By Deb Leatherman, ABE/GED Program Director, SBC
Many of us have arrived where we are in life due to positive learning experiences and people who have helped guide us as we look to our future. We may come from a thriving community where opportunities exist, family is supportive, and our dreams are encouraged. Perhaps a few of those things were missing, it was a struggle, but we still pressed through. What if half, or all, of those things were missing? What if the opposite were true? Where would we be?
Working through goals worksheet
Part of the Sitting Bull College (SBC) GED Program orientation process is getting to know each student and establishing trust. What are their hopes and dreams? What are their goals? What are their life challenges? This establishes a starting point: “Here is where we are right now. What do we need to do to achieve that goal?” A goals worksheet helps to walk students through this. Each student is encouraged to take their time and deeply contemplate each line. Sometimes this process is met with raw emotion – talking through the worksheet with them and breaking the process down into baby steps with the end goal in mind. One test at a time, one subject at a time. A commitment to study, a commitment to follow through, and having our support throughout. This turns their “I want to” into “I’m going to”, with a date of desired completion written down to give them a target.
Sometimes students are deep in a debilitating life situation which hinders them moving forward in education. This is where they need to know they are seen and that you care with no judgement. Hope begins the moment they see that a change in their life is possible and that they are not alone. This forward movement may start with a discussion of getting an addiction assessment and making that call. It may be assisting with an application for housing or providing an emergency food referral for their family.
Recently, one of our students came in to talk with me. She covered her face and cried, sitting across the table from me. She was under the influence, and her face was badly scratched. What this student did not need was for me to ask her to leave or berate her. What she did need was an ear and understanding. She talked, she shared, she asked for help. We called the treatment center that very moment, and the student took the lead in getting her life back. Seeing her come back to class a few weeks later, I witnessed a smiling young woman with renewed focus and hope.
Standing Rock Sioux Reservation
Amidst an uncertain future for his people, Hunkpapa Chief, Sitting Bull, said, “Let us put our minds together and see what life we can make for our children.” SBC has continued that vision of our namesake through providing higher and cultural education, equipping students to carry the mantle to not only improve their lives, but the lives of future generations. Students are asked to remember who they are and where they come from, to choose the educational path which fits them best, and to pass on the knowledge gained to create a better future for themselves and their community. Most of our GED students reveal their goal of going to college or learning a trade so they can help their people and show their children it can be done. They, too, are living out Sitting Bull’s vision. For them, it begins with a foundation of hope, which grows into the belief that they can do it and their dreams are achievable.
