The cozy two-story, white frame house in downtown Naperville welcomes guests with its wide front porch. The Education Center is the kind of safe, homey place where cross-stitched “Home Sweet Home” samplers would seem appropriate.
But here, the sentiments would likely be, “Before you try to learn, you’ve got to learn to try,” “Look ahead and prepare, or look behind and regret,” or “Life can throw you a curve — but life’s life!”
These are among Michael Littow’s favorite messages, and the teens he counsels hear them often. Since 1987, they have made their way to Littow’s office, upstairs in the old frame house, to solve problems and aim for goals.
“I see a lot of kids from (inner city neighborhoods) who basically deal with day-to-day survival: how to make it to school without getting your butt kicked, or your gym shoes ripped off, or catching a bullet,” says Littow, who 20 years ago opened, and still operates, the original Education Center in Oak Park. “And then I see kids out here who are basically great kids, but many of them are overindulged and have difficulty coping with disappointment because everything’s given to them.”
The range keeps Littow on his toes. Because he has worked with thousands of young people, nothing surprises him. “When I think I’ve heard it all, something else comes up,” says the psychologist, who also has been affiliated with the Chicago Board of Education for 30 years, as a teacher, coordinator, assistant principal and consultant.
From Annie (not her real name), Littow has heard plenty over the past 18 months. The 16-year-old DuPage County girl is surviving an abusive background, her parents’ bitter divorce and difficult financial straits. Despite a high IQ, the girl’s grades and spirits plummeted last year. Miserable, Annie dreaded school. According to her worried mother, Annie was bent on failure. “It came on gradually and just never picked up,” says the mother. “I thought it was just something she was going through emotionally. So I waited it out a little bit, but then I had her evaluated.”
The medical facility recommended that Annie see Littow. Within months, there was a positive difference in Annie that has continued. She responded to what she terms Littow’s “incredibly positive attitude.” Today, she has her heart set on college and a career in environmental studies and is raising her grades to get there. So grateful is Annie’s mother that she says, “Mike’s on my prayer list every night.”
Endorsements, and support, come from the business community as well. Over the years, Littow has been a ferocious letter-writer, contacting celebrities and professionals of all kinds to serve as mentors, among them the late Bears owner George Halas; Sam Skinner, former chief of staff for President Reagan; and broadcaster Joan Esposito. Three years ago, such a letter attracted Douglas Colbeth, president and CEO of Naperville’s Spyglass Inc.
“I was absolutely compelled to help Mike out,” explains Colbeth, who has since hired several of Littow’s young clients at his software firm. “Mike has a tremendous combination of toughness and compassion.”
Littow describes his process as tapping each student’s talents.
“You can talk about self-esteem until you’re blue in the face, but once kids experience success, you see a lot of negative behavior disappear,” Littow says. “For many of them, school has been a punitive experience. They’re left asking, `Why can’t I get this? What’s wrong with me?’ And that leads to other problems.”
For parents, Littow prescribes the tried and true: Love your children for who they are. Be supportive and encouraging. Don’t be too quick with judgment or advice. Listen. It’s what Littow practices at the old frame house, where he stresses to every client one last message: “Failure is not an option.”
