Posted on 08/21/2012 7:51:43 AM PDT by servo1969
PRAGUE, Okla.– There’s a bit of diploma drama going on between a local high school and that school’s valedictorian.
David Nootbaar is furious his daughter’s school is keeping her diploma.
He said, “She has worked so hard to stay at the top of her class and this is not right.”
Kaitlin Nootbaar graduated from Prague High School, the Red Devils, in May and was named valedictorian.
When tasked with writing the graduation speech, her dad said she got her inspiration from the movie “Eclipse: The Twilight Saga.”
Nootbaar said, “Her quote was, ‘When she first started school she wanted to be a nurse, then a veterinarian and now that she was getting closer to graduation, people would ask her, what do you want to do and she said how the hell do I know? I’ve changed my mind so many times.’”
He said in the written script she gave to the school she wrote “heck,” but in the moment she said “hell” instead.
Nootbaar said the audience laughed, she finished her speech to warm applause and didn’t know there was a problem.
That was until she went to pick up the real certificate this week.
“We went to the office and asked for the diploma and the principal said, ‘Your diploma is right here but you’re not getting it. Close the door; we have a problem,’” Nootbaar said.
He said the principal told Kaitlin she would have to write an apology letter before he would release the diploma.
A move her dad believes is illegal.
“She earned that diploma. She completed all the state curriculum. In four years she has never made a B. She got straight A’s and had a 4.0 the whole way through.”
Kaitlin starts college in a few days on a full scholarship, making the administrators’ decision even more appalling to her family.
We tried to get the school’s side of the story.
Superintendent Dr. Rick Martin said in a statement, “This matter is confidential and we cannot publicly say anything about it.”
Kaitlin doesn’t plan on writing an apology letter because she doesn’t feel she did anything wrong.
Her family supports that choice.
Kaitlin sent KFOR-TV this statement Monday afternoon:
“First off, I would like to thank everyone who is backing me on this, especially my friends and family. And to those who don’t agree with me, that is fine also. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and is free to comment however they choose. It’s one of the great advantages of living in a free country. A country where we are free to speak. I would also like to note that I do not hate Prague. I have loved that town since I was a child. I don’t hate the school either, the teachers have always been great! I don’t feel that the whole town should suffer from the mistakes of few. Again, thanks:)”
I have thought a lot about this.. She should apologize. It is a lesson in humility. When she wrote it, the rules were that it had to be approved by the administration. SHE KNEW THAT. She submitted it and it was approved. She changed it after the fact.
In life, when you break rules, the are consequences. If she did not like the rules, she should have complained before.
Was that the case here?
There doesn’t seem to be any indication that it was.
So I suppose YOU thought that Billy Sunday was “Foul-Mouthed” to when he said “Hell”.
Hey! “Nootbaar” is my middle name!
Shoulda said “Washington.” We all know that place is hell.
Just because there are rules does not mean they are good rules..........
I am not a big fan of profanity and I think it should be discouraged.
Have you ever done any public speaking? I am an accomplished public speaker (I actually enjoy it). But, under the pressures of the moment, have experienced far worse mental lapses than replacing "heck" with "hell".
Once, speaking to an audience of about ninety (a small audience for me) on a subject on which I am a recognized expert, I twice referred to a friend as "Williams", instead of the correct, "Richardson". Something felt vaguely wrong, but, it wasn't until he pointed it out afterward, I realized what I had actually said...
~~~~~~~~~~~
The girl is only a high school senior -- speaking to (probably) the largest audience she had ever faced -- at a high point in her life. Drop your holier-than-thou attitude -- and give the young lady a break!!
At least she is still learning something useful about government “administrators”
Prague, Oklahoma now has three notable things for their Tourist Bureau to brag about:
1. Prague is Jim Thorpe’s hometown.
2. A couple of earthquakes shook Prague last year.
3. The Red Devil’s valedictorian said “hell” in her address this year.
I find it difficult to get too excited about the number 3.
Just a question: what makes ‘Hell’ a profanity? Is ‘Heaven’ a profanity as well? Is ‘Hades’ a profanity, or how about ‘Limbo’ or ‘Purgatory’? As far as I can determine they are no more profane than ‘Dallas’ which is only a profanity in Redskins territory.
A million people use the word hell everyday. There is really nothing offensive about it. The Bible says it a bazillion times.
At the very least, the school should not be requiring one of its graduates to READ a "canned" speech -- when they should be preparing their students for extemporaneous speaking.
This story is all about micromanagement and control by a petty PC tyrant who should have the "heck" kicked out of him.
She should apologize and after they place the diploma in her hand she should say; “Now. . .ya’all can go to hell.”
There is nothing wrong with the word “hell” when used in the proper context. Just like there is nothing wrong with the word “bitch” when used in the proper context.
“Deliberately misleading the school with the text she submitted before the speech particularly egregious.”
YES! Finally someone who gets it. I don’t think any of us want to live in a society where 18 year old valdictorans might deviate from the state approved text of their speech. In fact, im not even sure why they get to write their own. It would be better if the school wrote it and she just delivered it. Wait, thats risky too. So maybe the the school should write it, and hire an actress who looks like her to read it.
The crime is that the kid who won valdictorian must submit their speech in advance so it can be censored to the tastes of the administration.
All power to the state! All because someone said hell. This is a joke.
Bingo.
so... you would approve of students shouting profanities and racial slurs or mooning the audience at a graduation ceremony?
heck! why not allow them to assult the principle while there at it!
heck! might as well allow them to grab their teachers ass!
/s
I have to admit I am enjoying this, as Prague is the arch-rival to my sons’ school, and they were always obnoxious to us. As someone pointed out locally, the coaches there drop F-bombs constantly during the games, so it is sort of hypocritical. What a way to make national news.
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