It is Thanksgiving week and I thought it was time for a couple of inspirational stories. Today and tomorrow will be stories that still bring tears to my eyes because of the inspiring story of students. I remember my first couple of years and some of the kids we had. One young man has one of the most inspirational stories I have witnessed. This wasn’t my student but everyone in the school knew the young man. He had a neuromuscular disease that was slowly robbing him of his limbs. He could walk a little when he got to Rangeview but his body kept deteriorating over his time with us. He had made a decision his senior year and nobody was going to stop him. His senior year had him wheelchair-bound and with little else in terms of his muscles. He had one special teacher, Val, and a class that committed to helping him with his goal and his secret. Graduation came and it was raining so we had to go into the gymnasium at Hinkley High School for the ceremony instead of out at the stadium. The building was ready for it but there wasn’t enough room for everybody so we had to limit it to two people per graduate. I was the new guy so they threw me into the lion’s den telling people that only 2 could come in. The ceremony was going well but I do have another couple of stories about this graduation later in the year.
The preliminaries did not prepare us for the moment of passing out the diplomas. The stage was handicap accessible so the young man could be rolled up to receive his diploma and go down the other side. When they got to his name, he came to the edge of the ramp pushed by his teacher. She stopped and this young man stood and started walking up the ramp. It was slow and unsteady but I have never heard cheering like I heard that day from the other seniors and families. His family and nobody else except his class with Val knew what was going to happen. The applause lasted until he got down the other side. There was nothing that was going to stop that walk across the stage. This was not a dry eye in the house. In thirty years of teaching, I have never been more moved or inspired than I was that day. I have had kids do amazing things but it still pales in comparison to one devoted teacher, a small group of classmates, and one student who was not going to let a wheelchair define his high school career. We later found out that he and the class had been practicing all semester during that class period. If you ever have doubt about what the future holds in the hands of kids, look no further than this young man and his class. We will be just fine.