Almost to the ending of another great and rewarding year.

Filling our younger students with hope...

As we work our way closer to another outstanding year, with a total calculated estimate of over a million dollars in scholarship awards to this year's outstanding seniors in my classroom here at Career Center East alone, it is helpful to take stock of how we are helping students at a much younger age as well.

We at Career Center East had a group of young students from the 5th grade tour through here today after school. One of the things that their teacher shared with me is that they are a group of students who are currently not hopeful that they have college in their future, that the ultimate goal is completion of high school.

She is trying to change their vision.

Bless her and lots more like her who try to give our youngest students a new way of looking at their lives, beyond the vision that they have been given by families or others. Sometimes it is difficult to look past obstacles, and there are people in education that are doing their best to keep those obstacles from being insurmountable.

I try to imagine what it must be like to be in the fifth grade and to truly believe that life holds little promise and that there is not a lot that can be done to change anything. What a truly hopeless feeling that must be at such a young age! I have determined that it is my job to try to work with people of all ages to keep them from feeling that way at really ANY age, but especially at such a young age. Youth is about hope. Work with your public school educators to help keep that hope alive.