CORA
“Welcome, everyone, to our senior graduation ceremony for Stone Creek High School,” I begin. I was recruited by the performance groups to be the master of ceremonies for today. I think it was a kind of reward for clinching an agreement at the parent meeting. Initially, I was worried Sean might have wanted to do this, but he was one of the first to rush to congratulate me and make sure I accepted the group’s offer. I almost cried when he hugged me. Not that I let on how touched I was.
“This afternoon’s celebration is our tribute to all who supported us in our journey toward ‘A Life Worth Living,’ the senior class theme and nod to Socrates,” I say. “First thanks go to our parents and families for our launch into learning from day one. Second, events this past year clearly show the interdependence of schools and a community in forging a shared sense of purpose and growth. The last group deserving our heartfelt thanks is our teachers, counselors, and administrators, who so acutely listened to us that we came to better understand our world and make decisions based on listening to our own inner voice.”
Traditional applause rings out from students, some in the auditorium, some clapping and whooping from back stage.
“The large banner you saw in the hallway as you entered the building today lists eighty-eight different senior responses to the question, ‘What one verb captures how Stone Creek High School contributes to learning for a life worth living?’ Recognizing tremendous variety and overlapping meaning of some words, a few verbs stand out: ‘decide,’ ‘understand,’ and ‘listen.’” I pause a moment after each of the three words, to give the audience time to absorb and reflect on their power. “Based on these key words, our senior class president and the senior class planning committee asked each senior to write three one-sentence descriptions of important lessons learned during their time in school here. The responses for each person are listed in your program in alphabetical order of each student’s name.”
There’s a good bit of shuffling, as people are curious to see what individuals, particularly their kids, wrote. To show it’s okay to look at the student answers for a minute, I quickly glance at a few:
Daniel
I expanded my greetings beyond “What’s up?” and now actually want to know the answers.
Nobody else is responsible for my bad decisions.
I choose awareness as my measure of success and stories as my method of enlightenment.
Sean
Change brings you a broader perspective on life, as long as you can handle uncertainty.
Friends give you courage.
I proved to my dad that learning what I want every day can lead to high enough scores on standardized tests.
Me
I see the world on a different plane than either/or.
Trusting others is the flip side of trusting yourself.
I need more training to listen clearly to all that spins around in my brain.
Jake
I now understand the depth of the quote, “It takes a village.”
The kernel of a dream starts young, but takes a lifetime to grow it into reality.
I need much more than farming—like music, poetry, love, friends, science, travel, and stillness.
Jorge
I don’t need to be afraid of people who don’t look like me.
My next adventure is training for next year’s tryouts of the US national soccer team.
If that fails, I will learn the restaurant business from my uncle.
Amelio
The USA is a pretty neat place, but there’s no place like home.
I’m moving back to Mexico with my family.
I plan to use sustainable farming methods I learned here back in my home village.
“I’m sure you will want to review many more of the senior statements,” I say, “but right now we need to move along with the student performances we have planned for you this afternoon. As your program shows, we will start with four performances of ten minutes each:
• Political Satire—Terrorism
• Inventions We Would Like to See
• Intergalactic Travel Slide Show
• Teaching Math to Elementary Students—Demonstration
“I hope you enjoy the show!” I say before exiting the stage.
The first set of performances goes off without a hitch; when the last one ends, I come back onstage and explain what is available during intermission. “A twenty-minute intermission will allow you to taste a variety of what we call ‘New Eats,’ which are both delicious and healthy, and prepared for you by the student chefs serving them. While you are enjoying those, you can meander through an exhibit titled ‘Stone Creek Au Naturel,’ which displays photography, painting, and fiber arts. The student who produced each work will be stationed with it, eager to tell you about their piece and its significance to them.”
After intermission, I draw the audience’s attention to the next four ten-minute performances listed in their program:
• Concussions in Athletics Update
• Gun Control Debate
• Our Planet through Song and Dance, Original Music, Lyrics, and Choreography
• A Job I’d like—Preminiscences
The audience is still clapping for this last round of performances when I take the stage again.
“Thank you for your attention and generous applause for each group,” I say in my concluding remarks. “The performances and demonstrations were intended to give you evidence of five criteria, listed on the back of your program, that we believe define the worthiness of a high school diploma: each of us understands learning is living, and living is learning; we have learned to learn through self-direction; we can deal with risk, uncertainty, and change; we approach learning with great interest and enthusiasm; and we have repeatedly experienced working collaboratively, realizing more heads are better than one.”
