I have had the honour and privilege of working with the Foundation for Enriching Education for ten years. Every year I spend two weeks touring great Avon Maitland Schools under the auspices of the Foundation. Former Executive Director, Lynda McGregor and current Executive Director, Wes MacVicor, along with Assistant, Dana Phillips, have made my tours seamless.  In 2011, I brought a new show to the schools entitled: Sweet Thunder Medicine Wheel & Character Education. It exceeded even my own high expectations and hopes for its success.

At the end of each presentation I asked Teachers and Students what they thought, could I improve it, add stuff, remove stuff.  "It was perfect", one student enthused. "I had the best time."  The only complaint by one teacher, was that I didn't wear my hair down, "It looks so pretty."  Okay, then, if that's the only problem, next time I'll wear my hair down.

The kids, teachers and I had a great time interacting in Medicine Wheel/Character Education exercises, stories, drumming and singing. The presentation, although First Nations in theme, was broader-based to include all of us as mindful, Medicine Wheel-strong individuals. 

This year for the first time, I was in a number of high schools. It didn't take them long to jump in and sing like there was nobody listening. I reminded all my kids that the phrase "with age comes wisdom", isn't necessarily the case when they were already born wise. What we tend to do is talk ourselves out of it.  Fortunately, as we mature, our knowledge-base increases and it is how we process the knowledge that makes us better, but wisdom is already present. 

At the end of one show, I asked again, "what makes you a good person?"I was born wise", responded a grade six young man. Yes.s.s.s.s.s.  Next year, I'm changing the Show title to: Sweet Thunder Medicine Wheel & Character Education: Born Wise!

Here is a little something about one of my favourite organizations - The Foundation for Enriching Education, Seaforth, Ontario

Current Executive Director: Wes MacVicor

Mission Statement

To develop, support and encourage the integration of the rich and unique cultural, corporate, industrial and agricultural resources of Huron and Perth counties into the school system and initiate new educational enrichment programs to benefit students and citizens.

Description

The Foundation For Education is a charitable organization that has served Huron and Perth since 1989. The Foundation, by raising and receiving funds, enhances the learning experience of students of all ages through a wide variety of activities such as the arts, career awareness, literacy and science and technology. It assists schools with fundraising campaigns and receipts donations to those campaigns. It also continually strives to build extensive business-education partnerships in order to provide a vast array of school-work projects.

The Foundation's major partner is the AVON MAITLAND DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD whose students are served by the Foundation through its curriculum enrichment programming and fundraising support. They work very hard to bring cultural programming into the region.  I'm honoured to have been part of it for so long.