Carbon High School graduated its seniors during the day on May 25, but that evening other graduates took “the walk” and received their diplomas as well.

At 5 p.m. that evening the Lighthouse High School held its graduation in the Carbon School District Office auditorium. Thirty five students left the school as they walked across the stage and received their diplomas.

The main speaker for the event was Carbon School District Superintendent Lance Hatch and he relied on some words from the motivational speaker Wayne Dyer to inspire the students who were going out into the world.

“Dyer said that ‘When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change,'” he told the audience. “For some reason, after I heard that, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.”

He said those words and those of others, helped him develop a philosophy that made him want to be an educator. He said educators are providers of joy, but it isn’t easy sometimes. He told the story of a fifth-grade class he once taught, and its members were considered to be the roughest that particular school had ever seen. He said he went dragging himself home every night, very exhausted and frustrated by what was going on in his class each day. He said that during that time he went to a training session in which the speakers put forth the philosophy that as a teacher he should be giving eight positives for every action in which he corrected or criticized them, each day.

“I wasn’t sure I could find one good thing the students in that class were doing, much less eight things,” he said. “But I was determined to not say anything critical until I said eight things that were positive for each student.”

He said that he gave them praise for things like sitting down and in one case he said to a student “Sally you sharpened that pencil expertly.” What he found was that even though he was applying positive comments to the students for what they were supposed to be doing in the first place, he found himself looking at his students differently.  And it changed him; he was excited for each day to begin instead of dreading it. The students also changed. By the end of the year they achieved much more academically than anyone had ever expected.

He pointed out that Albert Einstein once asked the question “Is the universe a friendly place?” Hatch said that if one perceives the place they are in is a good place, they will act in a way that is consistent with that belief.  On the other hand, when one expects negative things, that person will act in accordance with that belief.

He challenged the graduates with the words “Whoever you are, be noble. Whatever you do, do well. Whenever you speak, speak kindly.  Give joy where ever you go.”

Two hours later the room was filled with the families and friends of graduates from the Adult Education program. Eighteen students got their diplomas, one student received his GED and two students completed the English Language Learners courses.

Two speakers came to the podium, both from the ranks of those sitting in the row just below the stage.  Brooklyn Brailsford and Ryleigh Hill reminded the students of their hard work and what they had gone through to get to that night. Also ELL graduate Hugo Velasco spoke and told a little of the struggles of students who come to the United States and how must not only struggle to live and learn in a new society but also deal with the language differences.

It was a night of celebration for all students, regardless of which school they went to, what their ages were, or what their future plans may be.