Graduation will cure overwhelm. This is that time of the year where high schools around the US get ready for the celebration of their seniors who have met requirements for the diploma and are moving on to the next chapter in their lives. It is an awesome time. By the time you read this your high school(s) will most probably have celebrated their seniors and sent them off to the world. Did you attend? If not, you might be feeling overwhelmed. You might be feeling exhausted. You might be feeling that you don't really know why you work in education. Graduation will help you rediscover your purpose.
High school graduation is one of those traditions/rituals that we have in our country that signifies a major step in the lives of our children. It is a step into adulthood. It is important.
Graduation takes time to plan. It requires the efforts of many staff members as they make sure that students have met the criteria for graduation. It takes coordinating venues from set-up to take down. Parking must be available. Staff members are there to guide family members to their seats. They are there to assist with issues and to help direct and guide the seniors across the stage to receive their coveted diploma. Some staff members are helping get the soon to be graduates in their graduation adornments and gowns. Some are there to revisit the years gone by with the kids. You could help in any number of ways. Just volunteer to help.
By the way, you don't have to be a high school staff member to attend the high school graduation. If you have taught any of these children during their years in school and you show up and say hi while they are lining up…you will ignite their spirits and fill them with memories and happiness. You don't have to remember their names. Just walk around the line and they will recognize you. They will want to say hi!
If you can't be at the celebration, the coordinators are always in need of assistance prior to the big day. Some colleagues help with graduation rehearsals and others with collecting materials that have been long lost. Some will make sure that honors nights and senior picnics as well as trips, yearbook signings, slide shows, and breakfasts are special. Bet you could find a way to help.
As a high school principal, I wanted my elementary colleagues to invite me to school events so that the students could get to know who I was. One of my feeder school principals took me up on this and invited me to be a guest speaker at their "Looking to the Future" days where members of the community were brought in to talk about their jobs. This was cool except for one thing; I had always been a high school staff member. What was I going to talk with elementary school age kids about?
My colleague and friend said, "That's easy…the kids want to know 3 things…Number 1: What do you get paid? Number 2: What do you like about your job? and Number 3: What don't you like about your job?" So that is what I did. I answered those three questions.
Doing this made me think about what I liked and didn't like about my job. My job was that of a high school principal. Thinking about it I realized that there was one answer for two of the questions: graduation.
I still share this as my answer and what typically happened then still happens today: adults laugh. They think that I don't like graduation because of the time commitment and such and they think that I like graduation because I want to get rid of the kids. They couldn't be further from the truth.
As a high school principal what I hated about my job was that there was always something that happened that put the decision to let a student graduate and/or walk at the ceremony in my hands. Too often there would be a senior who would do something "brilliant" right before graduation. (When I say brilliant, please note that that word can be said with different inflections which changes the meaning of the word. In this case I mean it as the student does something that was not smart.) There are any number of things that a senior might do, like fail to attend the one class that was required to complete all requirements. I have had a student break a major rule at the school or commit a crime. There are too many movies that might make a soon to be graduate think of something as a prank that in today's world is not seen that way. Yuck! There were so many possibilities. I hated the fact that I had many meetings with students and their families at a time when everything should be happy but because of their actions - smiles were now frowns. This is why I hated graduation. This is what I hated about my job.
Now what I liked about my job was graduation. This was when I got to spend time with families and their children thinking about their futures and celebrating their pasts. Throughout the different celebrations like breakfasts, lunches, Sunday services, and yearbook signings the excitement was infectious. You couldn't help but smile and feel good. The future was shining brightly. But the best part of graduation and what I liked most was the actual event - the graduation. To me this is a celebration that is the senior's moment in the sun but more importantly a celebration for the family members who helped get the child to this achievement. The event should have kids sharing their thoughts and memories. It is a celebration of them.
As a note, when I became a principal, I learned that I was expected to have a few words at the graduation. The original advice I got on what to say was ok, but I wish I knew what I did in the years to come because I would have shifted the content of my talks much earlier. In the beginning I tried to have some thoughts to share that would make the parents remember important events during their child's progression through school. It was alright. I knew it had to be better than my colleagues who focused on reciting the data of the school. (Great way to put the audience to sleep. Not what I was looking for.) The week after a graduation, a letter from a grandmother with some kindly advice was sent to me. She said some nice things about my talk, but she also said these magic words, "What if you made your talk about the kids and their senior year?" Too cool. During the next school year, I took notes and made my final talk about events from the school year. The kids and families connected with my talk. It was fun. That letter changed my focus for the rest of my time as a principal.
Back to what I liked about my job - graduation. Something that I will never forget. Something that was exceptional and pure magic was the senior standing on the other side of the stage and hearing his name called. There was nothing better than that moment. The about to be a graduate ready to walk across the stage. The name was spoken, and a smile grew. Sometimes a smirk, then a grin, and then a full-blown ear to ear smile. The student looked at me and at the audience. Some started walking. Some skipped. Some danced all the way to me. When the student reached me, he shook my hand. Another student might shake my hand and give me a monster sized hug. The energy at each of these moments could have powered the world. That is what I liked most about my job - graduation.
Once the event was over, I stayed until the last family was gone. I spent time talking with as many of the families as I could. I was asked to be in their family pictures. We had fun. Smiles. Smiles and more smiles. I felt like a cartoon character at a theme park. What I liked most about my job was graduation.
I know that for some of you graduation has already come and gone. For those of you who it is just around the corner I encourage you to get involved. (For those who it has already happened, you have time to make plans for next year.) Be a part of the event. Go to the graduation and walk down the row of kids as they are lining up and congratulate them. The students will recognize you. Call your name. Shake your hand. Give you a hug. Tell a story about you or your class. You will suddenly know why you became an educator. You will understand that you serve a purpose. You are part of their path to whatever is in their future. They will remember you. You will be re-energized. You will be ready to take on the world, again.
All the best.
Steve
The opening image is from Pexels by Emily Ranquist.
