Anonymous wrote:Mortarboards for preschoolers are just stupid. Have a little party, fine. Mimic a grown-up ceremony, dumb. It's overvaluing something that's not a real accomplishment.

The cap and gown industry is happy with this celebration.

'Cause they haven't done anything worthy of graduating from?

Anonymous wrote:"They keep coming up with more ways to celebrate mediocrity." - Mr Incredible / Bob Parr

on one hand I completely agree with this, on another as the mid who never won anything and watched the same few kids win everything because their parents did the work or were at least involved, then that dumb little ribbon means something. It meant I was there, and someone noticed I was there and although I may have felt invisible, I wasn't. I can't be the only kid who felt that way.

OP -- I happen to love celebration and found the 4-day Princeton graduation festiities my dd had in June to be fabulous. I've never seen anything like it...but I went to a state university and we didn't even have our names read.

Some people don't want to celebrate life's little moments. I think too they don't want to buy someone a gift every time they turn around. So maybe if people said they just wanted to celebrate and have a party with no gifts...that might stop some of the "hating" you reference.

"They keep coming up with more ways to celebrate mediocrity." - Mr Incredible / Bob Parr

Anonymous wrote:Because it's ridiculous.

+1

I don't think a ceremony of some sort is awful at the end of a schooling stage (I remember having a ceremony for end of elementary school), but a "graduation" is over the top unless they are finishing high school or college.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was invited to a Pre k graduation. The mom invited everyone in her office. There were 16 people there just from moms work for this one child.

Unless the mom's office was the administrative unit for the preschool this is seriously insane. Yes, many people believe their kids are the center of the universe, but it is in everyone's best interest, especially the child's, if we act like they are not.

Or maybe mom was just very popular and the people in the office wanted to celebrate her child's milestone with her?

I'd probably go to a pre-k graduation of some of my co-workers kids if invited.

Anonymous wrote:Because graduating from high school is such an accomplishment?

Yes, it actually is. Graduation from high school is the end of childhood and the beginning of adulthood. You finish the mandated schooling and are about to achieve your majority (I know many kids graduated at 16 or 17 instead of 18, but it is the closest marker to the achievement of adulthood). At this point the young adult will be making serious choices for his/her future and will decide whether to go to college, vocational school, whether to get a job, or to enlist in the military. It is when the majority of young adults will finally fledge and leave the nest. Yes, it is a much more significant milestone and accomplishment than the earlier grades.

OK I don't get why on earth.. 16 coworkers would attend a coworker's preschool graduation, that makes no sense to me.

And agree it would be fine to limit ceremonies to high school and college. 5th grade, 8th grade, preschool, kinder ceremonies are just silly.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't hate legit graduations from high school and college. But I hate this "DOGGONIT EVERYONE IS SPECIAL" culture that leads to first grade "graduations." Nope, you're not graduating shit, you're just moving up a grade.

If everything is an accomplishment, nothing is.

Because graduating from high school is such an accomplishment?

It is for many kids. You do realize only one-third of people in the US have a college degree, right?

It isn't a big accomplishment. I always thought it was weird how americans do a big grad ceremony like this for every(?) grade.

Having said this, I was shocked that I luuuurved watching my son at his pre-k grad. I made myself sick I thought he was so adorable.

Mortarboards for preschoolers are just stupid. Have a little party, fine. Mimic a grown-up ceremony, dumb. It's overvaluing something that's not a real accomplishment.

Anonymous wrote:It's too much. They devalue graduations that are significant-- high school and college. It's just silly.

This is how I feel. I hate knowing that DS's preschool does a graduation ceremony including mortarboards for the kids.

What ever happened to the end of year picnic and a xeroxed certificate from the teacher? That and a popsicle and my child would be happy.

Anonymous wrote:I don't hate legit graduations from high school and college. But I hate this "DOGGONIT EVERYONE IS SPECIAL" culture that leads to first grade "graduations." Nope, you're not graduating shit, you're just moving up a grade.

If everything is an accomplishment, nothing is.

Because graduating from high school is such an accomplishment?