Friends School of Wilmington
This spring, Friends School of Wilmington 3rd – 8th grade students received a unique and valuable lesson from guest speaker, Amy Wright. A local Wilmington resident, Wright is the author of the popular blog, It Starts with a Voice, presented on her website: itstartswithavoice.com.
Amy Wright and her husband Ben have four children. Their two youngest, Beau (7) and Bitty (2) both have Down Syndrome. Inspired by their exceptionally loving children, the Wright’s made it their mission to, “advocate for the rights of people with intellectual disabilities and help spread a message of inclusion and acceptance”, as stated on their website.
Wright was invited to speak to Friends School Students by the school’s 5th grade teacher, Julia Tarquinio. “Our students read a memoir about a woman that struggled through school due to a math learning disability, but eventually discovered she was a gifted artist. Our class discussed how everyone is smart and gifted in certain ways, and everyone has challenges too. The lesson was about honoring and accepting all people just as they are. I had heard about the Wright’s extraordinary story and realized that it represented a true life example of the very lessons we were learning. So, I invited her to speak to our kids,” recalls Tarquinio.
Wright’s presentation included the telling of her life story followed by a question and answer session with the students. Wright admitted that she knew little about Down Syndrome when Beau was born, but described how she came to realize that her children and their differences were an amazing blessing that taught her about unconditional love and acceptance. Wright shared some home videos and told the students that despite their differences, Beau and Bitty were the happiest children she had ever known, and were filled with energy, excitement and curiosity.
“By helping to foster compassion and establish a perspective of acceptance, this experience clearly heightened our students’ awareness, reduced their fear and uneasiness about people with differences, and opened the possibility of positive interaction with others that may be different from ourselves,” Tarquinio said.
One Friends School student demonstrated the idea of acceptance when she said, “It would be cool to get to know them.”
Friends Head of School, Brenda Esch commented, “Our school’s Mission Statement emphasizes equality, and our core values include the words Community, Diversity and Respect. Having Amy Wright speak to our kids was a powerful learning experience that directly aligns with our teaching mission and supports our guiding principles.”
To learn more about Amy, Beau, Bitty, and the Wright’s inspiring story visit: itstartswithavoice.com
To learn more about Friends School of Wilmington, visit www.fsow.org
