IT'S ABOUT DAMN TIME

Warren High School takes a stand against rampant lawlessness.

(Thanks to Russel Mc)

Comments

[Jan]

I hate rampant lawlessness.

[«LabSpecimen»]

Her mother said that she is "determined to do something about this."

I bet what she *doesn't* do is lecture her daughter for not following the rules. Sure, the rules may are stupid, but the girl was rightly disciplined for violating the rules.

[KDF]

Kids these days! Next thing you know, they'll be hugging their friends and thanking their parents.

[TC]

don't people stand up for themselves anymore? if they tried to kick my daughter out of graduation for waving...

well, lets just say that if they consider waving to be a disruption, i'd show them what disruption really looks like

[«LabSpecimen»]

I did NOT just say "may are", did I?

[Drew]

You may hate rampant lawlessness, but ya gotta love rampart lawlessness!

[Moe]

I thought at first the entry said "rampart lawlessness", so I feel a little disappointed.

>But her mother said that she is "determined to do something about this.

Hmmm, whatever could she mean? I'm sure she realizes that something so trivial has no business in the courts, so no chance she's considering a lawsuit.

[Jan]

No Spontaneous celebratory waving at graduation young lady!

[Moe]

Wow, typed my comment before seeing Drew's, but they flow quite seamlessly, don't they?

[24-aholic]

The girl sounds a bit daft - it took 3 attempts to pass the assessment test and then she was twirling in line? Sounds like they're lucky she even made it to the stage!

[puppytoes]

after my sister gave the valedictory address at her graduation, her robe got hooked on the podium stand and knocked it over as she walked away. they shot her.

[Ann]

Geez when I was in high school the administration cared a lot more worried when kids' hands were below waist level...

[Ann]

Cared a lot more worried? Sorry, I have fiveoclockitis.

[CJrun]

*snork* @ Puppy.

24s right though. This twit flunked the basic competency test 3-times and was instructed to not do anything disruptive in the line prior to receiving the diploma. That actually seems fair to me as her twirling and arm-pumping was being done while other students were up being honored. She's fixin' to matriculate to a trailer park.

[Annie Where-but-here]

*snork* @ "Texas Assessment of Knowledge."

[Brainy Jello]

The school district handbook also states that "students who raise their hands above their waists for any reasons other than receiving the diplomas or shaking hands may be removed from the graduation ceremony."

What a$$hole wrote the handbook? Seriously - why some do people feel they need to control such minutiae? Someone needs to be b!tch-slapped. HARD.

[MOTW]

Annie, TAKs is someone's bright idea of dumbing down curriculum. There are key grades where, if the student does not pass the TAKs, EVEN IF THEY PASS THE COURSE, they cannot progress to the next grade level. That's just terrific news for people with test anxiety, isn't it? No pressure there, huh? *wink*

Hear, hear, Brainy!

[Laura]

Why DO people behave so ridiculously at commencement? Is graduation a "surprise?" In my family, and honestly in most families I know, graduating is a given, not something amazing.

Sitting through a few classes and not failing enough of them to prevent her from graduating (because let's face it - political correctness prevents you from actually making a kid feel "bad" by failing her these days) - not so much worth the party poppers and silly string.

Now if she had been able to turn Franzia into mojitos with her mind - THEN the screaming and arm pumping and confetti...

[judi]

at my son's recent graduation, the crowd (including the students) was admonished not to do anything loud, annoying, disruptive etc. (not sure what words he used but that was the gist of it) and some guy's family shot off AIR HORNS when he was walking. i mean really. his PARENTS can't control themselves?

but i disagree that she should not have been allowed to walk. take her out of line, maybe. give her a talking to. put her back in line. clearly, she has some trouble with learning and it was a BIG deal.

the evil of the TAKS is called the F-CAT here in florida. it's evil too.

[Brad]

Apologies to Tone-Loc...

all done with Warren High School
goin to get my diplome
across the stage at graduation
Saturday at the Alamodome.

wave my arms up in the air
and she taps me on the shoulder
i'm like, "what the f*&^?"
and my stomachs getting colder

"you can't walk across the stage,
if you're gonna break our rules."
"hey, i passed the TAKS the fourth time,
and i'm sick of all you fools."

my Mom is super pissed,
Pascual Gonzalez, you beanuh,
she'll probably cut your brakelines
don't mess with Michelle Medina.

you know what I'm saying
she's gonna have every dog in my neighborhood biting your ass
she's got ten pit bulls and a mastiff
you'll go to hell for messing with the Medinas

[judi]

btw: the miami herald was having some sort of a 'do' on monday, and they served cuban food and MOJITOS in the lobby! i thought of ya'll... but i was on my way to a birthday celebration for a friend, and by the time i got home, i had forgotten. (no, mojitos were not to blame. this time.)

