Posts Tagged ‘GED’

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Welcome Back

December 29, 2012

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Edgar made it to the GED and passed! I brought the class cupcakes. Then Edgar went home on a weekend pass and decided to celebrate his achievement by going on a methamphetamine binge. He crawled back to me looking a bit unshaven, the young man with the perfect goatee whom I had photographed in cap and gown just a week earlier. I admit I was disappointed in Edgar. Wasn’t the diploma enough? I have to re-enroll him so I gave him his former intake sheets to check. When I reviewed them later I noticed he left his grade level at 9th grade, didn’t bother to check the box for GED.

Now that Edgar has his GED I have to design a different curriculum for his 40 hours, the mandatory required in our particular program. It’s difficult to help someone climb a ladder only to have to pick them up again at the bottom. How do you make that ladder appealing now? Edgar told me he wants to move to Alaska when he discharges parole, to work in the oil industry. So I told him, “You need to read the classics,” and handed him Jack London’s Call of the Wild. I also directed him to an online literary guide that outlines the book’s characters and setting, with discussion and questions.  I’m not finished helping Edgar but he’s got to help himself, break from the pack, the streets, crystal meth.

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Batter up

May 1, 2012

Xavier never made it to the GED. I urged him to go register at the local adult school, he had the check in his pocket. What was he waiting for? How could I help? These past few weeks I would glimpse him through my classroom door, sneaking past in the hallway. He would be heading up to his room or going out supporting others to get their errands done. And he never missed a day of softball practice. The only time I’ve been able to catch him is Tuesdays and Thursdays when I’d hear the metal clatter of aluminum bats and the thud of the big canvas bag of leather mitts being pulled out for the team.

I had gotten Xavier’s test funded with urgency because he is due to leave the program soon. After he got his $150 check, I needed back-up getting him to move forward, so I wrote the director that Xavier had test jitters, that he was sitting on his check. It turns out the check they issued was only good for ten days. By the time I reached out to Xavier again the check had expired and he was being tested for drugs. None of this comes as a surprise, it’s all too common.

Today Xavier came in to say he was sorry. He told me with a big grin he will still be allowed to play on the in-house softball team after he exits the program. “And you can still take the GED,” I said. The sparkle in his eyes dissolved. I guess a high school diploma just doesn’t hold the same magic as baseball. There may be more than one field of dreams but it’ll always be little league without a diploma.

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Self-help stuffies

March 13, 2012

(Fast-forward:  I am now teaching in a treatment center serving homeless men and women on parole)

I have worked in other drug rehab facilities where adults toting stuffed animals were the norm. In the mid-1990s I subbed in a hospital treatment center for juveniles where the residents were required to carry a stuffed animal the first 30 days of the program. Stuffies make us feel secure. Using a teddy bear is healthier than using drugs or alcohol, which many do to suppress their emotional insecurities. So I wasn’t surprised when Xavier showed up today with a well-worn teddy bear wearing a rainbow necklace around its belly.

Xavier is my strongest GED candidate yet. But I have had to refer him to a therapist for his suicidal thoughts and depression. He is so strong in math and reading that I am having him read self-help books to boost his confidence rather than sit drilling on geometry.

It’s a fine line between success and failure for this population. They often don’t follow through at the last minute. They don’t just get cold feet, they get frostbite requiring amputation. I’m hoping I can get Xavier funded to take the GED in April, that he will complete his diploma. Convincing the GED examination board to let him bring in a teddy bear is another story.

Posted in adult education, drug recovery, GED, parolees, rehab | Tagged , , | 1 Comment »