Donna,
Wow!! Your talk with our daughter, Cassidy, literally took our breath away…
Although much time has passed since her incident, she has never really spoken much about it, and when we tried to prompt her, she would always just say, I look forward and I want to focus on what is ahead. While that is a great strength of hers, we often wondered if she has ever really faced the reality of what happened and her past.
To hear her speak about it in the way that she did with you and her perception brought us to tears. Some of her recollection is much milder than what we saw and what she actually experienced. I believe that perhaps this is a gift from above, that she has no true recollection of a time period before and after this happened to her.
It was through your guidance that you brought her to a point that she has never really allowed herself to get to. Your redirection of her thoughts, and keeping her focused, forced her to speak openly and answer questions in a way that she has never opened up to my husband and I.
As we also have a son who was also affected by this, we always like to say to him that this was just one chapter in our book of life. This book has actually been composed to have a happy ending, whereas the character learned to dig deep, never give up and perhaps be a better version of herself. Life is not a dress rehearsal, so we should live everyday as if it were our last.
Donna, your empathy and depth of understanding was absolutely beautiful and we will be forever grateful. Thank you for this gift.
Michael and Karen Kmetz
A Big Thank You!
Hi Donna,
Thank you for your remarkable presentations today! Both part 1 and part 2 were uniquely inspiring and served to further convince me of our critical role as educators to develop our students' self esteem and change lives!
Thank you for spreading the message that unless our students' self-esteem is developed and preserved learning cannot occur!
Your priceless presentation served to also solidify my constructivist views that all students are smart, can learn and can succeed if we tell them! I plan to integrate S.TO.P. into my teaching philosophy coupled with a renewed commitment in preserving my students' self esteem!
I trust our school can continue to ensure your presentations are integrated into our curriculum I wish you much success in motivating and inspiring educators and also serving as an advocate for our students. Have a blessed weekend!
