Graduations are out of control. Please, let’s stop with all the graduating.
I’m not talking about the teary thrills of graduating from high school, or the reality-busting graduation from college, but of the incessant graduating of every child from every school and grade into every other grade. My son is six, he just finished Kindergarten, and graduated for the third, maybe fourth time in his life. He’s barely old enough to remember to put on pants in the morning (still 50/50,) let alone have graduated from anything, ever.
I understand, they’ve learned some songs, they have program they want to prove, it’s super cute, but does it really need a paper cap and a ceremony? Couldn’t we just listen to their songs and then take them home? This graduation inflation makes real graduations, like high school, seem like just another ceremony you have to tick off, instead of something special. It’s nice that my kids are going on to the next grade, but I have backpacks full of reports and projects that are a great reminder (remind me: take out my recycling.)
The worst part of any of the one thousand graduations in which I will be expected to participate, is that they, invariably, take place in May. Nothing less than the full Hell of a December schedule has prepared me for May. You might even contend that May is worse than December. There are final projects, art programs, dance programs, piano recitals, oboe recitals, karate demonstrations, Scouts, sporting of some sort or another, testing, teacher appreciation, assignments, reading logs, school plays, and seventeen graduations, all on Tuesday.
Preschool, second preschool, summer school preschool, Kindergarten, third grade, fifth grade, sixth grade, aren’t all these graduations out of control? We asked the question on our Facebook page, 100 people agreed immediately: let’s cut back those graduation ceremonies to the true milestones.
What do you think? Are annual graduations ridiculous or darling? Would you miss the photo ops?
Other things I have opinions about:
I hate my husband’s jean shorts
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