Teacher Tuesday: Getting the Students in SHAPE

As a child, a teenager and even as a young adult, I felt lost and somewhat useless. I wondered, ’what is the point of being me?’

I was the quiet one in a loud, rambunctious family. I felt personality –less.

I was the student who couldn’t do a cartwheel, or a lay-up, or play an instrument, in a classroom filled with talented overachievers. I felt talent-less.

My family was too poor to do much of anything except work and go to school, so I was the girl who never went shopping, never ate at nice restaurants and never traveled, while attending a school filled with wealthy kids from “the subdivision” who did all those things all the time. I felt experience – less.

I married a man with so much enthusiasm and energy for whatever he set his mind to – guitar playing, teaching, preaching, sports, you name it – while I struggled to find a purpose other than keeping my toddlers from climbing up the bookshelves. I felt passion-less.

Please don’t think I walked around feeling sorry for myself – that’s so not me. Instead I just accepted my state of being less and found joy in the rich lives of others. I appreciated their strengths, their talents and their gifts all the more because mine were so lacking, and I made sure I told them often about all the good I saw in their lives. I loved having people over to my house, especially for dinner, so I could spend time with them, hear their stories and share in their experiences from the sidelines.

It wasn’t until I was twenty-five, when I made my decision to grab on tightly to the hand of Christ, that I learned all God’s children are blessed with gifts - spiritual gifts given to us by the Holy Spirit to build His church. I learned that I had the gifts of Encouragement and Hospitality, and the awareness changed the way I thought about myself, it changed the way I behaved, and it changed the way that I served God.

How I wish I could have taken Miss Houk’s Ambassador class when I was younger!

Miss Houk spends up to six weeks teaching the 2^nd year students about their S.H.A.P.E. – Spiritual Gifts, Heart Passions, Abilities, Personality and Experiences. They will explore and learn how God crafted them as individuals on purpose and for purpose.

Last week, the students opened their Ambassador class with prayer, along with Miss Kellie, a volunteer from Cedarville University.

Miss Houk then had them review the definition of ambassador and what an ambassador does.

An Ambassador is a follower of Christ who stands between God and the world to communicate the message of the Gospel.

They learned that an ambassador:

Loves Others

Knows others

Prays for others

Encourages others

And serves others

To introduce the idea of figuring out their spiritual gifts, Mrs. Harvey read the Max Lucado story, A Hat for Ivan, to the students.  

In the story, when Ivan was about to turn 10 years old, he knew his father, the town’s hat maker, would present him with a hat made just for him based on what he “really loves to do.”  Everyone in town was so excited for him that they all made hats for him of what they were passionate about.  But, of course, none of the hats fit well at all. 

By the time Ivan got home he was overwhelmed with everyone’s expectations - until he heard the voice of his father assuring Ivan that he knew him best and would make the perfect hat, one that would suit him exactly.

Many of the students tried on hats to illustrate the story.

Miss Houk even passed out gifts she had purchased and wrapped for every student in her class. She chose each gift based on what she saw as the individual’s spiritual gifts:

Christi plays sports and enjoys being a part of a team. Miss Houk sees in her the gift of encouragement. Christi received a bottle of Gatorade!

Joe helps others and fixes things. Miss Houk thinks he has the gift of serving so she bought him a roll of duct tape.

Lindsay loves to journal and read. Miss Houk sees that she has the gift of encouragement so she bought Lindsay “Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul.”

Christian is good at organizing resources and people to accomplish tasks, but he also likes to serve others. Miss Houk feels he has the gifts of both serving and leading so she bought him a pair of clapping hands.

Josh enjoys helping others. Miss Houk thought a pair of camo gloves would represent his gift of serving well.

Bethany is so good at sharing the Gospel and praying for others! Her spiritual gift is evangelism. She received a $100,000 candy bar because God’s Word is so valuable!

Nicole is our gift giver. She received two candy bars – one to keep and one to give away so she can use her gift of giving.

Miranda is caring and enjoys encouraging others on her basketball team. Miss Houk sees in her the gifts of serving and encouragement so she picked out a basketball wash cloth for her.

Katy is a problem solver who likes to build others up. Miss Houk sees she has the gift of encouragement so she purchased a puzzle of a horse and included the instructions to work with another person to solve the puzzle together and encourage them in the process.

Dallas hosts other guys for dinner. He can use Miss Houk’s gift of a manly cookbook to use his gift of hospitality!

Donovan loves to bring laughter wherever he goes. What an encouragement to others! Miss Houk gave him Laffy Taffy and told him to share the jokes with his classmates.

