Tell Me A Story: 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.

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.

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."

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.

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.