Learning from the past and looking toward the future

Over the last 24 hours, I have seen two former students who made the choice to drop out of school. Matt dropped out a couple of years ago. I almost did not recognize him because he had "grown up" so much. He came over to sit next to another of his former teachers and me at our school's JV game. He talked about dropping out and how it was his biggest regret. Although he has a job and a beautiful family, he wished he had finished school. He said if he knew then, what he knows now he might have made some different choices. We talked for a while and both of us teachers and moms reminded him that it was never to late to go back to school. Although we all hated to see Matt make that choice a few years ago, we are proud of his maturity and good choices now. Good Luck Matt!

The very next day, I was running errands and I heard "Hey Mrs. Fatch" across the parking lot. It was a student from last semester who had also made the choice to drop out. He was dressed in a tie and going to work. He proudly said that he was back in school and doing well. He was back in U.S. History and was making good grades. I am so proud of him and his choice to return to school this year and graduate in June. I will applaud loudly when his name is called at graduation this June.

We all make mistakes in our lives....some big and others minor. We make choices in our youth often in an attempt to prove we are growing into adulthood and can make decisions for ourselves. The great thing about mistakes is that we can learn from them. The great thing about the past is that it is over and the future is before us. Seeing these two students really made me think about learning from mistakes and moving in the right direction.