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Kids
Children are not things to
be molded but people to be unfolded
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Back in 2008, as I was beginning my journey as a children’s book author, I had little or no conscious awareness of perfectionism. Like most of my peers, I was a byproduct of the skill, drill, test and repeat model that today’s students are struggling with. While I understood intellectually that no one is perfect, that didn’t stop me, or my peers, from judging me harshly for making mistakes. I joked that I was a recovering perfectionist, but jokes did nothing to alleviate my suspicions that I would never be “good enough.”
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Then two things happened:
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First, a friend sent me a link to Sir Ken Robinson's 2006 TEDTalk entitled, "Do Schools Kill Creativity?" From it I learned the disturbing truth about our industrialized education system that treats children like cars on an assembly line. All children are expected to learn the same things, the same way, and in the same time frame. At the end of the process, they are quality tested and graded.
From this process our children learn to compare, compete, mistrust their creativity, and be afraid to make mistakes. They learn that some are better and more deserving than others, and to measure their self-worth based on how they perform.
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Second, I was invited to read from my book, Lead with Your Heart, to a combined class of third and fourth graders in Bolingbrook, Illinois. Following the reading I planned to teach the kids how to draw the main character in the book, a dog named Lance. Instead I was confronted with 36 students all telling me that they couldn't draw, that their work was ugly, stupid, crummy, and most importantly not perfect like mine. Say what?
When asked to tell me what they thought not perfect meant, they said not perfect people are "stupid, ugly, dumb, messed up, dirty, bad, weird, insane, gross, broken, unhappy, different, rubbish, stinky, disgusting losers." When they were done, the list had more than 30 negative adjectives and both the teachers and I were in tears.
​A New Vision for Education
Since 2008, I have written five books, developed more than a dozen programs based on those books, and spent countless hours in classrooms, on video calls, offering online workshops, and taking part in conferences with a goal of making creativity and social-emotional leaning (EQ) an integral and mandatory part of education. You can learn about the books and programs below and find details (including examples) on the pages in the drop-down menu.
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Song Flight
Song Flight was a global program designed to support Ukrainian children by connecting them with other kids around the world through story, song, and creative collaboration.
The goal of Song Flight was to help all children develop the emotional intelligence (EQ) and core literacy skills they'll need to become kind, empathic, and competent adults who actively work to prevent war. To see videos from our first Song Flight program, hear our original theme song being sung by Ukrainian children, and learn more visit:
https://songflight.substack.com
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Doxie the Doggone Dirty Digger
Doxie is a dachshund with a digging problem. He really needs to find his job in the world. This book tells how a group of kids and special animal friends helped him do just that. Coming soon!
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CritterKin
A multimedia children's property that uses immersive, interactive stories to teach emotional intelligence and core literacy skills. to learn more visit:
https://www.dreamingwideawake.org/critterkin
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The Not Perfect Hat Club
The Not Perfect Hat Club tells the story of Newton a purebred Golden Retriever whose imperfections take him from the show ring to a psychologist's office where he helps kids learn that not being perfect is a good thing!
