ESAU My Son

"This child has ADD, nadirs in Executive Functioning Disorder, Auditory Processing and Long Term Recall, and an attitude. Did I mention the attitude?"

All educators know students like this. They arrive hang dog at your office door, and you spend your professional lives trying to engage them in the process of education. Here is an opportunity to view these students through a different lens.

ESAU MY SON is a funny, touching, and poignantly honest story about one parents learning curve in raising such a child.

"Darling, sweetheart, honey bunch...our people become doctors, lawyers, CPA's. We don't join the Marine Corps!" In my son's first week of life I purchased a tee shirt that was supposed to inform his growing. In tiny letters it read "HARVARD UNIVERSITY," and I felt destined to raise an Ivy League educated brain surgeon.

How could it be that my little blessing was:

  • Causing the kindergarten teacher's face to break out in nervous ticks
  • Developing as his best subject; Derailing the teacher's agendas
  • Playing football instead of becoming a computer club star

Why does it take some of us so long to recognize the unique gifts a child brings to their world?

Used as pure entertainment or the centerpiece for an educational conference, this story will resonate in the experiences of listeners. Conference planners might choose to facilitate breakout groups to develop thinking and strategies around the follow topics which surface through the story:

  • Differentiating between behavioral and special educational needs
  • Classroom Management
  • Testing: It's uses and shortcomings
  • Teacher-Parent Relations
  • Inclusion: What does it really entail
  • The role of extra curricular activities in a student's development
  • How can we use IEP's to help a student succeed

This is a profound journey of appreciation where we all learn that not everything of value in this life can be measured on a cognitive learning profile.

The program runs approximately 1 hour, and comes with no technical contraints.

Biographic and Contact Information
Judith Black's traditional and original stories have rocked laughing audiences to their feet. Winner of the Oracle: Circle of Excellence, the most coveted award in storytelling, Judith has been featured on stages far and wide, such as The Montreal Comedy Festival, The National Storytelling Festival, The Smithsonian Institution, Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the National Art Museum in Cape Town, South Africa and NPR. She has created stories for the US Department of the Interior, NPR, The Mass. Foundation for the Humanities, and many other organizations. A graduate of Wheelock College, she holds a degree in Early Childhood Education, has been an adjunct faculty member at Lesley University for 20 years, and has keynoted conferences for educators, social workers, and entrepreneurs through out America.

To book this piece:
781-631-4417
jb@storiesalive
For more information about Judith's work:
www.storiesalive.com and www.tellingstoriestochildren.com