Guesting in a Grade School Graduation!

Those who knew me had asked: "What's PARO Maugan Mosaid, Ph.D. CEO-VI, doing in this grade school graduation?"

Well, for some good reasons, I did not turn down an invitation to act as guest speaker in a grade school graduation.

First, it was my alma mater in the barrio which is more than 4 kms. away from civilization. It is because we had to hike more than 4 kms. to reach the place. The road's condition was so bad that even single motorcycles find it hard to traverse this road.

The NIA has badly criss-crossed the old road (which was much better than what it is now) with its unfinished main canal. Ooww, reminds me again of that corrupt government agency. After it has forsaken the Malmar Irrigation project with unfinished civil works, unpaid right-of-way claims, some alleged double claims and payroll padding, etc.. it has only made the road condition worse. This was suppose to be part of NIA's obligation to improve the Batulawan-Gokotan provincial road because it is to be criss-crossed by the the main canal which was supposed to connect phase 1 of the project to phase 2 of the project in Pikit side.

Well, so much for my relentless ire with that corrupt goverment agency before it takes so much space of this blog page! (I mean NIA-Malmar, so I can't be accused of hasty generalization.. at least I have concrete proofs on how some of my relatives employed with NIA, or once connected to it, had conveniently but illegally enriched themselves out of the Malmar project funds.. in case someone is enticed to sue me for these statements!)

Second, my parents, brothers, sisters, relatives and friends had long wanted to see me after not having visited the place for almost 20 years!

Third, as the Teacher-in-Charge of the school puts it: "this is the only time that we have had a real good speaker, a Ph.D. at that!" (Well, that's his assumption since it was said before my speech).

Fourth, I had also longed to see the place, after almost 20 years leave of absence, to see for myself what happened to the face of the earth there. Sure enough, I would no longer recognize some of my favorite spots in the area after it was deface from the surface of the earth in the name of development. I would no longer recognize the many faces in the audience and some old folks would hug me but curse me afterwards for not having recognized them anymore. I'm sorry!

And fifth, I always imagine that teaching in the post graduate studies is much easier than teaching grade one in the barrio. In much the same way, communicating with a bunch of professionals in the graduate school is much easier than doing the same to a group of grade school pupils in terms of the sender-receiver communication relationship. And so, guesting as speaker in a grade school graduation is whole lotta challenging if not unthinkable for me.

My brother, the President of the Parents, Teachers and Community Association (PCTA), had called me up a day before and asked me to buy or donate some gold medals. He never told me that those gold medals were intended for his daughter (my niece) as she was the class valedictorian. Everything seems to have come to me as a pleasant surprise.

And now, the gist of my speech: I said a lot of things to impress upon the audience that the only Ph.D. todate from this barrio has surfaced to avenge a lot of things. Yahohoo.. here they are:

First, I told them how difficult it was for me to hike a distant of more or less 2 kms. every school days to finish my primary grades, and consider this, I was not of school age when I entered grade one because I couldn't reach my left ear with my right hand strethced across the topmost of my head. I had proven many years later that that technique of determining a child's schooling age was scientific after I tried the same technique, for curiousity's sake, to my children.

Second, I told them that, though my parents were not rich, they had the right attitude for me which was so important that time. Until early 1960s, there were still a lot of Muslim parents who are hesitant to send their children to school for fear of being Christianized. Most parents would rather have their children with them as helpers in the farm. Lucky me, my parents did not have all of those for me. They would rather see me get educated by all means. Thank you Lord, my parents attitude was more than enough for me to finish secondary education - and in a sectarian school.. Notre Dame of Pikit. I was never Christianized!

Third, I told them that poverty should not hinder anyone from pursuing higher education or going through the education ladder. And what else, my favorite example is always myself. This is not a case of self-centeredness but determination well exemplified.

Fourth, I told the grade school graduates to choose the right kind of group (or barkada) that they should belong to. In the face of all the temptations that surround us today in the modern world, the peer influence is very strong, next to, if not more than the parents' influence. This was after I realize the truth in the old adage: "Tell me who your friends are, and I will tell you who you are!"

And fifth, I told them to be relentless in their faith and piety. It is only when you have strong faith in God and uncompromising piety that you are able to fight evil and choose right over wrong, good over bad, and success over failure. I BELIEVE that success and failure - nowadays.. have become a matter of choice!!

Some Cool Ideas on Graduation!

I had written below (see.. Graduation: Same Old Tradition) about innovations or just being a little bit creative to avoid a boring graduation ceremony. Now, I feel that I have to delve into the details to start the ball rolling for those who would like to innovate and make graduation a little bit more enjoyable. Here are some which you may start to ponder on:

* In the days leading up to graduation, have the soon-to-be graduates write a letter to their parents and ask that the parents also write a letter to their child. Ask them to exchange letters on graduation day.

* Make arrangements to record a video version of a PowerPoint presentation that includes pictures of the students throughout their lives. Sell the video at the graduation ceremony. The proceeds might be used to purchase a class gift for the school or to donate to the graduating class's local charity of choice.

* If you have a concession stand at the ceremony, proceeds might be used to purchase a school banner, books for the library, whiteboards for classrooms, bookcases, or other things the school needs.

