Another Class of Lincoln High Grads Became Alumni Yesterday

I was looking forward to being able to see the graduation yesterday at good old Lincoln. This time I would have seen Lincoln High's Class of 2009, "The ........... ," -sorry, but I never discovered the "class name" selected by this year's graduating class- but due to scheduling conflicts, personal commitments or however it's phrased, I was unable to attend. This would have been my sixth consecutive year of witnessing the annual ceremony and watching as these high school students, often referred to as "kids," now, in one fell swoop, as its said, officially become "alumni," whether that fact has dawned upon them or not. It's just a fact. And for those already age 18, they begin adulthood as "high school" graduates, with the younger classmates headed for birthdays that will add that tag, "adult," to their personal qualifications.

All this happens sometimes too fast for many of us, and I think for the students too, to really take it all in. In my short time teaching at Lincoln, I had mostly 9th graders as the first students that I met for classroom instruction. For both them and me, it was our initial introduction to education at Lincoln High for the 21st century. Remember, I was in their shoes decades before in this very same school, a truly distant memory- more like history. But at graduation, you see some conclusion to the process. It's where the transformation of sorts over a four year span is finally recognized. It's a milestone in the lives of most people, and one that is increasingly missed by a number students in the confines of the LAUSD in favor of the dreaded option of "dropping out." And that is yet another topic for another day.

I really enjoyed these annual events, and seeing a lot of my former students heading out "on their own," gave me a feeling of both pride and dismay. The pride was there for the accomplishment of the students, however much weight that carries in this day, but it's nevertheless an accomplishment. The dismay came from wondering what level of education was imparted upon them each while at Lincoln, and whether that prepared them for their future, knowing how things are "from the inside" of the school walls as a teacher. It was a real learning experience for us all, especially in those first classes of mine at Lincoln, and coming back to Lincoln for graduations and seeing so many of these same students was itself a reward for my tiny bit of contribution to their LHS career. It was always a pleasant surprise to see that most of them were as pleased- often surprised- to see me come by as I was to see them.

I remember often telling my students that they need to ask questions of teachers now, while we are there to provide answers for them in class. I also added that it was now during class when we can sort through the mistakes that they should be making as we get along in the learning process. This should be important to them, I tried to explain, especially since high school is the last time in life when the education is free for them. I told them that any future instruction for them after high school will be at a cost to them or to someone paying it for them, a fact that they probably will not fully comprehend until they are presented with a tuition bill. But you, as a teacher, are only one of many each day for them, and some of what you say might be taken to heart and some is rejected, or equally often, I suspect, plainly missed.

But all that material detracts from the graduation that Lincoln hosted yesterday, a really high point for a high school student. And it's nearly, but not quite, a high point for those just missing out in participating in it by either being short a few units in meeting the requirements that are spread over four years, or, being kept back by not clearing the California High School Exit Exam, or "CaHSEE," as it's more commonly known in the vernacular of the educational system. For all attending the ceremony, there is a lot of pride and joy that the event brings, and probably a bit of relief for some or maybe even some anxiety beginning as parents will wonder what will be next for their children.

The whole topic is really too big for even my long postings here as I bounce back a lot of thoughts collected over the years, and I will just say to this class, "Congratulations" and "Enjoy the moment." Lastly, one thing that seems to remain over the years for L.A. area graduations, barely changed, if at all, is "Grad Nite" at Disneyland. It is something of a tradition itself that I have urged students not to miss, maybe for the simple fact that it IS tradition and that it makes this particular rite of passage complete.

One week to go until Lincoln High's Class of 2009 Graduation.

Yes, it's the month of June now. It brings with it the "June Gloom" to welcome you to each morning, the June weddings that produce the June Brides- and then there's the high school graduations. On Thursday, June 18th, exactly one week from now, another academic year ends for students at LHS, and for the graduating seniors, this exit from Lincoln will be their last one from any high school for good. It's all happening up on the hill on Andrus Field, aka, "Andrus Stadium," but "Stadium" is more wishful thinking than anything else.

Some things don't change when it comes to graduations, but I hope that Lincoln begins to work on making it a better experience all around. I don't know when the service clubs finally were disbanded, but often these members were the ones that helped with guiding and ushering at events. Since that time, some of the duties have defaulted to the ROTC members, but the assistance for guests being seated is "on your own" with not much done to help later-comers find any open spots available in the bleachers. That part could stand improvement. It's always been my thought that there's no de-briefing after any events to iron out the glitches and fix the problems so that they don't recur. Like most things within LAUSD, it appears not to be among the concluding "to-do" items for running events, and the same things will show up again.

The school admin probably presents the graduating students with a lot of things that should and should not be done and what rules to pass on to the guests, but enough people don't get the word or don't abide by the restrictions. The air horns, the type used in boating, are probably the most annoying devices ever to show up at graduations. Maybe if these actually were confiscated instead of being gnored by the school police, we could experience the event more comfortably and the school police would be seen as a little more active in their duties, hence more useful. That's been my observation, at least.

