Laurel's Response #1

Education has always been very important in our family. All I have to do is think back to my mother and her brothers, as children, when their father left his family of six to fend for themselves. Back then, there weren’t any assistance programs, so my mother’s four brothers went to work at a very young age to support the family, and to help pay for each other’s education. All of them went on to further their education, which led to successful careers, one even serving as a pilot in WWII.

My mother’s aunt paid for her to go to secretarial school in Boston, which led my mother to realize how important education beyond high school, especially for women, can be. She used to tell me that I needed an education to be strong and independent. My mother passed that belief on to all of us. Her family’s struggles made each of them aware of how important education is to a successful and fulfilled life.

In today’s society, education is imperative, but for your students, it may seem as if it can never happen, because of financial, social, and other problems, including the different fears we all share. I think I would work at trying to discover their passions, what are they good at? Then, as they mature, they may begin to realize how important education, beyond high school, can be in realizing those passions.