While most seniors at Clear Lake High School in Lakeport are getting ready to walk, one 19-year-old graduate is pacing.
Matthew David Garrison will receive a diploma, because he has met his graduation requirements, and then some. He can pick his diploma up in the office of Clear Lake High School. “I”m thrilled he”s getting his diploma. He can pick it up in the office,” Steve Gentry, Clear Lake High principal said.
Matt must be some sort of hooligan, you might surmise. But he didn”t get into a fight, take drugs or bring a gun to school.
He took Algebra II. He didn”t have to. He just thought it would help him to be more prepared for college since math is not a strong subject for him. It was a challenge indeed. He failed Algebra II. “I just really didn”t want to give up, I guess it was kind of bull-headed of me,” he said. “Until three days ago nothing was final.” Matt said that his teacher, Mr. Magee is a really good guy. He understood that morally the teacher could not change his grade.
To be fair, he was warned. He was told that if he failed a class in his senior year, he couldn”t walk with the class. “I think I can do it, I don”t want to quit,” he told his parents. After all he takes Advanced Placement (AP) courses and as a freshman was student body president. He”s been involved in the Gifted and Talented (GATE) program and performed in plays with the drama club. He”s an active, well-rounded student.
Clear Lake High School has a rule that was determined locally in 1978 by board members. It appears in the student handbook under scholastic requirements. The rule states that the student must pass all last semester courses in the senior year.
“I knew the rule and at the end of the day the blame rests with me,” Matt said.
Rules are rules though, right? The kid should have just quit! What was he thinking taking that chance anyway? He should have played it safe. At least that”s the message he will likely carry with him. If your child attends Clear Lake High School, encourage them to take a light, easy load in the last semester, because Gentry says there are no exceptions to the rule. “I”m the principal, not the king. To change this would be an abuse of power,” he said.
The guilt Matt feels as the oldest child in the home and the first to graduate is almost unbearable. His parents cannot watch their first born walk across the stage with classmates he has shared a lifetime of other memories with. The purchased cap and gown never worn. The rite of passage ripped from a student who went above-and-beyond.
I”ve heard of schools allowing students to walk when those students have not fulfilled the requirements. There is a class or two in need of make-up over the summer. Those students are handed a blank page to appear as though they have graduated.
I don”t necessarily agree with that. There should be extenuating circumstances for that scenario to occur, i.e. medical problems or family emergencies. It seems that this young man”s situation is the polar opposite.
Most understand the nature of actions versus consequences. If a student wanted to walk and didn”t fulfill the requirements, it is fair to deny that because after all, it is a facade. The student didn”t really graduate. Why pretend? It is a life lesson. In order to receive the reward one must fulfill the tasks required. Principal Gentry points out that Matt should have passed the class, because grades are a measure of success and the minimal amount of success was not achieved. Gentry said the rule benefits the school by keeping 100 percent of the students on task.
Matt promised a friend who was scared to death of walking that he would be there for her. He is devastated about that most of all. He also feels as though he has let his family down and relatives who have come from out of town.
Gentry says “it”s just a ceremony, at least he graduated. He should be glad about that.”
It is disconcerting that this young man will walk away with a far different life lesson, one that promises skepticism and cynicism. Matt is handling it with a heavy heart, but a truckload of maturity that the administration could learn a thing or two from.
Forge ahead Matt. In most circles dedication and perseverance have merit.
Mandy Feder is the Record-Bee news editor. She can be reached at mandyfeder@yahoo.com or 263-5636 Ext. 32.
