August 2010 Family Reunion Anacortes, Washington
One of my first early role models as a child outside of my family and my first book read as a child was a biography titled “Jane Addams Little Lame Girl”. The book was part of a series of books my mother would buy for us every week. They were offered for a time at the local grocery store. This one was written by Jean Brown Wagoner. The collection was titled Childhood of Famous Americans.
https://www.simonandschuster.com/series/Childhood-of-Famous-Americans
In high school I did written reports about Addams lifes work from her autobiography titled, “Jane Addams, Twenty Years at Hull House”. Published in 1910. Part of my MA thesis was related to her influence on my life, along with many others, and most importantly was Dr Maria Montessori. As I reflect now I feel gratitude to my mother for her efforts in building a little library of books for her children over the years. Reading was difficult for me. As a young child I had a speech therapist and was in special reading programs through middle school. I had many unkind and unfavorable experiences from teachers throughout my school years unfortunately. I believe these experiences and my learning disability is what led me to the alternative and transformational work of Dr. Montessori. I was always struggling to keep up and feel value in myself. I now realize those early experiences is why I persevered through my years of study at our community college and on to Pacific Oaks College, where I received my BA and MA in Human Development, with three specializations in Education and Parenting. As a young mother I struggled with my marriage and finding a place of service in the world, while raising my young daughters. I very soon began educating myself at various levels. I had many different jobs for a while including working on a farm, and being a cook in a restaurant. This was all necessary as my marriage collapsed and I became the head of the household after my husband was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 1976. It was that year that I began my education as best I knew how and with a great deal of support from my family and friends. The Montessori training that I completed in 1979 was a correspondence course, with a practicum at the University of Santa Barbara. After completing my Montessori Certification, I went to work for the Sminomish Tribe in their Headstart Program. I found a place of acceptance, I was respected, and could do this work and care for my children at the same time. I needed to continue my education however, and in 1980 I began working at home developing a licensed in-home child care program, while at the same time raising my two daughters and going to community college. My relationship with the dear people of Swinomish continues. In order to conplete my goal of continuing my education I needed to support myself. I rented space and developed a creative and eclectic Montessori program, Children's House Child Development Center, through spring of 1997. I think Dr. Montessori would have loved it! While continuing my BA and MA work at Pacific Oaks College and my work with children, our little program went on a field trip in the early spring 1991 to visit the Samish Tribe Art Store in Anacortes where I lived and worked and raised my children. During our field trip and visit I was invited to talk with the Samish Nation about myself and my projects with children and families. Surprisingly, I was invited and humbly honored to help them develop their Samish Longhouse Preschool. This program would be developed through the tribe's resources and through a state ECEAP grant that would provide preschool and parent education to families. (Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program). I worked with the beloved Samish people from the fall of 1991 through 1996. The Samish Longhouse Preschool and ECEAP Program recieved a five state award recognition from Soroptimist International for its progress in the development of women's education. I continue to have wonderful life long relationships with the dear families and Samish people I worked with during those years. Then in 1997, a year and a half after the shock of my sister Diana's passing, I took a position working in the field of mental health with Skagit Mental Health Children and Family Services. It was there that I recieved my license and internship as a mental health practitioner, specializing in children's mental health. At the time I was hired to work with a state grant program to support young children and their families suffering and in need and struggling with ever so much. That work led me to an invitation to apply for a faculty position at our community college in the Early Childood Education Department, which I did and served for over 15 years at Skagit Community College. There I had the privilege of sharing my life’s work of supporting children and adults in learning to learn, to read, and to fall in love with their own individual curiosity for learning and creating for themselves. Just as my parents lovingly did for me all of my life. NOTE: It was at Skagit Mental Health Services that I was blessed to work with and meet my future husband, Chuck Britt, who was serving there as a family therapist. Life is most mysterious, wonderous and magical in so many unexpected ways. This site on the Hull House museum and the women’s history site both describe Addams work as an advocate for peace and her work with immigrants, which began in her home, and would later become “Hull House” in Chicago.
https://www.hullhousemuseum.org/about-jane-addams
“Jane Addams wrote articles and gave speeches worldwide promoting peace and she helped found the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom in 1919, serving as its president until 1929 and honorary president until her death in 1935. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts in 1931, the first American woman to receive the award.”
https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/jane-addams
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