GRADUATION DOESN'T MEAN END TO LEARNING

Pomp and circumstance is ringing through area schools. It is graduation time again. It is a time of endings and new beginnings.

The Class of 1999 finds itself with plenty of opportunities.

For those wishing to pursue a college degree, this is a time of increased competition among institutions of higher learning. The demand is partly due to a smaller graduate pool than a decade or so ago.

Graduates who are ready to enter the job market may find plenty of opportunities as well. Unemployment throughout the region and nation hovers at record low levels. Jobs are plentiful for eager workers.

Former senator Paul Simon offered sound words of advice Saturday to nearly 1,000 undergraduates and graduate students at Southeast Missouri State University.

Simon told the standing-room-only crowd of more than 8,000 that a diploma should not signify an end to learning.

Indeed, when we stop learning, we stop growing as human beings.

He encouraged graduates to hold onto their dreams and set high goals.

These are wise words. Those who set their sights high tend to excel all the more. The human ability to achieve can be amazing. But it is closely tied to a self-fulling prophecy. People tend to do as much as they believe they can. Belief in miracles can deliver astonishing results -- even with people.

This marks a busy week for area high schools. Both Delta and Chaffee graduated students Sunday. Tonight, the pomp and circumstance will ring out at Kelly High School. Notre Dame, Oak Ridge and Scott City will graduate their classes of 1999 on Friday.

Sunday marks the baccalaureate for both Cape Central and Jackson high schools. Graduation ceremonies will follow May 28 for Jackson and May 30 for Cape Central.

For most students, the decision on what to do following graduation was made long ago. These days, students must decide early on if they will pursue a college degree, vocational training or enter the job market. Their classes must reflect the appropriate track.

The Class of 1999 also has the added influence of a new century. The arrival of the millennium holds promise and uncertainty.

No one knows for sure what life will be like in the 21st century. No doubt it will be filled with technological challenges and changing job markets.

But if students embrace the notion that learning never stops, they will be better prepared for the coming years. Graduation is only the start of the journey.