No [college] Plans, No [participation in] Graduation Rite, Seniors Told (San Fernando Valley, CA)

The Los Angeles Times ^ | May 7, 2002 | David Pierson

[Psalm 73]

"Discrimination against religion?"

Public schools and the NEA? NAAAHHH...

[heleny]

It's no wonder the ACLU doesn't file a lawsuit. They don't care!

[all4one]

What about the children of farmers or other family owned businesses? Why should they be denied the right to participate in graduation, the only pre-requisite would be attending and completing high school.

I will never have my children in a state run institution. Private or homeschooling is the only way to go. Every day the stories coming from liberal run institutions reaffirm my beliefs.

[heleny]

What about the children of farmers or other family owned businesses?

There probably aren't any farms in this area of the San Fernando Valley, but there are always family businesses. I really hope this idea doesn't catch on at any other schools.

Why should they be denied the right to participate in graduation, the only pre-requisite would be attending and completing high school.

Apparently that's not enough anymore for some people. Not only are K-12 classes dumbed down, but now colleges might have to be dumbed down further, too.

Another subject not mentioned is the illegal alien problem, endemic for LAUSD. Gray Davis has already signed legislation for illegal aliens who attend high school in CA all to qualify for in-state tuition at all community colleges, CSU's, and UC's (UC tuition approved by Regents). Forcing high school students to apply to college will only exacerbate the budget shortfall.

I will never have my children in a state run institution.

Not all public schools are that bad. You just have to see the good ones, where parents are very involved in classrooms and curriculum selection, where parents have strong ties with the teachers, and where the neighborhood is good. It helps if the district is small, so parents can make a huge difference. The good schools don't make news.

[Tuor]

Under a new, much-debated policy, those students will be allowed to participate in graduation ceremonies only if they have committed to post-secondary education or training--whether university, community college, trade school or the military.

This is pure crap. A graduation ceremony is a ceremony for graduating high school, not a send off party for the college bound.

This is what happens when you allow commies to run a school district (or anything else).

Tuor

[heleny]

A graduation ceremony is a ceremony for graduating high school, not a send off party for the college bound.

I agree. In fact, high school graduation is a ceremony for finishing all the required schooling, K-12, so it should be really special.

If many other schools adopt this program, then colleges will suddenly be inundated with more applications than they can handle, which will translate to lower acceptance rates and/or higher college drop-out rates. The liberals will tell us that we have to fund more college programs because too many students drop out.

The ETS will make a killing off the increased SAT testing, unless colleges stop using SATs (which won't happen, since a numerical threshold will be even more important than ever for handling the flood of applications).

[maica]

C-SPAN actually used this for a call-in topic this morning. I was mesmerized by the stupidity of the callers. The question was formed as a negative so all but two of the callers on the YES line were really against the plan. Most callers could not differentiate between "graduation" ie, achievement, and "graduation ceremony" ie, event. It was so depressing to ruminate on the intellectual ability of the average C-SPAN caller.

[Pure Country]

I have a daughter that has been offered many full-ride scholarships for college. Her first one came when she was in Jr. High. She has a rare musical talent that is highly sought. She's smart, but doesn't like what she sees in the college scene. Doesn't want to have any part of it. All the siblings have their college degrees, but she sees the job of a woman as being at home raising a family and taking care of the home. Her point is that women with degrees tend to look toward a career outside the home and she doesn't want anything to do with it. She also doesn't want a husband looking at her as "earning potential."

[heleny]

It's less common to find now, but many women with college and graduate degrees still become stay-at-home moms. They get to know some really nice potential husbands in college whom they might not otherwise meet. Unfortunately, it's not too fashionable to proclaim to aspire to be a housewife in most colleges now. (I heard Dr. James Dobson, I think, mention that a young lady confided to him when she was in college that she was afraid to say her real hopes were to marry, have a family, and stay at home to care for them. There must be a lot more who are scared into silence by the NOW-type.)

I'm sure you can find some good examples of college-educated women who have stayed at home in your community. My mom was, and so were the moms of many of my friends; I think we were all very grateful.

Hopefully you can help your daughter identify a good school where her musical talents can be further trained and where the school isn't too liberal. (Avoid women-only colleges.)

[blam]

"It's probably to keep the gang-bangers from shooting up graduation."

LOL. I thought I may be a way to 'hide' all the failures and spare them the embarrassment to those who are not graduating with their class. Now, down here, we let the failures cross the stage and get a 'certificate of attendance' even if they failed. You know who they are, we can't embarrass them.

[heleny]

all but two of the callers on the YES line were really against the plan

I don't watch TV, but, on the bright side, (as long as callers to the NO line understood how to use double-negatives), I'm glad all but two callers were opposed to this scheme.

[AppyPappy]

I can imagine the various gang signs being thrown across the stage inviting a war to break out.

[Free the USA]

Check the Bump List folders for articles related to and descriptions of the above topic(s) or for other topics of interest.

[Gumlegs]

Very curious. I went to a University after graduating from high school, but I begged by parents to let me skip the ceremony. The refused.

After it was over, they were more critical of the ceremony than I was.

[Real Cynic No More]

Even if not an inner-city school, denying eligible individuals the opportunity to participate in graduation ceremonies is discouraging and downright mean. It's elitist and deserves a boycott of the graduation ceremonies by all graduates.

[Real Cynic No More]

More socialism: eliminating individual freedom.