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Lesson One began in the Hingham, Massachusetts
schools in 1973. Jon Oliver was a young teacher on his way to his first
day on the job. He got all spiffed up, packed his new lunch box, and entered
the school doors with visions of smiling children’s faces.
Instead, he was punched in the back by a student. On the second day, she
punched him again. The third day, Oliver gently held her fist and drew
a face on it. That face spoke, and told him that her father had held a
gun to her head and her parents were getting a divorce.
That experience began Jon’s 30-year journey to develop ways to help
children overcome the many obstacles they face as they navigate through
life. While the Lesson One program has evolved over the years, the main
focus has stayed the same… to give children the skills to survive
and succeed in life.
The history of Lesson One is marked with numerous accomplishments and
exciting milestones. After its founding as a non-profit organization in
1976, Lesson One began in the Boston Public schools and soon expanded
to municipalities throughout Massachusetts. Within a few years, the Governor
of Massachusetts awarded Lesson One a proclamation for the important work
the company was doing with children throughout the state. In the 1990’s,
Lesson One received a citation from the Boston School Committee and was
recognized as a model for safe and drug-free schools at a White House
ceremony for the National Education Goals. Soon thereafter the company
was awarded a 5-year federal grant, along with the Harvard School of Public
Health, to assist with development of a curriculum for grief, loss and
peacemaking. The national media began to take notice and Lesson One was
the subject of stories on ABC World News Tonight, Dateline NBC, CNN,
and USA Today. In May of 2000, Parade Magazine published
an article about the success of the Lesson One program and nearly 6,000
people contacted the company looking for help with teaching the program
skills to their children. Due to this heavy demand, the Lesson One program
was then adapted for national audience and disseminated to communities
in 20 states. Most recently, Simon and Schuster published Lesson One:
The ABCs of Life which has already received glowing endorsements from
Bill Cosby and Marian Wright Edelman, among others.
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