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Graduation from a teacher's point of view

Editor's note: This story is part two of a three-part series on the upcoming graduation at Marion High School.

Part two focuses on the point of view from MHS teachers.

Eleven days.

The seniors at MHS are nearly down to single digits when talking about their final days of high school.

But so are the teachers. At least for the 2007-08 year.

While the nearly 50 Warrior seniors prepare for their final days of school, the teachers at Marion prepare for what has become an annual event, with only the faces changing each year.

Science teacher Bruce Rhodes, who has been at MHS for all 25 years of his teaching career, said he tries to treat the final days the same as any others.

"We try to keep them as normal as possible, and make sure students stay focused on what's important," he said.

And that's not always easy.

Between the dreaded "senioritis" and the stress factor of graduation, deep down students and teachers alike know the final days are anything but normal.

"I see a few of the students really starting to worry about making sure they've accomplished what they need to," Rhodes said.

Music teacher Kevin Moler agreed.

"They're not nervous, they're just trying to get their plans figured out."

But the attitude among them is that stressing out isn't going to accomplish anything.

"A lot of teachers are doing tests and last minute papers," Moler said. "But most don't get too stressed out."

And it seems at MHS if the teachers stay relatively stress free, so do the students.

"We try not to make it a big deal," social studies teacher Grant Thierolf said.

Art instructor Jim Versch agreed.

He, Thierolf, and the rest of the teachers know graduation is a big deal, but keeping it, as Rhodes said, normal is the best thing for everyone.

"We keep them informed of what they need to do to graduate," Versch said. "I don't see a lot of kids stressing out."

In fact, it might be the exact opposite.

Instead of stressing out, some students might be relaxing too much.

Moler has seen it.

So has Rhodes.

It's the bug that starts going around toward the end of the year, and seems to only infect seniors.

"Senioritis sets in," Moler, who has seen it all five years of his teaching career, said.

"Some are starting to slide," Rhodes said, "but not a big majority of the kids."

What most teachers realize is that senioritis is as likely to happen as at least one of the graduates tripping on stage when receiving their diploma.

It's part of the graduation process.

But it usually comes and goes without any major side effects.

The stress of filling out college applications usually does as well.

So once the school days reach single digits, the realization of the final days start to hit teachers and students alike.

"I know it's sad, but it's very rewarding," sophomore and junior English teacher Lisa Johnson said about seeing students move on.

She is in her second year at MHS, and this will be her first year watching some of her students graduate.

"As educators it's always difficult to see our students pass through the threshold of graduation," Johnson said, "but ultimately, that is our number one goal."

Senior English teacher Mary Griffith agreed.

"It's always emotional," she said. "We know the students for four years, and some even longer.

"We get attached and it's delightful to watch them mature, and send them out into the real world."

Rhodes, who admittedly doesn't remember much of his first graduation experience as a teacher 25 years ago, still realizes the importance of that once in a lifetime day in mid-May.

"I look at it as an accomplishment," he said. "I'm proud of seeing the kids make it through school."

Moler likes to watch the transformation of the students from freshman to senior year.

"There is a lot of changing," he said. "They do an awful lot of growing up."

Grown up is what the students officially become when they walk across the stage that separates high school student from real-world adult.

And in the days leading up to that 10-second walk that represents 13 years of hard work, the teachers do everything they can to prepare the students for whatever comes their way after stepping off stage.

"This is just a stepping stone, and hopefully we have given them the basics," Griffith said.

"We can't teach them everything, but we can teach them to be good people and remind them of their roots."

In 11 days, the journey begins.

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