Hope

For several years, I’ve been fearful, worried, exasperated, anxious (insert any synonym for fear and dread here). It’s no wonder. Weekly, if not daily, I am confronted with hate speech. Even though I limit my consumption of cable news and social media and try really hard to focus on “moments of awe,” it’s hard to ignore the constant assaults on protections that I value. When I try to have civil, respectful conversations with people who disagree with my concerns, more often than not, I’m dismissed or told my opinions and values are “wrong.” It’s hard to stay hopeful.

But, I found some hope last week. Four years ago, my friend Debi’s son, Dr. Scott Martin, established Odyssey Leadership Academy in Oklahoma City. I wrote about Odyssey in my March 17, 2019 post.

I come from a long line of educators. I am a product of and have always valued traditional public school education. My husband, parents, aunt and uncle, sister-in-law, and niece-in-law were or are educators. Some of my closest and trusted friends teach or are leaders in higher education. I excelled in that system, as did my daughter. Dr. Martin and his brother are also products of and excelled in the traditional school system. Their father was a long-time educator, and both of those young men were taught and coached by my husband.

But, just because that system worked for us, doesn’t mean it works for all. It often feels like our systems, including the educational system, have been programmed to churn out carbon copies of a version of a small subgroup’s opinion of what is worthy, as opposed to critical thinkers equipped to solve problems.

There were a lot of naysayers when Dr. Martin proposed his idea of Odyssey Leadership Academy, including my husband. But, Scott forged ahead, and Odyssey opened in August 2015. Things are a little different at Odyssey than your typical school. They spend a lot of time outside the four walls of a classroom and in the community to understand societal problems and ponder solutions. While they study traditional subjects, such as math, science, civics and history, they do so in the context of real life. They use their math and science skills to build furniture and houses. They debate ethics in the context of real world issues. They teach appreciation for the arts. They don’t give grades, yet the students are accepted and attend colleges and universities of their choice, including: Lewis and Clark College, Michigan State University, Westminster College, Savannah College of Art and Design, Kansas City Art Institute, University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University, University of Arkansas, Academy of Contemporary Music, Southern Nazarene University, Oklahoma Baptist University, Brigham Young University, University of Central Oklahoma, and Hendrix College. Most receive President’s, Dean’s, Regent’s, Trustee’s, and Academic Excellence scholarships from their universities of choice totaling almost $1,000,000 in scholarships.

Debi had invited my husband and me to attend Odyssey’s end of year celebration, so last week, I flew to Oklahoma City. I listened to Odyssey students present their projects with poise and expertise that rivals anything I’ve seen in a long time. It had been a long day for me, but as I listened to the presentations, I noticed that I was feeling an emotion that has been dormant for far too long – hopefulness. I even purchased a painting from a very talented member of the freshman class (well actually, Debi paid for it, which has now resulted in an ongoing battle of how I’m going to repay her)!

It takes vision and courage to challenge the status quo. It takes empathy and compassion to understand that sometimes our educational system fails our students instead of blaming our students for failures. At a time when the college admissions scandal has garnered much attention, I wonder if our country could really go from mediocre to great if we used our energy to improve our systems rather than using that energy to scam and profit the elites? After meeting the students at Odyssey and hearing their presentations and stories, I’m hopeful.

Congratulations to the 2019 graduating class of Odyssey Leadership Academy. Our future is in your hands.

Well done, Dr. Martin.