Graduating High Schoolers Struggle with Disappointment When Made to Go Back to School
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What Happened:
When seniors at Garinger Leadership & Public Service High School accepted their diplomas June 14, they thought they were through with high school forever. Imagine their surprise when some were told they hadn’t really graduated.
Eleven students—including Garinger’s apparent valedictorian—received diplomas despite not having enough credit hours to earn one. They’re now in summer school, scrambling to rectify the matter that wasn’t entirely their fault.
One problem was the fact that Garinger High School has been in a state of flux lately, splitting into five smaller schools (of which the Garinger Leadership & Public Service High School was one). To confuse matters more, the main counselor for Garinger Leadership resigned in May, just weeks before graduation: That counselor was the main person in charge of making sure everyone had enough credits to graduate.
Before graduation, someone from the school district reviewed the credit situation and found that some graduating students were missing credits. While officials at Garinger knew there was a problem, they apparently didn’t tell the students or their parents, and they handed out diplomas as if nothing was wrong.
Since then, Garinger’s principal has resigned, while current Garinger students and their parents say they’ll be keeping close tabs on their own credit hours—not just relying on a counselor to keep track of that stuff for them. None of that helps Garinger’s non-graduates. The school’s valedictorian was stripped of her honors, and 11 students must deal with having a very important milestone snatched away from them.
Talk About It:
Few of us will be told that we’ll need to go back to school after snagging our diplomas, but all of us deal with unexpected disappointment—when something we hoped for just doesn’t materialize. Sometimes it’s someone’s fault. Sometimes it’s no one’s. Sometimes it’s just plain bad luck.
Can you remember a time when someone let you down? What happened? How did you respond? Did you take it out on someone, even if it wasn’t really his or her fault? Have you ever blamed God?
Have you ever disappointed someone else? When? What did it feel like? What feels worse—having someone disappoint you, or you disappointing someone else?
How do you think you should deal with disappointment? Is it possible to learn from it? Is it conceivable that we can grow when people or circumstances let us down? How?
What the Bible Says:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised” (
“He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord” (
“The fear of the Lord leads to life: Then one rests content, untouched by trouble” (
“Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us” (
