BELFAST – Students don’t end up in the BCOPE program by toeing the line and following the rules. Most are kids who were an inch away from dropping out and were only accepted in BCOPE because some teachers believe they deserve another chance at making it to graduation.

BCOPE is the alternative learning center of Belfast Area High School. Besides their difficulties with conforming to a traditional school environment, many of the students in SAD 34’s Belfast Community Outreach Program in Education have encountered trouble outside school as well. They have clashed with parents and the law in many cases. They have a history, and not all of it is pleasant.

So when the students began discussing ethics one day last fall, the class decided to let it all hang out and tell their life stories to one another. They checked with program director Helen Nichols and teacher Gary Skigen who suggested the stories be made part of their lessons for the term.

“We decided to have everyone tell their stories, and when we asked Helen and Gary they thought it would be cool, too,” recalled Ashley Wood. “We just wanted to get everyone to collaborate and work together.”

The result of that collaboration is “in Our eyes,” a compact disc audiobook containing the observations of BCOPE students on ethics and their feelings about life, death, substance abuse and school. The stories are harrowing, yet they carry a message of hope as the students tell of how they learned to cope with their lives and accept the consequences of their actions.

Justin Harford’s story tells of his part in a vandalism spree with a few friends that landed them in court and on probation. “This is an unethical decision because I didn’t think of the consequences and how it hurt other people. I’ll never do it again,” he said.

Wood described her life as a “dark abyss.” She tells of feeling herself “spiraling over the edge” shortly after Sept. 11 and how she “overdosed by taking everything in the house.” Ashley said that “everyone has monsters deep within, hiding beneath the surface making situations seem hopeless and life too hard to bear.”

She tells how her anger pushed her into dark corners and “that suicide is the scariest experience I ever had and I’m thankful I did not succeed. Pain and sadness no longer control me. Now, I am strong. … Now I know I can face anything thrown my way. I can control my destiny and only I can make life worth living.”

Carlie Lewis tells of how she skipped school one day in October. She and a friend stole a car in Belfast, stole money from her parents and then drove to Augusta. There they stole another car and drove both to Portland. They left those cars at a factory parking lot and stole a new truck from a dealership. After stealing gasoline they were chased by police and arrested at gunpoint.

“What really opened my eyes to change my ways was to see my mother upset and crying about my behavior. I knew that I needed to change for myself as well as my family,” she said. “I think I am finally going in the right direction. My decisions were wrong but I’m glad I went through it because now I know how much people care and how ethical decisions help our lives.”

Wes Canning has a song on the disc that is his tribute to Sept. 11.

“Life is just beginning for most of us,” he sings. “This is a world we’re supposed to trust? These are the things we put behind us, people’s lives are taken away. I hope you find peace in the future, I will stand with pride that day.”

BCOPE director Nichols said the project could not have been completed without the assistance of Heather Frederick, publisher of Audio Bookshop; Bruce Boege’s Limin Studios in Northport; MBNA Excellence in Education; and the Institute for Global Ethics.

“This project is a direct product of our educational philosophy at work,” said Nichols. “Our belief is that relevant learning experiences are journeys which require perseverance with vision for revision. They travel where learning leads and curriculum is the map to discover the destination. They’re a group effort which values all experiences as equal learning opportunities.”

The BCOPE students handled the entire project from writing a funding grant to MBNA, creating the cover art and marketing the compact disc audiobook. “in Our eyes” is available for $8 at the BCOPE center on High Street. All proceeds go to the program.