* Prepare a special journal for each graduating student. Throughout the year, teachers, parents, community members, peers, and others might write messages to the students in those journals, which will be handed to the students at the graduation ceremony.

* Instead of presenting a journal to the students, have the students record in a journal their thoughts during the school year -- things they are thankful for -- and present that journal to their parents at the graduation ceremony.

* Teachers might divide up students' names and take responsibility for crafting a short but special introduction to each of those students. That introduction might include an anecdote, a few notes about the students' special strengths or the changes teachers have witnessed over the years, or other personal memories.

* At the end of the ceremony, have students walk down an aisle lined with students from the school they will be attending next. Those students will cheer, give high-fives, and otherwise congratulate the incoming underclass.

* As students come up to receive their graduation recognition, have the principal of the school shake their hand at one end of the stage. At the other end of the stage, the head of the school the students will next attend will shake their hand.

* As each student crosses the stage, hand the student a rose for the student to hand to his or her parents.

* Present special awards to students who have come a long way in spite of the odds that life has presented them. Don't forget awards in areas that might otherwise be overlooked -- in technology or music, for example.

* Some graduating students who play instruments in the school band or orchestra might perform solo or as part of combos at the graduation ceremony.

* A retiring teacher might give a brief speech.

* Teachers who have taught the graduating students might take turns calling out names as students come up to receive their certificates or diplomas.

* As each student is handed a diploma, he or she might turn and face the audience for a few moments so parents or others might take photographs.

* If students have been in your school for a number of years, call them up in the order in which they entered the school. This works especially well in elementaryand high schools. Those who have been in the school since kindergarten will be the first to be presented their certificates/diplomas. Those who have been in the school since first grade will follow...

Graduation Ceremonies.. still, the same old tradition!

Just like other parents of graduating studes, I found time out to experience first hand gruelling five hours (7:30 am-12:30 pm) in a graduation ceremony with my son! Oh my, graduation ceremony is such a hapless bore you can't escape.

Why can't graduation ceremonies be a little bit interesting, a little bit shorter, and a little bit more creative than the traditional program roll that it has been since time immemorial. Let's take a look at a traditional program sequence in a graduation exercise and see what can be done about it. It usually goes in this order: the processional, the baccalaureate mass, the graduation ceremony proper, and finally the recessional. Usually, the mass celebrant talks as lengthily as the commencement speaker. And good, if they talk about important specific anecdotes that are relevant to the graduating class. In most cases, speakers in both baccalaureate and graduation events talk a lot about so much cliches, as in "spread your wings and learn to fly" and "be true to yourselves" kind of things.. whooaaaahh!!.. they add up to the boresome time-consuming affair.

I remember one tip in writing or making a good speech for graduation ceremonies. And it says "the best graduation speech is one that is interestingly exclusive for a given batch at a given time in a particular place," and therefore, it cannot be recycled. How'd ya find it? I think there's a lot of sense in it.

In big universities, with big number of graduating students, the baccalaureatte mass is held separately just like the parents' night and the graduation ball. Good for them, but still, it is a lot of activities which can all be shortened and combined in one or two settings only, not to mention the expenses that go with each and every activity!

For example, in a situation where some schools find the baccalaureate mass and the commencement exercise inseparable.. maybe it would be less boring to have one speaker only. In another situation where the parents' night is held separately from the graduation ball.. maybe both programs can be shortened and combined. After all, it's not bad to make the parents feel that they are part of the graduation ball..

Well, other students would argue that they don't enjoy to the max with the parents around. Isn't that too self-centered, at the least? Or, simply being indifferent to the old folks? Parents (I must admit as a parent), enjoy and love the company of their children. But I must admit too, that when I was a student, the presence of my parents in our party is a NO, NO and absolutely non-negotiable. Now that I am into their shoes, I just feel that was utterly unfair.

Can we do something about this? Let's think about it! The bottomline is that we can make graduation ceremonies less boring by introducing creative innovations where both the graduating students and the parents enjoy!

March: Graduation Month!

The last two weeks of the month (of March) bring much excitment and euphora for the graduating students as they prepare for the big day, i.e. graduation day!

Weeks before this, it was rather much different. The excitement was more of: "will I really make it to graduation day or not?" This feeling doubles as senior students put finishing touches on their thesis/dissertation. And more so when the adviser, or any member of the panel, place a lot of corrections, as in EXPAND, IMPROVE, ENRICH, ETC.. side notes.

Good for thesis writers nowadays, when corrections can easily be made on the computer without affecting the rest of the pages of the manuscript. I can imagine the typewriters' era! Whenever corrections are made on one page, the rest of the pages of the manuscript are affected. Ergo, you have to adjust everything. Whaaaaaaa!!

Anyway, after all is certain, the euphora subsides as graduation day nears, but of course, not the excitement. It grows in intensity by the day until graduation day dawns and the parents and realtives are all alerted for the surefire graduation fun that punctuates it all.. the celebration, the party.. yeheeyy. Happy graduation dear graduating students.

You are so important, as one commencement speaker emphasizes it: "The generations before you are jaded and worn out. They may no longer be capable of creativity; their energies are spent. They are stuck with old templates – imposing old solutions to new problems. We need to break out of the mold. We need your youth, your imagination, and your energy to do this!"

The speaker was pointing to your role in the real world outside the academe. C'mon, you can do it or you should do it.

Good luck!