A chance to launch a future

One of my students came to me during the last week of school with some rudimentary creation of Popsicle sticks, rubber bands and a plastic spoon. This kid was a tall, massive boy, a senior about to embark on the adventures of adulthood, but his face that day was the face of a little boy with a new toy.

He came barreling into my empty classroom with his homemade contraption and said, “Ms. Green, wanna see something cool we just made in science class?” Grabbing the top of my pen, he loaded his miniature catapult, pulled the plastic spoon back, and let it go, hurling my pen top across the room with an impressive force. I have to admit I got a little excited and joined the fun. We shot erasers, paper clips, pennies,and wadded up pieces of paper.

I had a little identity crisis, though. Why was I an English teacher? Why couldn’t I have been a cool science teacher and explode things, grow fungus, cut up small animals, and make small weapons? All I do is grade boring essays.

So, I just loaded more wads of paper and enjoyed the moment of fantasy. We both were launched out of our realities and responsibilities and became kids again.

Our school district has created an instrument of launch very similar. The design is to hurl the lives of some of our weakest members into some semblance of chance. What an appropriate name, too. It’s called “Catapult.” During this first year of implementation, the Catapult program offered legitimate, accredited high school diplomas to 127 former high school dropouts ages 16 to 20.

That is 127 young adults who once were stagnant, now launched into progression; 127 young adults who were at one time going nowhere, now shot into the land of Somewhere.

What a cool name for a cool program.

I’m sure many readers might look at this program with questions. In a world of handing out assistance, is this one more program to enable the mediocre? Maybe. I’m not one to pass judgment.

But, let’s look at the alternative.

What were these 127 kids doing before the opportunity for a diploma was offered? Sitting on the stoop? Hanging out on the streets? Maybe working, but probably not? Existing with no chance? Absent of opportunity?

Before Catapult, there was absolutely no opportunity; they were left to their own devices. If they were high school dropouts, we can all make logical guesses as to what those devices might have looked like. Now, their futures have been launched. Now, they have more opportunity. They have… a chance.

I used to be a naysayer for handing out chances. I used to be the teacher who shunned passively dishing out opportunity after opportunity in the realm of education. That’s until I met Johnathan and Jeraldine and Steve and Quin and Ariel and Tavious and Samantha. ...

There’s a balance, indeed, but the reality is, there has to be something in our community, something in the lives of our youngsters that sails them into success. If not, we as a community are destined to remain stagnant. Destined to repeat the cycles of poverty. Destined to produce an incapable, incompetent work force. Destined to miss out on developing into a growing, thriving community.

These 127 individuals may never ever do anything with their diploma, and they may even reclaim their position on the stoop. We may never know. But at least they were given a chance, and that’s more than what they had before.

This story was originally published June 7, 2016 at 9:03 PM with the headline "A chance to launch a future."