Advocacy in Action

Hi, everyone!
Thank you for taking the time to read this entry.

I have spent this weekend recovering from my recent trip to Washington, D.C.! It has always been one of my favorite places and brought special meaning with this visit. I joined with other school psychologists from around the country to learn from experts in advocacy. I got to talk policy with leaders in the field and was able to directly advocate on the Hill. My heart is full!

I wanted to share some of my thoughts and reflections.

I think we hear “advocate” or “advocacy” and make assumptions about what that looks like or the people who call themselves advocates. The negative connotation is probably from experiences or stories. We picture an abrasive, aggressive person pushing for a cause, or imagine going into battle and become defensive. Yes, advocacy often involves pushing back, but that looks different than we imagine, if we embrace this practice. One of my main takeaways was that many professionals are doing the work quietly behind the scenes. It looks like support and feels like love. Advocacy is affirmation in action. It is showing people that they matter. In some spaces, people may not feel included or welcome. The advocacy I want to be a part of pulls out a chair and welcomes all to sit at the table. It breaks down walls so everyone can get in. It smashes ceilings so people can get out.

For me, advocating in the schools, when I was actively in the field, meant pushing back when people were not sensitive to the needs of children and their families. That looked like challenging perceptions and assumptions, refusing to use certain language, refusing to simply “test and place,” and choosing to study the law so I could hold us accountable.

While in D.C., advocacy took on a different look for me. I got to talk directly to the people who work in senate offices. It was not abrasive, but collaborative, which is one of my goals in advocacy work. If you know me, you know I am a kind, good person…. but I do not play around with injustice. I become a fighter! I felt incredibly calm and ready to talk because schools, and the kids who attend them, have always been my passion. I got to talk about that. I told people close to power about how the people in the field are spread so thin and do so much with so little. Our kids deserve better. They need better. I will never stop fighting.

I look forward to continuing to put advocacy in action throughout my career and in the lives of children I work with and in the lives of the people I love.

Until next time.