In less than a week, some seniors will forever leave the crowded halls of Flathead High School. Never again will they have to hunt for chairs in the cafeteria or race for a parking space as the clock ticks toward 8:25. To juniors and sophomores struggling with their own burnout, an end to tedious homework assignments and huge exams sounds incredibly appealing. But I believe graduating early defies the whole Flathead High School experience.
Graduating early requires squeezing the required classes into as short a time as possible, leaving little room for electives. High school prepares us for the real world. When students get jobs or start college (where they actually have to pay for their education) there are fewer opportunities to expand their horizons. At FHS there are music classes and guitar lessons. We can make jewelry, ceramics, paintings, learn a foreign language, program a computer or produce a newspaper. There are so many opportunities for expanding a student's horizons by learning a new skill or finding a new talent - a talent that may turn out to be exactly what a student wants to do as a profession for the rest of his or her life. But how will they find their calling when they've just squeaked by with the required credits?
Once a student graduates early, they are tossed from cushy high school life into the real world. This includes punching a time card and working for a real boss at one of the minimum wage jobs available to workers with just a high school diploma.
Or if an early graduate chooses to take classes at FVCC (some of which are taught by teachers from the high school), they still live with Mom, Dad and Spunky, the family dog. At college, there will still be tests and homework, the main differences being that they don't get to see all their old friends in between classes, and they actually have to pay for their education.
Early graduates miss out on the activities that define the last term of senior year - cheering on the basketball team in the student section, signing annuals at the end of the year, hearing "Pomp and Circumstance" as they accept their diplomas in front of their entire class. Most important, there's the satisfaction of knowing they got the most of the last year of public school when they were still allowed to be a kid.
Early graduates have worked hard to finish ahead in the race to the end of school. I wish them the best of luck and hope they succeed at life. But to everyone else who's still in it for the long haul, don't despair. I'm happy you are all sticking with us until the end, so we can sit together at the basketball games and so you can all sign my yearbook.