Honors for graduating enlistees
The Washington Post reports that parents in Fairfax, Virginia are putting pressure on the school board to honor their children who are graduating from high school and enlisting in the military like other students who have mapped out their first few years after high school;
These parents are pressing the county school board Thursday night to acknowledge that volunteering for the armed forces is a commitment worthy of a public display of respect, with red, white and blue “honor cords” that graduates would wear around their necks as they receive diplomas.
“In this area, it seems like if you don’t go to college you’re almost not worth as much as someone else,” said Carolyn Kellam, one of the Fairfax parents who has been lobbying the board. “But I don’t think college is the end-all be-all for everyone, and it doesn’t have to be. There are other choices out there.”
The board is a little tentative about pushing back against the pressure. No one wants to be seen as voting against recognition of these honorable students, but pushing back they are. I’m not sure how I feel about it, but I think if the individual schools decide they want to something, that’d be fine, but having the school board push it down their throats, how much of an honor would that really be?
For example, this principal has his head screwed on straight;
“I feel remiss that we haven’t been doing it,” said Robinson Secondary Principal Dan Meier. “I commend these parents that brought it up. Robinson has been a school for 40 years — why this hadn’t come up previously, I don’t know.”
Change is already in the works at Robinson, a school named after a soldier who died in combat in Vietnam.
No matter how the school board votes Thursday, Meier said, this spring Robinson enlistees will wear an honor cord and will be asked to stand for applause at graduation.
That’s more of the kind of reaction that I’d encourage than some sort of mandate from on high.
Category: Schools
Dude! My VFW Post is the one that supports this!!!!!!!
That is goinig too far. Honor the enlistees in the same assembly where you recognize the achievements/ awards/ scholarships/ etc. of all the other Seniors. When I graduated, the only cords on the gown were for the National Honor Society – that’s all that is needed.
Graduation ceremonies are highly over-rated anyways. I intentionally skipped my college graduation ceremony with a few thousand of my classmates in a football stadium. The ceremony that meant the most to me was my Commissioning Ceremony.
At my son’s high school last year, he and other enlistees were recognized as scholarship recipients along with students going to college. The services had recruiters representing them and dollar amounts were attached to the scholarships. My son joined Air Force as an EOD candidate and the numbers presented on the AF scholarship forms made him one of the top 3 in the school in moneys received. Most of these were not related to service academies either, just enlistment. Pretty cool deal.
Arby, the point (Missed by you) is that the kids enlisting right out of HS in Fairfax County were being shunned at graduation by counselors, teachers, and (we have these in HS’ here) the folks that ran the career centers, simply for wanting to serve society prior to seeking a college education. This is a good thing, and before you attempt the “They are jumping the gun” argument, the students would be recognized for raising their right hand and taking the oath of enlistment, not for serving their Country (they haven’t yet earned that right).
My Sons school recognises all enlistees at Graduation by asking them all to stand. They don’t ask all those going to college to stand though…. should they?
I was happy to escape from High School when I graduated, and could not wait to get to The Benning School for Wayward Boys. Recognition… nahh let someone else have it. I like being anonymous some times.
My kids’ school had enlisted students stand up at graduation. that is enough for me.
I kind of agree with arby on this. The problem is, in our town graduation IS the assembly where you recognize the achievements/ awards/ scholarships/ etc. of all the other seniors here. Graduation ceremonies have been over done for a long time now.
That being said, if a given school desires to do it great, but I don’t think it should be forced.
Thats all that they are trying to do in Fairfax County, Idk where this wearing an honors fourragere crap came from, but the school board was only considering having them stand for recognition. And I didn’t care when I graduated, I had three days before shipping, and just wanted to be gone.
anonymity is nice sometimes, too, rb325th.
Ok, I do get that “oh, he couldn’t get into college” sht from counselors and that stuff, but we mostly ignore it. I wish people understood the value of the choices our kids are making, but screw them if they don’t.
In Fairfax County, the school staff doesn’t seem to understand that Boo, when I was in HS, and had sworn in, the career center lady at Lake Braddock HS, told me I should go to Canada instead of throwing my life away, and the subschool principle I had, accused my father of beating me drunkenly, simply because Dad was a Marine and the numbnuts thought all Marines were the Great Santini.
