May is the month of graduations that range from preschool to college. No matter the age of the graduate, there will be emotional teachers as well as parents/guardians, and relatives. At the preschool or kindergarten level, children will be displaying their knowledge as the teachers proudly mimic what they are doing, whether it’s mouthing the words to a song or watching so little “Johnny” or “Suzie” doesn’t fall off the bleacher while performing dance or hand motions. High school is a little different. The graduation march is emotional for many. As soon as “Pomp and Circumstance” composed by Sir Edward Elger begins to play, everyone gets choked up.
The graduation ceremony began in the early 1900s as a “right of passage” transitioning the student from one social life to another. Today graduations range from preschool to college with several ceremonies in between. Have we gone overboard with preschoolers wearing caps and gown, receiving diplomas, sending invitations, having parties, and continuing with the graduation of 6th graders and 8th graders? We certainly are a society of celebrations.
Kindergarten graduation is probably a more emotional time for parents than high school graduation. The act of seeing your little one finish kindergarten or preschool is the first of many milestones in academia and has become a very sentimental time. I can honestly say that I never believed in kindergarten graduation, as kindergarten was part of the elementary school and the students were not leaving the school to attend another building. It is not exactly known when the kindergarten graduation ceremony began but my recollection tells me that it began when kindergarten was regarded as a preschool. Today kindergarten is not mandatory; however, if your child doesn’t attend he is ‘behind’ in his skills. (In my previous blog, I discussed that if a child doesn’t attend preschool, his skill level will be at the remediation stage in today’s kindergarten class.)
When I became a principal of a K-3 primary school, the kindergarten class included a graduation ceremony at the end of the year and I had no choice but to participate. Even though I wasn’t a believer the teachers and parents expected a graduation ceremony. There was no way I was going to buck the system.
High school or college is more emotional for students than for most parents. Parents are worried that they may have to continue to financially support their young adult and/or pay for college expenses. Students may have feelings of jealousy because some of their friends either have jobs or are ready to attend a particular college or trade school with a grant, scholarship, or some other sort of financial aid. Fear is another feeling your young adult may display. Paying off student loans, buying the necessities of life, renting a place to stay, or facing what it would be like to continue to live at home with parents are all fearful situations. The emotion of confusion is intertwined with all other feelings. Questions about life’s decisions will become part of being an adult.
Let’s look at another side – the teaching staff. If you are a first year teacher, you also have completed a milestone in your career and you immediately begin to plan for the next year’s students by reflecting on the past year. If you are a retiring teacher you are thinking of some R&R and what you will do with the rest of your life. This graduation day becomes bittersweet. You will definitely miss your students and be somewhat emotional as you watch them leave. From first year teachers to retiring teachers (administrators included) the students have become part of your life. They will always be thought of fondly. Either way, all people involved in a student’s education will be emotional on graduation day.
I recollect a time when I was a teacher in a very small private school. The staff decided as part of the 8th grade graduation ceremony there would be a slide show of all activities that would include pictures of all the students from kindergarten to grade 8. The background music for the slide show was Whitney Houston’s song “Greatest Love of All” (“Children are Our Future”). To this day I can remember that there was not a dry eye in the auditorium. I still get choked up when I hear that song.
A friend recently told me that she was very proud when her twins were graduating from kindergarten and was not emotional at all – that is until they played the song “Let Them Be Little” by Billy Dean. She broke down and cried.
No matter the age, graduation is a sentimental and emotional time in everyone’s life. We all relive the past and hope the best for the future of the graduate.
