Building a community of support

"Come to the edge, he said.  They said, we are afraid.  Come to the edge, he said.  They came.  He pushed them.  And they flew."

This quote by Guillaume Apollinaire pefectly sums up my professional drive and mission.  I am a Special Education teacher passionate about teaching students to take risks and live life to their fullest potential in the adult world.  But, this does come easily...to anyone involved.  These risks are scary, not only for my students but for their parents, siblings, friends, community support systems, and sometimes even myself.  But, when a student is pushed to the edge, and find success, they are able to not only fly, but soar, into a world full of wonderful opportunities and fulfilling experiences!

Being a secondary special education teacher, I have found over the past few years that there are not a lot of places to go for ideas, lesson plans, and even emotional support or understanding.  One afternoon, after spending what seemed like forever on the internet trying to find something new to try in my classroom, and coming up short, I felt motivated to make a change.  I know there are other secondary special education teachers out there who are doing amazing things.  Teachers who spend countless hours putting together visual cues, cutting velcro, planning the next community outing.  I wondered how could I pull these amazing teachers together and build a community of support in the world of secondary special education and teaching transition and functional life skills.  Out of that wonder grew this blog.  I hope it is a place readers can go to not only find ideas to implement in their classrooms, but also find a place where they feel understood and supported.  Teaching young adults the skills to live as independently as possible in their adult community is not an easy job, but many of us are out there giving it our all every day.  Let us all come together and teach these young adults to fly!