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Today, my daughter, FReeper Anoreth (since 11/29/03) graduates from Coast Guard Basic Training. We're also celebrating "The Boy," son of FReeper AnAmericanMother, who is graduating today from Marine Corps Basic. And "ForgotenKnight," grandson of Monkey Face, recently deployed with a Stryker unit to Afghanistan. Other FReepers with children (grandchildren, nieces and nephews, etc.) in the military, please join us in celebrating all our family members who are serving our country in the military.

Florida is changing its policy on youths who opt for a GED to finish high school in less than four years. Until now, those looking for a shortcut could earn the same diploma as others. But Education Commissioner Eric Smith says that's not fair... So Smith has notified school districts that all who take the General Educational Development test must now receive a high school equivalency diploma, just like dropouts who later go through the GED process.

Is it freedom of speech or lack of respect? That's the question after Thursday's graduation ceremony at John Liechty Middle School. Angry parents crowded the school's lobby demanding a meeting with Principal Jeanette Stevens to discuss the issue, but were turned away Monday morning. It comes after 15 students chose to protest their graduation speaker, LAUSD Board President Monica Garcia. The students and their parents said they chose to do so to protest teacher layoffs and increased class sizes. "We didn't stand up," said Ender Perez, who continues to refuse to apologize for Thursday's events, "we just sat in our...

On Friday night, when the senior class was waiting to graduate, excitement began to grow. Students bounced a large inflatable rubber duck. The noise level rose. And then came "the kiss." When called, one student walked on stage to receive his diploma and blew a kiss to his family. The school administrator, clearly not the sentimental sort, sent the student back to his seat ... sans diploma.

For teens, there is no greater joy than graduating high school. Shaking off the shackles of education and claiming that hard-fought diploma is truly an epic day. Unfortunately, for several students at Bonny Eagle High School in Maine, their natural exuberance has led to some surprisingly serious problems. On Friday night, when the senior class was waiting to graduate, excitement began to grow. Students bounced a large inflatable rubber duck. The noise level rose. And then came "the kiss." When called, one student walked on stage to receive his diploma and blew a kiss to his family. The school administrator,...

Santa Rosa County, FL - Nearly 400 graduating seniors at Pace High School stood up in protest against the ACLU and recited the Lord’s Prayer during their graduation ceremony on Saturday. Many of the students also painted crosses on their graduation caps to make a statement of faith. This event follows a lawsuit the ACLU filed against the Santa Rosa County School District, claiming some of the teachers and administration endorsed religion. Liberty Counsel represents Pace High School Principal Frank Lay and school teacher Michelle Winkler. The graduation prayer protest by the students was preceded by a lawsuit filed six...

Actor and Christian Stephen Baldwin said he felt God lead him to speak at Trinity Christian Academy’s graduation. “I just want to convey the importance of following Christ,” he said. “I am blessed for one specific reason. “I know for sure I am saved and born again and the spirit of the living God dwells within me.” Baldwin’s spiritual journey started several years ago when his Brazilian housekeeper told him that it was prophesied to her, in Brazil, that she would lead her future American employer to Christ. Baldwin’s wife became a born-again Christian first and then Baldwin followed his...

Do you remember anything that he/she said?

SWORDLESS SAILORS Graduating midshipmen of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis are being told in writing to leave at home or in their vehicles all "ceremonial swords" and anything else "that might be considered a weapon or a threat by screeners" for Friday's outdoor commencement ceremonies featuring an address by President Barack Obama.

America's moms and dads are getting a good scolding: Your kids are lagging behind students all around the world. The White House says so, with concern bordering on alarm. So do institutions such as the Gates Foundation, citing performance tests, graduation rates and other benchmarks. But don't measure for dunce caps just yet. While they're not in first place, U.S. students generally hold their own on international tests. They spend more time in school than the Obama administration would have you believe. And their college graduation rates stack up better than reported. That is not to say the critics are...

Let's be clear, Obama's appearance at Notre Dame was a brilliant publicity stunt. As I pointed out in my tweets during the speech, the graduation ceremony served as a perfect example of just how in-bed with liberalism academia really is. The commencement ceremony was likely no different than any of the classes which lead to it. For Obama and his liberal cohorts, his appearance at Notre Dame was a win-win: they got to portray pro-life advocates as irrational, religious zealots and Obama got to pretend like he was the logical, boundary-spanner uniting the country. I've heard many of his supporters...

