Make It Personal

Happy March Everyone,

Jake has made some great health gains with the healing of his ankle surgery from January. This month he now has the opportunity to stand and apply pressure, but no walking quite yet, according to doctor's orders. The surgery was a success, but in the coming months he will put it to the test of beginning to walk again. He is thrilled just with standing and knowing that he will get a part of his life back to walk once again- even if it is with only a walker or a cane. Jake has also been working on his upper body strength with lifting hand weights and just recently getting a good cardio workout with his wheelchair in the neighborhood with propelling himself without our assistance. 

He is having more dreams and he is remembering his dreams- this is new for him. He is also making frequent recollections of partial past memories from his middle school and high school days and his time in Oklahoma and Texas when he was active in the Army. These memories are greatly aiding in a sense of fulfillment for Jake and making stronger family and life conenctions for him. 

In early March I presented at the North Carolina TIES conference and delivered the closing keynote for this technology conference. The theme this year was "Making It Personal." I had the opportunity to tell Jake's personal story of his accident relating to his TBI as my introduction. Then I segwayed into the importance of why our brains are so fragile- so special, and how our brains are forever changing and how it relates to the classroom environment and learning for students. I continued to share 10 best practices relating to brain-based teaching and learning strategies and the influence of the physical environment, the nurturing caregiver, the collaborative brain building activities to personal learning, and the need for music and movement to influence our brains connections to learning. I closed my keynote with coming back around to Jake's story and showcasing his miraculous recovery in just one year and what the future has to offer him based on his positive growth mindset. 

I felt honored to tell Jake's story, and also sharing how the current brain research - when introduced and modeled in one's classroom- can transform any teaching and learning environment to ultimately impact a child or an adult's learning potential. Thank you for listening and reading this post today as it has finally given me closure to all the negatives of Jake's accident and has provided me the new opportunity to educate others on the gift that keeps on giving..... our wonderful and beautiful brains!