Determination pays for these back-to-schoolers

Several Greene County residents will look back on 2008 as the year they each took a giant step to cross an educational hurdle: they became students again to complete their GED certification (General Educational Development). 
Back in October, at least six students from the Greene County Technical Education Center, donned in caps and gowns, crossed the stage at Charlottesville High School to mark the attainment of their GED, which is the equivalent to a high school diploma.
“It’s funny what that piece of paper will do for you,“ said Melinda Gregory Peery of Barboursville, smiling brightly.
Along with Peery, the local students included Kay Rogers, Jessica Shifflett, Laura Woodward, Patricia Dunn and Samantha Dudley.
Peery was one of the key speakers at the ceremony. She told the audience that once she was put in touch with the Tech Center, she was on her way.
“I didn’t give up,“ she said.
Peery said she would have graduated “in the early ‘80s.“ 
But, as she shared in her speech to the audience, “I got married at an early age… planned on going back to school… got into dead-end jobs… became a single mother…“
At one point in 2005, Peery was given just six months to live due to complications from extreme obesity, including a lung disorder. 
  But now she is facing 2009 at a healthier weight and with exciting accomplishments on the horizon: she expects to graduate from National Business College in May.
Her husband Gene beamed: “I’m very proud of her.“
  Peery wishes to stress to all students in school the need for an education in today’s world.
As for Peery and her fellow GED recipients, they credit a dedicated teaching staff for helping them reach their goals.
At that time, the teaching staff included: Diane Kenny, Julie Thisdale (former), Linda North, Angelina Santus and Ken Bailey and Diana Daniel.
Jessica Shifflett of Dyke praises their professionalism and personality.
“I’m really glad we had the teachers we did,“ she said. “If we had more teachers like them everywhere, more students would graduate. They were very encouraging, and they used very good methods of teaching.“
  Shifflett started GED classes in September 2007. Now that she has her GED, Shifflett has started substitute-teaching occasionally for local schools.
And what does she feel?
“Relief,“ she answered.
Another recent GED recipient, Kay Rogers, is Shifflett’s mother-in-law. Shifflett encouraged Rogers to take classes.
Rogers cleans houses as an occupation but says her arthritis is making that increasingly more difficult. The GED will help broaden her choices if she needs to switch occupations.
“ I’d been out of school so long I really wasn’t sure if I could do it,“ said Rogers “I thought I was too old.“ But with encouragement from her daughter-in-law, she tried anyway.
“I said ‘Only by the grace of God would I pass this.‘ When Julie Thisdale told me I passed, I said ‘you are lying.‘“
Rogers, too, praises the teachers.
“They did what they did because they wanted to,“ says Rogers.  “They never made you feel stressed… No matter how down you felt, they said, ‘you’re going to get it.‘“
Kathy Dunn of Ruckersville agrees.
“These women and these men were absolutely wonderful,“ says Dunn. “They worked with you… they were extremely supportive.“
She added: “They really deserve kudos. When I was a child my father terrified me about math, but Mrs. North was an excellent teacher.“
As for the accomplishment of getting her GED, Dunn puts it this way: “There was always a void, a nagging thing in the back of my head saying, ‘You’re not finished.‘“
Now that’s gone.
For sure, Dunn and her fellow GED recipients differ in their backgrounds, ages, life experiences - and reasons why they didn’t complete high school back in the day.  But all sacrificed time and discovered first hand the hard work and the tenacity required to go for the GED.
“They have different backgrounds, but the common ground is they all have the determination to follow through,“ says Peter Santen, administrator for Greene County’s alternative education center, and a math and social studies teacher for Greene County Public Schools.  Santen says the school board here in Greene has been “extremely supportive” of the GED program.
  Salen knows the sacrifices it takes. He himself got his GED 20 years ago, and he’s been teaching GED students for roughly six years.
“For most of those who come, the goal is to get the GED to get or retain their job,“ says Salen. “A lot say they want to get their GED and brush up on skills for their children to help with homework.“
He adds: “They want to feel good about themselves …Probably the most common thing they say is, ‘I know I can do this’ and’ I want to feel proud of myself ‘“
The GED covers a number of subjects, including: reading comprehension, data analysis, mathematics including algebra and geometry; and writing skills.
With a GED, a student can enroll in a college the same as he or she would with a high school diploma and is eligible for federal government financial aid.
According to statistics, GED graduates have the potential to earn $300,000 or more in their lifetime than those who do not have a high school diploma or equivalent.
For more information on preparation classes at the Tech Center, please call 985-1403.