Daniela serves one of our residents at lunch. It brings her a lot of joy. Miss Houk asked her to use her spiritual gift of serving to host someone for dinner and then use her new dish towel to clean up.

Sean is always using his mind to solve problems – his own and others. He shows a gift of service, so Miss Houk gave him a puzzle book to challenge his mind and asked him to work with others to solve the puzzles.

A leader is known for “lighting” the way, and Brian is good at providing direction to others in order to get tasks accomplished.  Miss Houk thought a flashlight would illuminate his spiritual gift of leadership.

I know from personal experience what a blessing it is to recognize your spiritual gifts. It’s knowledge that will give you direction, a sense of your worth through the eyes of your Father, and purpose in life – all valuable qualities to take along on your journey toward Appropriate Independence™.

 

Shepherds College - Guiding Your Transition to Appropriate Independence. Please visit us at www.shepherdscollege.edu.

The Office: The Getaway Plan

I asked Mrs. Harvey a really silly question today. I knew it was silly as soon as the words started coming out of my mouth.

“Is there anything going on in your office today?”

Mrs. Harvey was gracious. She didn’t raise her brows, roll her eyes, or act incredulous that someone who works out of another Shepherds College office could possibly ask such an absurd thing. She didn’t make me feel like a goober by responding, “Well, of course there’s something going on in my office today! I’m not sitting around praying the phone rings so I have something to do!” 

Instead, the lovely lady laughed with excitement and said, “We’re planning the retreat for the students!!”

She then went on to tell me of all the preparation going on in offices around the campus to make sure this year’s retreat is the best one ever!

Here’s a run-down of what’s in the works today:

The theme for the two-day retreat is T.E.A.M., an acrostic for Together, Engaged, Authority and Mission. Each teacher was assigned a letter of T.E.A.M. and is currently focused on creating, finding, gathering and printing materials to help the students understand their aspect of teamwork.

The students are going off campus for the second day of the retreat so the college staff is working with the nursing staff to make sure the correct meds are packed.

An odd assortment of supplies is accumulating in the offices: peanut butter, blindfolds, parking cones, 25 feet of rope, puzzles, flower vases, checkered flags, signs that say “Fueling Station…”

Retreat t-shirts have arrived and are ready to pass out.

Front of the t-shirt

Back of the t-shirt. It's a Wordle!

Staff is making paper mache balls. 

People are grocery shopping for the fueling stations.

Seating charts are being filled out for a fancy dinner.

I’m hearing whispers about Academic Advisors wearing black, Italian dinners, desserts at Country Rose, Belgian horses, pizza, board games, Camp Timber-Lee, trail rides, animal encounters, and towing Mr. Andrus on a Snow Beast?? Hmmm…

What could it all mean?

I’m not really sure at this point. 

I do know that it’s going to be fascinating, it involves a lot of planning, and Mrs. Harvey is definitely not sitting around praying for the phone to ring.

Watch this blog, as well as Facebook and Twitter for more news and pictures on the retreat.



Shepherds College - Guiding Your Transition to Appropriate Independence. Please visit us at www.shepherdscollege.edu.

Teacher Tuesday: Teaching Moments

Teachers, at least the good ones, don’t just teach in the classroom. They don’t feel confined to the lesson plans and curriculum. They consciously, and sometimes subconsciously, look for opportunities to teach wherever they are and to whomever they’re around at the time a lesson manifests.

Shepherds College is staffed with teachers just like this – the 24/7, spiritually gifted, it’s in the blood type of teachers.

And it’s a good thing too since training young adults with intellectual disabilities to be independent is an around-the-clock job!

Teaching for life doesn’t end at 3:00pm every Monday through Friday. The lessons carry through the day and cover topics like eating a healthy breakfast, the proper way to brush teeth, managing meds, maintaining a home, making dinner, getting along with others, the necessity of sleep, public transportation, grocery shopping, how to study the Bible… and on and on.

So I wasn’t surprised when I received the following message from Mrs. Harvey:

My neighbor picks up Chipotle restaurant overage food every week which they put in bags for Distribution Only.  She has been using it to serve those in need in Rockford, but lately there has been more than she can handle.  She called me, and I thought we could service Shepherds College faculty and staff last week since there was so much donated.

I asked Chef McCarthy if I could put the food out on the table in the teaching kitchen. He went over and above and turned it into a service opportunity with the 2nd year Culinary Arts students.

They warmed all the food in advance and put it in lovely buffet chafing dishes.  