@2
At my high school graduation in ’83, several scholarship recipients were recognized by name… biggest appluase, though, was for the guy who got an appointment to Colorado Springs.
I’ll agree, I think the principal has taken the right course of action. The parents do have the right to be proud of their kid and want some recognition but rather than complaining to the board to make it a standard, they could have just did what my parents did…incorporate a little military pride into my graduation party. Other than that, stuff like this makes me glad that graduating HS is a one time thing, as there’s always someone who wants to make it more “pomp” than “circumstance.” I remember my graduation as being a one last ditch effort for those worried about popularity to show off and I was glad to be getting away from it.
Yup–leave it to the local schools rather than dictate by fiat from on high.
I didn’t get recognized for going into the Navy (I DEPped in the day before graduation and shipped three weeks later–lucky recruiter) but I’m pretty sure none of the teachers or counselors at my high school would have made the highly idiotic claim I only joined the military because I couldn’t get into college.
If a school district can congratulate those LUCKY students who were accepted into: Yale; Harvard; Cornell; Princeton; and or Georgetown … then they can congratualte those student who were PATROTIC enough to enlist in the: USMC; USN; USA; USCG; and or the USCG! The year and month I enlisted in the USN the recruiting offices were packed due in part to a shitty economy, but mostly because of the Islamic Revolution in Iran and the fact that many US citzens were held POW in Iran. It has been over 32 years now .. I can’t wait till’ Israel strikes!
I think the honors shouldn’t necessarily have to be cords, but there is absolutely no harm in a resolution mandating the same recognition be provided to those choosing to serve as that provided to those lucky enough to go to college.
And if it ticks off the libtard pacifists…all the better.
I was one of those who received no recognition for enlisting and I believe it should be recognized at graduation. It would have been a great thing for me. It should be a school choice.
This is not a problem in Oklahoma. Must be a city thing.
Should a young servicemember who went to Basic the summer before senior at HS be required to wear the dress blue uniform at prom and graduation instead of the usual threads?
I actually had teachers and family friends try to talk me out of enlisting because I had the third highest ACT score in my school (I joined the Marine DEP the day after I turned 17.) I’m glad I didn’t listen because I wanted to serve my country, and I was the epitome of the intelligent idiot stereotype. I had a virtually nonexistent work ethic, maturity, or common sense before I became a Marine. I was a National Honor Society, National Vo-Tech Honor Society, and Mu Alpha Theta member but a fat lot of good that would have done me if I had just went straight into college.
The real vindication for these enlistees will be in four or five years they’ll be starting college fully paid for while their crowd following peers will be working at Wal-Mart after failing out of school, getting married, and/or getting knocked up.
@18, FCPS Board is all tax and spend Dummycrats except for Liz Schultz. There was an effort to overturn the old guard during the last election. The status quo prevailed, with the exception of Clifton VA…which is relatively rural and predominantly Republican.
@20: yeps. I am a graduate of West Springfield HS. Which is why I joined the Army – to get far, far away.
Radar and DaveO, I graduated from Braddock, and I completely understand the sentiment!!!
“In this area, it seems like if you don’t go to college you’re almost not worth as much as someone else,” said Carolyn Kellam.
in the area i live in, this statement is 99% true. i ship for 11x OSUT next week and looking back i was never cordially recongized for enlisting out of high school. it was either you go to MSU, UofM, or some other scam school or you’re going to be a nobody. i was spoon fed that bull shit since i stepped foot in that high school
@Infantry FS I hear you. I also think the average high school student in America is selfish and lazy as hell. Even my college classmates are more of less, “Me, me, me, what can you do for me? It’s all about me, and possibly you but only if it doesn’t interfere with me.”
I remember trying to get a classmate to join the DEP with me (I wanted free Blues!), and he seemed interested until his Mom told him he couldn’t. I was flabbergasted. I love my parents, but I’m a big girl and don’t need their absolute approval for every single thing I do. About 60% of my graduating class ran off to some school. Most had no clue what they actually wanted to do, and so at least half dropped out and are back home working for minimum wage.