Doug’s note: After I announced my retirement in the last issue of Com-mini-cations, I have received many wonderful phone calls and letters. The following from Jon Clifford, Mini-School student in the early ‘80’s and a strong supporter of Mini since then, is representative.
Dear Doug,
I received my most recent copy of Com-Mini-Cations this last week, and I have thought of little more than you, Randy, Lester, and Norm since reading it. First let me say how sorry I am to hear of Norm’s passing. He was a great teacher and even greater man. Norm always seemed to have a calm wisdom about him. His family must feel fortunate to have had such a wonderful husband and father. I knew his son Tim in school, and he always seemed to have his father’s spirit, very encouraging and a great motivator. May his smile live in all our hearts.
I am happy for you to hear of your retirement, of course it’s a bittersweet happiness. The four of you, yourself, Randy, Norm, and Lester as well as the other Mini staffers in its history, have made such an enormous impact on so many people, I believe it would be impossible to objectively appreciate the vastness of your influence. I came to Mini at age 15 with little adult influence in my life, and of course at 15, even less common sense. Upon entering the program, I unknowingly was to encounter some of the greatest lessons in my life.
This gang of four {the unqualified} were anything but. They were pioneers of education. They had a vision and saw that if they could know their students as people, as real human beings, they could teach them to want to learn, to want to invest in their lives. No easy task for the {unwilling}. We needed some other outsiders to identify with and you four fit the bill. You saw that there were no straight lines in nature, and taught us not only to appreciate that but to celebrate it.
I was always under the impression that you could play the student as easy as you could be the teacher. Every day was an adventure. To not learn is to not grow, and to not grow is to give up and die. Your influence has been a great part in my ability to face life’s challenges straight on. Sometimes I do it right, sometimes wrong, but never from a lack of trying. You and the rest of the staff leave a legacy no one else can claim. You revolutionized high school education and proved the exception not the rule. I am proud to have been your student.
Thanks Doug
Thanks Mini
Jon Clifford
P.S Hope this wasn’t too wordy!