Sound is often an "iffy" proposition, and it could be aided by having somebody venturing out into the stands during the event to report back on the volume level. Doing sound checks before hand will check the operation but the volume levels may be inadequate during the graduation. What starts out as audible is later overcome by the audience applause and often, yelling by exuberant family and friends. The result is that you may just be unable to hear a lot of what's announced as the diplomas are awarded.

Last June's graduation somehow seemed very sparse in terms of the speeches and presentations and ended earlier, at least it seemed that way to me. But I suppose we should be thankful for small favors.

The music side of things is a variable. With the school now having a marching band, there might be some members available to present some live music this year. Last year was simply recorded music or none, I don't remember because it was not memorable. The year before was nicely done with the small group led by Mr. Huff, to provide some music before the graduates were seated. Mr. Huff is also one of the the alumni faculty at LHS, graduating a year or two behind my class.

One thing that has to be decided is whether there will be any recitation of the alma mater. It seems so dated and I'm sure it's relatively unused during any other part of the school year, I really wonder why we bother with it at all. But if they print it on the program, is that supposed to be an omen of some sort if it's not going to be sung? And if it's going to be sung, then there should be some time set aside to practice it. An inaudible or otherwise fouled up singing of an alma mater would rank as one of the more lame things to happen at a graduation. Where that alma mater IS sung, I can almost be certain that anyone singing it is reading those words off of written sheet since it's not the kind of tune that you would expect to be loaded onto anyone's i-Pod.

Well, in week it will all be done for the campus activities. And then Grad Nite at Disneyland will wrap it up. Some things don't change.

A Marine & A High School Graduation- Cap & Gowns only?

I thought this made a good question to think about and had one opinion when reading the story, but changed my mind while I went throught the reader comments. An 18-year old Texan finished his USMC boot camp last month after completing his high school graduation requirements last December. He wants to wear his dress blue uniform for the high school graduation ceremony in El Paso, Texas, but he was told he could only graduate in a cap and gown like everyone else- no Marine dress blues.

"Marine fights to wear dress blues at high school graduation," April 10, 2009, by Tony Perry, http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/04/marine-lance-cpol.html I thought that this was a little restrictive and a bit of backlash exercised against the military, something like you see in San Francisco politics where they wanted to keep any military recruiting off school campuses. An example of that San Francisco attitude is shown in, "JROTC on Life Support in San Francisco; Parents are fighting to keep the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps alive in the Golden Gate City," http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/jrotc-on-life-support-in-san-francisco/ , a story in "Pajamas Media.com," a news weblog. The San Francisco high school program is like the one in Los Angeles, but there is more hostility there and San Francisco generally has been criticized as lacking patriotism. The comments there are useful in understanding the situation. In the JROTC program at Lincoln High, there is much more going on to help a student that is not strictly related to any military function. The military format is the structure used to develop academics, leadership and a lot of things that might be different from the experiences we had many years ago, which was still not a bad thing as I recalled those times. Reading these items will give you a beter idea of current views in the San Francisco situation.

A related story on the topic is from back in August 2006. It gives some background on the situation and was at another time when the San Francisco school board was considering phasing out the Jr. ROTC program from the high schools. The content of the article shows some very strong views against the program, and it considered the purpose of JROTC as being a recruitment device. The comments on that story are, as expected, also interesting. "The case against the JROTC," http://ww.sfbg.com/entry.php?catid=160&entry_id=1356 in the "San Francisco Bay Guardian Online." Some good discussions points within the replies to the article that is strongly against the JROTC program.

Well, getting back to the story of the graduation, I thought it was something that he should be allowed to do for some achievement-recognition purpose, and it was a too-restrictive policy that the school decisioin-makers were following. In the case of our graduate-to-be, Marine Pfc. Garrett Miles-McCarthy, he has two achievements he can be proud of, doing a lot better that what we have seen locally in LAUSD, but also probably better than lots in his home town, too. I changed my opinion to the "wear a cap and gown" for a lot of reasons that are not "anti" anything, but centered on the support of the ceremony of HIGH SCHOOL achievement. And on that basis, I join with the school's side.

You may decide differently, but still, his Marine Corps status is in no way devalued by not allowing him to wear his uniform at graduation. He could wear it UNDER his cap and gown, but one reader wrote that the uniform is not supposed to be covered by something such as a cap and gown. I don't know if that's correct or not, but no school decision is keeping him from that choice so far.

The case here is about a student who has accomplished quite a bit for a young person, and now we have a dispute broiling because of it. Usually, there are stories and arguments over the things that are happening to young people that are examples of some NEGATIVE actions. This at least is different and we should all have such things to bicker about from some a case of a young person's achievement.