Drippin’ Life

High school graduation is not only an ex citing end to 13 years of public school. I t’s also a time for families and friends to celebrate the graduate’s achievement of another of life’s milestones.

On graduation evening, parents looking on in Tiger Stadium will be remembering the graduate’s baptism, those firs jaunty steps, first wo ds, firs day of kindergarten, first co - munion, first soccer games all the joys (and perhaps some heart-breaking moments, too), all the memories that make up their graduate ’s firs 18 years of life.

That night, as parents and family watch their son or daughter walk across the stage to receive their diploma, par - ents especially will begin pr eparing themselves for their child’s next chapter, a chapter of more independence, their own decision-making, their ability to function as adults in the real world.

But as the strains of the fa - miliar “Pomp and Cir cumstance” fill the (hopefully cool evening breeze, some of us may be thinking about or whispering our apologies to this DSHS Class of 2018.

I, for one, am sorry we haven’t ended our war(s) in the Middle East. These grad - ates have grown up in war - time. No other generation has faced this reality in all but two years of their lives.

I also want to apologiz e to the women in the class of 2018. As much as w e tried, there is still a “ gender gap” in the workplace…where a fe - male engineer, helicoptering to work on oil rigs in the Gulf is still asked if she is the ne w cook, and wher e compensation for the same job is often less for females than their male colleagues.

I apologize for the substan - dard job this generation has done in planning for the inevitable growth of our com - munities, for the aging bridges and infrastructure, and mor e than that, I am so sorry our environment has become as toxic as it has. I only hope our future doesn’t look like today in China or India.

Many of us had hoped our society would hav e made more progress in inclusion and acceptance of all ethnicities, disabilities, lifestyles and religious beliefs by now. We still have room for improvement and maybe someday….

Finally, I’m sorry past gen - erations, mine included, hav e not elevated the positions of administrators and teachers to a higher level in the commu - nity. It is a fact, borne out in numerous studies: the world ’s leading countries in student achievement are those who hold teachers in great esteem and pay them salaries compa - rable to other professions, i.e., doctors, attorneys, accoun - tants.

Lack of funding due to poorly-structured school finance programs place our state near the bottom in dol - lars spent per student, and while some may argue mor e money is not the answer, our students deserve the most current technology, the best in learning opportunities, the safest and best maintained school buildings and master teachers at every level of their education.

Along with these apologies, however, I issue a challenge to every graduate: Each of these problem areas can be fi ed. Every situation can be im - proved and every shortcoming can be remedied.

Do your best in becoming your dreams. Contribute what you can to the greater good of our community, our state and this nation…always be true to yourself and stand steadfastly by your values.

The world is waiting…for you!