Happy New Year to all of you.
What a trying time we have had in our schools, our communities, and our country throughout the last year. For some, the start of a new year can signal new beginnings and new hopes. But for G/T learners, parents, and educators, it is still the same school year with the same struggles, the same brains with so many strengths and so many challenges, the same personalities with so much creativity, joy, passion, potential, and yes, so many struggles.
I can check two of those boxes; a G/T learner and a G/T parent... 3 times over! Growing up, which I would say I am still doing, the emotional and social challenges I faced seemed to accompany every achievement. I see those same challenges finding my children. I feel the drive to be perfect and 1st place in my daughter, and I feel the emotional turmoil when that perfection cannot be attained or maintained. I feel the desire of my son to have a place in school where he fits in and is seen as 'normal'. I feel the struggle as his output doesn't match his potential, and the world around him make it painfully obvious...as if he wasn't aware of the gap. And I feel the uncertainty of my youngest child as she discovers that she exists somewhere in between her older siblings and challenges herself to challenge them.
New Year, same struggles.
Struggle has such a negative connotation. But when taken in the proper perspective, struggles can be beneficial. We can learn so much from the challenges we face. The greatest stories, books, movies, and music have elements of struggles.
In our house, in mid-struggle, my children often hear me say some rendition of "Slow down, work the problem". I grew up hearing these words and they still guide me today. There is so much more to that phrase than those two steps.
1. Slow Down
When we slow down we are able to move our mental processing from emotional to rational. We are able to assess and put the struggle into perspective. The most important thing we can do when we slow down is to focus or sometimes re-focus on the problem in front of us. This Focus is what gives us the ability to move to the next step; Work the Problem.
2. Work the Problem
This involves exactly what it says, Work the problem. Most struggles won't simply vanish. They involve recurring patterns of behavior, limitations, environmental factors, and let's be honest... personality conflicts. With our focus from the first step we can begin to understand the root or cause of the problem and begin to work on a solution. Perhaps the solution is as simple as substituting a bright orange folder for your dark colored homework folder. Or maybe it is more complicated; like an entire revamping of your organizational process or a therapeutic solution. Maybe the immediate problem can be worked by a snack break and fresh approach to that stressful assignment we got two weeks ago but started tonight because it's due tomorrow. Once we Work this immediate problem, we can identify and implement a solution for the ongoing issues that lead to this stressful scenario.
Slow Down and Work, Focus and Solve, Breathe and Lean In.
New Year, Same Struggles... Let's try New Year, New Focus!
Focus on the effort, not the grades.
Focus on the lessons learned, not the pain of the struggle.
Focus on the learner, not the label.
Focus on the communal support, not the feelings of isolation.
Focus on the child, not the diagnosis.
Focus on the solution, not the problem.
When our small group of parents sat in a room for hours at the NISD admin building, we always came back to a central thought; supporting the G/T community. That is the learners and their parents, the educators and the schools. We all have experiences and challenges that we can share. We built this organization to support that community. We built this organization to Slow Down, and Work the Problems facing that community. Challenge yourself to be an active participant in that process. Whether it is asking for help or offering it. We are all the G/T community.
Thank you for all you do!
Cris Womack
President
