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I heard from an old high school friend who helps organize our reunions every 10 years. The upcoming one is a pretty big one, and I suggested we do something at the old high school. She said that the school wasn’t that keen on having old graduates come for their reunions. It’s disruptive, apparently. There is no drinking on the premises. And it was probably too much paperwork to make it work. All of which, I thought, was disappointing. And the more I thought about it, the more I wondered why my high school never invited me back to speak to the students. I speak to college students; I speak to groups who actually pay money to come listen. And what better time to speak to high school students than when returning for a class reunion? I’m not just talking about myself here. We had quite an interesting group who graduated from my high school. One guy became a sports lawyer for some professional athletes. One gal became a famous radio talk show host. We’ve had doctors, publishers, department store managers, artists, educators, scientists….the whole gamut of interesting careers. Why shouldn’t we return one day every ten years to our old high school and talk at an assembly about what we’ve learned and what we’ve accomplished? We could give some good advice about what to expect in college, joining the Peace Corps or serving in the Armed Forces, driving a sports car or a van, whatever. It would be our way of giving back. And the high school students could sign up to meet with people who interest them and get out of a few classes on that day. If every class having a reunion offered themselves to speak to students it could be billed as an annual Career Day. Just seems to make a lot of sense. I know I would certainly have benefited if someone who had lived the freelance life came to speak to me about it. But high school’s have as much bureaucracy and red tape as colleges, and someone would have to add this event to others that they are already dealing with, and nobody wants to go the extra yard. Which is a shame, because this one seems like a no-brainer.
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