Congratulations Middle College High School Class of 2019

Congratulations Middle College High School class of 2019 and thank you for the ceremony Tuesday on the campus of Seattle University! (Readers who want more info about what Middle College High School is, please check out the Seattle school district website.)

 

Congratulations Irrepressible Nephew!

 

Irrepressible Nephew graduated on time, with more credits than he needed to graduate and a decent GPA in spite of many “in spite ofs”

 

Various inspiring words came from various speakers; RantWoman apologizes but their names are a blur and RantWoman did not even attempt to read the printed program.

 

From a school official in the process of learning his family’s ancestral Nez Perce language, a version of the Duwamish tribe’s requested land acknowledgment:

“I would like to acknowledge that we are on the traditional land of the

first people of Seattle, the Duwamish People past and present and honor

with gratitude the land itself and the Duwamish Tribe.”

 

 

From various other speakers

You'll meet the challenges head on

 

Scholars and leaders

 

Carry that light and brilliance forward

 

Find your why

 

Seek the fire the deep passion when your heart comes alive

 

In the spirit of St. Ignatius go forth to the next level of greatness and set the world on fire.

(RantWoman after the fact, raises hand timidly: “Excuse me. Climate catastrophe?”

 

The furniture of the mind

 

The discipline of the mind

 

Like a red 1969 mustang but more ecofriendly

 

Democratic principles

Be in the presence; engage with others, willing to change your mind

 

Read: so much to teach us.

 

From some students with special recognition: very clear expressions of what the school’s programs mean amid many difficult moments in their lives.

 

As each student was called up to get their diplomas, we learned a few words of the students joys and hopes. Irrepressible Nephew is headed to a construction and planning course.

 

There was a closing video with mention of several inspiring figures, interestingly mostly African American, and the words Love, Love, Love flashing in and out.

 

No starving orcas. No thawing permafrost. No receding glaciers. No immigration catastrophe on the southern borders. There will be plenty of time for all of that, but that day the night belonged to the graduates.

 

In other words, despite a gripe below about people needing to use the mic better, RantWoman was able to jot down on her phone WAY more than she remembers of her own long-ago high school graduation.

 

The entire RantFamily entourage participated in this festive occasion.

 

RantWoman has pictures but so far has not asked permission to post them.

 

Does it mean good behavior or not good behavior that RantWoman restrained herself as speaker after spaeker really really needed to just Eat the Mic? RantWoman is exactly the sort who might loudly blurt out “Eat the mic.” RantWoman would be quite likely to do this if she were at an event alone, but family and room vibes weighed against. Plus RantWoman was seated in the middle of a row with no path to go look for someone in charge to make the request discretely…

 

Problems with the mic in no way diminish nephew’s accomplishment or that of all the other students.

 

High school graduations are not the only place where people need to be reminded about how to use microphones. So RantWoman will chill, focus, make a mental before events checklist for herself and people around her

 

 

Special thanks to the  https://syf.org/  for contributions that help make the very low student teacher ratio and strong guidance counselor presence possible.

 

And for readers who need a time machine moment, RantWoman graduated from high school exactly 40 years ago this year. There were 630 people in RantWoman’s graduating class. That is a lot of people to wait for as diplomas were handed out and never mind any more individualized commentary. There certainly were students and maybe faculty with various tribal affiliations, but the custom of acknowledging presence on indigenous land was nowhere in sight. A beloved retiring world history teacher and football announcer gave the commencement address. He gave three pieces of advice. The only one RantWoman remembers and has assuredly followed: live serendipitously.

 

Again, CONGRATULATIONS to Irrepressible Nephew!