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There's an etiquette advice columnist who I enjoy reading (Darcey Smart) and to quote her wise words:
"We live in a world where a hint of criticism is treated as an act of aggression and all and sundry feel entitled to behave any old way they like, with the exception of those of us who dare to speak up in defence of civility and are immeddiated muzzled for our pains." |
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The graduate did commit an act. He or she invited the losers. I've got no problem removing or arresting the guest too, but I think it will further ruin the ceremony for the people who have been acting appropriately. ("Graduation was nice this year;they only had to remove 30 guests by force.") I think you've got to put it on the graduate, so they send the message too: "no, I really don't want you to scream at my name. That's not cool. I want my diploma." And the yellers need to believe that the graduate means it. I think teenagers have a lot of influence on their parents. In fact, I think a lot of parents are downright manipulated by them. And it I think it's important to remember that the school is asking the parents too. The parents are welcome to come if they won't holler and blast air horns. If a teenager can't depend on his or her parents not to do something they've specifically been asked not to do, this won't be the last time the kids is in an awkward position because of them. And that's not a good enough reason to let them ruin the graduation ceremony. This policy will work well to create future events with the decorum the rest of the school wants. It penalized the people over whom the school legitimately has control. |
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We didn't have this problem in HS because our graduation is a Mass. But my precommencement in college did. Basically the guy just read the names very clearly into a mike. No one got covered up. You have really negative view about teenagers and their parents. Believe me, the majority of people I know could not have controlled if their parents/relatives were going to come to graduation. Usually those people can get tickets on their own too. And yes, it penalized the people the school has control over, but it penalized the wrong people. Removal from the property seems appropriate to me. |
Isn't this how things work at most clubs or events?
If you are the member of the organization hosting and your guests do something outrageous, you can expect it to have repercussions for you, right? (Sure they might ask your guests to leave at the time, but that probably won't be the end of it.) |
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Quite franky, I think behavior like this has something to do with the fact that graduation ceremonies aren't special anymore. They used to have them for high school and college, that was IT. Now, anything is a "milestone." Graduation from middle school or junior high. Graduation from summer camp. Graduation from any old grade. One of my friends just went to a kindergarten graduation, for God's sake. The next thing is going to be slapping a mortar board on a newborn's head to celebrate its "womb graduation."
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I was trying to make really clear that I think the majority of teenagers and their parents are excellent*. Really, I do. Very few people make any trouble at all. It's just the small percentage of people who don't care ruin it for the rest.
The rotten apples basically insist that you have punitive policies because you can't depend on them to act right unless something bad will happen to them if you don't. The school basically has to decide if they are going let everything go or try to do something to make people act right. Most schools have elected not to follow through with anything. I admire this school for trying to have nice graduations for all the kids and parents who want to mark the occasion with a sense of politeness and decorum, a group I honestly believe probably make up 98% or more of the total group. I don't think it's the perfect system for many of the reasons you all have mentioned, but I think it could be one important step. I agree that graduations aren't special anymore, and I might go along with the "it's because so many people go to college" idea except that you see the same behavior at even college graduations. Some people have come to think it's cute to act this way, and they expect to get away with it. *But I will note that even some of the excellent kids manipulate or try to manipulate their parents. You really don't think this is true? |
My kids had a preschool graduation too. I thought that was a crock.
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It's a racial issue. The white kids didn't get in trouble.
-Rudey |
People take air horns to high school graduation ceremonies? :eek:
Wow...just wow. :( |
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And in sort of a response to Rudey: this parent was white, so while in the newspaper article, it does seem like the people getting punished are trying to make it seem racial, race isn't even a factor in the cases I've personally experienced. |
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I think I remember a few beach balls floating around in the stands at the graduation of the glass before me in high school. The ceremony was also held outside in our football stadium which didn't exactly scream this is a special occasion so let's act like it. |
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