I RECENTLY RECONNECTED WITH a former student through Facebook. I used to work as the librarian in a high school which gave me a unique position to interact with students on a different level than a content area teacher.
I met James when he was in the 9th grade. I must have mentioned that I had an interest in art, because shortly after he brought in his folder of artwork that he'd been doing since he was eight. Some of the pictures were adorable; he had set up his action figures in scenes to draw. I loved seeing the progression of his artwork, and could see that even though his work was unpolished, he had a real gift. I talked to the head of the art department, and we steered him into art classes and eventually advanced placement art.
I sponsored the school's creative writing club which he joined. He listened quietly at our meetings (the writing club was a raucous group) and illustrated stories for the student writers. His quiet demeanor is significant.
I was talking with him a few months ago on instant messaging and asked him how he was doing. He finally broke down and told me the truth. He's not doing very well. He's unemployed and doesn't even have the money to buy food most of the time. When he couldn't find a job in Maryland, he moved to Northeastern Pennsylvania -- in the Appalachian Mountains -- to live with his sister and brother-in-law. Currently, he's unemployed, and so is his brother-in-law. They don't have a working car, and they are too far to walk from pretty much anything. There are two young children (under five) in the household.
James has decided that his best option is to join the military. He's been working with an Air Force recruiter. Dealing with the paperwork has been overwhelming to him. It's cost him money he couldn't afford to travel back to Maryland to get some of his medical records (the pediatrician's office was less than helpful in faxing the records) and his parents -- who are divorced and live 3 hours away -- haven't been very helpful.
He was talking to me last week and said he was so happy to see me because he's having a hard time finding three personal references who have known him for at least seven years who are not related to him. Of course I was happy to give him my contact information and be one of his personal references. We discussed options for his other references. He's tried to contact one of his art teachers, but she hadn't responded. I told him that she is no longer teaching at the school or in the county.
For myself, I can find dozens of people who can vouch they've known me far longer than seven years. But James is only 23. His family has moved a few times and he's not in contact with former neighbors. Getting a reference from a teacher can be difficult; teachers don't usually give out their personal contact information, and once they've left the school, they can be unreachable.
What makes this particularly difficult is that James is not memorable to most people. He has always been quiet. I suspect that many of his teachers won't remember him. I talked with some of the students in the writing club, and while they remember him, they say they didn't know him well. I finally found a former student who said she recalled him and that she would be willing to help him by being his personal reference.
This incident is making me sad and frustrated. If I were still working at the school and living in Maryland, I'd be able to to help him get this paperwork filled out in a breeze. I'd stop some of his former teachers in the hallway or in their classrooms after school and get their help. But I'm no longer a staff member, and I live an hour and a half away, and I can't pop in and roam the halls at the high school.
It's not easy for young adults to jump through the hoops to get employed without some guidance from educated, knowledgeable adults. It's hard for everyone, of course, but young people who are out of school with no experience in the work world are floundering alone.