Is High School the Best Time of Your Life? A Word on Our Vision.

I remember trying so hard in high school. So hard to make it a wonderful time. Afterall, I grew up in the era  of 'Happy Days' (the TV show--not the actual fifties) Society tells us those teenage years are the best years of your life. I did everything I knew to make the best of it...to hide the fact that in many ways,  I was miserable. My version of coping with the pain of unpopularity was to try to be the super achiever. Great grades, leadership in clubs, involvement in competitions. I was seeking validation, but it was empty. What I really needed was accepting relationships to build my self-worth. I never got that in high school. From what I hear, the large school model has not improved. Perhaps it is even worse for today's students. Just look at the bullying epidemic and school shootings. Something is wrong.

I saw an Facebook post from Quick Trip the other day. It asked fans if they missed school days. What might surprise some, but not me, was the overwhelming number who insisted (some quite vehemently) that school was not an experience they remembered fondly, missed or in anyway would want to return to. The numbers I tallied about three hours after the post had 8 fans who liked and missed school, 11 fans who answered something different from the actual question posted, and a whopping 26 fans who made negative comments about their education. Three times more negative reactions than positive memories. So why do we continue to believe that the institutional model of education is good for everyone?

Here at eLemenT, we have always had the vision to change that negative school experience for teens. Knowing that, we have been looking into the possibility of showing the documentary of the film Bully. Just watching the trailer will break your heart. As I  watch with tears streaming down my cheeks, I know we are going to make a difference. We are going to rescue teenagers from the cruelty and offer-- maybe for the first time-- a place that values them for who they are. As we are talking to more and more families, we are seeing the need to build a scholarship fund. It is our heart to never turn away a student who wishes to join our program. At the same time, however, the cost of providing a location, tutoring, computers and curriculum is staggering. We are operating on a shoe string budget, and pouring our personal finances into this project. It is something we believe in so strongly.

If you too have the memories of hurt and frustration from your schooling years, please consider a gift to scholarship a student. If you or your child is a victim of bullying, please talk to us, even if you don't now have the means of paying the tuition. If I had been able to be in a program like ours, I would have jumped on the opportunity in a heart beat. How about you? If you would too, perhaps you can make it possible for a teen who is struggling today.