Impact

Scott is an all-in, get your hands dirty working hard kind of kid. He is the last person you would ever expect to have a paralyzing fear of insects. So we were shocked to find out that he had secretly been avoiding any contact with bugs all winter long. When spring arrived and we started sorting worm castings and picking grubs out of our gardens, Scott found himself suddenly faced with a chilling reality. If he was going to garden he needed to find a way to work with these awful creatures even though they terrified him. He started asking questions about the worms, trying to learn as much as he could about them and what would happen if he touched one.

Outcome

He asked questions about himself, like “why am I afraid?” and “where did these feeling come from?”. His progress was slow, sometimes taking an entire class to work up the courage to place a handful of compost into his garden bed, but we watched as he grew more and more intrepid. Until one day, with his hands full of worm castings, he said “Mr. Symon I think I am getting over my fear”. For Scott this was no small feat, and the confidence that comes from conquering a fear is the sturdy kind.