June was a busy month for us – three of our youth graduated from public school. This is considered a major milestone in Latvia. It is surprising how many people do not have a public school education! Three of ours did it! In the picture you see one of the graduates, a girl who was not expected to get beyond grade 6 – why? because she was from a highly dysfunctional family and had been placed in the remedial school. When she came to Zvannieki three years ago, she begged to be put in the normal stream. It was a struggle to catch up with the others, but she did it! The other two graduates were also ecstatic – another girl was not expected to graduate, but she managed. She also has gaps in her education, but is working to fill them. The third graduate is a bright boy, who is bored by school and life and has a philosophy of life that needs some revision.
While the graduations were cause for celebration, we know that the road ahead will be rough. (In Latvia you can move to the next grade even if you have failed some subjects. I don’t quite understand the system, because if you can’t do grade nine math, how can you be expected to do grade 10 math!) Next year will be a challenge and a struggle for these youth, because of gaps in several subjects. The school system has not addressed this glitch and so we will send these three to a private school where they will join three other of our children to receive the help they need. So, six of our children will attend this school, which costs just under $200USD per month per child… How can a price tag be attached to someone’s future?
