From every piece of turmoil comes a life lesson learned. Rachel’s Challenge reinforced that mantra on August 26 during two separate sessions to the public.

Rachel’s Challenge was created after the Columbine High School shooting on April 20,1999. Two students at the school, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, killed 12 students, one teacher and then committed suicide on that day. Both of the teens had been the victim of bullying for most of their lives.

Rachel Scott, the first person to be killed in Columbine, had strong beliefs to change just that. Rachel’s journals, found after the shooting, sparked a national frenzy of teaching people how to be unbiased with one another.

Larry Scott, Rachel’s uncle, also had children in the school on that day. After the shooting, Scott and his family decided to dedicate their lives to teaching people about dealing with life’s daily pressures in a positive way.

During a visit to Grayson County Middle School (John Hill Taylor Drive, Leitchfield) on Thursday morning Scott spoke to over a 1,000 students. That night he returned for another session where he spoke to the parents of students and children in Grayson County.

Rachel’s Challenge is a one-hour program that introduces audiences to Rachel. It also teaches the public how to change their lives for the better. Rachel believed that people should accept others for who they were, and not try to change them.

Community Education Director Angie Jones was one of the sponsors for the program.

She was very pleased with the overall success of the sessions.

“I watched over 1,000 children sit silent and take in every word,” Jones stressed. “Every child yesterday morning and every adult last night responded to Rachel’s Challenges. Every person left touched in some way.”

One of surprises during the night program was the similarity between Rachel and Anne Frank. The public seemed in awe at the uncanny comparisons of the two girls, which were born in different time periods in history.

“Rachel was very impacted by Anne Frank,” Scott mentioned. “Anne Frank died in a concentration camp on (Adolf) Hitler’s birthday. The day the killings took place at Columbine was on Hitler’s birthday. The killers chose that day. Both women left behind journals of their legacies. Rachel left behind six diaries. Both believed in destiny. They both felt they would die at a young age. Both put emphasis on kindness to treat one another how they wanted to be treated. They dreamed for the future. They wrote down goals. Both felt they would have an impact on the world in a positive way.”

Both principals at GCMS said they could already see some changes in how the students interacted with one another.

Teachers in different teams have also found innovative ways to create projects involving Rachel’s Challenge.

GCMS Assistant Principal Becky Miller was pleased with the turnout for both the day and night sessions.

“I heard numerous comments from students and teachers alike,” Miller expressed. “The students wanted to talk about things like security and safety procedures for the school. The teachers discussed how additional safety awareness has come out of the Columbine shooting incident. In addition one student has already started a feelings journal, and one of the teachers in a Team Two have started a kindness chain. A lot of positive talk occurred yesterday after the morning seminar.”

The school is even trying to start a Friends of Rachel Club. Its basis is to execute a permanent change in student’s lives.

“Cougar Zone starts Monday,” Miller explained. “One of the teachers had even thought about starting the club through that. People will come in and train the students for this. Right now we are looking for individuals who would like to donate to this cause. We would love to make the club a permanent thing for students.”

As an added benefit, Jones has decided to sponsor an essay contest. The idea stemmed from the Rachel’s Challenge seminar.

“The topic of the student’s essays are ‘My Code of Ethics’,” Jones said. “We will award winners in each grade during the last week of October, which is Red Ribbon Week.”

GCMS Principal Jim Blain added that he was glad that Rachel’s Challenge geared one lesson plan towards students, and the other towards adults.

“The experience put a lot of things in perspective,” Blain explained. “We focus so much on academic achievement that we forget little things, and how important it is to stop and have a kind word or do something nice for someone. Those things sometimes have a bigger impact.”

In closing Scott urged parents to pay more attention to what is going on in their children’s lives.

For more information on Rachel’s Challenge, visit www.rachelschallenge.org.