Graduation Hater

'Tis the season....or 'tis has been the season since about mid-May until present for graduations.

When I first started teaching I taught 8th grade. At the end of that school year we had an 8th grade graduation. And I don't mean a 8th grade awards ceremony, I mean a full-fledged graduation with caps and gowns, "Pomp & Circumstance" playing, tassles on the caps turned at the end of the ceremony, caps tossed in the air, names called and diplomas handed out--THAT kind of graduation.

And it really irked me.

YES, I understand the argument that a fellow teacher made to me when I complained that they were making too big of a deal out finishing middle school. He said to me, "This will be the only graduation these kids get; they won't make it out of high school." After having taught ten years now (!!!!!), nine of those years in high school, I understand that on a much deeper level, but I still have not changed my stance.

Now it seems everyone graduates with a cap and gown, "Pomp and Circumstance," flowers, diploma presentation. Preschool, kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, and finally high school. And I think it's bullshit.

Not that we should not celebrate our children's accomplishments. We should. But does it have be a graduation ceremony? With all that that entails? I mean, it's great when you finish kindergarten, but you're SUPPOSED to finish kindergarten. Same with elementary school. Well, yeah, yay for you if you finished 5th grade, but YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO FINISH FIFTH GRADE. It is a milestone in life, but does it warrant a literal graduation ceremony?

I just remember high school graduation being a BIG DEAL. It was like a John Hughes movie come to fruition. Is it a big deal when you have already graduated four times prior? I don't know.