The latest "Onion" column, Ask a Jostens Class-Ring Salesman made me check out Josten's web site. Which has, it seems, a section of home-schooling options. (Indeed, the Onion article even references home-schooling options).
Graduation gowns. Class rings. Graduation keyrings and memory books and all the paraphenalia of high school graduation.
Now, I should admit a fair bit of ignorance up front: I was not home-schooled, and I didn't get a class ring for my high school. (Also, I missed my tenth reunion.)
I see that they have latin mottoes1 for home-schooled class rings: "Deus Veritas Familia (God Truth Family)" and "Veritas Familia Sapientia (Truth Family Wisdom)". But there are still lingering questions:
I guess I misunderstand the notion of class rings: maybe I just know too many brass-rat wearers. but there's something in the class ring, I thought, about shared pain and shared experience. An identity-labelled sign of community and all that.
Perhaps this is partially based on a mistaken assumption: after all, class rings are so customizable that there's no easy way to tell whether you and I went to the same school without squinting. Which suggests it's about something a little more personal, and a little less Goffman.
1 Technically, these are just lists of nouns. How about "Deus Veritas et Famila" ("God, Truth, and Family")? Or even "In Familia, Veritas et Sapienta" ("In family, truth and wisdom")?
2 You can get a number of different sides on the ring. In the "beyond school" list, for example, are
Blading / Bowling / Bull Riding / Calf Roping / Checkered Flag / Cycling / Deer Hunting / Duck Hunting / Equestrian / Fishing / Low Rider / Martial Arts / Motorcycle / Mountain Biking / Pheasant Hunting / Riding / Rodeo / Scuba / Skateboarding / Snowboarding / Snowmobiling / Surfing / Water-skiing / Wildlife / Windsurfing
There are also possibilities for various clubs, afterschool activities and teams, and associations.
June 4, 2004 11:37 AM | TrackBack | in Other