovered that a majority of students grow up to be adults who also appreciate activity-based proactive counseling and education. Many humans benefit from scheduling an hour to relax and talk with a professional in the traditional model. Many humans also benefit from moving or doing outside an office while they learn, or teach. It's a beautiful thing to have choices.

Many of the techniques I teach, I also use myself. As a person living with Crohn's and Lupus, practicing breathing, progressive relaxation, and visualization have helped me to focus when my symptoms distract me. When I feel mental stress from life I go for a hike or craft. When I am under pressure I practice perspective reframing and positive self-talk. I figure I can either say, "This stinks. What am I going to do?" or "I can do this. Stay calm." I have the power to choose my mindset...and so do you.