Those five criteria are my favorite part of the ceremony. I wrote them in consultation with Sean and the senior class planning committee. I hope I never forget those words.
“Chief, could you please come to the stage to finish our celebration?” I say, scanning the crowd for his face. All students have assembled on the stage and in the aisles of the auditorium.
As Chief climbs the steps to the stage and starts toward the podium, he sees Sean on stage and winks at him. He gives me a hug and says, “Fabulous.”
Leaving the podium, I see Jake standing on stage with his FFA friends, including Jorge and Amelio. I try to catch his eye, but he only has eyes for Chelsea. She’s sitting in the audience with Jake’s dad, who is so dressed up I hardly recognize him.
I join students in the aisle next to where my parents are sitting. They are in the middle of the row, so we can’t hug, but Dad gives me a thumbs-up sign and Mom is beaming.
I notice Daniel standing in an aisle next to his mom and a young guy I recognize, from a photo Daniel once showed me, as Godfather. Daniel never ceases to amaze me.
Seniors throughout the auditorium all look as one, wearing our new senior class T-shirts, which have the names of every senior on the back, and graduation ball caps.
Center stage, Chief says, “By the power vested in me by the Commonwealth of Virginia, I now pronounce you graduates of Stone Creek High School. Congratulations!”
Caps fly in all directions amidst whoops, snapping fingers, hugs, and tears.
Acknowledgments
Thanks to all who have helped me listen to my deepest understandings, too many to name:
My brother protectors;
Sisters in struggle to claim our humanity, some who became lovers;
The young of age and heart sharing their journeys of hope;
The furry four-leggeds, my constant companions;
And always muses along the way.
This book project was fun, made me think about truths, and connected me to the puzzles of our times. One other person cared about this story from the start as much as me—thanks for your enthusiasm, Peggy. The women of S
he Writes Press brought the story to light, particularly my amazing editor, Krissa Lagos.
To the readers of School Tales, I hope it encourages you to make changes in schools that will support young people to grow into their own.
About the Author
Sharon grew up in the U.S. Deep South, trying to figure out why she was not the image of a white southern belle. School was no help in understanding that problem or any other, until a college professor finally taught her to think. After doctoral work in sociology of education, Sharon’s passion for eighteen years became teaching, experiencing again every level of school, preschool through college. Related work experiences, managing community educational programs for thirteen years, revealed how change is possible through an “it takes a village” approach.
When not tending her Virginia mountain cabin or engaging in local political concerns, Sharon contributes to the school change movement by listening to current high school students speak about their personal needs and new ways school could help them. Interviews of youth by Sharon and others can be found at the website schooltaleslive.com. She loves to hear from kindred spirits who want to connect with the national discussion of school transformation.
Author photo © Claudia Schwab
SELECTED TITLES FROM SHE WRITES PRESS
She Writes Press is an independent publishing company founded to serve women writers everywhere. Visit us at www.shewritespress.com.
Class Letters: Instilling Intangible Lessons through Letters by Claire Chilton Lopez. $16.95, 978-1-938314-28-5. A high school English teacher discovers surprising truths about her students when she exchanges letters with them over the course of a school year.
In a Silent Way by Mary Jo Hetzel. $16.95, 978-1-63152-135-5. When Jeanna Kendall—a young white teacher at a progressive urban school—becomes involved with a community activist group, she finds herself grappling with issues of racism, sexism, and oppression of various shades in both her professional and personal life.
Vote for Remi by Leanna Lehman. $16.95, 978-1-63152-978-8. History is changed forever when an ambitious classroom of high school seniors pull the ultimate prank on their favorite teacher—and end up getting her in the running to become president of the United States.
Stella Rose by Tammy Flanders Hetrick. $16.95, 978-1-63152-921-4. When her dying best friend asks her to take care of her sixteen-year-old daughter, Abby says yes—but as she grapples with raising a grieving teenager, she realizes she didn’t know her best friend as well as she thought she did.
Slipsliding by the Bay by Barbara McDonald. $16.95, 978-1-63152-225-3. A hilarious spoof of academic intrigue that offers a zany glimpse of a small college at a crossroads—and of the societal turmoil and follies of the seventies.
Our Love Could Light the World by Anne Leigh Parrish. $15.95, 978-1-938314-44-5. Twelve stories depicting a dysfunctional and chaotic—yet lovable—family that has to band together in order to survive
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