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Showing posts from May, 2016

Being Electric: The Legacy of Kunta Kinte / #apathy #Norwalk #Connecticut #positivedisruption #servantleadership

Professor Le Februe was not at all liked by the rowdy 8th grade middle school Social Studies class. He was mild-mannered, in his mid-forties and would be teased by the bully's in the class he taught. There were at least thirty students in each of his classes. Mine was no different. One day he brought in a movie to class to compliment the readings we were doing on slavery in America. It was a series of films following the fictionalized account of a slave, Kunta Kinte, and his family from the time he was kidnapped in Africa to the time forty acres and a mule were given as a token of freedom to his descendants generations later. Kunta Kinte entered my life with each whiplash he received and his constant goal-directed persistence to be free at last. His heart was untamable. His spirit would not break, bend as it did. For me, watching the series of movies called, 'Roots,' brought my eyes and mind to see first hand the cruelty of enslaving humanity for profit and how this...

Dancing to Think Independently / #autism #passion #parents #selfaffirmation

Think independently and practice being an independent doer by dancing your way forward. The act of dancing is self-affirming and releases the body from a limited range of daily motion. Practicing self-affirmation on a daily basis strengthens the resolve of a person to think more independently. For individuals on the autism spectrum, self-affirmation and independent thought are a lifeline of communication. I foster its development and believe in the power of dancing to positively disrupt the machinations of the brain. Dancing, like the conducting of music can be a formidable strategy in bringing what is on the inside to the outside. It is rapid and direct. Most of the children, adolescents and young adults I currently coach who are on the autism spectrum or with a severe disability greatly benefit from it and respond favorably to physical movement to the sound of music. Dancing changes them. Afro-Cuban salsa makes them smile and laugh. They step out of a shell and outside th...

Divide and Conquer: For the Soul of Norwalk / #SouthNorwalkCommunityCenter #positivedisruption #gentrification

"When you perceive the an act done to another is done to yourself, you have understood the great truth." Lao Tzu, about 2,500 years ago, China The first 'thing' that would stand out for Norwalk, Connecticut off of interstate 95 would be a mega mall in what could be a park for families and the people of Norwalk. One of the great attributes of some of the neighboring Fairfield County towns are their green parks. Norwalk needs a mini-Central Park as a welcome sight, instead of a blight like a massive mega mall.  I'm in a continued drive to shake away the entire current administration of the South Norwalk Community Center for its mishandling and prioritization of funds and time that should have been better apportioned so that youth programs could have begun being established. Yet, now after nearly two years, Warren Pena's management of how to serve the community has rested largely on paying a great sum of money for constant interior decoration. Thi...

Fishing Lines, Bouys and Independent Thinking / #GoForth with an #EpicHeart and #EpicCommitment

Fishing Lines, Bouys and Whales Occasionally, a large whale steams through the seas with man's entanglements upon it fishing lines and bouy's stretching long after its tail it is a sad sight to behold the power of the whale forces the bouy's down with it, every downward exertion becoming increasingly labored, the whale, stock full of energy will live this way Occasionally, whale protection authorities will spot such a whale The men and women will follow the whale at it's speed approaching it to release it from its situation. Wary, the whale may submerge and take evasive maneuvers The men and women anticipate and predict  With spears of scissors  gingerly cutting here and there Gone is the bouy Away the fishing lines go The whale increases its speed Steaming through seas majestic  #poetry by Coach Bill  Each of us has tremendous potential to be incredible forces. Yet, many a times, these forces of nature get co-opted by special intere...

Self-Expression: Journey from the #InsideOut by #StoryDancing #executiveFUNction #positivedisruption #coding #autism

Amygdala somewhere in the heart in a crevice of my mind a spark grows from the inside out a revolution that becomes electric  #micropoetry by Coach Bill The value of self-expression development to a youth or adult with neurological deficits cannot be understated as an engine of cognitive activity on multiple levels. Wether it is typing an essay or writing a short poem, playing a musical instrument or dancing up a storm, self expression can be a form of communication, a work of art and a pathway to bringing our inside selves to the outside. What is self-expression anyway? It is a willful expression from us usually communicating a message and is unique to each person. A painting, a way of dancing, the words chosen for a haiku, all of these denote an expression of the self. This includes heart and mind. Self-expression activities like  story dancing , actively rewire the cognitive-physical story of one's life. In the case of dancing a story...

The Rise of the #SocialEntrepreneur / #servantleadership #positivedisruption #edchat @potus

What value should schools place on setting the strong foundations of developing social entrepreneur/ servant leader-minded students? To be dynamic and spirited, a clear purpose that is found relevant by students is important. What they have to say about the course should be valued and taken into consideration in order to keep the program open to being effective and efficient. A clear purpose valued as worthwhile by the team involves not just actual technical labor needed to co-accomplish a project with fellow peers, but emphasizes on a larger scale the abstract, soft skills (hard skills) , such as grit, perseverance, honesty, integrity, teamwork, empathy and compassion necessary for individual and group work. In developing social entrepreneurs, I believe it should be important to emphasize on the reason why a project is being undertaken. Social entrepreneurs are passionate about their work. They bring their unique traits to the table and see how to best address t...

Scalzi Originals Skateboarding School Launch / Stamford, Ct.

Watch video on YouTube here: http://youtu.be/GmVrq4MdtZA via CHANNEL TITLE

Scalzi Originals Skateboarding School Launch / Stamford, Ct.#positivedisruption #executiveFUNction