September 21st 2017 archive

High School Diploma: Civic Artifact Speech Outline

Taylor Marie Young

English 137H

Teresa Hamilton

21 September 2017

Civic Artifact Speech Outline

  1. Introduction
    1. About four or five months ago, each and every one of us experienced one of the greatest senses of accomplishment: graduating high school. After years of learning basic skills and developing more complex ones, experiencing enriching programs, excelling in academics and extracurricular activities, growing as learners, and proving the extent of our dedication and hard work, we all accomplished the same thing together. While we may not have been together physically, we were together in the sense that we all earned a high school diploma.
    2. But what’s the meaning behind the dignified certificate? Sure, it definitely means that the receiver has achieved successful completion of the educational requirements according to the given state.
    3. However, the high school diploma is our official, lifetime membership to be active citizens in our democracy.
      1. An induction into democracy
  2. In the classroom
    1. Transition: Before we could receive our membership passes, we had to go through training, which ended up being about thirteen years of schooling for the most of us. We had to prove that we were qualified to be a part of society.
    2. For five days out of the week from kindergarten to senior year, we were exposed to a microcosm of democracy.
      1. Pride for the country through the Pledge of Allegiance
      2. Having classroom responsibilities that equate to being active members of society
      3. Elections for organizations such as Student Government
  3. In the real world
    1. Transition: Ultimately, our training to receive a high school diploma, or our membership pass to democracy, comes to an end. We meet the state requirements for finishing school, and we graduate.
    2. Our duty of serving as students may have ended, but our membership pass allows us to take on a new role: active citizens in our democracy.
      1. Apply diploma to better society
        1. Through furthering education to pursue a career
        2. Through continuing a family business
        3. Through being a stay at home parent
  4. Conclusion
    1. If each and every one of us takes advantage of the high school diploma we all worked so hard to receive, we’ll fulfill our responsibility of being active citizens. Just by deciding to further our education here at Penn State, we’ve decided that we will serve our country in some way to ensure it keeps improving. Our membership pass lasts a lifetime, and there are no restrictions. Whatever we decide to do will shape future generations and how they perceive the importance of education and earning a high school diploma.