Graduation: the End—or a Beginning?

If I remember correctly, I looked forward to graduation as the end of something. Homework? Parental control? Curfews? Hmmmm!

Well, as most of us know from attending graduation ceremonies, it is not the end, but the beginning of something. But what?

The speeches you hear at commencement exercises urge you to aim high and fulfill your dreams. The “prep” work has been done. Now you can begin in earnest to make a name for yourself.

So what is it you want to do?

As they do various academic tasks, our third graders are asked to predict what they might be in 10 or 15 years. Their eyes light up, and they are so excited to explain that they want to be a doctor, nurse, teacher, lawyer, president, chef, etc.

As the years pass, I see them growing up. And every year some of these students return to visit their elementary schools and their teachers. This year was no exception. It gives me a deep sense of fulfillment (that is priceless) to see my third grade students graduate. When they return and fill me in on their studies and where they are headed, I know I have had a part in that.

Usually they have changed their minds about their occupations, but that is okay. The important thing is to have a goal and work toward it. The Bible shows us that we all have been given talents and abilities. How are you going to use them?

One of my favorite subjects to teach is social studies. Third grade social studies is pretty basic—map skills, geography, government, economics, cultural celebrations, inventors, citizenship, etc. But the best part is the biographies of historic figures that have made a difference in this world.

One of those figures is Clara Barton

We think of Clara Barton as the woman who almost single-handedly created and organized the American Red Cross. I try to get across to my students how each of us can make a difference in this world. She made a huge difference. Each of us can too.

Over the years I have learned more about the details of her childhood. This has made her an even bigger role model to me and caused me to encourage my students to reach for the stars.

Clara remembered her religious upbringing as austere, with faith being hammered out in the pews. She was a VERY shy but bright child and absorbed everything she could from her parents and four older brothers and sisters. She was able to read by the age of 4. Her parents enrolled her in school, and she did well academically. But she was so shy that at the age of 8, Clara had not made a single friend.

Her parents sent her to a boarding school thinking that might help. That effort failed utterly, and she returned home where she continued to absorb every bit of knowledge available there.

After her brother fell off a roof he was attempting to repair, 11-year-old Clara nursed him day and night for over two years.

When Clara was somewhere around the age of 16, her parents were advised to get her a job as a teacher to enable her to overcome her shyness. This worked.

She went on to college, opened a free school that grew rapidly under her guidance, worked in the U.S. Patent Office and became known as the “Angel of the Battlefield” because of the work she did during the American Civil War.

At the age of 48 she was introduced to the concept of the Red Cross in Europe. She came back to America, vowing to establish the Red Cross here. In order to accomplish this, she had to convince a lot of people, including the president of the United States. After successfully founding the American Red Cross, she expanded the original concept of assistance in wartime to include times of peace also.

Clara seemed to have been born with extraordinary compassion for others, and after overcoming what was holding her back, she went on to become a real hero. She saw a need and gave every ounce of her energy to do something about it.

During her 91 years, she overcame her extreme shyness to make a difference in this world that can be felt to this day. She seems to be a great example of Matthew 22:36-39, where Jesus Christ distills the commandments down to two very important parts: loving God with all our heart and mind and then loving others as we love ourselves.

So what do you say, Graduate?

Nourish those seeds that have been planted, and don’t let anything stop you. Make a name for yourself—make a difference in this world!

For more information about Clara Barton, read “The Peace of Knowing” by Karen Meeker.

Susan Scott Smith is a third grade teacher and a member of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association, in Texas.