Our local daily newspaper has been full of stories lately about high school and college graduations. It's that time of year, after all. Recently a whole section of the paper was devoted to pictures and brief descriptions of all the high school valedictorians in the area. What a diverse bunch!
I couldn't help but think back well over a decade ago when our oldest son Matt graduated from high school. It was a hot day and the sun was beating down on our heads at the outdoor ceremony. As the graduating class came marching in, they all looked sharp in their robes: white for the girls, maroon for the boys. These kids, some of whom Matt had known since they were in diapers, suddenly looked very, very mature. That is until you looked a bit closer, and realized that underneath their gowns, a number of boys, including our son, were wearing shorts and sneakers with no socks!
We weren't really surprised. These kids had always done things a bit differently! Those maroon and white caps and gowns were supposed to symbolize that they were all alike: each one a graduating high school senior. But underneath their caps and gowns, they were all unique individuals. Some were headed for Ivy League colleges, others were just glad to get out of high school. Some were athletic scholarship recipients, others had hated every minute of every gym class they'd ever taken. Some sang the class song with gusto and great beauty, others couldn't carry a tune in a bucket. Some were active Christians, others practicing Jews, and still others only mentioned God when they cursed. Shorts and sneakers, or skirts and leather shoes, these kids exhibited a host of differences. And so it is with every graduating class.
The great 19th century educator Horace Mann once said, "Education . . . is the great equalizer . . . ." He meant, of course, that education creates equal opportunities for people, he did not mean we all come out of school exactly the same. Thank God!
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