Power of Good

Minds Brighter Minds E PowerofGood.com | Fall 2015 can we reach the unreachable and teach the unteachable and embrace the rejected and be patient with those who are late bloomers? How do we create an environment where people want to work together to try to find some common ground on the most critical issues that we face in this state, especially education? And how do we connect where we want to be – where we should be – with where we are now by investing in education?" Although he now views his home state from afar in Colorado, Motley said he is optimistic about Alabama's future and feels drawn to do more. "The people I've met and I've been interacting with at Alabama Power and a number of other people who are leading universities and who are part of academic institutions here in town have given me enormous hope," he said. "There are disappointments, for sure. There are concerns, for sure. But I know good people who have returned here, good people who've never left here, good people who are still engaged in the work, and that gives me enormous confidence. So much so that it's tempted me to realize my capacity and my responsibility, perhaps, of coming back to Alabama." 5 Linking childhood behavior with workforce development EllEn abEll got a latE start to hEr carEEr. She wasn't even aware she could make a career out of studying how a child's environment in the first five years of life can affect them through adulthood. But Abell knew she was interested in the concept when she ran a gymnastics program in Portland for preschool children. There, she taught a girl with cognitive disabilities who was full of confidence and always happy. She taught a boy who loved reading but was big and awkward for his age, and lacked coordination, which his parents felt was holding him back academically. "He would be the one you would say was a klutz," Abell said. "And he knew it. He knew he wasn't good enough because that's what he had been told." She saw how different environments and parenting techniques affected a child's personality, confidence and learning abilities and Abell decided to give up her gymnastics business to pursue a career in child and family studies. She was nearly 38 years old before this second career took off. More than 20 years later, she has earned a doctorate degree and has published more than two dozen articles on topics ranging from understanding child behavior and the everyday adult-child interactions that prepare children for school, to the social-emotional competencies adults bring to their roles as parents, teachers and caregivers of children during their first five years. She ABELL continued on page 6 STORy By MARIE lEECH PHOTO By WyNTER ByRd

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