This is What We Do
For me, one of the best parts of teaching high school is attending graduation each year. This is what we do: take a student who was an eighth grader a few months before we meet, who may be thirteen or fourteen years old, and spend the next four years preparing this student for adulthood and college. When it’s time to walk in commencement exercises, the transformation is a joy to witness. So for today, I set aside the budget and economy, the testing craze, and all the other concerns about public education, to focus only on the good.
I usually arrive at graduation an hour before it begins. The seats are mostly empty but the early arrivals are coming in. Students look a bit nervous, perhaps because they’re guiding anxious relatives to the best available seats, or maybe because those high heels feel a bit unstable. Soon enough friends and family are settling into seats, and students retreat to an area to gather before marching into the ceremony. Behind the scenes, they’re
I usually arrive at graduation an hour before it begins. The seats are mostly empty but the early arrivals are coming in. Students look a bit nervous, perhaps because they’re guiding anxious relatives to the best available seats, or maybe because those high heels feel a bit unstable. Soon enough friends and family are settling into seats, and students retreat to an area to gather before marching into the ceremony. Behind the scenes, they’re