PROUD to be Parkview (Class of 2010)

"Have you ever been at sea in a dense fog, when it seemed as if a tangible white darkness shut you in, and the great ship, tense and anxious, groped her way toward the shore with plummet and sounding-line, and you waited with beating heart for something to happen? I was like that ship before my education began, only I was without compass or sounding-line, and had no way of knowing how near the harbour was".
- Helen Keller

Everyone gathered in the Prince of Whales Elementary School gym at 1pm to celebrate what might be identified as the biggest feat these students have faced in their lives so far. Parkview staff, school board superintendents and trustees, parents, and senior students gathered to celebrate the graduation of the class of 2010.
But you need to understand what a magnificent and amazing thing this is to Parkview and it's school community.

Parkview Secondary School is a vocational high school with a focus on literacy. Each student who attends Parkview possesses some degree of learning disability; Many (if not most) have the exceptional label of M.I.D. (Mild Intellectual Delay). This means that they lag significantly behind their same age peers at other Hamilton high schools. To be sure, these high school students cap out at a grade 6 reading, comprehension, and mathematics level... at best. A large number come in at grade 9 reading at a grade 2 level or below.

That's not all, though. This is also an inner city school, situated on Balsam street, directly across from Ivor Wynne Stadium. The majority of the students who attend Parkview live in some of the lowest socioeconomic regions of the city, where crime is high and quality of living is low. Their families are the working poor of our city... if they are able to work at all. In which case, the students go out to find some sort of minimal paying job in order to support their family and put food on the table. Some of these students face emotional challenges you and I could not even begin to comprehend.

A recent article in the June 17th Hamilton Spectator (http://thespec.com/News/Local/article/790594)shed light on Parkview's situation, one that has been pushed aside and ignored by the policy makers and higer up's for FAR too long. Please read the link imbedded above. It will bring tears to your eyes and cause your heart to beat a little stronger. And to be thankful for everything you have.

In light of these and so many more challenges I haven't can't even begin to spill about here, these kids still come to school and try and try as they might to graduate high school.... most of the time with a smile. Of course, that's the biggest challenge of all... finding the motivation to persevere. Consider this: If you were several years behind your friends in school, how would you feel? Shitty, right? Ok, now let's say you undergo assessments to see what the problem is. Let's say the answer is learning disabled. Mmmm-K, and now we're going to tell you that you also just failed the last 5 assignments you handed in. Oh, and both your parents just lost their jobs. And there's no food in your house. How are you feeling? I'm guessing extremely disempowered, frustrated, hopeless. Welcome to what is the life of many Parkview students.

How many times have you simply given up because things weren't going your way?

But they come back. And they continue to try, despite their barriers in learning and life. And they discover that showing up is important, and asking for help is just as so, and they end up doing things they never thought they would ever do. Like beat the Principal at a reading/spelling contest! Because of the AMAZING staff at Parkview, they come to like school, despite being labeled a "failure" or a "dumb dumb" at other schools. They discover what their hands can do, through classes like wood working, horticulture, cosmetology, photography, and auto. They begin to produce positive results. They begin to realize they are capable of more than they realize. And to watch this happen is truly the most inspiring thing I can identify.

And that's why today was so significant. Because 30 Parkview students persevered though enormous trials and barriers to obtain their high school diploma/certificate. 30 Parkview students just increased their odds at a better quality of life because they have a diploma and the determination to succeed. 30 Parkview students had the biggest smiles I've ever seen on their faces because they were proud of themselves for what they achieved. I think that is the best part of it all....

I am extremely proud of the Parkview Class of 2010. They are all amazing. They have all taught me something in some way, whether it be more about learning disabilities, or more about the sad state of poverty which exists in Hamilton. They have all made me PROUD to have worked with them at Parkview.

Way to go Graduates. YOU DID IT!

“It is time for us all to stand and cheer for the doer, the achiever -- the one who recognizes the challenges and does something about it.”
- Vince Lombardi



This is me with my favourite graduate and student of all the students I've ever met.
WAY TO GO ZELDA! LINK IS PROUD OF YOU!! <3