"And I was once one of those kids. Most of you were once one of those kids. I grew up just a few miles from the University of Chicago in my hometown. The university, like most institutions, was a major cultural, economic institution in my neighborhood. My mother even worked as a secretary there for several years. Yet that university never played a meaningful role in my academic development. The institution made no effort to reach out to me —- a bright and promising student in their midst —- and I had no reason to believe there was a place...

UC Merced's commencement budget has ballooned from $100,000 to $700,000 after first lady Michelle Obama accepted the invitation to give the keynote address. Campus leaders, busy simply planning the large-scale event that's only 15 days away, have yet to secure all funding streams, spokeswoman Tonya Luiz said Thursday. The budget estimate represents the most costly situation, and organizers are pursuing ways to defray the bill. "We have her first public address," Luiz said. "It's our obligation to make Merced look good." Campus planners are trying to be as careful with cash and hope the bills won't be as high as...

Marine fights to wear dress blues at high school graduation April 10, 2009 Marine Pfc. Garrett Miles-McCarthy graduated from boot camp in San Diego only last month but he is already in his first battle: against his hometown school board. The 18-year-old wants to wear his dress blues uniform at his high school graduation ceremony in El Paso, Texas. He finished his coursework in December and immediately shipped out to Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego. School officials have said no, that all grads have to wear cap and gown, no exceptions. The mayor, a local congressman and others are...

Well, here you are at your college graduation. And I know what you’re thinking: “Gimme the sheepskin and get me outta here!” Not so fast. First you have to listen to a commencement speech. Don’t moan. I’m not going to “pass the wisdom of one generation down to the next.” I’m a member of the 1960s generation. We didn’t have any wisdom. We were the moron generation. We were the generation who believed we could stop the war in Vietnam by growing our hair long and dressing like circus clowns. We believed drugs would change everything—which they did, for John...

He sued after his high school held the ceremony in a Baptist church TRENTON, N.J. - A Muslim student who sued because his public high school graduation ceremony was held in a Baptist church has received an apology from the largest school district in New Jersey and assurances that it will not hold future events in houses of worship. Bilal Shareef said he had to skip his 2006 graduation from West Side High School because his religious beliefs prohibit him from entering buildings containing icons of God. "I was forced to choose between honoring my education and my faith, and...

Commencement Celebrities by: Deborah Lambert, June 12, 2008 According to USA Today, it appears that students are having more of a say in determining who will give the annual commencement address. This year’s list of luminaries—and others— who will give the class of 2008 a sendoff include: Oprah Winfrey—Stanford University J.K. Rowling—Harvard University Jon Stewart—William and Mary Craig Newmark of Craig’s List—Case Western Reserve Jessica Lange—Sarah Lawrence College Brian Williams—Ohio State University Michael Bloomberg—University of Pennsylvania David McCullough— Boston College Meredith Viera—Tufts University Al Gore—Carnegie Mellon University Sandra Day O'Connor—Gettysburg College Carl Bernstein—University of Maryland...

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (WCCO) ― Flying the Confederate flag has long been controversial in Southern states but now it's causing a heated debate at Kennedy High School in Bloomington, Minn. Three seniors who displayed the flag will not be allowed to attend their graduation ceremony Wednesday evening. "It was sitting like that in the parking lot," said Justin Thompson, as he held a Confederate flag that was hanging from a pole inside a pick-up truck bed. On Tuesday, three seniors, each with a rebel flag on the back of their pick-ups, parked at Kennedy High School. "I'm just a country type...

...That is, unless we come together and fix America's myriad flaws (like poverty, which never disappears), we're all doomed. This went well past the standard graduation calls for community service and voluntarism. The senator chided those who seek life's material rewards: "Fulfilling your immediate wants and needs," he insisted, "betrays a poverty of ambition." In fact, Obama himself was betraying a poverty of understanding US history. After all, it's not too many Americans pursuing their dreams that threatens the nation's greatness- it's too few. Obama's America has two groups: those in need- and those who care for them. Missing are...

WASHINGTON, May 22, 2008 – The Pentagon Channel and cable company Comcast are teaming up to offer customers televised coverage of this year’s graduation ceremonies at the service academies. “We appreciate Comcast’s decision to carry the Pentagon Channel’s coverage of the military service academy graduations,” Brian Natwick, general manager of the Pentagon Channel, stated in a Comcast news release. Featured coverage includes this year’s graduation ceremonies at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. Comcast digital cable customers throughout New Jersey,...

After Action Report Coast Guard Academy Graduation support rally, May 21, 2008 Hi folks, it was good to be back in the saddle again. Today, the following Eagles took part in what is most likely our annual Coast Guard Academy Graduation support rally: Jim Bancroft Larry Baily Carolyn VanZorge Fernando Martinez Bill Wilkins Eva Bauman Kathy Upton Pamela Hall Dave Russo Dan Maloney "NEW" Eagle Ted Bakacs Paul Leblanc The New York/New Jersey Eagles showed up earlier than most due to dedication on their part and computer failure on my part which would have had me only 10 minutes late...

