US style graduation -- NY style

[Sternel]

I don't even remember who asked about graduations in
the first place, but i'll inflict New York state's
Regents system on you all.
Public schools in NY are run by the state Board of
Regents, which sets the standards that all public
schools must conform to. Private schools can choose to
use these standards, and most, afaik, do, but i have
heard of some that find them useless and go their own
way.

There are two kinds of diplomas in NY:  Regents, and
local.  In order to receive a Regents diploma, you
must pass a certain number of exams in required
subjects.  As memory serves, I had to pass:  two
science (Earth Science and Bio -- I also did
Chemistry), three Math (we used to have this
"sequential program", now it's something called Math A
and Math B.  Don't ask.), four history (Global
studies, after a two year course, American history,
civics and economics, the last two being locally
written exams), four years of English, the exam for
the foreign language of your choice, and one year's
course of either art or music.  ::phew!::
of course, the board of Regents changes their mind
every year and alters somethign, and this is as it was
when I graduated HS in 1998.  My brother and sisters
are starting to come up against different
requirements.  Makes things very confusing.

A local diploma is simply the standard high school
diploma conferred on students who cannot manage all
those Regents.  While I personally had no problem
passign and exceedign the Regents requirements, there
are a lot of students who do -- my brother, for
example, who has missed lots of school due to very bad
athsma, and who has a minor learning disability.  He
will be earning a local diploma, but we're crazy proud
of him anyway. We weren't sure he'd go to college, but
he wants to study history. =)

Anyway, once having gotten all the paperwork out of
the way, the "merriment of commencement commences..."
=)...our school being green and white, girls in white
and boys in green.  we purchased our robes, they were
cheap and thin and you could see the color of our
dresses underneath, but what do you want for cheap
robes?  The descriptions from others pretty much is
typical around the country.

Whoever asked on this -- have you enough information
yet?  Ask and ye shall receive... ;)

=====
"Live each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each." 
--Henry David Thoreau

Abbie Tilden 
starling823 at yahoo.com

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