Mom's Tutuors Are Her Girls

Dalson Chen, Windsor Star
Published: Thursday, June 7 2007

Whenever 41-year-old Liana Crowe struggled with her English homework in pursuit of her high school diploma, she could count on a convenient tutor -- her 17-year-old daughter.

"English is my favorite subject," beamed Megan Crowe, who along with sisters Natalie, 16, and Sarah, 14, proudly attended the graduation ceremony Wednesday for their mom and 124 other adult students of St. Michael's Catholic high school at the Fogolar Furlan Club.

Of course, it's not always easy to lecture your mom about her spelling and grammar. "It was hard to, like, tell her when she was doing something wrong," admits Megan on the subject of proofreading her mother's essay assignments. "I was really proud of her when she was able to do it on her own."

But the writing tips were welcomed by Liana, who can't help pointing out that Megan will be attending the University of Ottawa next fall on a full academic scholarship.

"Can you tell that I'm proud of her?" said Liana in a conspiratorial whisper.

For Liana, her graduation was sweetened with the knowledge that two of her three daughters will be joining her as graduates later this month -- Megan finishing Grade 12 at Cardinal Carter and Sarah finishing Grade 8 at Ecole Ste. Ursule.

"I always had an inspiration to graduate before my daughters," Liana explains. "And I did it! It was cutting it close -- 21 days. But I did it."

Liana didn't finish high school when she was a teen due to tragic events in her life that she asked not be published. "I had circumstances that were beyond my control. I think that's the easiest way to put it."

Last year, when her husband's work took the family from London back to their native Essex County, Liana decided it was time to go back to school.

The first step was an assessment at an employment help centre, which found that Liana had pre-Grade 7 reading and writing skills.

After a crash course in basic literacy at St. Clair College, Liana enrolled at St. Michael's to complete her adult secondary school credits.

While Megan helped Liana with English, Natalie helped her with anthropology.

Liana finished her studies in a co-op program as a teaching assistant for junior kindergarten and Grade 3 children at Holy Name school in Essex.

"I like working with kids. I'm and OK Mom, right?" Liana asked her brood.

"So far, so good," Sarah replied.

St. Michael's principal Ron Donaldson said he finds it remarkable how much adult students sacrifice to finally earn their high school diplomas.

Catholic school board spokeswoman Rosemary Limarzi called Liana "an inspiration".

Liana ended up with an 89 per cent final grade in English, which she credits to her daughters' support. "They keep saying: 'You can do it, you can do it.'"

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Liana Crowe

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Words of Wisdom

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
- Marianne Williamson