My time at Elan was much, much different than all of yours. I arrived in the summer of '97, just out of college, taking my first teaching job.
Man, I'll never forget my first day there: all the yelling, all the students with nothing but the smallest glimpse of their true soul peering out from behind the fear and depression in their eyes, and the staff, Gestapo-like (I was even nervous of them).
When I walked into my first class to teach (English) at 7, I had no idea what to expect. But any apprehensions I had were quickly gone. You guys were great students. I was immediately impressed with your insights and thougts. You seemed relaxed in my class (well, as relaxed as you could be at Elan), and that made the class a lot of fun, and (I hope) an excellent opportunity for learning (for you and me). Though I enjoyed the class, and it seemed that the students in the class did as well, the staff the directors hated that fact...and the fact that I had the class study Wordsworth along with Bob Dylan.
So at the end of the summer Elan decided to move me to another teaching position. I left a lot of great kids in my 7 class (Jordan, Carlos, Tatiana...note: as a teacher, I never knew anything of your lives outside the classroom, but in my class you were ALL great students and great individuals, who, whether forced or not, showed me respect, interest, and intellectual energy in the class).
My next positon was with the Illinois students. They were a very small, yet diverse group. That provided for great discussions over the works we were reading, and I saw amazing academic growth with many of these guys. I'll never forget Jason and Matt writing research paper for extra credit, and so see which one would get a better grade...thanks a lot for making me stay up many late nights having correct those!).
By the end of the spring 98, I guess Elan felt that you guys were learning too much (or enjoying yourselves too much) in my class, and did not renew my contract, which, I must say, was a total joke (unemployed people earn more than Elan teachers). When I walked out of the year-end awards ceremony it was with a heavy heart (if any of you were there, you'll remember Jason coming over and giving me a hug in front of everyone...embarassing, yet one of the most touching moments of my life, which i'll never forget...geez, I bet he got put in the corner for a month for that too).
Though my time teaching there was wonderful (in terms of the class, not the staff or directors, who I never saw eye-to-eye with), I always felt bad about being apart of that terrible system. I could see the pain in all of you. And, as I was just out of college and only 23, I could easily empathize with each of you. Each night when I'd drive home after class, I had mixed feelings: happy I had such good classes, and very sad that you were staying behind to endure horrors I'll never know...except for reading all your posts here.
I've taken my time to search out this site and to write this to let all of you know (well, all of you who were in my classes), that I think of you each day. That's no bull. I went on to teach at a public school after Elan, and that year was a total nightmare and forced me out of the career. The public school students were no match for you in terms of intellectual aptitude, respect, and self-relflective insight. Moreover, I think I remember all of you so clearly 6 years later because at Elan I was forced not to just see you as students, but as people who were in a bad place (literally and figuratively) and trying to get out. I hope some of the thinking, discussing, and philosophising we did over some great works of literature (and song writing) helped you move in the direction you needed to move.
Best of luck to all of you. And always remember, "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." (Hamlet)
