About growth and developing skills
Print Edition
GRADUATION is a paradoxical time; you are excited about the future and the freedoms and challenges you will face but you’re also nervous about what that the future might hold. School lasts a long time and just at secondary school alone, each student has been “on the timetable” for seven years. School has often been cited as “the happiest days of your life” and it’s true that school helps students to grow, through difficult times and good ones, as they make friends, play on sports teams and partake in extra-curricular activities. That life has also been subject to rules, uniform policies and the timetable. It is a place of security and safety.
By the time students graduate from school, they have been through periods of heavy study and examinations and they have experienced so much to prepare them for the wider world. The process of choosing university and college places really helps to match the student to the “best fit” university for them, whether that’s in a big city on the other side of the world or if it’s a small college campus near to home; students are always developing their ideas on what they want out of their further education. In that respect, they have made some important, responsible life-choices already. The problem is that nothing can really prepare you fully for something you’ve not quite experienced. I remember the mixed feelings of optimism and doubt that I experienced on my first day at university. Teachers are no longer around to look after you and you get time to choose what you want to do.
Yes, you miss your school friends but there’s also so much to do and to choose from. The range of clubs and societies at universities is phenomenal and one of the keys to success is to avoid boredom. Graduation is about growth and developing your skills and interests.
It is also a great time to reflect and give some thanks. Students should be rightly proud of their achievements but the graduation is also a moment to consider those who have helped you along the way. Parents clearly have a major impact on this and they may also consider the ways in which their children have suddenly become more like adults. Teachers, too deserve their praise as well as peers and friends. Finishing school with a list of experiences and examinations is in itself a real achievement and while there are many more challenges to come, this is a perfect opportunity to pause and, above all, to celebrate that.
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