So graduation came and went last night, and as usual, itrevealed more about the character of my students' families than it celebrated the students' achievements; which is sad.

Firstly, I should start with the postive aspects of the night. The majority of the senior ****obtained enough credits to graduate, or sit within one credit of graduation (which summer school can cure). The graduates were proud, respectful, and appeared to enjoy their evening. Encouragingly, the top three students earned a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.6 or higher, and at least a quarter of them have already received their college or university acceptance letter. Two students are going to study game design.

Ok, now on to the rousing finish: I think that a small group of the parents misheard the principal's continual requests of "clear the isles" as "free pie and chicken, please rush the stage." About twenty to thirty people not only rushed the stage, but they also blocked the aisleways, which blocked the graduates' return trip to their seats. Hell, some women even stood in the middle of the graduates' rows of seats.

I know that there will always be a few fools at a graduation of hundreds of students. But there were as many fools as there were graduates.

Creme de la creme: when I asked one woman who was standing in the graduates' seats taking pictures to "please move, as (she was) blocking the graduates," she responded with "I **** heard you the first time," and proceeded to take more pictures. ****.

Today's word is "ghetto-fabulous," as coined by another teacher.

We (the school staff) definitely need to find a solution for the parents who want to take pictures of their children graduating. But that doesn't mean that you should block your child's peers from sitting, swear at a teacher, and refuse to move.

...and we wonder where some of our students learn this behavior from.