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Today, the first in a series of local graduations will take place as the University of Arizona South hands out diplomas.
The ceremonies are an important part of any school year. They symbolize the accomplishments of those who have worked to better themselves through academics. And many times this is a moment of transitioning from being a student at one level to being a student at another level or joining the work force full time.
During the graduation days over the next couple of weeks, we hope those who are wearing the caps and gowns will use the ceremonies and celebrations as a way to reflect on the accomplishments they have achieved. And with every student there is a story of overcoming an obstacle to succeed. And behind every graduate is someone who has helped push that person to reach the plateau they achieve on graduation day.
Is graduation important?
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That question may be asked by some. That partially hinges on the answer from the graduate. But it also should be asked by our community: What value does graduating have when that person enters the work force? Some businesspeople say a diploma or degree is important, but that it should come with accomplishment of reaching the standards if the young people are to be productive members of the work force and society.
The Arizona Department of Education recently announced that the high school graduation rate in Arizona was at 70 percent in 2006, a drop from 77 percent in 2004. The department says the 2006 figure is more accurate because of how it is tracking graduates.
So, if we’re at that more accurate figure, what happened to the 30 percent who didn’t graduate from high school? Do they reach college? Did they not value graduating as much as others? Did circumstances not provide for their success?
We hope the message coming from the graduates today and from those in the future is that graduation and earning a diploma or degree is important. For by reaching graduation day, a person has improved their knowledge, hopefully learned critical thinking skills and has had enough discipline to achieve a goal. By doing this, they hopefully will want to continue to learn and improve — not only themselves, but those around them.
With every step forward, maybe more people will see the importance of graduating and seeing an education through as those who graduate over the coming days will. To those people who are graduating, we say congratulations on an accomplishment in life — use your knowledge well.
