More Reflection on 2024 Word

When I thought about my 2024 word- more- I was at first discouraged because this has not been a year of more, at least not at first glance.  But the more I thought, the more( pun intended) I saw the depth of the word.

I thought more would be more students, more graduates, and more chance to help turn lives around.  I put the word out in the pods of available classes; I honed my introduction process- telling them about the class and the rewards of accomplishments. All of which I thought were necessary for the goal of more.

But I didn’t get many more students, and I am so glad I didn’t!

The year 2024 had nine graduates for a total of 74 graduates since the program started in the year 2020.  Those numbers are pretty amazing for our facility of size.  But what those numbers don’t show is the depth behind those 9.

One guy just needed math to pass and he had failed it already 2 times in prison, this was his last chance under his original money.  He started off by telling me, if he failed again he was quitting- he was never good at math and never would be, but to please his mother, he would test one more time before he quit. I started him where I start everyone- Fractions! “I hate fractions, I’ve never been able to do fractions. Oh, I know these. You do this, then this, and here’s the answer.”  When he knew something we moved on, when he didn’t he worked.  In March, he took the math test and went from a 4 to a 10. PASSED!!  “I never thought I could do it,” he said. “I always thought you could,” I replied.  More!

Another guy- way too street-smart for his own good, or at least that is what he thought.  He never thought he needed a diploma, but he wanted his baby mama to see him as more, and he wanted to have a relationship with his son, so he came, worked hard, and passed easily with honors( Scoring 15/20 or more on three tests).  That diploma helped to show her that he could do hard things, and it allowed him a video visit once a week with his infant son.  More!

There were sisters that came and worked together. One easily getting it and passing quickly, the other struggling to understand but she never gave up.  She worked for 11 months and on  the final test for the year she passed. More!

One guy I thought would pass easily but he struggled on his math test and left before he could take it a final time, but he helped his bunkie study and he passed his math with an 8. Just what he needed. More!

Two guys came and worked steady- smart but with no confidence.  Working together, giving each other high-fives when they got something right, scouring the books when they got it wrong. Passed- one with honors. More.

Two more came and worked the program making steady progress, barely speaking but taking it all in.  Passed. At graduation he said he called his dad and he was really proud of him. That was the most I ever heard him speak. More.

Personally- more individual time for instructions- one-on-one working through math problems together. More time to notice and encourage success, no matter how small. I saw more genuine and deep interest in learning from my students. Sometimes, it is all about whether they can get cut time( up to 6 months off their sentence), but this year, it was about the joy of learning something new. More perseverance- they will to keep going even when the math or the writing is hard.  I had fewer students give up and quit.  I had more students who were close to testing or just needed to pass 1 or 2 tests on the outside.   I learned more math this year: Functions, Solving systems of equations with two variables, and factoring trinomials, each one harder than the last.  I told my students that if I could learn them at 62, they could learn them.  More.

And the students who haven’t tested?  They continue to amaze me.  They come, they try( a lot can be said for being willing to try), they write, they read, they listen because, ultimately, they want more for their lives.

More was a great word for 2024.

Bring on 2025- even more!

Elizabeth Alber

CCSO

Guest Blogger