[MOTW]

*ahem* Dave wrote a column on May 16, 2004 called Read the rules. Unfortunately, he said nothing about graduation ceremonies.

[MOTW]

F-CAT sounds like a fighter jet. Sure, it may be an evil test, but the name sounds way cooler than TAKS.

[Annie Where-but-here]

At my commencement, we had a streaker. But since he didn't wave (his hands) or cheer, it was ok.

[Dr. Doug]

To: 'TC'
You are part of the problem.

[MoFaux]

A piece of feel good legislation designed to keep students from enjoying their graduation ceremony.I think it was the RIGHT thing to do, kicking this PUNK off the stage.For my money she can just go back where she came from:Kindergarten!

[Annie Where-but-here]

TC was on this thread? What would he know about graduations? ;)

[PirateBoy]

Warning: Mini-Rant.

I hope she sues, and I hope she wins. Academics do not come as easy to some people as they do to others, so who are we to judge her? What if she had test anxiety? What if she had a tramatic experience recently in her life? She was obviously overjoyed that she had made it ("She was twirling in line"), yet some guy in a suit attempts to judge her? This woman spent the past 4 years of her life to reach that moment, and the school district thinks they have the right to take that away from her? Her degree is going to mean much more to her than the 60% who currently drop out of high school in California.

This isn't a funny story, it is simply sad.

[cebasham]

Just before grads walk into the auditorium for the ceremony, parents need to remember to give the following speech:

"Honey, they own you until you have that diploma IN YOUR HAND. Do whatever they want, so you can get across the stage."

[KDF]

I did NOT just say "may are", did I?
Posted by: «LabSpecimen» | 04:41 PM on June 7, 2006

*winks, cheers, waves, and pumps her fists at Lab*
*is forcibly removed from the thread*

May are call my lawyer?

*ducks*

[southerngirl]

ok, I was gonna comment on this, but PirateBoy said it better than I ever could have, so...

what PirateBoy said.

and Dr. Doug?

I disagree.

[southerngirl]

oh, KDF, you weren't there when I hit "post."

LOL!

[obi wan]

Belated *SNORKS to puppytoes... and my sincerest condolences on the loss of your sister! I don't think waving and pumping your arm in the air should be considered disruptive, I'm just trying to picture the "twirling" part... I think the administrators should focus on the truly disruptive obliviots that turn the ceremony into a circus. I've forced it from my mind through years of therapy, but the person who went to get his diploma immediately before me did something really stupid, and rather than being able to smile at my parents and family as I received my diploma for the photo op, I was completely red-faced with this total look of "I can't believe he DID that." The pic makes it look like I couldn't believe I had graduated, even though I finished with a pretty high GPA.

[CJrun]

Wow. Pretty polarizing for Dave's World. I have attended family graduations in the past few years and they are awful. They're like Jerry Springer highlights. Now I have to go throw the kids on my lawn into the chipper.

[Sondra]

There were cops on the stage at my graduation.

THERE WILL BE NO FUNNY STUFF!!!!

It was the age of the streaker and many had threatened to do so. Some streakers were caught and hauled off to jail. (How Smart do you have to be to streak across a stage with COPS standing on it?)

They received their diplomas a month later, like the rest of us.

With a graduating class of over 2,300, they handed out an instruction sheet (nicely rolled and tied with a ribbon) telling us where to go to get our diplomas.

[David, Bellevue, WA]

You can't scratch your ear?

How many "control freaks" had their hands above oversized waists while honoring the occasion?

It took this person three times to succeed, but she did it!

I'd celebrate for her too!

[Bill Hudgins]

She got off easy: http://www.newschannel5.com/content/news/19513.asp

[Edgar Greenberg]

I bet some kid punched another in the face at a previous graduation, and thus the rule. So what we need is a kid to punch another in a very painful spot withour lifting her hands above the waist. Then they'll rule graduants can't put their hand below the waist either.

