Expect, Don't Accept

 Most, if not all teachers, are beginning to get in "game mode".  We are thinking, planning, and mentally gearing up for that new group of young minds who will step through our threshold that first day of school.  Over the summer, I began reading family blogs of special needs children.  They were inspiring!  They celebrated what their child can do daily, and concentrated less on what they can't.  It didn't matter to them.  As with all my late night navigating on the internet, I navigated over to a site written by a special ed teacher, Beth, through the eyes of a parent, Hope for Elijah.   One post hit home with me as I'm getting my game face on...Expect, Don't Accept.   She writes with passion, with emotion, and with conviction that we, as teachers, need to see children as who they are.  Inspire and challenge children, and then you will see their potential.  I would also recommend reading the speech, Paul Daugherty wrote about his 19 year old daughter with Down Syndrome, "Expect, Don't Accept!"  It will get your school fires burning for sure!