Decisionday

Like all ideas, it started off with the best of intentions.  Why not take a moment to celebrate the hardworking high school seniors who are heading off to college with some kind of school-based event to acknowledge all they’ve done to build strong futures for themselves?  Maybe a breakfast, maybe an assembly.  Have them wear their college gear to the event, invite family members, give them a small token of the day, and there you are. Who knows?  Perhaps this public display of achievement might inspire students who might not otherwise consider college to see what this is really all about.

And then, like so many well-intended ideas, things came apart rather quickly. 

• High schools where nearly every student goes to college run the risk of hurt feelings, when students who didn’t get into their dream school see another student wearing that college’s sweatshirt.
• All high schools have to consider how this day impacts students who didn’t get into their first-choice college—or worse, got in, but didn’t get the financial support they needed to attend.
• Raising awareness of college as an option sounds like a great idea at high schools where college attendance is unusual, but how does that make the students feel who are choosing something else, and with good reason?

High school counselors are nothing if not flexible, so many were able to pivot.  College Decision Day became Decision Day, or Futures Day, where everyone was honored for the choices they had made for life after high school.  This still doesn’t allow for students who still don’t know what they want to do, or students who had to settle for Plan B, but some argue this is about as inclusive as you can get, while still honoring the futures students have built for themselves.

I get it, and fully support the intention of Decision Day, especially when considering its potential to inspire underclassmen to make sure they are surveying the entire menu of postsecondary options.  But the counselor in me worries about those students who, for good reason, see this as a public display of their not realizing their dreams, many of these occurring due to circumstances beyond their control. Besides, aren’t graduation ceremonies, if done well, designed to be a recognition of achievement?

Still, there is much to be said in a world rife with teenagers for Keeping Up with the High School Next Door.  To that end, here’s how two institutions deal with Decision Day that seem to fill the bill nicely.

One high school holds a lunch, just for seniors, in late March.  Since it’s held before the last of the college decisions are announced, the event isn’t at all about who got in where.  Instead, it is a chance for seniors to be together one last time before the mania of senior spring, look around at each other, realize how good they’ve had it, and see how that base will serve them well when they move on to whatever may be next.  The event creates an atmosphere of mutually looking forward.

Another high school holds a breakfast, where seniors and their parents are invited.  No speeches, no sweatshirts—just breakfast.  At the end, the students move into the school’s main hallway, where a huge blank piece of white paper adorns a wall.  Each student is invited to write their name, their future plans, and any advice they have for 9-11 graders.  That banner remains in the main hall for a year, until the next one takes its place.

As is often the case with much of life, sometimes understatement is the best statement.

Perspective

Neighbor watching
Right and left?
Gossip news feeds?
Fashion trends? Knowing where you stand
Requires looking down
Not around
Assessing the things
Feet
Soul
and Mind
are anchored to.

Like what you see? Subscribe for free!