While Gov. Rick Perry was in Johnson Coliseum addressing SFA graduates, on the other side of campus a group of citizens were not so happy about his appearance in Nacogdoches. In the free-speech area of campus, near North Street and Vista Drive, many farmers, property owners and concerned citizens gathered for a Citizens Against the Trans-Texas Corridor Rally. Holding protest signs and using a tractor as a symbol of the farming community, those who gathered wanted to make their cause heard by the governor, as well as the community. Many vehicles traveling on North Street honked in support of the...

The Gathering of Eagles, a patriotic organization dedicated to honoring our men and women in uniform and those who are honorable veterans, announces our latest event in honoring the graduates of the Coast Guard Academy by welcoming their families and supporters to their graduation ceremony on May 21, 2008. We will be in front of the entrance on Mohegan Ave, at the intersection of Williams and Mohegan from 7 AM to 1 PM that day, waving flags, carrying patriotic signs and singing patriotic songs in an effort to welcome the families to what is a most honored event; the graduation...

Well, here you are at your college graduation. And I know what you're thinking: "Gimme the sheepskin and get me outta here!" But not so fast. First you have to listen to a commencement speech. Don't moan. I'm not going to "pass the wisdom of one generation down to the next." I'm a member of the 1960s generation. We didn't have any wisdom. We were the moron generation. We were the generation that believed we could stop the Vietnam War by growing our hair long and dressing like circus clowns. We believed drugs would change everything -- which they did,...

President Bush speaking to graduating class Greensburg, KS-one year after tornado

Durango High School will allow its highest-performing students to wear white robes at graduation, reversing an earlier decision to require all students to wear red robes. Principal Diane Lashinsky said she had learned "a great deal" from the controversy over graduation robes. Lashinsky decided several months ago that all students would wear red robes at the May 24 graduation ceremony, ending a tradition where students with grade-point averages of 4.0 or greater wear honorary white robes. Lashinsky said she felt the white gowns "diminish the accomplishment and hard work of other graduates by relative comparison." Her decision caused an uproar...

Recently, Collin Powell's new group, America's Promise Alliance, issued a report (the link to it is at the bottom center of their home page.) from the EPE Research Center listing the large cities in this country which had the worst graduation rates. Shockingly, many of our biggest cities have graduation rates of less than 50% with the worst, Detroit, graduating only 25% of it's high schoolers. Given the perception that most cities are liberal leaning at best, I decided to see if there was any correlation between a city's liberalism and the results from this graduation rate study. Yes, I...

Through email, and the blog, here. Background: I’m doing this in OPORD format, since most of us know that format the best. SITUATION: I was contacted today through work by the Senior Group Leader of the Basic Non-Commission Officers Course (BNCOC) on the grounds at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Any of you who have been to PLDC, BNCOC, ANCOC or Sergeant Majors Academy no doubt remember these courses. They’re not exactly R&R. Now imagine doing it as a wounded troop. Here was his first missive to me: I am currently an active duty Army NCO conducting first of it’s...

Ready, Shoot, Aim!: Napolitano's higher education proposals are off the mark By Matthew Ladner, Ph.D. Governor Janet Napolitano called for the doubling of the number of college graduates by 2020 in her 2007 state of the state address and paying the tuition for students who graduate high school with a B average. How fast can you say grade inflation? What's important to note, however, is that there isn't any reason to think Arizona needs such a doubling. In the Carnegie Foundation's publication Change, Paul Barton wrote that the notion that the U.S. has a dire need for an ever increasing...

Hello FR, I just wanted to extend my hand to you all in thanks for the sanity checks you've all given me over the past 7+ years (my God, has it been that long?). See, I have finally graduated from the University of Connecticut with my Bachelor's in electrical engineering. (Although the ceremony for tomorrow is canceled due to the weather.) It took me quite a while to do so, going on a part-time basis and taking the classes I could afford, but I did it - and I want to thank you all for helping me keep my head...

Community College Bowl by: Malcolm A. Kline, October 30, 2007 Community colleges have tried just about every promotional gimmick short of a “Going out of business” sale. Ironically, given their increasing use of remedial coursework, that might be the most appropriate stratagem for them to use. “Estimates vary, but many community-college educators and experts say that on average between 40 percent and 70 percent of new students entering two-year colleges around the country place into remedial math,” Debra E. Blum reports in The Chronicle of Higher Education. And the news gets even worse. “There are students taking these courses three,...

