Friendships
“Many of the friends I made in Flex are still my friends 30 years later.”
– Sara Frost, Class of 1979
“For what it’s worth, I made more friends in Flex than I did all my other classes combined – friends who I’m in touch with to this day, going on fifteen years later.”
– Dan Jensen, Class of 1996
Mentorship
“It differed from a “normal” classroom because students of different ages were intermixed in classes that THEY got to pick, and that interested them. I learned so much from my older and younger peers; not to mention some of the most intelligent teachers I have ever had. Flex challenges you to think “out of the box” and form your own ideals. Flex helps kids become more comfortable with public speaking and having their own opinions. It taught me that debate fosters growth of ideas and helped me learn there are always two sides to every story. Had I not been fortunate enough to be a part of this great program, I may have not learned and retained so much valuable information about the world. It was a pleasure to learn so many life lessons from Ms. Moten, Mr.Craig, Mr. Passerelli, Mr. Shaheen, Madame, Ms. Kirchoffer and Ms. Rabideau.”
– Alix Dixon, Class of 2004
“It has meant a lot to me over the years, I have so much gratitude for the teachers and the structure its self. I don’t think I would have been able to get through college without all that it taught me! I can still look back fondly at the mature student that it pushed me to become.”
– Amanda Jewell, Class of 1996
Student Challenges
“My first day in Flex was the first day I awoke intellectually within my education. Until that point I had been a minor trouble-maker purely because I was bored in my studies and unchallenged by a system taking claiming to be responsible for my education. The following three years (until I graduated early, inspired and fully supported and encouraged by the Flex team) were challenging and inspiring, broadening my horizon in every direction imaginable, making me the concerned, curious, involved citizen I am today both in the US and the UK, where I reside currently. I have studied more than 4 languages, lived on three continents, and earned advanced degrees, but constantly I come back to Flex as a main source of the foundation of my education and intellectual abilities as well as my model for a supportive educational community.”
– Britt Doughty-Godchaux, Class of 1996
“The support and encouragement of the FLEX team have been an amazing force in my education and growth as a person. As self-described un-popular “nerd of color” in an almost antagonistically conformist environment, it was incredibly gratifying to have a space where, even for a few hours a day, I might be accepted. It was alright to be a non-conformist. Intelligence was encouraged as were new and different world views, perhaps not readily available to young adults in a place like Birmingham, Michigan. The importance of this is something I will always have difficulty expressing, but it’s an invaluable part of my personal history that I fiercely believe in.”
– Megan Garza, Class of 2000
“Growing up, I did well in school academically but often struggled to fit in and did not enjoy school. I considered my education to be a means to an end and did not feel passionately about my curriculum, and I also did not feel that my teachers had any interest in my progress. Only in Flex did I ever come to regard any of my teachers, in K-12 or in college, to truly be my mentors. Mr. Craig, Ms. Moten, and Mr. Shaheen in particular have been pivotal figures in my life. I have made many important decisions, during and since high school, either after either asking for their advice or asking how they would recommend I approach the issue.”
– Brett Foreman, Class of 2006
“When I came into Flex, to put it simply, I was a mess. I lacked many of the skills for dealing with school, life, and others that my peers had. Flex made it so that I could open my eyes to the wider world, it gave me a community, and allowed for me to quite literally survive high school, become a better person, and has prepared me for all of my endeavors in college and in my profession. Flex was always a place where you could be a little odd, if you wanted, a place where you were encouraged to speak up, where what was going through your mind mattered, didn’t even always matter what as long as it was something.”
– Andrew Aginian, Class of 2008
“I was a poor student early on in high school, and previously, but Flex gave me hope that the American education system may still be revived. It was challenging, but in ways beyond the usual memorization and recitation dogma plaguing education today. We were urged to think, actually think, to debate, to exercise our mental faculties, and emerge at out own conclusions.”
– Brian Boeckl, Class of 2007
Relationships with Teachers
“The Flex team treated us as equals, or rather as “equals-to-be,” and encouraged us to think about learning and problem-solving in a different way than we’d experienced up until that point.”
– Katherine A. Erwin, Class of 1976
“Flex tremendously altered my opinion of education. Because of Flex, I learned the value of an educational community. The faculty created – quite diligently – a social environment that wove into the curriculum.”
– Emma Marks, Class of 2008
“It taught me how to create relationships with my teachers and professors, in which we see each other as equals but still have respect for them, as they have respect for me as an individual. Flex was a life-changing program, and I don’t think I’d be the person, learner and critical thinker that I am today.”
– Karen Timmermann Urquiola, Class of 2009