Livin' the good life...

Last week was an incredible week for me at work. It started off slow, but then things picked up on Tuesday when Whitney "graduated." I picked up a new student...a junior with dyslexia and all sorts of other issues who needs help with English III. The problem is that the school is changing computer programs next year. They will no longer use Apex. So...any student that doesn't complete their course work this school year loses that work and that credit. So, I am working like crazy to get Dylan through Walt Whitman, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Willa Cather, etc. We should finish the first semester tomorrow and start on the second semester. In the meantime, I had two more of my kids "graduate" on Friday. I wrote about Taylor earlier. His mom is a bitch and kept telling him that he couldn't do it. Now she's all giddy and wanting to take credit for "pushing him through." She is clueless and doesn't merit my time so I'm moving on. Taylor knows that it was the staff at Quest that believed in him and helped him and that's all that counts. On to Meredith. What can I say about Meredith? I first met Meredith last fall when I subbed in Choice for Mr. Freeman. She was 21 years old at the time and coming back to school for her diploma. First meeting and we hit it off. She told me how stupid and out of place she felt. Said she should just get her GED but she really wanted a diploma. I told her she wasn't stupid at all and I admired her determination. I said I realized how hard it had to be for her to attend school with 16 and 17 year olds. She is so much more mature than them.

Flash forward to three weeks ago. I found out that Meredith was not going to be able to graduate. It's now or never for her. She is too old to return next year. I went to the counselor and asked what all Meredith needed. She needed to finish English IV, US History second semester, Art, Spanish II and PE. No one believed that she could do it. I asked if I could work with her. Then I went to Meredith and talked with her. I told her that if she wanted to graduate I would help her get it done. All she needed to do was be at school every day and come in early when she could. She agreed. Nobody believed she would come in early but the next day she was there two full hours before she was supposed to be. We got started...and the rest is history (no pun intended).

Last Friday Meredith and I stayed late (till about 4:20) trying to finish her art module. We did. We also talked. Meredith told me that she was excited because now she could see the light at the end of the tunnel. She confessed that she had stopped believing in herself because she didn't see anyone else believing in her. She said, "I am graduating because of you." Of course, I cried. Then I said, "No, Meredith. You are graduating because of YOU...you did the hard work. All I did was keep encouraging you."

I found more than a student in Meredith. I found a reminder...a reminder of why I got into education...a reminder that people do know and care what you think...a reminder that everything you do affects someone else's life. I also found a friend.
So thank you, Meredith, for the lessons that you taught me and for helping me reconnect with my passion about teaching!