Former student plans appeal of district court decision: WASHINGTON — Everett School District officials did not violate a student’s First Amendment rights by not allowing a high school wind ensemble to play “Ave Maria” during the 2006 graduation ceremonies, a federal judge ruled Thursday. The U.S. District Court in Seattle ruled that although music is considered a form of speech that can be protected, the school district was within its legal rights to control the content — not the viewpoint — of any speech at the graduation ceremony. Because Henry M. Jackson High School’s “prohibition of the performance of ‘Ave...

Iraqi police (IP) celebrate their gradation from the Baghdad police college in the Rusafa district, Sept. 20. The first class of its kind graduated 744 IPs of Abu Ghraib province from the 30-day course, which provides training before returning the local police officers to their communities. Photo by U.S. Army Spc. Leith Edgar, 7th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment. BAGHDAD — Iraq’s capital gained 744 more police officers as the newest members of the Iraqi Security Force graduated from the Baghdad Police College in the Rusafa District, Sept. 20.The graduation ceremony followed 30 days of training in which the Iraqi Police...

Valedictorian Threatened with Loss of Diploma over Religious Graduation Message Sues School DENVER, CO, August 27, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Today, Liberty Counsel filed suit against Lewis Palmer School District on behalf of Erica Corder, a high school valedictorian who was forced to publicly apologize for sharing her Christian faith at graduation. Erica was one of fifteen valedictorians from the Lewis-Palmer High School class of 2006. For the past year, she has been the subject of criticism because the school continues to portray her as a student who engaged in improper conduct because she mentioned Jesus Christ during her speech. Before...

I have to share -- I took my last final as an undergraduate at 8 a.m. this morning. I graduate Saturday, cum laude, with a BA in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology. I'm 35, and this was a return to school as a homeschooling mom of twins :) I'm just so happy! And I start grad school next week LOL Just thought I'd share! I have no regrets over having put off the "college experience" -- I am a much better student now than I was as a "kid" -- and I can't imagine not having been home with my babies...

'Helicopter parents' still hover even as grads pound pavement By Eleanor Yang Su STAFF WRITER July 5, 2007 Rowena Paz's parents did everything they could to help her land a good job after college. They edited her résumé, suggesting experience she should play up or cut out. Her mother called regularly to remind Paz, 21, to get enough sleep before interviews. Her father coached her with interview questions and drove her to three job interviews in Los Angeles, because “driving in Los Angeles is tension-filled.” It came naturally for Paz's parents, who for years shuttled her to music and karate...

Did you feel the huge atmospheric gust that just surged across the United States? Public school bureaucrats exhaled a collective sigh of relief as springtime graduations concluded, and with them those dreaded valedictory speeches. Concluded, that is, until next year’s crop of valedictorians ripen, and skittish administrators feel compelled to vet students’ graduation remarks. It’s nerve-wracking for public school officials - especially if those brainiacs are believers. Like dandelions, they are, those pesky Christian kids who pop up to spoil a perfectly secularized landscape. Worse yet; if those religious seedlings excel academically, they earn the privilege of speaking at their...

The issue of graduation from home-schooling is one that scares a lot of people. People are concerned that no "real diploma" is given with home-schooling. They think institutions of higher education, career programs or potential employers may look at one's resume and say, "You were home-schooled? What kind of diploma did you get?" Home-schooling families address graduation in various ways. In some, the parents create a diploma for their graduate. In others, the student takes a GED or other nationally recognized test for documentation. Some correspondence programs give a diploma when the student has successfully passed all applicable courses. It...

FORT WORTH — Students who had been planning to walk across the stage at graduation ceremonies this weekend were instead walking a picket line Thursday morning. The Trimble Tech High School seniors marched in front of Fort Worth Independent School District headquarters to protest Wednesday's decision by trustees to bar students who failed the TAKS test from commencement exercises. About a dozen young people, carrying signs and chanting, began picketing at 8:30 a.m. Thursday. They represent the 613 Fort Worth seniors who did not pass the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills exam. Crystal Martinez complained that while she finished...

In the May issue of my National Liberty Journal newspaper, we featured the story of Megan Chapman, who last year was forced to make a choice between standing up for her faith in Jesus Christ or allowing school officials to silence her. She chose not to be silent, even though Russell Springs, Ky., school officials told her she could not mention Jesus or her faith in her valedictorian speech. At the commencement, more than 3,000 people packed her school's gymnasium, with members of the press in attendance. And before the principal of the school could finish making his opening remarks,...

