The Home Stretch

Greetings Apples,

I realized I haven't talked much lately about what's going on with graduate school. I'm nearing the end, which is both very exciting and incredibly overwhelming, as many things are due in a very short period of time. (Whenever I feel completely stressed trying to balance my responsibilities at work and my deadlines at school, I check my district's salary schedule to peek at my pay increase next year!) I have a little more than half of my thesis done, and I am slated to walk in the commencement ceremony on May 17th.

As I am preparing to participate in my school's commencement ceremony, I have been reading a lot about the various traditions depending on the degree being earned. It is all very interesting, and I had no idea there were so many variations of caps and gowns, as well as what they all stood for.

Here is how my university explains the clothing traditions:

Significance of Hooding
The history of academic dress reaches far back into the early days of the oldest universities.  Gowns were worn for warmth in unheated buildings frequented by medieval scholars.  The most outstanding feature of all academic costume, the hood, originally seems to have had three uses: as a head covering, as a shoulder cape, or, when hanging from the shoulder, as a bag in which alms could be collected or provisions carried.

In institutions of higher learning, the gown is generally black in color.  The style of the sleeves denotes the various degrees: the bachelor's degree is signified by full-length pointed sleeves; the sleeves of the master's degree are oblong in shape and extend well below the knee, the arm coming through an opening at the elbow; and the gown of the doctoral degree has bell-shaped sleeves that may be worn open or closed.  The gown worn by one retaining a doctorate is additionally distinctive by facing down front with velvet of the color characteristic of the subject to which the degree pertains; three bars of the same material are found on the sleeve of the gown.

I have a meeting on Tuesday to order my master's hood (light blue in color to signify a Masters in Education) and tassel. A friend of mine who graduated from the same university last year was kind enough to loan me her cap and gown so that I didn't have to spend money on something I would only wear for about two hours. (Thanks, Amanda!)

There is a light at the end of the tunnel, Apples!

Miss H.