A Florida high school commencement address that celebrates, commiserates with students

Dear Graduates:

I can’t tell you how (happy / wary) I am to be speaking at your high school graduation.

In these (freedom-affirming / authoritarian) times, it’s important that we gather like this to (celebrate / acknowledge) that education in Florida has never been more (valued / under attack).

First, I want to congratulate you for (excelling / surviving) in a state that puts the possession of (knowledge / AR-15s) above all else. All that time you spent in (classroom lectures / lock-down drills) has paid off. You made it.

This would be a good time to acknowledge the important role that traditional public schools play as (treasured institutions / political punching bags) for those who see a clear path between (knowledge / book banning) and (an informed citizenship / their re-elections).

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It’s (lucky / unfortunate) that we have elected leaders who realize the (public / personal) benefit in (elevating / bad-mouthing) traditional public schools. These (wise / self-serving) leaders take away (obstacles / funding) and create opportunities to whip up (concern / hysteria) in the community for (marginalized students / drag queen story time) and (overworked teachers / school bathroom policies).

You’re fortunate to (graduate / escape) now, (while / before) Florida’s school boards and state education department are entirely (devoted / overrun) with (conservatives / ignorance-championing crazies), whose main mission is to (elevate / destroy) our (public / “government”) schools.

Traditional public high schools in Florida face political pressure

But let’s get back to you. We’re here to celebrate you today. You hung in there.

You didn’t say (“I quit” / gay). You pushed your way through, (buoyed by / despite) the people who were (deeply / only) interested in (celebrating / mocking) your (success / pronouns).

And let’s not forget your teachers, who have felt (empowered / threatened) to give you the full breadth of learning, which has led to (opening up horizons / censoring history) and feeding (inquisitive minds / bigoted prejudice) as a central mission.

Your teachers knew that somewhere in their classes were a few special students who were capable of generating a (lifetime passion / firing offense) stemming from a casual remark made during a lesson.

And yet, they showed up, hanging in there, and delivering day after day without fail, like (Gov. Ron DeSantis / the Disney monorail).

More political pressure awaits at Florida's state colleges and universities

Many of you will be going on to Florida’s public colleges and universities, where the idea of a wide-ranging exploration of knowledge will be (stressed / assaulted) in new ways.

Many of you will find your Florida university under the guidance of career (academics / political hacks) who have found that years of (learning / grifting) and (advanced degrees / legislative term limits) have led them to the highest administrative rungs of public education in Florida.

These (pillars / imposters) of education are already starting to transform higher learning in Florida by stressing a (pluralistic / White Christian nationalist) view of the world, while enriching (the minds of students / themselves and their cronies) with (new opportunities / lucrative employment and vendor contracts).

Florida’s universities, some of the best universities in the country, are being gradually recast by our governor, who says that fringe learning will be eliminated, and schools will now stress “the basics.”

This is (great / sad) news for you. “Learning the basics” is a less-is-more approach, or a lower form of higher learning that sounds (challenging / like a return to high school).

I guess that’s why graduation is called a “commencement.” It’s not an ending. It’s a new beginning. And you’re about to commence being exposed to higher level of (academic tempering / political tampering).

I could go on, but I’ve delivered enough (inspiration / desperation) for one day, and I think I hear (bad weather / the governor’s militia) heading this way. So, I’m going to scram.

Thoughts and prayers. Thoughts and prayers.

Frank Cerabino is a columnist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at fcerabino@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida high school graduation speech full of good bad news