Archive for the ‘GED’ Category
May 6, 2010
Wanda got her GED! She was waiting at the door of my school when I arrived Monday morning. We dressed her in the spare cap and gown I keep on hand. “Put the tassel on the right,” I said. We shuffled out to the garden and I snapped her photo next to a wall of pink flowers. This was the first time Wanda had ever worn a cap and gown. Statistics show that getting a high school diploma greatly increases a parolee’s chances of not going back to prison. I had five students who only needed to pass the math section to get their GED. Two walked out of the program (Damien and LaDeena), one went home (Marcos), and one is still here and will hopefully finish. But Wanda did it.
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April 19, 2010
My students get test jitters just like everyone else, but for them the fear is exponential — success is terrifying and failure or even outright avoidance is the norm. Therefore I wasn’t surprised when I returned last Thursday to find Damien had walked out of the rehab, split the program. I had written Damien a letter of recommendation to get his GED funded. Like Wanda, he only needed to retake and pass the math section of the GED. The ink on the check was still wet when he ran. He didn’t take the check, he left without it. After all, this is a man who quietly cleaned my room every day for months. When I asked him, “What figure in history do you consider successful?” he answered, “Jesus.”
Wanda took the math section of the GED Saturday. I’ve been helping her prep for several months now. I handed her an envelope when I left on Friday. I wrote Good Luck on it and put a brand new sharpened pencil inside, pure cedar with a pink pearl eraser. We should have the results in a couple weeks. As for Damien, his leaving probably had nothing to do with taking the test but man he came close.
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April 8, 2010
Z is a longtime student. She is back in rehab and back in my school for the third time. The first time she relapsed after having fully graduated the program. The second time she was picked up for not showing up to see her probation officer and spent several months in jail. This is probably her last run at the rehab and I can’t imagine not having her in class. I am trying several strategies to get her to take the GED. She is smart and ready but terrified and reminds me often that she is bipolar. “You’re wonderful and magnificent,” I say, “bipolar!” I talked with her bunkie (roommate) today. Z’s bunkie Wanda is retaking the math section of the GED next week and I suggested they study together. Wanda convinced Z to let me write a letter to get her exam funded. Z starts shaking at the thought of taking the GED, it’s that scary for her. “I’m not interested in achievement, Ms. P.,” she says. “Family and love, that’s what matters to me.” I tell her, “We’re here for you, Z.”
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March 8, 2010
Damien helps clean the classroom everyday at 3:45 and he does a damn good job. I can’t read his emotions at all. I know he was in a real long time and I know he was in for murder. He doesn’t talk much, but he often murmurs to himself, “Mmm, mmm, mmm,” in a descending scale. He has a certain innocence, a naiveté. “Miss P.,” Damien asked me, “do you think I could get $10 for this half a twenty if I take it to the bank?” I walked over to see he was holding half a twenty-dollar bill torn along the face of Andrew Jackson. “Not sure, ” I said. I looked on the Internet and learned you need to be able to read both serial numbers and at least 75% of the bill. “Maybe I should save it for good luck,” Damien said. “Or save it because maybe someday you’ll find the person who has the other half,” I said. He laughed. “That’s a one in a million chance, Miss P!”
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February 19, 2010
My students have a hard time remembering. Many have spent the better part of their life doing drugs. So I am always open to strategies to help them remember all the formulas and rules that go into doing even simple math. I’ve developed what I call Jailhouse Math. Jailhouse Math is not approved by my program. It is a way in for my students and they get it. I teach fractions by using the prison bunk as an example. The heavier “cellie” usually gets the bottom bunk. Let’s call him Heavy-D, the denominator. The lighter guy is Numero Uno, he gets the top bunk, the numerator. Sometimes the two cellmates weigh the same or the heavier guy ends up on the top bunk, this is called Improper.
One of my students, Eric likes to teach on the board. Today he used an example of Jailhouse Math to explain perimeter. He drew a house that he said was a crack house. He said the inside where everyone was dealing and smoking rock is the area. Then he showed that the police had shown up. He said they had the place surrounded, he explained the police were on the perimeter. Nice work, Eric.
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February 17, 2010
Carlos knocked on the back door of my school today. “Can I come in? You know I split and I’m not supposed to be here but I was wondering if you could look up my scores on the GED test I took two weeks ago?” Carlos looked different. He had cut off his dark curls, he looked…conservative. He told me he was living with his family and had a good job. I looked up his scores. He passed all five sections of the GED, but he failed the exam because he was short 20 points. Carlos scored 2230 and he needed a score of 2250 to pass. His average was 446 and you need a 450 overall to pass. Heartbreaking.
Still, he was optimistic. We both agreed he should retake the writing section. He blamed his low score in this area on a malfunctioning pen they gave him. “I gave you a brand new pen for the test,” I said as I handed him my card. “Call me when you get the results on the re-test.”
Carlos giggled. It’s odd to hear a grown man giggle but I got used to it and will even miss it a little.
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February 3, 2010
Carlos is taking the GED exam tomorrow. I gave him several new pencils to take with him, solid cedar, not like those inferior “Depot” pencils. He was definitely a little nervous, coming and going today, not knowing what to do with himself. I told him to relax. He’s studied for over 250 hours and passed every section of the Pre-GED. Carlos is only 24. He has the potential to get his diploma and move on. I was trying to think of some success stories over the years, students who got out of the system for good and closed the door behind them. Students who went to art school, who entered the university, became drug counselors, they are the exceptions. Parolees who got their GED stand out. I’ve seen real progress. Maybe Carlos will become an X-Ray tech or maybe he will work in the oil fields like others in his family.
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January 29, 2010
Carlos is excited. He will take his GED exam on Tuesday. He’s spent 250 hours preparing for the test in my school. But as he reminds me I am not enough help when it comes to math. He has fellow residents at the rehab helping him around the clock. He got a hold of a white-board erasable marker and is practicing pre-algebra on the mirror in his room. I imagine them all gathered around the mirror: “A minus-minus is a plus. Any number to the zero power is one.” And you thought addicts only used mirrors to snort cocaine? Carlos giggles when he gets a question right, as if you just gave him candy. I’m anticipating his big day too. Stay tuned, the test is just around the corner.
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