Chef McCarthy enhanced the menu of Chipotle white and brown rice, pinto and black beans, chicken and steak by adding tortillas, sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese and shredded lettuce, giving the students an opportunity to practice cutting skills.

The students served the staff and asked nursing to join in also.

 

It was quite a spread and lot of work for the Culinary Arts students to set it all up and then clean it up. 

There was so much left over that the students were blessed with Chipotle for dinner that night. Isn’t that cool?

Chef McCarthy could have said to Cathy, “Sure, put the food on the table and notify the staff that it’s there.” It would have been easier for both him and the students. But instead he saw an opportunity to teach lessons in buffet set-up and take-down, buffet service, food prep including cutting and bringing food to the proper serving temperature, and perhaps most importantly, how to develop a generous spirit through service to others.

Great job Chef McCarthy!

And a great, big Shepherds College “THANK YOU!” to Chipotle for providing another important lesson for the students on their journey toward Appropriate Independence.

 



Shepherds College - Guiding Your Transition to Appropriate Independence. Please visit us at www.shepherdscollege.edu.

Friday's Top Five: What We're Missing

For most people, summer is a time of fun and excitement, rest and relaxation. It’s the season we look forward to all year long. But for those of us still at Shepherds College, summer can be sort of a drag.

With the students and many of the teachers away on their summer break, things can get a little boring around here. It’s a lot quieter. There’s not near as much activity going on. And we’re all just waiting for school to start up again.

I’m sure if you asked most of the students, they would say they are enjoying their break way too much to think about school. But whether they admit it or not, I’m sure they’re starting to get at least a little bit excited about the new school year.

The students may not be missing us quite yet, but we sure are missing them. Here are some of the things we miss about our Shepherds College students:

1. Their energy.

If you were a visitor at Shepherds College and you happened to be walking down the hallways in between class periods, you would understand exactly what we’re talking about when we say energy. Maybe the students are nervous about an upcoming test. Maybe they’re releasing all the wiggles pent up during class. Maybe they’re just excited about all that they are learning. Whatever it is, there is definitely a high level of energy in our hallways when the students are around. It makes you excited to hear the chatter and laughter and to see the activity and smiles. It will energize you, too!

The “Move to the Groove” program encourages our students to have fun while being physically active and also really increases the energy level on campus. It’s usually held in the gymnasium, and students can exercise by shooting hoops, riding the stationary bikes, walking laps, or doing aerobics. Even some of the Shepherds residents get involved. Mrs. Harvey says that she can feel the happy energy when the students’ participate and it gives her a boost to get past the after-lunch slump.

2. The things they say.

Nicole

You never know what our students are going to say, and that’s what makes life with them so interesting. From their sweet words of kindness and encouragement to their hilarious jokes, the students always have something intriguing to talk about. And they love to talk!

 

Miranda

When I observed a personal development class, students were giving speeches as part of their final. The “audience” was supposed to give the speaker critiques on their speech by using the “sandwich” method: positive comment, something to improve on, positive comment. Nicole only gave positive comments. She could never find something for her classmates to work on. She was quite the encourager. And for some reason, Miranda has taken to teasing me with the nickname “troublemaker.” I haven’t the slightest idea what that’s about! Oh, they make me smile.

3. Their hugs.

Many of our students are gifted with the abilities to comfort and encourage. It feels good when they are so excited to see you that their whole face lights up and they hurry to you for a hug. The students have a special way of making you feel important and appreciated. They’re also very perceptive and can tell when people are worried or hurting. The students love to make friends and be a part of the Shepherds family. They love making people feel loved.

4. The stories they share.

Remember when I said our students love to talk? Well, I wasn’t kidding. Our students enjoy asking people questions and finding out more about them, but they also love telling their own stories, too. They like to surprise you or make you laugh, so their storytelling is usually pretty exciting and dramatic. But they are heartfelt stories, too. They are stories that make you smile.

I think the biggest storyteller on campus is Ray. He always has a story to share, and I love hearing his deep, scratchy voice. Ray has told me stories about movies he’s watched, music he listens to, his mom’s birthday, his extended family, memories with the 2012 graduates, his excitement of being a third year student, and just about every plant growing in the greenhouse. This guy loves stories, and he does a great job of telling them, too. I miss that.

Ray

5. Their smiles.

I could write words upon words about the students’ precious smiles and what they mean to us at Shepherds College, but why make you read when I can show you instead?

Need I say more?

So, while our students enjoy a break from their studies, we eagerly anticipate the coming school year because oh, how we miss those students!

Shepherds College - Guiding Your Transition to Appropriate Independence. Please visit us at www.shepherdscollege.org.