#45 Milestones, Pride and Equity

MILESTONES, PRIDE AND EQUITY

It was a ceremony marking the graduation of 128 formerly out-of-school youth
from a very special high school program, YouthBuild. The evening was
profoundly moving, yet there was an undertow that has been pulling at me
ever since.

This was an over-the-top celebration. Even at the quietest of times it was
never quiet-people were just too excited, too charged up to be still.
Pride was palpable from the very beginning, as the graduates walked single
file down the center aisle to the front of the hall. Everyone stood to
cheer and cheer-for each and every member of the class, and for the class as
a whole. The director started by inviting all the parents to stand and be
recognized for their role in this great accomplishment, then all the other
family members, then all the friends. There were dozens of awards. Clearly
the ceremony had been planned to give recognition as widely as possible,
giving lots of people a chance to shine in their own way, to be seen for
their own special strengths. Getting to this point had been a whole group
project, and the sense of community was strong-among the students, between
students and staff, between students and family. The message was clear: if
I can do this, if you can do this, if we can do this, we can do anything. I
can't imagine how a graduation could be better.

Yet the whole context was wrong. Nobody should have to work that hard to
get a high school degree. (I learned afterward of how staff would bring in
bulk supplies of bread and peanut butter so people could have something to
eat and still stay in school.) Graduating from high school guarantees
nothing in this society; it is more like staving off certain disaster than
providing opportunity. Each one of those 128 who were sent off so proudly
is enormously and painfully vulnerable. They now have the right to step out
onto a perilous path toward economic security where one false step or one
unexpected set-back can easily knock them right back into the abyss.

My high school graduation couldn't have been more different. Though few
people knew our names, everyone in our class of 500 was expected to
graduate. Everyone in my family was expected to excel. This path had been
cleared and smoothed before me. It was well marked and well traveled.
While the journey required plenty of hard work, it was far easier to stay on
the path than go any other way. My parents, complacently marking this
milestone on my educational journey, serenely confident in my future, noted
the expected honors with due pride, took a few pictures, and went on with
their lives.

What kind of a country do we live in, where the same amount of effort gets
such wildly different results, where graduating from high school is as
normal as breathing for some, and an almost impossible attainment for
others? How can we get some better guarantee that hard work, determination,
and playing by the rules will keep us off the streets? And how can we all
get the chance to work that hard, be seen by a community that cares about
us, and have a room rock with pride in our accomplishments?

Pamela Haines
Philadelphia, 6/05


Things that have given me hope recently:

The power of laughter.

What a good ex-president Jimmie Carter is.

The 30-40 million families in China who have solar water heaters on their
roofs.

A note I got from a member of this group, Cassilde Ntamamari in Burundi: I
want to ask you if you know other friends who would be interested in
following our work at and inform them on my behalf.
Please keep on praying, let's do our part , and stimulate the good
intentions, since there are many ready to contribute, to make our world a
better place to live.