CATCHING UP WITH THEIR SCHOOLING

(Article published in HWW Jan-Feb 2008)

“I know you can’t get a good job without a GED,” says Jasmine Morales, age 22. At West End Intergenerational Residence, Jasmine is one of twelve young women in the GED preparation course that meets on-site every weekday morning. On a recent Thursday morning five of the students were out taking the GED exam. One went on a job interview.

Geneva Vera of the NYC Department of Education, who teaches the class, helps Jasmine work through a math problem. “It’s still hard for me – mostly the math,” says Jasmine, whose 3-year-old son is in day care. She was in special education classes all through school and dropped out at the 9th grade -- “I was hanging out with the wrong crowd. When you’re young you think you know everything.”

But she’s sure of herself enough now to talk about college.

She-ra Hagans lives with her mother since they lost their home. Like Jasmine, she dropped out after 9th grade. (“My family moved around a lot,” she explains) She started the GED prep class in October and in less than three months she is ready to take the test. She wants to be an opera singer and actress and has written essays to go with her application for admission to two arts schools – the American Musical and Dramatic Academy and American Academy of Dramatic Arts. (See excerpt below.)

The GED test is mainly a test of reading comprehension, teacher Geneva Vera says. “You can say math is a reading problem because you have to understand what they want you to do.” In her experience, most students come into the GED prep program doing math at a 6th grade level. Mostly, she feels, they test low because they have been out of school for so long. But once they start they catch up quickly and after a month or so they’re at 9th or 10th grade level.

To locate GED test centers and GED prep courses, call the NYC Department of Youth and Community Development at 1-800-246-4646 or the American Council on Education GED Contact Center at 1-800-626-9433.

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WHAT ARE MY INTERESTS AND CAREER GOALS

by She’ra Hagans (an excerpt)

“I dream that I will one day honor my mother, teachers and fellow students by being invited to sing at the White House for the President. … Since there is a lack of knowledge about the arts in some places one of my goals is to educate people in my generation and as well as the next generation about the arts. So they won’t end up like some people who just mock the arts just to make a couple
of bucks.”