Pickles and Peanut Butter Archives

Please note: since this page appeared at some point in the not-too-distant past, some links may be invalid or different than they once were.

This week’s topic is:

Graduation

Before we get to the really fun stuff, I guess it only makes sense to start our exploration of Graduation with a little bit of history.

A Brief History of Graduation
The graduation ceremony has many historical traditions associated with it, which helps make it special and meaningful. Graduation ceremonies were first held by European universities in the Middle Ages. Early degree ceremonies took place in the mid-12th century at the University of Bologna and, soon after, at Paris, Oxford, and Cambridge. Harvard was the first American university to hold a commencement ceremony in 1642.
The Ceremony
American educational institutions still have many European graduation customs. As part of the ceremony, graduates march single file to a stage, often with formal musical accompaniment. Each graduate walks across the stage, is handed their diploma, flips the tassel on their cap from the right to the left (in case you were wondering), and receives a handshake from a university official. Graduates wear academic gowns and caps. By tradition, gowns are long and black, fashioned after the everyday dress worn by members of the academic community in medieval Europe. The majority of scholars then were churchmen and their dress was often strictly regulated by the church. The tasseled, square, flat black caps are called mortarboards. The color of the tassel that graduates transfer from right to left shows the kind of degree the graduate is receiving. Graduates may wear colored hoods on their backs to show the highest degree they already hold, and the institution that conferred it. (For a more detailed discussion on hoods and other graduation traditions, see  History of Graduation)
Diplomas and yearbooks
Diplomas and yearbooks are important keepsakes that are part of graduation. A diploma includes the date, graduate's full name, institution, and the type of degree. Until about 100 years ago, diplomas were made from paper-thin sheepskin, handwritten, rolled and tied with a ribbon. When papermaking techniques improved, they changed to parchment.

The yearbook has evolved over many centuries. In the 1600s, students filled blank pages of scrapbooks with newspaper clippings, personal notes, dried flowers, and hair clippings. In 1806, the first college yearbook -- which looked like a photo album -- was published by Yale. In 1845, the first high school yearbook was published in Waterville, NY; it was called "The Evergreen." The modern yearbook was born in 1880 as improvements in printing made it affordable. In 1986, schools began using computers and desktop publishing to make their own yearbooks. Some yearbooks today are even available on CD.

Now for the GOOD stuff!

Graduation is the last time you'll see your teachers' smiling faces. That's why they're smiling.

When you graduate from correspondence school, do you wear a cap and gown to the post office?

Some college students graduate with honors. But a lot more graduate with debts.

College graduates make more money than high-school graduates. High-school graduates can afford to get married, but college graduates can afford to get divorced.

Before a student can graduate from law school, he has to take a course in ethics. If he flunks the course, he graduates.

There are two kinds of commencement speeches: the good ones, and the one at your graduation.

I'll be honest. I did not graduate at the top of my class. In fact, I was so close to the bottom, my sheepskin had a tail.

Back to top

Now this is about a guy who decided to have a  little fun with his graduation cap, and here's exactly how he did it. Graduation Cap Hack

You think that only people can graduate? Think again. Guide Dogs for the Blind, Inc.

If you are looking for the perfect way to say "congratulations, graduate (or Mom/Dad/teacher of graduate)", try this site: Graduation Poems for Free

According to the US Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, over 5 million young people will graduate this Spring, most in May and June, and most from high school followed closely by college and university.

Give your favorite graduate what they've always wanted: a monkeygram from the MONKEY GRAM STORE

 

 

 

Tired of all the rules about what to do and what to wear for graduation? Check out what they're wearing at New College where anything goes.

The Pomp and Circumstance Marches, op. 39 are a series of five marches for orchestra composed by Edward Elgar.The title of the series was taken from Act III of Othello: "Farewell the neighing steed, and the shrill trump, The spirit-stirring drum, the ear-piercing fife, The royal banner, and all quality, Pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war!". The best known is the first in the series, Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1, and in most contexts the phrase Pomp and Circumstance usually refers to this one alone. It had its premiere in London in October 1901.

In the United States, however, No. 1 is irretrievably associated with graduation ceremonies. It was first played at a such a ceremony on June 28, 1905, at Yale University. Yale Professor of Music Samuel Sanford invited his friend Elgar to attend commencement and receive an honorary Doctor of Music degree. Elgar accepted, and musicians performed two parts from Elgar's oratorio The Light of Life and, as graduates and officials marched out, Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1.

The tune became de rigueur at American graduations, but not at Yale, where it has not been heard since 1950 when a band director was told not to play "that song", which had become "high school déclassé".

The Sneeze The story of how a sneeze during a graduation ceremony circumvented the prohibition of prayers and blessings during the ceremony.

Probably everyone has heard of the famous speech given by Winston Churchill, consisting of (depending on your source) 3 to 12 words: "Never give up." Or, the longer version "Never give up. Never, never give up. Never, never, never give up." Here is the complete text of that speech, the way it was really given. The Churchill Centre - Speeches

Back to top

 

And finally a  few quotes:

This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning. - Sir Winston Churchill

Do not follow where the path may lead.  Go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

A graduation ceremony is an event where the commencement speaker tells thousands of students dressed in identical caps and gowns that 'individuality' is the key to success.  ~Robert Orben

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.  ~Dr. Seuss

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

The important thing is not to stop questioning.  ~Albert Einstein

If you think education is expensive, try ignorance!  ~Andy McIntyre

Shoot for the moon.  Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.  ~Les Brown

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.
You're on your own.
And you know what you know.
You are the guy who'll decide where to go.
~Dr. Seuss