I taught 19 seniors last term, the last term of their time at UB. I typically attend all three graduations each year at UA, so I really wanted to see a UB graduation and celebrate this important moment with some of my students.
The original announcement about graduation said we should be there at 0600- that's 6 A.M.! I had to hand carry my response over to the Admin Building, so I asked, "Do we really have to be there at 0600?"
The sheepish lady smiled and said, no, 0700 would be fine.
At 0640 on 12 October (they finished the academic term last May, and Teaching Practice by end of June) we headed out for the UB stadium, only a short hike away. We got there at 0700, and our departmental secretary saw me and directed us to the big tent near the speaker's tent. It looked shady there, so we were happy to comply.
The graduation started pretty promptly... at 0800, as the program we had just been given showed. Things moved along pretty rapidly, and I was a bit surprised to see the US flag as part of the flag procession. There was a prayer and the Bots National Anthem, which I had heard once before in the previous 9 months, and there would be another singing of the anthem at the end, which made the third time.
There were a few short speeches and then one long one, and then they presented awards. One of my students won the outstanding athlete award and another one the Outstanding PE student award. Finally the Ph.D.'s approached the stage for hooding, my favorite part at UA. The Masters students graduated, then there was a loooooong queue of undergrads that stretched over 200 meters around the UB track.
I searched and searched for the Education group. Finally I found them and went over to find my students. I was surprised at the high percentage of them I found. A few wanted pictures, and I was happy to oblige.
Graduation is a major milestone. These were some very good students, and I wish them well. It seems a pity though that we spend 12 years in school, then many of us another 4 years, and then some of us another 6 years in earning the qualifications for earning a living. Then we work 25 to 40 years and retire. This gives us a return on investment of 3.25:1 or as poor as 1.13:1.
Now our return on investment for eternal investments is infinity/xyears (~ infinite)! Now that's a pretty good return!!
The original announcement about graduation said we should be there at 0600- that's 6 A.M.! I had to hand carry my response over to the Admin Building, so I asked, "Do we really have to be there at 0600?"
The sheepish lady smiled and said, no, 0700 would be fine.
At 0640 on 12 October (they finished the academic term last May, and Teaching Practice by end of June) we headed out for the UB stadium, only a short hike away. We got there at 0700, and our departmental secretary saw me and directed us to the big tent near the speaker's tent. It looked shady there, so we were happy to comply.
The graduation started pretty promptly... at 0800, as the program we had just been given showed. Things moved along pretty rapidly, and I was a bit surprised to see the US flag as part of the flag procession. There was a prayer and the Bots National Anthem, which I had heard once before in the previous 9 months, and there would be another singing of the anthem at the end, which made the third time.
There were a few short speeches and then one long one, and then they presented awards. One of my students won the outstanding athlete award and another one the Outstanding PE student award. Finally the Ph.D.'s approached the stage for hooding, my favorite part at UA. The Masters students graduated, then there was a loooooong queue of undergrads that stretched over 200 meters around the UB track.
I searched and searched for the Education group. Finally I found them and went over to find my students. I was surprised at the high percentage of them I found. A few wanted pictures, and I was happy to oblige.
Graduation is a major milestone. These were some very good students, and I wish them well. It seems a pity though that we spend 12 years in school, then many of us another 4 years, and then some of us another 6 years in earning the qualifications for earning a living. Then we work 25 to 40 years and retire. This gives us a return on investment of 3.25:1 or as poor as 1.13:1.
Now our return on investment for eternal investments is infinity/xyears (~ infinite)! Now that's a pretty good return!!
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