crazietalk.net

+1 for attendance being mandatory. It's a sign of respect for the graduate's achievement, and graduating from high school is a TREMENDOUS achievement - perhaps the biggest yet for your daughter.

IIRC, your daughter's quite the academic star, so maybe she and her siblings see this as a pretty mundane, expected occurrence, but the facts will tell them otherwise. About 1 in 4 students who start high school in the US do not manage to do it (for Latinos & blacks, it's closer to 1 in 2.)

It's also a milestone that comes with substantial lifelong benefits. Just the purely financial numbers are impressive - those with a high school degree earn approx. $26k per year, for drop-outs, only $17k, and that's for those lucky enough to have jobs. The unemployment rate for dropouts was 54% in 2008! (Of course, it was 32% for high school grads, which is entirely too high as well, but that's for the PPB.)

I don't know if Turk family history will allow for a little comparison, but maybe you can help set the context for your kids. I know that on my mom's side of my family, at the time of my graduation from Duke, my mom & I were *the only* females to earn a college diploma. (And my mom didn't get hers until I was a junior in high school.)

I guess I can't help but think that your fam is going to resent being forced to go unless they understand why it's such a big deal. I hope you're able to make a convincing case to them.

I agree with all - mandatory event. Possible exception is the playoff game as that sibling has made a commitment to her team, also. Whether the exception is allowed for softball would depend on several factors - is it one and done, does the game conflict with graduation or just run close to the time, will Punkinhead play or just sit on the bench?

I confess that I don't remember if I went to my first two sibling's graduations as that would have been 1st and 2nd grade for me. I remember the next two however.

Definitely mandatory. My family drove two and half hours for my high school graduation. It made me feel immensely proud to know they were there in the stands for me. I like DA's post and agree whole heartedly, you've got to convince of the magnitude of this accomplishment. And if all else fails, they'll just have to learn a lesson about love, family and respect; sometimes you just have to do stuff you don't want to (with a smile on your face!) because it's the right thing to do.

I concur with everyone's else's comments. Mandatory attendance for all that can get there.

Like I said...mandatory....show this to the Turklettes.


Video:
When Lindsey Singleton accepted her diploma, her sister Sara, back home for the first time since leaving for Afghanistan as an Army Specialist, was waiting to congratulate her. (May 31, 2012) [Brent Puckett | tampabay.com]
http://www.tampabay.com/components/vide ... 5918740001

lawgrad91 wrote:I didn't wear anything but underwear and a robe to Wally Wade in 1991, but that's another story.

devildeac wrote:

CathyCA wrote:

OZZIE4DUKE wrote:Now you're just bragging! And you've got to tell us "the rest of the story"!

You wouldn't believe the number of Sunday mornings that I only wore underwear and a robe in Duke Chapel.

Just ask ILJ. She can confirm the story of Sunday morning attire in Duke Chapel. (It's not like I was the first or only one to only wear underwear under that hot robe. I couldn't have come up with that idea on my own.)

I once went commando whilst wearing a kilt.

I didn't do it for a grad ceremony.
We paid a guy at the front of the exit line to snatch and grab and run with a certain teacher's wig (Hair Hat). Alas, he chickened out. He did return all the money, though. But just think of the possibility of having missed being a witness to such an event!
They gotta go. Why? Cause YOU say so!

CathyCA wrote:

devildeac wrote:

CathyCA wrote: quote="OZZIE4DUKE"]Now you're just bragging! And you've got to tell us "the rest of the story"![/quote

You wouldn't believe the number of Sunday mornings that I only wore underwear and a robe in Duke Chapel.

Just ask ILJ. She can confirm the story of Sunday morning attire in Duke Chapel. (It's not like I was the first or only one to only wear underwear under that hot robe. I couldn't have come up with that idea on my own.)

We affectionately refer to our choir robes as thermal units.

Mandatory! It's one of life's thresholds and a grand opportunity for everyone to act proud.

Lavabe wrote:Dadgumit... for a moment there, I thought Mrs. Turk had a mind meld with:

Dadgumit, believe it or not, I've seen that face on her before, usually when the kids' bedrooms are in an extremely elevated state of disarray...

In the latest news from Turkistan, I have quelled the rebellion, and while we may not have idyllic peace and tranquility, the grumbling has returned to its normal level of background noise and there are no more IEDs to be found. It helped that since Punkinhead's game was only 12-yo regular season playoffs and not tournament / travel team, the powers that be moved it to Monday. It also helped that we have relatives coming in from out of town. Lastly, I ended the discussion with a selection from the "Princess Bride Book of Parenting" - "Yes, you're very smart. Shut up." I didn't even need to use my Ol' Roy face...

CathyCA wrote: Just ask ILJ. She can confirm the story of Sunday morning attire in Duke Chapel. (It's not like I was the first or only one to only wear underwear under that hot robe. I couldn't have come up with that idea on my own.)

ILJ confirms this. ILJ also states that the robes were washed only once a semester or once a year.

Definitely mandatory. And it should also be mandatory to be cheerful about it.
Love, Ima

Lavabe wrote:

CathyCA wrote: Just ask ILJ. She can confirm the story of Sunday morning attire in Duke Chapel. (It's not like I was the first or only one to only wear underwear under that hot robe. I couldn't have come up with that idea on my own.)

ILJ confirms this. ILJ also states that the robes were washed only once a semester or once a year.

Eww! I never knew that. I could have gone the rest of my life in blissful ignorance. Now I'll think about how gross that was. It wasn't like we had assigned robes or anything. Most of us just went in the robing room and grabbed one that sort of fit.

CathyCA wrote:

Lavabe wrote:

CathyCA wrote: Just ask ILJ. She can confirm the story of Sunday morning attire in Duke Chapel. (It's not like I was the first or only one to only wear underwear under that hot robe. I couldn't have come up with that idea on my own.)

ILJ confirms this. ILJ also states that the robes were washed only once a semester or once a year.

Eww! I never knew that. I could have gone the rest of my life in blissful ignorance. Now I'll think about how gross that was. It wasn't like we had assigned robes or anything. Most of us just went in the robing room and grabbed one that sort of fit.

So ... you walked from your dorms to the chapel in your underwear? And here I thought you wore the robes over your underwear from your dorm room to the chapel (and back). Your way sounds a LOT more fun!