Decision Making and the Gift of Perspective
“The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you hope for. The most you can do is live inside that hope, running down its hallways, touching the walls on both sides.” — from Animal Dreams, Barbara Kingsolver
Decision Making
Decision making for our children can be stressful. Some of the decisions we face during the spring of the school year are:
How can I keep my children safe when they are home in the summer and I cannot be with them?
What school should my children attend next year?
What summer programs are best for my children?
How can my children get into the best colleges?
Karen Salzer has over thirty years’ experience as a resource teacher in the Palo Alto public schools. She earned a doctorate in education from Stanford University. Her areas of expertise involve working with culturally diverse students with special needs including autism, emotional disturbances, learning disabilities, and health issues. As a special educator, Ms. Salzer served as a liaison between parents of special needs students and school staff. She guided parents and staff in identifying an appropriate education for each student in the public school setting. Additionally, she aided students and parents in navigating the educational requirements for graduation, test-taking and in finding support services within the community. Through her leadership, Ms. Salzer encouraged collaborative problem-solving between parents and school staff – such as accommodations for test taking, extended time and use of technology. She loves to follow-up with her students when they become adults and to highlight their many successes in education and careers. Ms. Salzer uses these success testimonials to reassure parents of other children and to encourage them to help their children pursue their full potential. Ms. Salzer is the mother of four adult children and helps care for her five grandchildren
IEP (Individualized Education Program) and IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) Parent Teacher Collaboration
It is difficult when we see our children struggling in school. They could be struggling academically, socially or in their relationships with their teachers. This month I will explore the idea of advocating for our children in school. Each week, we will focus on an aspect of advocacy. If you have a story about how you have advocated for your child, please share your experience. We are all comforted by knowing we are not the only ones facing problems at school with our children, and we are enriched by knowing that these problems have solutions.
About a year ago, my daughter and son-in-law were getting ready to choose a preschool for their daughter, who was not even three at the time. There were several alternatives, as well as pressure to get into a preschool before all were fully enrolled. One school even required that my granddaughter come and visit the school without her parents to see if it would be a good fit for one of the two remaining spots. This was hard to believe given her age.