ANA GRADUATED KINDERGARTEN TODAY!!!!!

[conuly]

I've read some complaints online about the "trend" of "Americans" (it always seems to be Brits making this complaint, and some cranky old people with no kids or grandkids) making a "big deal" out of things that "aren't a big deal" and how "graduating from kindergarten doesn't count" and it's stupid.

Let me make this clear, to anybody confused by the phenomenon. Kindergarten graduations (this one was technically referred to as a "stepping up" ceremony) do commemorate something important - your kid is entering Real School for the very first time. However, that's not why we have them. We have them because, damnit, this is just about their last cute year, and there's nothing more adorable than dressing little kiddies up in grown-up outfits, in this case gowns and mortarboards!

It's not much different than taking pictures of bunnies with pancakes on their heads, except that you get to pretend it's srs bzness when we all know it's not. They came in, they sang three different songs (the last one had a whole dance routine and was just beyond awesome), they pretended their diplomas were telescopes, and then we ate cookies and juice and cadged photo ops off of everybody.

Though I do think making us sit an hour and a half so they could fit in two different renditions of Pomp and Circumstance was a bit much.

Comments

[heidifj.livejournal.com]

It may be because it's the UK, but the only real graduation we have is University. So some people never have an 'official' graduation.

For the rest we get certificates and exam results and sometimes a teacher presents the certificates in a semi-formal assembly. No caps/gowns etc. and just a handshake and a round of general applause at the end. Most often, not even parents are there.

But, as I said, we're in the UK. Proms only got introduced about 5/6 years ago in the majority of schools.

[marveen.livejournal.com]

Conuly's experiences are far from universal--my own school system did an 8th-grade graduation (incorporating P&C but no gowns) and the 12th-grade graduation (the whole dog & pony show with speeches from the principal, superintendant, guest speaker, valedictorian, salutatorian, and I don't know whoall).

When I graduated college, I told them to mail me my diploma and skipped the ceremony. :)

[conuly]

In truth, I don't know if we had a kindergraduation. I skipped the last week of school, and it was so long ago...!

But I wouldn't be surprised if we did. All the schools in the city seem to do them, probably for the same reason I mentioned above: Kiddos in grown-up clothes are the most darlingest things ever.

[tsukikage85.livejournal.com]

Sounds like what I've seen of Japanese graduations...