Vision and Kouzes Excercise.

Kouzes Chapter Four

When you get people to share your vision it can be very powerful. I was already inspired by the story of Alyssa and her team and I have not even met her.  I am someone that can get passionate about many things and I am always looking for something inspiring, like Alyssa’s team. In my case I have to think twice and ask myself, Is this a good idea?. I don’t want someone that is a good leader to fire me up for a cause that is not morally and ethically worth my time.

With that said I have not thought of inspiring people to share my vision. When I wanted to work with kids it was something I thought I would just do MYSELF. I wasn’t being greedy I just thought that everyone else was doing their own thing and I would do mine. But the truth is that there are a lot of people out there who want to work with not just autistic but all disabled kids and there are many parents who want to be ensured that their children are being treated fairly and correctly in schools, sports, and various opportunities. Their children deserve every opportunity that other children get and being autistic does not mean one is disabled. They are bright children and geniuses in their own way. Maybe they aren’t the ones that are different, maybe we are.

I know there are people out there that see the way I do and I would love to work with them and find out what we can do in schools and programs to get autistic children the treatment they deserve. There are so many children that are treated in an appropriate way only because the teachers are not taught how to handle or work with them. To get change we could start in the teachers programs in colleges and educate EVERY teacher, not just the ones working with children with special needs, the effective ways of teaching such special and unique children.

Exercises-Past as Prologue to My Future

1.       My mother passed away in 1996. This has always affected me and always will. This makes mothers very important to me and the idea of family.

2.       Not one but many family trips with the Bignell family and Martin family. I met some of the most amazing people that will always be in my life. The kids I helped watch would inspire me. We went on rafting trips, pack trips, boating, camping, everything outdoors.

3.       Starting high school and deciding that I wanted to work hard to prove to myself I could be number one in my class and to make my dad proud.

4.       Meeting the severely autistic foster children Ben and Faith. Seeing how our school staff disciplined Ben in ways that made me sick. Hearing him cry in a room by himself for more than an hour because the Principal was tired of him. After working with Ben in his second grade P.E. class and seeing how he was so talented especially with music was inspiring. I also worked and grew up with a autistic boy Warren and I saw how he could make anything electronic work perfectly was when I realized how special and misunderstood autism was. I saw how wonderful his mother was and how she was patient and worked so hard with him on his social skills. I saw how their divorce set him back several years and how he had to learn to cope with things his own way.  

5.       Becoming a nanny for a Canadian family and realizing I always wanted to work with kids. I understand kids better than I understand adults and I want every child to have the same opportunities.

My themes would be either family or children related. I think that maybe because as a child I was hurt and I lost my mom that I seem to want to mother all children. I never want to see children hurt and I think I understand when they are and I feel a need to help. Family is very big to me and whenever I think of my childhood I think of the awesome experiences I had outdoors with my family, opportunities that many children never have.

II Imagine the Possibilities

I am currently involved in Women’s Rugby and my goal is to fundraise over $3000 for gear, travel and uniforms for our team. We want to get grounded as a team so we can be ensured that there will be a team for years to come. This vision is the same as many of the other founding members of our team. We all want to have rugby be recognized because it is such a fun sport that involves teamwork and involves a lot of athletic ability. When this is over I would like people to see us as a team, a team that has good character, and has the ability to win games.

III

What are people doing? People are offering to sponsor us because they see potential and they want to be advertised by a team like us. Others are asking to join and coming to practices because they see the sport as a growing sport and want to take a part of it.

What are People saying? People are saying that we work so well as a team. That we run smoothly and it’s like a family. Not with the Womens but the Men’s team as well. Anyone that spent a weekend with our team would feel like they were in a group of fun hard working brothers and sisters. Our two teams cheer and help each other out. We hang out outside of rugby and we are all good friends. I would call anyone on our team if I was in need of help or in trouble.

What are people feeling? They are feeling like a team, a family, and an athlete. After one season of Rugby you feel in better shape than many people feel ever in their life. Practices are hard but your teammates are encouraging. The coach does everything you do at practice and once you play in one game, you get your first tackle or score your first try it makes everything worthwhile. You become confident because you have your team behind you and you are in amazing shape.

Building a Women’s Rugby team is like restoring a car. You don’t start with much but as you get all the necessary parts it starts working and when it is finished it something anyone could be proud of.

The Fifth Discipline

I picture myself with a clinic, a clinic in which I work with kids that have disabilities. I help with speech pathology, autism and tutoring. It may include a program that deals with foster children. I want this because I want everyone to feel like they have a home. This clinic is colorful and happy. It is very inviting and I spend every waking minute with the children I work with. The other teachers and workers are bright and happy and care as much for the well being of the children as I do. Although I do not know if it is based on helping teach disabilities or focused on foster children or the welfare of children without homes I do know it will be based on children and helping them so they can grow up to be successful.

Self-image- I want to be someone welcoming and a person people would turn to for help. I want to be someone that children can relate to. A professional that enlists others to see that there is a need to help children. To make them feel at home, or to feel good enough.

Tangibles. I want to live in a rural setting. I want my family to have the same bringing up that I did. I also want them to work as much as I did. To know not everything is free. I want to be comfortable. I do not want to have to struggle to make a living but I also do not have unrealistic idea that I will be very wealthy.

Home- rural area near where I grew up in beautiful Ovando, MT. Not too far from town so I could travel for work.

I will keep my athletic routine and will encourage my kids or family to be athletic. I will be a big supporter of sports. I also will try to keep the outdoor activities including horses and dogs that I had when I was younger.