TELL ME A STORY

TELL ME A STORY
"Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation." Joel 1:3

Friday, September 20, 2013

BREAKING BARRIERS

Marcia Norwood
America's STORYTELLER
Telling Untold Stories in Photographs, Prose and Public Speaking

Barriers
  

1.  Limits or boundaries.
2.  Something that restrains or obstructs progress or access.
3.  Obstacles that bar passage.

My daughter, Faith Fu Ju,  is used to barriers. Armed with her personal faith in the God of the Impossible, and her determination, motivation and hard work - she's muscled through barriers time and time again. 


Barriers have become gates to her destiny

Faith is homeschooled, so she is not allowed to swim for our local high school team. We are working with our local coaches and our Missouri State Representative, Sheila Solon, so that homeschoolers will someday have equal access and be able to participate in activities.

Pennsylvania passed equal access in 2008. 
The bill not only lets homeschoolers into school sports, it also allows them into all of the other activities that are defined by Section 511 of the School Code. In general, school students do not get credits or grades for an activity, although they would get credits and grades for a course. 

The law and Section 511 specifically mention clubs, musical ensembles, theatrical productions, school publications, debating and forensic activities. They are still Section 511 activities even if they meet during the school day.
School districts are already supposed to have policies about how activities are managed, supervised, and paid for, so it should be possible to find out which are the Section 511 activities in your school district by checking out your school district’s already-existing policies.  

Sarah Pearce at the Department of Education (717-783-6610) and said, “Basically anything that a public student can do under Section 511, now a homeschooled student can do as well.” 

Although school courses are not included in Senate Bill 361, we expect more and more school districts to open their courses to access by homeschoolers. Under existing laws, school districts can already get Department of Education funding for the part of the school day that homeschoolers (or private school students) participate in their courses. Governor Ridge’s remarks usher in a new era of cooperation in Pennsylvania. 

http://www.pahomeschoolers.com/newsletter/issue93a.htm


Our local high school swim team does not meet the requirements for a USA Swim sanctioned team. 

We hope Missouri public high schools will raise their standards to become a part of USA Swimming...and follow Colorado's example.   Missy Franklin (four-time Olympic gold medalist) is allowed to swim with her USA swim team, and is also allowed to compete with her local high school in Aurora, Colorado.





Faith swims for the Kansas City Blazers, a USA sanctioned swim team. She's only been swimming competitively (year-round) for two years. She's holding her own with kids who have been swimming much longer. She is 5 foot 2 inches tall (several inches shorter than most other swimmers). 


Faith trains with a long term goal of competing in the 2016 Olympic games in Rio.  Her short-term goals include improving her "froggie-like" starting dive, and earning academic and athletic scholarships.  She hopes to swim for a university where swimming is celebrated, and the swim coach cares for his girls like family.

Copyright 2012 Marcia Norwood
Faith Fu Ju was born in China in 1994, with cleft lip and palate. She lived at an orphanage for the first eight years of her life. She spoke no English when we chose her. We became her Forever Family in October 2002, through the miracle of adoption
 
Copyright 2002 Marcia Norwood

Our family needed Faith just as much as she needed us. 

I've watched Faith Fu Ju change people and situations as she humbly serves others. 

Her teammates on the KC Blazers named her "Faith, The Brave." 
 
Copyright 2012 Marcia Norwood


She exemplifies both her American and Chinese names. "Fu" means blessing or great reward after much hard work. "Faith" is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things unseen. (Hebrews 11:1).

Faith's successes can be celebrated by 


every orphan...

every child born with cleft lip and palate...

every person who thinks they are not the right size 
to compete with their peers...

every homeschool student 
who is not allowed to compete in activities
at their local high school...

and by every parent and grandparent  
who believed in their child's dreams 
before anyone else did.


Copyright 2012 Marcia Norwood
I can always spot my daughter at a KC Blazer swim meet. She's the tiny girl with the hoodie and dark-colored goggles. I know...dark colored goggles are usually worn outside - not indoors, but she's developed her own style. She wears earphones, and listens to music between races. 

She prays before every race.

Swimming is her passion. 



  Faith braved 31 degree temps after her 6 AM Blazer swim practice to pose for these photos.     Copyright 2013 Marcia Norwood

Someone asked WHY she chose swimming.


"Everyone 
in my family swims. 
We love it. 
Honestly -- 
I tried everything else...
ballet, basketball, track, trampoline, and volleyball...
and I wasn't very good...
but when I got in the pool - 
Copyright 2011 Marcia Norwood
it just felt right
I feel at home in the water, and I never get tired of it."

Faith Fu Ju Norwood, Barrier Breaker

Copyright 2012 Marcia Norwood

Copyright 2012 Marcia Norwood


Thanks for stopping by!

Come back often, and bring a friend!

Marcia Norwood,
Faith's Mom 

America's STORYTELLER
Telling Untold Stories in Photographs, Prose and Public Speaking


 

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