June 6th
The last day of school… (there he goes again…that guy and his rumors about teaching… I am going to track him down and disabuse him of such notions). Sure there are those who leave the last day at noon and arrive an hour late for the first day. However, the dedicated teachers that I know arrive early, stay late, work part of their lunch period, give of their time during the summer, attend training at their expense and for no additional pay, and feel like they don’t get everything done and wish they could find a way to do more. These are the dedicated professionals that elevate our profession and care for our children.
The morning begins with morning chores and getting ready for graduation. The graduation ceremony is at 10:00 a.m. this year. The students are excited. Their faces are glowing and many have a smile a country mile wide. The teachers are in the belly of the Winthrop Coliseum attempting to put on their hoods over their graduation gowns. Advanced degrees and simple tasks such as this, do let one know that some have advanced and left behind common sense. The administration and school board members lead the processional into the coliseum followed by the faculty and finally the graduates. The Senior Class President begins with her reflections of her years of school. Her voice quivers with emotion several times as she recollects events of her childhood. As I look out over the graduating class I see several students wiping away tears. It is a grand event laced with sentiment. The salutatorian and valedictorian gave venerable speeches. They use quotes from Scrubs, movies and animated TV shows in their speeches and they blend then so well into their speech to make points in such a way that they are appropriate for their intended audience. The valedictorian did quote Yogi Berra, which brought back memories to my mind, "It was like deja vu all over again!" The ceremony was wonderful. They called each name and the audience was very respectful as each name was called.
You may recall that last year Rock Hill and Fort Mill made national news for escorting several people out of the ceremony and having some arrested. This was the result of a decision to bring decorum back to the graduation ceremony. In the immediate prior years the ceremony had become raucous. Yelling and screaming for several minutes for some students, and air-horns blasted for other students. This resulted in some parents not being able to hear the name of their child called during graduation. This was deemed unfair for those families and the decision was made to ask the friends and families of graduates to wait until the end to cheer. This did reduce the problem but some continued to "celebrate" their graduate at the expense of others. As a result, the district decided to utilize local law enforcement and insist on compliance. Then came the first arrest and national notoriety. So this year no one interrupted the ceremony and it was wonderful. Then, when the last name was called, a cacophonous roar came bursting out like the sudden explosive whistle from a tea kettle with steam waiting to be released. It was a glorious sound and a great graduation ceremony.
The Notre Dame Alumni Club of the Western Carolinas invited me to come to their annual dinner. The dinner was held at the Thonblade Country Club in Greer, South Carolina. This Notre Dame Club is extremely supportive of education. They are paying for my housing, meals, registration, and plane flight to Notre Dame University for the Excellence in Teaching Conference. I am so excited about attending. I have heard wonderful things about the conference. They are sending two teachers: Donna Barkey, a teacher from the upstate region, and myself.
Members of the Notre Dame club greeted my wife and I when we arrived. They were very gracious and we instantly made new friends. After pleasant conversation the club meeting began with general duties and several entertaining stories. Then, Carolyn Ladue who is organizing the trip to Notre Dame, introduced Donna and me and explained all the wonderful things we will get to do and experience at the conference. The list of workshops is fantastic. This Notre Dame club is committed to education. They give of their money, time, and of themselves. They also gave us this year’s "shirt". The "shirt" is a tradition at Notre Dame. It is used to subsidize student group needs and generate funds for memorial scholarships. The evening meal featuring filet mignon arrived and several members of the club made a point to stop by and talk. Several of them attended the Teacher of the Year banquet this year.
After the meal the guest speaker, Dr. Maziar, VP and Senior Associate Provost of Notre Dame discussed the University and some of the new programs and initiatives of the University as well as the makeup of the freshman class. They ended the evening talking about football, like most alumni groups do, and we said our good-byes. After meeting with these fine people I will recommend Notre Dame highly to my students who are interested in attending this fine institution of higher learning.