Welcome to my blog, or should I say to the ramblings of an old man. I doubt that my ramblings are of much value, but at least I have an opportunity to share them.  So, please be kind and humor me. If nothing else of value stands out in these thoughts, I hope that you at least sense the value I place on a daily walk with the Lord.  That walk is what has provided me with motivation and a sense of purpose throughout my lifetime.  My prayer is that you, too, are experiencing this direction and joy in daily living which is available to everyone who puts his trust in Christ.  So, thanks again for joining me.  Please don't go without leaving some comments here so I can get to know you better as our paths intersect today in this blog.

Monday, June 18, 2012

Graduation


Fifty-three years ago I graduated from Warwick High School in Lititz as part of the third class to graduate from that new district.  Since then my brother and sister and two nephews also graduated from Warwick and my father served as president of the Board for several years.  But last week my grandson, Josh, graduated with honors and I had the privilege of returning and attending.  As a former educator I have attended about 40 graduation ceremonies since my high school graduation.  A few were held outside but many were in hot, sweaty, uncomfortable gymnasiums.  However, Josh's was in the comfortable Calvary Church with its padded seats and air conditioning.  That made it easier to enjoy a service that went two and a quarter hours to graduate 356 seniors.  Incidentally, Penn Manor graduated 453 in just an hour and three quarters.  Schools could take lessons from Penn Manor which has learned how to run an efficient ceremony.  The Warwick ceremony had many very nice touches.  The band played two great numbers during the prelude.  Unfortunately most of the audience behaved as they do during church preludes - they talked, laughed and made it hard to listen.  The school board members, seated on the platform, set a poor example by talking and laughing along with the audience.  That was sad.  The entrance of the graduates was impressive since they entered from the balcony, down the open stairways on both sides of the auditorium, and through the aisles to their seats in the front middle sections.  That was a great touch.  The graduates and audience were fairly well behaved during the long program but there was the usual cell phone ringing, crying kids, air horn, and several beach balls (these were quickly confiscated by faculty members).  I was impressed by the fact that 80% of the class will be continuing their education and they earned more than a million dollars in scholarships.  I thought it was unusual that various groups were recognized, in addition to the school's honor students.  These include honor students in French, Spanish and I think German, a few organizations which I didn't recognize, students who attended Career and Technology Centers (formerly Vo-Tech) and members of student council.  This could have been done at an awards program to save time.  And where were the math, science, history, English, and music honor students?  I guess the languages were more important.  The four class officers played a prominent role in the ceremony.  They congratulated each graduate and then received their diplomas last.  The president closed the program by speaking to his class members.  This was a very nice touch.  I was class president my junior and senior years and my name didn't even get listed in the bulletin.  Another interesting touch that took up much time was having the senior homeroom teachers announce the names of their students as they came to get their diploma.  In several cases the students first went to hug the teacher before going to receive their diploma.  However, it was interesting that six or eight of the homeroom teachers weren't there.  I guess their contract didn't call for them to get any extra pay for participating.  Maybe I am being tough on them, but I worked with high school teachers for 39 years and I know how some of them think.  But it was a nice touch for those teachers who attended.  Now the one complaint I have about this ceremony is the same one that I have about all of them.  I've now attended over 40 graduation services and I can't recall a single point from any of the hundred plus speeches that I heard.  I guess the student speeches are traditional and can't be dropped.  But why must the high school principal, the superintendent and the school board president need to speak?  Cut them out and you save 20 - 25 minutes from the long program and nobody will even miss them.  Anything they do say is usually forgotten within 24 hours.  Now if I was ever asked to speak what I think I would do is bring three balls and try to juggle them.  I would say this is what life is like, now get your butts out of here into the real world, get a job, earn a living and pay your taxes so that we can keep this education cycle going.  Short and sweet - might be remembered a little longer.  But I will never get that opportunity ... fortunately.  Oh yes, congratulations Joshua.  We are proud of you and will keep praying for you.

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