Sham Graduation
Walking Across the Stage for No Diploma
By Daniel Muniz

For a teenager to walk across the stage during a high school graduation ceremony to receive his or her diploma is perhaps a defining moment for both parent and child. It is the culmination of all the years of hard work from early childhood for the student as well as the guidance from their parent in order to earn a diploma. And the pageantry of this event also represents the symbolic boundary separating child from adult.

But what about the high school seniors who flunk out and who are unable to participate in the graduation ceremony?

For most schools across the country, the answer is tough luck.
 

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A student has had four or more years to prepare for his or her diploma and even in the crummy schools, there are ample opportunities for tutoring and for retaking classes at summer school and at night school. Graduation is not something that unexpectedly pops out of nowhere. Although guidance counselors are helpful, it is the student and the parent who have the greatest responsibility in ensuring that the correct number of credits are obtained and that homework is turned in and that tests are studied for so that the diploma can be earned.

Even so, every year there are always a group of high school seniors who flunk out.

They have the option of wrapping up their final credits in the following summer or in the subsequent fall semester but they will not walk across the stage with their peers because there is no diploma to hand to them. Many schools do have a brief informal ceremony at the end of the fall semester but it is nothing like the pomp and circumstance of the graduations that take place at the end of every school year.

Some schools also have the option of a student walking across the stage for the following year even though they have earned their credits in the summer or at the end of the fall semester.

But living in a country full of victims and complainers, there are usually a number of people who will not take no for an answer even though it is impossible to do otherwise. For the students and their parents who whine the loudest, there are always a handful of high schools in a few states that are willing to bend the rules.

Now how is that possible because there are not enough credits necessary for graduation?

And this is not about a student who has failed that one last required class by one or two points in which the numbers are fudged so that a diploma is possible.

I am talking about the kids who are several credits short but who still want to walk across the stage with their peers during the graduation ceremony even though there is no diploma to hand them. Maybe they will be handed a parchment paper with a big smiley face on it but there is no official document from the state certifying that this student has satisfied all the necessary requirements to earn a high school diploma.

These kids have parents who are willing to take their whining all the way up to the superintendent and even to the school board for consideration of their request.

And yes, once in a while there is a weak link in the chain that allows this travesty to happen.

Although it can occur anywhere the country, it is typically the school districts that already have bent the rules and have a reputation for low performing schools. The problem with setting a precedent of breaking the rules and compromising integrity is that it sets the stage for future expectations of bigger and worse travesties and allowing kids to walk across the stage at graduation even though they will not receive a diploma is simply an example of that domino effect. In essence, there is no limit to the stupidity that can be permitted to take place.

But what is pathetic is that these kids are not the ones who want to drop out of high school or at least not until they walk across the stage to receive their non-existent diploma. They want the symbolism of graduating without putting in the hard work and doing what it takes to earn it.

At least the dropouts are not willing to take part in any shenanigans about pretending to graduate. They simply just want to get out of school so they drop out.

First of all, an exception like what these pseudo-graduates are getting is absolutely outrageous. And it is an insult to the hardworking students who worked their tails off to get their diplomas. But worse, the educational leadership may actually object at every level but they can be overridden by the school board.

Well, it is time to override the school boards and enact state laws that prevent this kind sham pageantry for low achievers. States need to have this kind of legislation in place to prevent these non-graduates from walking across the stage. The image of our education system has already taken a beating due to deteriorating standards but incidents like this only magnify and exacerbate the problems with our schools. This kind of silliness needs to come to an abrupt end.

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