[Wavey]

I find myself agreeing with Lab Specimen on this one. If you are made aware of the rules ahead of time -- and the rule says that you WILL be removed from the line if you do what she did -- then you can't really be shocked and surprised when this turns out to be exactly what happens to you when you violate the rules.

Perhaps the rules are a bit heavy-handed -- but as long as those are the rules and the consequences for breaking them are clearly understood by all, then I really doubt that this mother has much of a leg to stand on if she wants to sue or fight it somehow. Or at least, she shouldn't have one.

[TC]

I agree that the mother shouldn't sue - at this point, the daughter's already missed her graduation, and no lawsuit is gonna get that back

my point was that this girl earned the right to graduate, and it is a big deal to a lot of people, especially those that really had to work for it - it shouldn't be taken away for something like this, and rules be damned

and like i said - if they tried this with my kid, then they'd better be ready to remove me too - my kid graduates or the whole family's goin' out in handcuffs

nobody messes with my kids

and Dr.Doug - if that makes me part of the problem, then i'm damn proud to be part of the problem

that is all

[CJrun]

OK. Enough of that. How about the funniest thing I read all day?

Ladies and Gentlemen, dieNASCAR.

[TC]

oh, and Annie, darlin', in case you're interested, i've graduated 3 times, and only dropped out once (well, technically they kicked me out, but still)

so neener

[TC]

and Annie, just out of curiosity

does my previous comment make me more, or less, attractive to you?

and just so ya don't get the wrong idea, i was both drunk and stoned at 2 of the 3 graduation ceremonies

but i was there

[Jack]

Excellent, this is the same school that set up a guillotine in the cafeteria to take care of those tardies. Get em! Way to go Northside! Let's see if you can make schools look more stupid.

[Jack]

And, when I went to the gradiation seremonies here in Sheldon, Texas the superintendent reminded to gradiates to put smoke detectors in their houses. That was an improvement. Last year his speech included a joke about a farmer hitting his mule across in the head with a 2 x 4. Any wonder the kids can't pass the TAKS. And by the way, the article says the kid did not spin in line.

[Jack]

TC - Yo dude! You da man!! They would take me out in handcuffs along with my kid too. A few years ago the secretary at a school I know of took a phone call. The caller asked for the idiot in charge. She responded "oh that would be the principal, let me connect you.

[marfie]

CJ - loved the NASCAR link - I hope you sent it to Dave and Judi. i particularly liked the snarky comment at the end about another possible religious sponsor. So, here's *snorking* at you, kid...

[obi wan]

"And, when I went to the gradiation seremonies here in Sheldon, Texas the superintendent reminded to gradiates to put smoke detectors in their houses. That was an improvement. Last year his speech included a joke about a farmer hitting his mule across in the head with a 2 x 4. Any wonder the kids can't pass the TAKS. And by the way, the article says the kid did not spin in line."

Dude, WHAT? I know you posted this in jest, but it just has that TINGE of "Marfie, I don't think this guy is KIDDING!!!!..."

Marf? Jeff Foxworthy? Anyone?

[CJrun]

Obi, chill. This is Dave's world.

Marfie: I actually exchanged some emails with Judi about this. Once, she told me about the fact that it's not about getting suggested links, they are swarmed by them. They get so many and the tough part is figuring out how to 'blog' them, even if they like them. I understood that, picturing the mountain of links they must be sent, per day. That NASCAR sponsorship by the Scientologists was just something I found accidentally that I hoped everyone could see today, when it was fresh and astounding.

[Jack]

Dear Obi Wan:

I do not kid. I am an eyewitness. This same superintendent has told jokes about body functions at teachers assemblies. Dude - I kid you not. At a teachers meeting he told this one. Said he got slapped at a theatre because he tried to help a woman by taking her dress out of her butt crack when she got up. She was very mad about he pulling the dress out of her butt crack. A few minutes later she slapped him because he thought he needed to correct his mistake, so he tried to put it back in her butt crack.

So do you not think that schools are in trouble? That is an absolutely true story. Loony, loony, loony. But, unfortunately, the man is still the superintendent, its the teachers they are fireing, not the loons in administration. Believe every crazy thing your child tells you about his day at school.

