When did High School Graduations become such a big deal?

[Anonymous]

My only child is graduating this year. It’s been soooo much to keep up with in terms of senior celebration stuff. Multiple awards ceremonies, multiple picture submissions (baby/current), senior yearbook ads, senior letters, senior pics, senior walks, walks at the middle and elementary schools, senior week, senior shirts, senior yard signs and nhood signs. Grad announcements, invites and thank you notes. Parties. $$$$ Plus the baccalaureate (what’s the point??) and graduation ceremony itself.

Even my kid is over it at this point and is just ready to be done and move on to the next phase of life (college!). Mentally we are over the senior stuff.

Do other countries make a big deal out of high school graduations like this, or is this another overdone US tradition (and money grab)?

[Anonymous]

It’s the last hurrah, OP. It’s a whirlwind, but you’re at the finish line. I won’t tell you “you’re going to miss this” but I don’t believe in that sort of toxic positivity, but yeah, this is it.

[Anonymous]

ACPS

[Anonymous]

Let me introduce you to kindergarten graduations

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My only child is graduating this year. It’s been soooo much to keep up with in terms of senior celebration stuff. Multiple awards ceremonies, multiple picture submissions (baby/current), senior yearbook ads, senior letters, senior pics, senior walks, walks at the middle and elementary schools, senior week, senior shirts, senior yard signs and nhood signs. Grad announcements, invites and thank you notes. Parties. $$$$ Plus the baccalaureate (what’s the point??) and graduation ceremony itself.

Even my kid is over it at this point and is just ready to be done and move on to the next phase of life (college!). Mentally we are over the senior stuff.

Do other countries make a big deal out of high school graduations like this, or is this another overdone US tradition (and money grab)?

You know not every graduate is college-bound, right? To many, this really is the last big deal for a while

[Anonymous]

Don't do what you don't want to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My only child is graduating this year. It’s been soooo much to keep up with in terms of senior celebration stuff. Multiple awards ceremonies, multiple picture submissions (baby/current), senior yearbook ads, senior letters, senior pics, senior walks, walks at the middle and elementary schools, senior week, senior shirts, senior yard signs and nhood signs. Grad announcements, invites and thank you notes. Parties. $$$$ Plus the baccalaureate (what’s the point??) and graduation ceremony itself.

Even my kid is over it at this point and is just ready to be done and move on to the next phase of life (college!). Mentally we are over the senior stuff.

Do other countries make a big deal out of high school graduations like this, or is this another overdone US tradition (and money grab)?

You know not every graduate is college-bound, right? To many, this really is the last big deal for a while

+1

[Anonymous]

I think it is up to you how much you do.

My daughter is a senior at a fcps high school. While many of the things you mention are options, she isn’t doing the majority of the stuff you mention.

She had senior night for her sport, prom, an award ceremony upcoming, senior walk at elementary school and graduation.

We didn’t buy an ad in the year book. She isn’t having a grad party. We didn’t buy any of the signs. The majority of this stuff is optional.

[Anonymous]

It’s social media. Everything is a big deal now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s the last hurrah, OP. It’s a whirlwind, but you’re at the finish line. I won’t tell you “you’re going to miss this” but I don’t believe in that sort of toxic positivity, but yeah, this is it.

+1

Plus one day you WILL look back on all of this & be nostalgic about everything….
Especially since this is your only child.

I promise you. ✨

[Anonymous]

It’s for TikTok and instagram. I was a 2009 high school graduate and I don’t remember anyone doing anything huge. Even college graduation just came with a nice dinner in 2013.

[Anonymous]

Not where we live. It's a stepping stone to college. I used to laugh at schools that had a sixth grade graduation. What is that about?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s for TikTok and instagram. I was a 2009 high school graduate and I don’t remember anyone doing anything huge. Even college graduation just came with a nice dinner in 2013.

I was a 1997 graduate and my rural high school did all of those things, minus the yard signs. Like a PP mentioned, for some kids this is the only graduation ceremony they'll have and it is a big deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let me introduce you to kindergarten graduations

And the OTT college graduations

[Anonymous]

Yes, our school has all of this. We do not do every single thing but the most grating to me are bed parties and huge graduation parties. It all creates so much expense and envy for the kids. We’re going to just have a family dinner but yes, just the awards and end of year events are a lot.