A special calling: 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock alumna Brenda Harrison writes a children鈥檚 book inspired by her nephew聽
When Brenda Harrison鈥檚 3-year-old great nephew Oliver Goodwin was born with Down syndrome, she didn鈥檛 worry a bit. As a longtime special education teacher and graduate of 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 Master of Education in special education program, Harrison knew she was prepared to be a resource for Oliver.聽鈥淲hen my nephew was born, I kept thinking about the little things Oliver was doing. I鈥檇 look at him playing and feeding himself,鈥� she said. 鈥淒own syndrome babies are so lovable. The little things they do are things we tend to take for granted.鈥�His journey inspired Harrison to write 鈥淥liver鈥檚 Adventures,鈥� a children鈥檚 book based on Oliver鈥檚 life. The book, illustrated by Dennis Davide, was published by Xlibris and is available from and . Her first book signing will be held on Saturday, Aug. 3, at 2 p.m. at , at 1001 Wright Ave. in Little Rock.鈥淵ears ago, I said I鈥檓 going to write a novel,鈥� Harrison said. 鈥淚 remember being in church one Sunday during the time I was writing the book, and the preacher preached about faith and believing anything is possible. That gave me some encouragement, and I thought 鈥業鈥檓 gonna do this.鈥� Through prayer and faith, I got it done in about three months.鈥�Harrison never envisioned she would be an author, or even a teacher.鈥淢y goal in high school was to be a nurse. When I got to be a high school senior, it shifted to special education simply because growing up, I used to see adults with disabilities, but I didn鈥檛 know what it was about. My heart would break, and I wanted to be able to do something to help. I wanted to help individuals who needed help who couldn鈥檛 help themselves.鈥�And that鈥檚 exactly what Harrison has been doing for the past 37 years – teaching in special education classes. For the past seven years, she has taught at Little Rock鈥檚 J.A. Fair High School, and this year she’ll be teaching at Pinnacle View School in Little Rock.She earned an undergraduate degree from elementary education at Henderson State University with a minor in special education. Then in 2006, at the age of 48, Harrison enrolled at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock to pursue a master鈥檚 degree. She graduated in December 2008 with a Master of Education in special education.鈥淚 waited until my daughter was an adult and returned to grad school, something I鈥檝e always wanted to do,鈥� Harrison said. 鈥淚 was working full-time and went straight through, summers included.鈥�At 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, Harrison met Dr. Jennifer Hune, associate professor of special education and graduate advisor in the School of Education鈥淪he was truly an inspiration to me,鈥� Harrison said. 鈥淚 enjoyed my time getting my master鈥檚 degree.鈥澛� Simply put: 鈥淚 grew,鈥� she said.Hune was the first person Harrison called when she passed her master’s certification exam.鈥淢rs. Harrison was one of those students who absolutely wanted to teach children with disabilities,鈥� Hune said. 鈥淪he wanted to be better so she could help her students be better. That was the part of her that I adored. My program is not one that鈥檚 easy. I give my students聽 a lot to think about. I teach them all of the content and capabilities that will help them be good special educators. If they don鈥檛 have the skills, they don鈥檛 need to be in the classroom. Children like Oliver deserve people who know how to work with them and how to engage in the strategies that help them.鈥�Oliver is the son of Jansen and Dee Goodwin of Little Rock. Harrison recently visited Oliver鈥檚 preschool class at 糖心Vlog传媒MS Kids First, a pediatric day health care program for children with special health care needs. Harrison read the book to Oliver, to whom she dedicated the book, and donated a copy of her book to his class.鈥淵ou have to know how to help and receive them,鈥� Harrison said of children born with special needs. 鈥淚f your receive them as a person of worth and take the time to teach them, these little people will bloom and blossom.鈥�In the photo above right, Brenda Harrison reads to her great nephew, Oliver Goodwin, who inspired Harrison to write a children鈥檚 book. Photo by Benjamin Krain