President Bush today brought an upbeat message of public service to the graduating class of St. Vincent College in Latrobe. Speaking at the morning ceremony, the President saluted students for their service projects and encouraged them to "keep it up" and make it "more than a line on your resume." As Mr. Bush spoke, about 150 anti-war protesters assembled down Route 30 from the campus. Mr. Bush, whose appearance generated controversy because of the ongoing Iraq War, only referred to the conflict once, and that was also in the context of service to the country. He saluted five students who...

My oldest niece is graduating from high school next month and we are trying to come up with cool and different things to serve and other ideas for her open house. We'd appreciate any recipes, hints, what not to do, etc. etc..

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A California assemblyman is pushing a novel way of getting teenagers to register to vote: withhold their high school diploma if they don't. Democrat Joe Coto of San Jose has proposed requiring voter registration as a condition of graduation. "I think we need to establish a pattern of voting," Coto said. "It has to be a habit, almost as natural as when you reach the age of 16 and get a driver's license." Coto's bill, Assembly Bill 183, would apply only to high school seniors who are 18, U.S. citizens and meet other election requirements. The measure...

A national group is asking Arizona's public universities to require at least one United States history course of every student before graduation. American History currently isn't a required course at any of the state's major public universities. The American Council of Trustees and Alumni has written letters to Gov. Janet Napolitano and 20 state lawmakers, asking them to pressure college regents and administrators to make the change. "The flag doesn't mean all that much if you don't know how it got there," trustees member Charles Mitchell said. "What use is the Constitution if you don't know how it was written?"...

The valedictorian of a Blue Ribbon-awarded high school in New Jersey has left teachers and administrators with a sour taste in their mouths after using his June 20 valedictory speech to describe his education as "hollow" and one filled with "countless hours wasted in those halls." "I felt like the most important questions were not asked." said Kareem Elnahal, the top rated student at Mainland Regional High School in Linwood, N.J. "Things like ethics, things that defined who we are, were ignored so in that way I thought it was hollow." he told Cybercast News Service Wednesday. Mainland High School...

Dozens of residents of a small island community off Newfoundland's northeast coast gathered recently to celebrate a high school graduation — although only one person was actually graduating. Courtney Diamond, 18, was the sole member of the Grade 12 class at A.R. Scammell Academy in Change Islands, which has fewer than 400 residents. "It felt pretty good, actually," said Diamond. "I thought I should deserve a graduation, even though it's only me, like everyone else would have." Almost 100 people attended the ceremony, which involved a traditional church service, a grand march, and a dinner and dance. Roy Morgan is...

Civics 101: Silence a Student's Speech, Face a Potential Lawsuit Plug-Pulling High School Likely to Be Sued Next Week for Silencing Christian Student By Jim Brown June 22, 2006 (AgapePress) - A civil liberties group says it plans to sue the Nevada high school that unplugged the microphone of a valedictorian because her commencement speech mentioned her faith in Jesus Christ. The Rutherford Institute says it plans to file a lawsuit against Foothill High School in Henderson as early as next week over its censorship of senior Brittany McComb. Officials with the Clark County School District pulled the plug on...

LAS VEGAS, June 22, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The name of Christ is so offensive to modern secular ears that Clark County School District officials, who knew it was coming, cut off the microphone during a valedictorian address before they or anyone else could hear it.   Brittany McComb is a Christian and a top student graduating from Foothill High. She knew that her valedictorian address would probably be cut short, but was determined to go ahead and mention the one name that is for her above every other name.   "I went through four years of school at Foothill and they taught me...

MIRA LOMA - Josh Denhalter took the symbolic step into the next phase of his life without any fuss. Little applause, but no discernible boos or honking party horns, greeted the announcement of his name Wednesday evening at the Jurupa Valley High School graduation. That is likely the way the 18-year-old wanted it. Denhalter received considerable media attention in March, after he was suspended from school for passing out fliers for an off-campus anti-illegal immigration protest. School district Superintendent Elliott Duchon has said Denhalter wasn’t suspended for expressing himself, but because he refused to stop passing out fliers and encouraging...

Study: Los Angeles 44 Percent Graduation Rate, Sixth Worst LOS ANGELES, June 21, 2006 - A recent study shows Los Angeles, the nation's second-largest school district, has only a 44 percent graduation rate - the sixth worst among U.S. cities. The national study published Tuesday by the nonpartisan publication Education Week with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation showed a failure rate much greater that district officials claimed. The district has insisted the graduation rate is closer to 64 percent. The Los Angeles Unified School District was sixth from the bottom in graduation rates out of the nation's...