High School Awards Night

[tlatrice]

Keeping a broader perspective, all of this is definitely a “First World” problem. My DH’s high school, a private one, refused to send his transcripts to USNA and USMA because of the pacifist commitment of the school. His parents had to get a court order. Needless to say, there was no mention or recognition of the SA appointment at assembly. He laughs about it, still doesn’t care, but knew he could still get his mom going about it, decades later.

It's unbelievable!!! Pacifists are are truly amongst us.

A naval officer friend of ours arrived to pick up his daughter from a public middle school and was told that military uniforms weren't allowed, and he should have his wife come to do the pick-ups instead. [emoji33] [emoji35]

They can DO that?!?! My God, why would they even WANT to do that??? It's not like he was there to recruit! I'm truly stunned.

 

[THParent]

A naval officer friend of ours arrived to pick up his daughter from a public middle school and was told that military uniforms weren't allowed, and he should have his wife come to do the pick-ups instead.

I would just tell them "fine" and give them the address where I want my kid delivered every day, and at what time.

 

[shock-n-awe]

I would ignore them.
No publicly funded institution is going to tell me I can't wear my uniform there.
Their freedom of speech doesn't require me to listen....

 

[Jcleppe]

They can DO that?!?! My God, why would they even WANT to do that??? It's not like he was there to recruit! I'm truly stunned.

They can unfortunately and many do depending on where the school is located. The public schools that both my son's attended did not allow uniforms to be worn when visiting the campus, even recruiters were told they had to wear civilian clothes. I remember once that a General was coming to speak to the class and he was told he couldn't wear his uniform, he declined the invitation.

The recruiters could not put up any posters in the career counseling office and when they would leave flyers the counselors would put a sheet of paper over them so nobody would get offended by seeing a person in a uniform.....I'm not kidding. When the district had a College Fair they put the branches of the military out of the main building under a stairwell far out of sight of everything.

Now the interesting part, my son's high school had the highest percentage of SA appointments and ROTC Scholarship winners in the district, a few times in the state. One year every UNSA appointment from our state was from their school. They also had a large number that enlisted in various branches as well, the CG always did good at the school. Even with the best efforts of the school to shield these poor kids from the military, those that were interested found a way, the advisors not sharing the schools approach helped a lot. When graduation came around they would list the appointments and scholarships in the program, I got a kick out of some people that were shocked that so many were going to SA's and ROTC Scholarships, I remember one woman saying "How could the school let this happen" Makes you roll your eyes sometimes.

This is the main reason they never had any presentation at any awards night from the military, those on the receiving end didn't mind, everyone they cared about knew and supported them.

 

[Jcleppe]

When my son's school told me they would not recognize on Awards Night his high-ticket scholarship to a fancy school, I was furious. He on the other hand was delighted because he knew I wouldn't insist on his attending the ceremony, which he considered a waste of time. When he won various awards in AROTC, I offered to put a notice in the local newspaper, but he demurred. When he was commissioned and graduated with highest honors I proposed to announce it in the newspaper, but he said he'd prefer I waited until he graduated from Ranger School. By the time he got his tab, I had put enough time on the gym treadmill to compose a terse yet eloquent summary of his accomplishments. He thought it was probably unnecessary, so I held off. Not long ago, he was promoted to captain, and I suggested it would be a good idea to let folks know, but he asked me to refrain. When is he going to stop being so selfish?

Are our kids related??

 

[Jcleppe]

One of the best things I heard was in a speech given by my younger son's PMS during a Contracting Ceremony they had a couple days before school started. During the ceremony he handed out a certificate framed, it had a 50 cent piece attached, this was his statement.

"What I'm giving you today is an unfulfilled opportunity, the award will come when you graduate and have earned your commission, it's then that I will give you the matching 50 cent piece, now put this certificate safely in a drawer, you can hang it on a wall when you've earned it"

That stuck with him and made a lot of sense which he realized a lot more 4 years later, he was the only 4 year national scholarship winner from his ROTC class to commission, the other two didn't make it through the first year.

They day they breath that sigh of relief isn't when they commission, it's when they pass the 4 or 5 year mark of Time in Service, that's the day they have finally held up their end of the bargain.

 

[tlatrice]

They can unfortunately and many do depending on where the school is located. The public schools that both my son's attended did not allow uniforms to be worn when visiting the campus, even recruiters were told they had to wear civilian clothes. I remember once that a General was coming to speak to the class and he was told he couldn't wear his uniform, he declined the invitation.

The recruiters could not put up any posters in the career counseling office and when they would leave flyers the counselors would put a sheet of paper over them so nobody would get offended by seeing a person in a uniform.....I'm not kidding. When the district had a College Fair they put the branches of the military out of the main building under a stairwell far out of sight of everything.

Now the interesting part, my son's high school had the highest percentage of SA appointments and ROTC Scholarship winners in the district, a few times in the state. One year every UNSA appointment from our state was from their school. They also had a large number that enlisted in various branches as well, the CG always did good at the school. Even with the best efforts of the school to shield these poor kids from the military, those that were interested found a way, the advisors not sharing the schools approach helped a lot. When graduation came around they would list the appointments and scholarships in the program, I got a kick out of some people that were shocked that so many were going to SA's and ROTC Scholarships, I remember one woman saying "How could the school let this happen" Makes you roll your eyes sometimes.

This is the main reason they never had any presentation at any awards night from the military, those on the receiving end didn't mind, everyone they cared about knew and supported them.

My son's school didn't allow recruiters to wear uniforms but they were still very visible. DS had been 'talking' to them since his freshman year, even though they would remind him that technically, they couldn't talk to him till he was 18. The recognition of those who enlisted and the scholarship winner were highlights of our awards ceremony.

I have to admit, I was scared when my son won. I kept thinking 'What if he changes his mind about serving 4 years from now? He'll be on the hook. I don't know if I want him to take this." But my mom told me "You HAVE to be excited. He's getting ready to go out into the world. He needs to know you're in his corner and you have his back. Pray for him, and be happy for him!" Then I realized that winning a scholarship like this is a HUGE accomplishment (regardless of my fears) and I should be proud of him, not scared for him. I felt bad for letting my fear get the best of me. That's why I'm glad I found this forum. The excitement and support I've found here have truly helped to put my fears to rest.

All that to say that I was screaming the loudest when he was presented with his big check. And when I watched the video again, the applause for him was one of the biggest ones of the night! The school is doing a great disservice to these kids and their families by not recognizing them.