You have read many times A Futures Friend is a Friend for Life. Over the years it has been proven to me over and over again that it is true! Today one of my former Futures graduates posted that her cousin, also a former Futures graduate, has passed away. She shared that his family requested a post be made on Facebook so his Futures family would know about his passing. She shared two things which grabbed my heart deeply. First, to his classmates... you were family to him and even in the recent past would speak so highly of his friendships with you. You touched his heart and left a lasting impression. It carried with him all of these years... 20 + years. Secondly, she wrote about the program and how he would always say he was made to feel special, valued. Then added that that was something he greatly needed to have during that time in his life. When Futures first began, there was a group of students who were categorized as the ones who would never make it. Some people even said out loud that the district was wasting money on screw ups. These students somehow were not people with hearts and needs; they were somehow abstract objects and seen as discarded people. They were considered lost causes. Sounds harsh doesnt it? Please know I am not exaggerating. We interviewed over three hundred students to fill 75 seats the first year of Futures high in 1990. During the interviews two questions specifically stood out to me as interviewees responded... One: what do you think would make a difference in your success? Answer: having people who care. Two: where do you see yourself ten years from now? Answer: dead. They genuinely felt hopeless. It would be easy to say that their answers are juvenile answers from kids who will not take responsibility for themselves. Martin Luther King once said he looked for the day when we all are measured by our character ... I have been teaching in the Futures program for twenty two years. I have worked with over two thousand at-risk students and seen 90+ percent of them move on into highly productive, successful lives. They have married, had children, some of whom I have or am currently teaching. They have become Principals, teachers, nurses, psychologists, personal assistants to senators, owners of businesses, owners of their own homes. The list goes on and on. It is true, not every single student achieved these things. But that is true in ANY school not just alternative Education. Bottom line people are people. We are full of failure, faults, successes and hum drum. These students have shown me the power of mentoring. Just one individual can really make a difference. That is how Roman felt about his classmates and teachers. My students have more often than not been the teacher and I have been the student. My entire teaching career has been working with at-risk students. They are my favorite folks on the planet. They are like me: a work in progress. They love passionately and they work hard. I teach my students that it is not what they do in front of me that shows what they learned, it is what they do away from my presence and eye of approval that shows it. Days like today confirm it. Roman is in his mid thirties, he was not able to keep in touch with his classmates like he wanted to but today when learning about his passing, so many of his Futures friends responded. They are devastated by his loss. He touched their hearts as much as they touched his. Does this outpouring happen in other places? Absolutely it does. Then why do I go to such an effort to share this? Because it proves that the the difference between one person and another is a decision, an event, an investment. If these students were not worth the investment, them why are they still connected? Why does their absence hurt so much? Why does a reunion with one another bring such joy? Its because they are people, they are special, they are loved. This is long, I know I talk a lot. But, my God says their are two commandments to remember 1. To love God with all my heart, mind and soul and 2. To love my neighbor as myself. To my Futures family I want you to hear it again from me... I love you and it is MY PLEASURE TO HAVE YOU IN MY LIFE. Together we weep over the loss of Roman just like we rejoiced when we went through graduation together. We are connected for life and that connection brings with it joy and sadness and I love that I can travel it with you. With much love always, Liz Cooley.
Posted on: Fri, 25 Jul 2014 21:01:13 +0000
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