In public education’s never-ending quest to drive kids into private schools and home schooling, the Rock Hill, SC school officials struck a blow for lunacy and inanity when a weekend sweep of high school commencement ceremonies netted 7 arrests of scofflaws in the audience who had the temerity to cheer friends and family members when their names were announced to receive their diplomas. This after having been warned by Rock Hill school officials to refrain from cheering until after the ceremony. Story here.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
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3 comments:
I can see why the schools have that policy. You don't think they just conjured that one up out of thin air, do you?
Probably 40 years ago, graduates received very polite applause. I'm sure with the passing years the applause turned to whistles, then referees' whistles, then air horns, then entire rooting sections for a kid in recent years.
If you have enough parents of, for example, little Bobby Calendar, calling in over the years to complain because the family of Rebecca Caldwell couldn't contain their enthusiasm and Bobby's name being called during the ceremony was just a rumor, requests by the PTB to keep it down are going to be made. When people ignore those requests (with the rationale of "Well, what are they going to do? Our kid just graduated! Screw 'em.") they are eventually going to give that request some teeth.
It's not government sanity that's taken a powder, but civility and common courtesy.
- Emily Mongo Post
Arresting people at commencement exercises... for cheering... Arresting them.
Allow that to sink-in and re-evaluate.
I seem to recall quite the festive atmosphere when I graduated from college. Fortunately, the Dean (the other Dean) possessed the all-too-missing-these-days common sense to pause slightly before moving on to the next name if those in the crowd were to, g#d forbid, actually applaud or cheer.
And by the way, its called a microphone... use it when you feel you are being drowned-out by those 2 or 3 damn reckless and unruly cheering people 50 yards from the stage.
Try telling me nothing of this sort happens at San Diego State?
Mongo's anti-brownshirt friend
...oh, by the way,
I was called "Dave" when they announced my name.
I should've sued.
Mongo's I-need-a-life friend
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