TSALIGE ADULT HIGH SCHOOL
The motto of Tsalige Adult High School is that it is the “Doorway to One's Future.” For many people it has been the “key” to unlock prison doors.
Tsalige had very humble beginnings. A Son, who could not cope with public schools, needed his Diploma. For him, the answer was within the walls of home. From this, to another Son whose home became that of locked prison doors. This Son met someone who asked him whether or not if he had his High School Diploma. Our Son's answer to this was that, yes he did have one. His newfound Friend said that he did not have a Diploma and that a GED was not the answer for him. What he needed was a Diploma. The GED was impossible - too much of higher Math. All he needed was the basics and he wished he had completed high school.
From these humble beginnings, Tsalige has soared on the wings of eagles - thanks to the Creater.
The average age of most men behind prison walls was about 40. It has now become far too low. Most of the men that have come to Tsalige are now as young as 19 and as old as 50.
We do no advertising - it is all by word of mouth. We receive letters nearly every day from various prisons in Georgia. We recently received a few from the state of Tennessee.
We also receive no funding - just a few donations. Most of it comes out-of-pocket via our V.A. disability check each month. However, again, the Creater, in His all encompassing wisdom, has always seen us through each month.
At this time we have over 30 Students who have written to us requesting an Exam. The Exam may seem simple to some, difficult to others and once we were told that “a 5-year-old could pass it. However, upon closer inspection of the Exam and its contents, one can see that it is not “so very easy!”
Over the years the Exam Booklet has evolved to its present-day format. Within the pages are included Spelling - Calendar Words such as Febuary or is it February? To some that is easy to answer but to others, they are a wee bit unsure.
The next section is English. This may include Antonyms, Sentence Structure, but always has English as to a Job Interview. Those leaving the prison walls need to know what a resume is, what a job application includes and other aspects that they will face on the outside.
In History, many have forgotten what they learned in school. However, they will encounter questions about the Road to the Constitution, WWI, Important Tennesseans and many other questions. A new section that Tsalige has added deals with Native Americans - something lacking in most public schools.
Science will be the next part in the Exam Booklet. One will find maybe a section on Plants, or the Solar System, or Technical Terms. It depends on the student as to what they will find in their Booklet.
Math then follows and it is the basics - add, subtract, multiply, and divide. There is some that deals with 3 or More Addends, Fractions, Problem Solving or even Completing Operations. Once again, it depends on the student's needs.
In all high schools, a student has to take a language. At Tsalige, this means the rudiments of the Syllabary of Sequoyah. Since we are a long-distance school, we had to develop a way for our students to learn some basic Tsalige words. In this section, we include some basic Tsalige words and their English counterparts. We sometimes include a hymn - such as Amazing Grace - or even the Lord's Prayer in Tsalige and English. Included is a sheet, that a student can fill in with words from the Exam Booklet, then they can translate them into Tsalige.
The final section is the Essay. The student is given one of the Red Roads and asked to write what the words mean to them, what insight they garner from the Red Road and how they can assimilate it into their lives. This part is very important. We are not looking for the usual, such as proper grammar or syntax. What one student may write can be expressed in two pages and another student succinctly sums it up in a paragraph. Some future employers are looking for an employee like the latter - sum the task assigned up in a few words. Others are looking for someone with characteristics of the first student. We let each student know what their Essay “says” about them. This can lead to a better understanding of themselves and their job and/or school possibilities.
Each Exam Booklet is designed especially for the student. There are no two Exams exactly alike. When we receive their Exam, we take time to grade it and pay special attention to the Native Language and Essay. If the student scores above 2.o, then they have earned their Tsalige Adult High School Diploma. A student who scores 3.8, 3.9 or 4.0 (only 2 former Students have scored a 4.0), Graduate With High Honors. The Student will then receive in the mail two Diplomas - one for them and one for their file - and a Transcript. Out of 60 Graduates - one is attending College, one is in the Forestry Service, one is studying Nursing, one is in Beauty School (one of our civilian Graduates), one is employed in a specialty plant, and numerous Graduates are following a career path in other employment fields.
As was said in the beginning, Tsalige can be the doorway to one's future. All one has to do is to ask - no one has been turned away. An education is very important and the first step toward this goal is the attainment of a high school diploma. Upon Graduation from Tsalige, a former Student knows that they definitely EARNED their Diploma!