I was uneasy about the GED graduation last week. Last year, more than 400 GED and HSED students completed the credential and almost 50 attended the June celebration. That graduate to stage ratio is typical for us. Ten to fifteen percent of our students usually take the time to return to cross the stage in cap and gown and with big, big smiles on their faces. Other graduates have moved on with their lives.
The graduating class last year was impressive because it included the final graduates of the pre-GED 2014 era added to those who had just completed the new GED set of tests. Since then, the number of GED students has dropped not just with us but in GED classroom across the country. States report that successful completers (those who have passed all four new GED tests) are only eight percent of the totals from earlier years. Our school has done better than most, we are at 20-25 percent of previous years, but we are still down, a lot.
As we prepped for this year's GED graduation, an initial count listed only four or five students out of more than 90 graduates had ordered caps and gowns for the ceremony. So rather than have 40-50 graduates crowd the commons, like last year, we would have only a fraction of that number. There might be more dignitaries on the stage than graduates in the seats -- not a good promotion for our program.
I thought we might downsize the ceremony to make the drop in numbers less conspicuous. Maybe we could have grads lunch with the President and Vice-President of Learning at the college instead. Maybe we could use a large lecture room for the ceremony instead of the more public commons area where it was usually held. Maybe we skip the ceremony entirely this year. Still a decision was made by leadership to carry on with the ceremony exactly as it had been done in the past. As I walked down the stairs to the assembly area, I was worried.
I shouldn't have been. I should have been thinking about starfish.
Every year, new employees are initiated to the culture of our college through the inspirational story by Loren Eisley about the starfish, the girl and the beach walker. One version goes like this:
An old man was walking on the beach one morning after a storm. In the distance, he could see someone moving like a dancer. As he came closer, he saw that it was a young woman picking up starfish and gently throwing them into the ocean.
“Young lady, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?”
“The sun is up, and the tide is going out, and if I do not throw them in they will die, “she said.
“But young lady, do you not realize that there are many miles of beach and thousands of starfish? You cannot possible make a difference.”
The young lady listened politely, then bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea.
“It made a difference for that one."
I did stop worrying when I saw a group of three of my HSED students, Josh, Kay-Lynn and Indigo, who I had worked with all spring -- I was pleased to see all of them, and their families. These three stuck together in the classroom, urged each other on and continued their fellowship right up to the graduation stage. Each of them overcame personal and academic obstacles to make it to this night. The ceremony made a difference to them.
Other GED and HSED graduates were milling about as in any other year: checking in, taking their robes out of the plastic bags, and using bobby pins to keep the mortar board (hat) on straight. Rather than worry about the number of fellow graduates around them (fifteen did attend the ceremony), their biggest worry of the night was whether the tassel should be on the right side or the left as they marched in (right side at first, graduation is official when the tassel is moved to the left).
At 6 p.m., the NWTC band (led by our college president, Dr. Jeff Rafn) started "Pomp and Circumstance" and the procession moved from the side hall way to the commons area. Just as in other years, the audience was a mix of young and old, bursting with pride as they watched their special graduates parade in for the GED or HSED credential. The student speaker was inspirational. Awarding the diplomas and the handshakes brought forth cheers and shouts for the graduates. No one noticed that the crowd was smaller than last year. The smiles, tears, cheers, cell phone photos and celebratory balloons, flowers and stuffed toys were focused on the accomplishments at hand and huge step that the graduates had made to complete their high school credential. This would make a difference.
Sometimes, I get too caught up in the business of education: what our numbers are, how can we increase our success rate, did we meet grant requirements, which texts need to be matched with what curriculum. Sometimes, I lose track of what I am really hired to do. That is to make a difference to as many of our students as I can. While I and the rest of my team work hard to be insanely successful in the work we do, we realize deep-down that we can't help everyone. What we can do is make a difference to those students on our section of the beach. I need to remember to take the time to celebrate for them and for myself.
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