[obi wan]

OK, Jack, that goes WAAAAAYYYYYY beyond where "ANY MAN HAS GONE BEFORE..." (Now, in my role as a case manager, I have what is called "DUTY TO REPORT" and it gets reeeeaaaalllllyyy complicated...) So, if you cannot convince me that this has already been reported to the state authorities where you live, I will have to... What state do you live in?

[Stephen]

Chill, Obiwan. You could spend the rest of your life reporting what goes on in Texas' public schools. That's why everyone with a brain leaves as soon as they can.

[marfie]

This is about the time when I start to understand why some people home school. If Jack's example was my kids' school, I'd be seriously looking for another alternative.

Obi, take a deep, cleansing breath and repeat after me: "This is a blog, it is only a blog..." And then go have another mojito - my treat. You might want to up the rum level this time.

[Annie Where-but-here]

Tiny - yes.

[pepe]

this reminds me of my previous school's policy: if you owe any money to the school you couldn't graduate. My friend owed 20 cents to the school library. She got her transcripts and cert two days after graduation.

It was insane.

[queensbee]

who is writing these rules all over the country? dr mengele? what bloody difference does it make if the graduate waves at the crowd, etc. this is depressing.

[yanya8]

At the graduation ceremony of the class a year ahead of mine, students were instructed not to throw their mortarboards into the air after graduation (to prevent eye injury, so it seems). So, of course, several students did, and the angry principal took the stage and told everyone they were not getting their diplomas (ours was another school that gave you a rolled up piece of paper with instructions). After many, many irate parents told the principal what they thought of that, he rescinded his order. I can see the principal's point, but on the other hand, not every student threw their stupid hat, so why should everyone be punished for a handful of dumbasses? Just sayin'...

[SergeantPepper]

Oh, come now, Texas schools are not ALL that bad... granted, some are, but not all. (I should know- I'm the salutatorian of one, and I worked for another school district in Texas.) But I won't argue that TAKS is evil! There has to be a better way.
OK, the administrators had sprit stickks up their a$$es if they didnnt let her walk. That's a BIG day for most people- they should relax and let the kids and families enjoy the accomplishement.
I'll be watching the headlines for a lawsuit.

[Writer's Cramp]

When did "determined to do something" turn into "file a lawsuit"???? We have GOT to teach Americans more about the proper way to conduct social protest (being a smartass):

If they say don’t raise your arms, then make farting noises when you walk across the stage!!! Tell them to prove it wasn't nervous gas! Don't file a lawsuit!!! Go to the press and make them out to be assholes! Run for President of the School Board/Commission on a Pentacostal hand raising platform!!! Organize a hand raising, naked, twirling student protest march!!! Conspire with the graduating class next year to waddle out of the auditorium (after they have their diplomas)like penguins, singing the old McDonald's quack, quack, waddle, waddle song (I love that song... We are nippersinkers, we're in luck, if it rains all week just pretend your a duck...)

[Glix]

Two years ahead of me in high school, the superintendent gave one guy his diploma, who then picked her up in a big bear hug (Guy was probably about 6'1" and around 300, and the superintendent was about 5'3" or so and very daintily built.) Later in the ceremonies some other guy, who was probably wearing dressy Wranglers and boots under his gown, limped across the stage in imitation of a pimp. (I have no problem with western clothes, but you have to admit it is a little incongruous to pimp-walk in them).

Oh, yeah, and preparing for the TAKS was one of the things I hated about teaching. On the other hand, during those three or so days my students acted better than they had all year.

[Tanpopo]

The year before I graduated, one guy crossed the stage, and as he shook the principal's hand and took his diploma, he leaned in and whispered, "I'm not wearing any pants."

The next year, when I graduated, they actually sent a letter around prohibiting pantslessness beneath robes. They threatened to do random robe checks to make sure everyone had their pants on. (I think if you were female you could wear a skirt, though.)

We discussed coordinating a large scale pants-free protest, but decided we'd rather graduate.

[almne]

Excluding the whole "you are the class of 2000!" bull-crap we had to listen to over and over and over like a bad record, the girls also had to wear white, practically transparent, robes. Trying to find pure white clothes to wear under them was a bitch.

I also remeber the speech one of the people gave telling us that high school was "the best time of our lives!!!!" At which point me and the other unpopular kids started joking "Well, let's start passing the razor blades, since it doesn't get any better!" From the sound of it, high school hasn't improved much.

[fudtheman]

*waves to fellow class-o-2000-er*