A Tribute to A Great Man and A Virtuous Family

L to R: In loving memory of Lois, Francis, Francine
and Ricky Rudine (not pictured)

A few years ago, Desmond Tutu spoke eloquently at a local school. His message "There is no me without you. There is no you without me."Simple, yet profound. 

Tutu's message embodies the sentiments of an amazing man and his family.  Francis Rudine in many ways was a simple man yet profound in a multitude of others. He recognized that if change would ever come in our educational system, he would not just sit idly by while someone else did the heavy lifting. If change was going to come, he was going to be a part of it. He took the most ancient of concepts and began to envision Earning by Learning (EBL).   The EBL program is affecting thousands of urban students through the art of incentivizing. 

Mr. Rudine wasn't an educator. He was an engineer.  He wasn't a researcher. He was a parent.  He knew instinctively what Harvard University's EBL research study has recently reported. Children, who read, achieve. They achieve academically, not by minuscule deviations but by leaps and bounds, when shown that what they do matters. Mr. Rudine knew that it was important for children to feel worthy, to work hard, to set goals, and to be acknowledged and rewarded for achievements earned through hard work and persistence.

Behind every great man there is an extraordinary lady.  Francis' wife, Lois Rudine, gave us all a reason to hope.  She had an insatiable thirst for knowledge and an uncanny way of comforting all.

Francis and Lois had three beautiful children: Ricky, Francine, and Robby.   The Rudines were parents who taught their children to love without bounds.  They were taught that if you were neutral in unjust situations, then you had chosen the side of the oppressor.  They were taught that where there is love there is life and where there is happiness there is compassion.  A very hard life lesson was taught when young Ricky died at a very tender age. It is the lesson that few of us are ever ready to learn--- that every heartache and every loss contains its own seed, its own lesson about humanity.

Mr. and Mrs. Francis Rudine's only remaining offspring (Robby) along with his extraordinary wife (Janet Yoder) will together continue to be a reflection of life's lessons about humanity.

I hope that we will all continue to tell the story as seen through the eyes of one ordinary man who simply did what was required when the need arrived.  The heavy lifting has certainly been done. Over 77,000 children have gone through the Earning by Learning program. Their lives forever changed by one man and his family.

Respectfully,

Thelma Morris-Lindsey
Executive Director
Earning By Learning