The Graduation That Almost Wasn’t…

Leave it to the Honduran government to do something that makes no sense whatsoever.  None.  Nada. Zip. Zilch.  We’ve had our graduation date planned for months.  We’ve (and when I say “we”, I mean Sandi, Erica and other teachers) been in and out of the district education offices almost daily for weeks now, checking dates to have diplomas signed, bringing records and documentation, re-bringing records and documentation when the district decides they want something done differently this year, etc., etc.  So imagine our surprise when, just yesterday, one day before our date to have the 6^th grade diplomas signed, and two days before graduation itself, the district informs us that we can’t have 6^th grade graduation tomorrow because the Honduran public schools are still in session and the earliest we can have graduation this year is November 14. And they said we can’t have a ceremony where we give out fake diplomas and just give the real, signed diplomas to our kids at a later date.

Why?  Well, because the public school teachers have been on strike so much this year that they’re still making up for lost days.  “But we’re a private school”, we countered.  “It doesn’t matter”, they retorted.  “Rules are rules”, they said.  “Since when?”, we thought, but wisely didn’t say.

So that was all yesterday.  And only affects 6^th grade since our Prepa (kindergarten) diplomas are signed.

Today was spent scrambling.  We informed the 6^th grade parents, many of whom were furious. Obviously.  They weren’t upset with us; they were upset with an educational district office that is playing sloppy and loose with the rules.  Then one of the parents mentioned three other private bilingual schools whose upper grade diplomas were signed.  That was all it took to get some of our teachers on the warpath.

But just in case, we spent time this afternoon fashioning a special certificate for our 6^th graders.  This is the first class to graduate that has spent kinder (4-year-old kindergarten) through 6^th grade here.  They are the first generation of Enlaces kids.  We figured that even if we can’t give our kids a diploma tomorrow night, we’re giving them a certificate to recognize their accomplishments, and we’ll deal with the diplomas later.  The certificates are printed and framed, ready to be handed out.

Those teachers on the warpath?  Well, it turns out that now our diplomas WILL be signed.  At 11:00am tomorrow morning.  Yet, since this is Honduras and we’re dealing with governmental officials, I’ll believe it when I see it.

Regardless of the outcome with the diplomas, tomorrow night’s graduation celebration promises to be a huge blowout, filled with all the pomp, circumstance and new (or borrowed) clothing you can imagine.  There are times during graduation when it’s hard to believe that this is a Third World country.  Everyone is dressed in the most glamorous clothes.  But, many people borrow clothing from friends or family members.  Me?  I’ll be sporting a new LBD (little black dress) I picked up last year in the States.  Don’t worry, I only paid $15 for it.  Yes, of course there will be pictures.