The Beginning of #PositiveDisruption: An Exercise in #SocialGood / #sk8 #Scalzi #Stamford #Connecticut

It is easy to be dismissive of the plight of others when we are conditioned to mind our own and pull for our own. It is understandable. Minding my own business is also a lesson I have learned.. sometimes the hard way. YET, MY BUSINESS IS other people. Minding others is my business. Minding the hearts and minds of my players, which includes my children, is part of my purpose. 

I am a teacher, a private Special Educator who works with families and individuals with executive function concerns and/ or on the autism spectrum. My perspective is outward and conditioned to see and feel through the eyes of my players. This helps me calibrate my approach and increase the possibility of a successful outcome. Being highly-sensitive allows me to be quick on observation and instituting an instructional approach that will win.

Sometimes, because I work with people, I must completely humble myself in order to attain my goals. I am effective at this. I am great at disarming people using a soft/ hard approach making myself easy to relate to. 

Let me tell you a short story that is still unfolding..

Once upon a time there was a skatepark built for a community. Soon enough it entered its days of glory with local skateboarders performing incredible aerial feats. The walls of the skate pools were clean and bare. People would gather to view the ‘show.’ A few decades later the park remained, but had changed. Gone were the crowds. The inner walls were filled with graffiti, some of it tasteful art, some of it grotesque. Broken pieces of glass, trash and a sense of abandonment permeates the skatepark. It comes alive each day though by the will of the skateboarders. All the original contours of the pools are intact, but the glory is gone.

I want to be one of the many facilitators to bring the glory again to the park. With the help of the community we will polish this diamond, but only with the help of the community. This is too big for one man, or a gang of skateboarders. 

A vision: Clean walls, seating for spectators, night lights and an organized league complete with awesome coaches, uniforms and cheering parents.

Shoulder to shoulder we can make things happen. This is for us. This is for young and old. This is for the community. This is for all of us who love movement. This is the beginning of positive disruption.

Are you with us?