How many people can remember all their teachers by name from first to eighth grade? Well I can because they had a major influence on my life. The teachers at Lakeport Elementary and Lakeport Middle School encouraged me to be my best and never give up. They truly believed in me. Thank you! Because of them I overcame poverty, adversity, teasing, discrimination, abuse and poor self-esteem. As an adult, I obtained a 4.0 in graduate school at the University of San Francisco, becoming the first generation to graduate in my family. I know my teachers from Lakeport played a major role in my achievements.
My family moved after eighth grade and one of my biggest regrets was not having the honor of attending Clear Lake High School. My following school days were never as supportive. As I had my own children and put them in schools (not in Lakeport) I was never satisfied. I changed them from this district to that district and I finally realized I was comparing them to Lakeport Unified Schools and in my opinion, no school could ever measure up. That was one of the main reasons I came back home to Lake County and I will never regret that decision. Now my children attend CLHS and this brings my heart much joy. I think it is so cool how my children have had some of the same teachers I had, who now encourage and believe in them. Thanks again!
Our teachers have one of the most challenging and important jobs in our culture. They are put under much pressure with very limited resources and their salaries indicate they are not in it for the money, but for our children. I truly do not know where I would be today if it were not for the teachers who supported me and it scares me to even consider where our children would be today, without them. I recently heard in a yoga class, that we process in a month, the amount of information our great-great-grandparents did in their entire lives. Wow! That really explains a lot about the enormous amounts of stress we face each day.
Our children are under more academic, economic, social, environmental and emotional challenges than ever before. All you have to do is watch the news or go online and you can see what our youth are trying to cope with on a daily basis. Just look at the amount of homework they have. Much of what my children are learning in high school I learned in college. I take my hat off to our youth for how much they do academically, as I am not sure if I could have done the same at their age. I am a dedicated parent who dreams of having Challenge Day at CLHS, to support our inspiring teachers and our amazingly talented children in creating all the hope, peace and love they deserve on their school campus and in the world.
Being an adult Challenge Day volunteer at Lower Lake High School was one of the most positive and rewarding experiences of my entire life.
Seeing teachers and students connect in ways they never have before was deeply heart warming. To see parents and community supporters reach out and empower our children to never give up, truly touched my soul and reminded me of why I came back home to Lake County with my own children. The overall goals of the program are to increase personal power and self-esteem, to shift negative peer pressure to positive peer support and to eliminate the acceptability of teasing, violence and all forms of oppression, as to unite the members of the school population. Challenge Days successfully address the issues of violence, teasing, social oppression, racism, harassment, conflict management, suicide, peer pressure, alcohol and drugs. No school, private or public, is immune to these kinds of challenges. If our children can”t experience love and connection in their schools, how can they ever believe it”s possible in their world? The majority of youth leave the C-Day event feeling bonded, empowered and committed to making a positive difference in their school. I left LLHS feeling even more inspired to continue making a positive difference in my hometown.
Many students from CLHS are already working on “Being The Change” they want to see on their campus and have a “Be The Change” club. These young leaders are rasing funds to pay for this event for their school. As parents and community supporters I encourage us to step up and share in our children”s burden and support our educators. Our local “Be The Change” community meetings are being held the first Tuesday of each month at Round Table Pizza in Lakeport at 6 p.m. These meetings include parents, teachers, community supporters and our amazing youth leaders. The meetings are very positive and encouraging. I believe we need to put our energy into the positive changes we want to see in our world and that is my encouragement to everyone who reads this article. Mother Teresa never participated in any anti-war campaigns, but she rarely missed a peace rally. What a wise woman.
In all my life I have never felt at home unless I were in Lakeport, California and I owe much of this to the teachers from Lakeport Unified School District. In so many ways, these teachers gave me the courage to believe in myself, to believe in mankind and to “Be The Change” I want to see in the world. From the bottom of my heart I thank you for helping me become the person I am today.
I love you all. June Marie Wilson.
June Marie Wilson is a concerned parent of students at Clear Lake High School.
