Reposting without the word “dumb” in the title because my other post got removed.
Graduations are for “the receiving or conferring of an academic degree or diploma.” Just let the high schoolers and college graduates enjoy their big moment without needing to create a social media photo opp for your 6 year-old who finger-painted their way through circle time. Not every step in life needs a cap and gown, not to mention forcing parents to shell out $40-75 bucks for the graduation attire is not feasible for everyone.
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it’s about big milestones and encouraging them to keep it up. positive reinforcement.
It’s positive reinforcement and celebrations but where does the $40-75 bucks come in?
Not to be old, but back in my day, we just wore our nice clothes. Who is making children wear caps and gowns?
Agree. Graduations are for the parents, not the kids.
It’s recognition of years of hard work. The culmination of a vast chunk of life you just dedicated to your goals. Of course it’s not pointless.
Your attitude is nihilistic in this regard.
It’s an excuse to celebrate and be proud of our kids. It’s not that deep
OP has no kids. It’s cute, fun, good for parents and family and the kids. Nothing wrong with it. This is a faux outrage karma farming shitpost
It’s important for kids to feel like they’ve made progress and experience moving in to a new thing. But as a parent who has to go they absolutely fucking suck just like all school events. And you have to take time off work it’s a whole fucking thing but a drop in the bucket as far as kid related sacrifices go
It’s a cute way to give positive reinforcement to children. God forbid people want to do something positive in the world. You having a Reddit account is also pointless. That should be for actual adults. See what I did there?
100% with you. It’s totally unnecessary. It’s not something that’s celebrated in the UK. Hell, as far as I remember, we don’t celebrate any form of graduation except university because everything else is something that you’re literally supposed to do. We won’t hold a kid back, if they get shit test results they get shit test results and they have to live with that, they’re still done with high school at the same age as everyone else. University is optional, and if you suck at that, you’re not getting your degree, so success there actually deserves celebration. Leaving any form of mandatory schooling, not so much
Parents complain about everything costing too much, but yet will find every reason to buy a bunch of disposable party supplies and a shitty cake from a grocery store that nobody actually likes.
Totally agree.
They’re milestones and pretty important to the children at the time.
Yeah i dont get it either. We had a graduation when I was in 5th grade and even then i was like “why are we doing this? Isn’t this for high school and college?”
I think a lot of parents enjoy the cuteness of watching the graduation programs, but it’s mainly to encourage the children by giving them a sense of pride and accomplishment for their efforts.
It is not pointless for the parents. These are the people who are celebrating. The kids … they could care less.
Booooo!!!!!
Your opinion may be unpopular, but it is also very wrong lol
I agree. In the words of Mr. Incredible, “They keep creating new ways to celebrate mediocrity.”
Not for them. I don’t have kids but I’m not heartless, that is a small life accomplishment and positive reinforcement. You just sound sad.
Just let them have fun! They’re kids, it’s an accomplishment for them! Let them enjoy their childhood. Don’t make it like an official party, just make it as a celebration for the kids!
I remember my preschool graduation. I actually like that I have that memory. I say later in life, they don’t matter as much but when we are younger, you should strive for achievement in a sense or see the possibility of achievement and what sense it can bring.
Well you’re a stuffy one aren’t ya
As I said on the last thread, not everyone is guaranteed every milestone. My cousin died at 6 years old. His preschool graduation was the only one he got and that his parents got with him. I will make damn sure my children have as many special moments and memories as possible because tomorrow is not promised for them or for me to be there to witness it.
Also, my daughter just had her pre-k graduation on Wednesday and her school charged us exactly $0 for it. And the joy on her face at and after her graduation when she was treated specially by everyone was amazing. Kids deserve to feel proud and celebrated too.
I disagree with the opinion as I said on the last post, but I think it’s dumb that the other post got removed, there was nothing uncivil or inappropriate about it. It’s a valid unpopular opinion. Ceremonies can be dumb.
Most people don’t accomplish anything worth celebrating, exempt within the context of their own mediocre lives.
We could also say that graduating from high school is pretty pointless, since it’s not like the kids did much to get there.
But like someone else said, it’s encouraging for the kids to celebrate little wins, and make them feel like they’re important to their families and the community around them.
The schoolyear can still be pretty stressful for kids, even if the work is technically easy. They’re still learning how to focus and apply themselves to tasks that don’t necessarily interest them, at a fixed pace. That shit’s hard when you’re six! They deserve to feel good for doing it.
> Just let the high schoolers and college graduates enjoy their big moment
Most adults aren’t worried about competing with a six-year-old for attention. It’s fine.
lol celebrating milestones and achievements isn’t pointless. By your measure a birthday party for having survived a year is also pointless.
Seeing this post today is so funny because just yesterday I attended the ‘graduation’ for my preschool students. It was cute, but all I could think of was that line from the Incredibles: “they keep creating new ways to celebrate mediocrity!”
Upvoted for being unpopular but OP is a killjoy
Pointless perhaps. But damn if you won’t cry and how damn cute it is when it is your kid. It’s also just a lesson on what to be looking forward to in the future.
Alright, Mr. Incredible
Agree. I remember going through years of school and you just couldn’t wait to get to that moment with the cap and gown and the graduation and that music!
It was a big moment .
Graduating from kindergarten and everything I agree it’s BS
Op sounds like a recent/soon to be high school or college graduate who’s big mad that someone younger and cuter is also getting pictures in a cap & gown.
Me when I hate kids and don’t like being a positive role model in their life who celebrates all of my child’s achievements regardless of how small or pointless they may be because they’re my child and I love them till death do us part. Or did you forget that part OP lol
What you eat don’t make me fat. A preschool or 8th grade graduation doesn’t take away from anyone else’s high school or college graduation.
No they’re cute and when you’re 11 and have spent all of your sentient life in one building, leaving it to go to middle school is a big deal.
It’s so dumb! My mom has my “diplomas” from preschool, kindergarten, elementary, middle school, high school, and a copy of my college degree. And she tried to give them to me and was upset when I said throw them away.
It’s psychotic! They keep creating new ways to celebrate mediocrity!
I agree that paying money for attire for these occasions or being extravagant is silly but I think acknowledging the occasion is good. I think it’s also a good opportunity to acknowledge that kids are entering new stages and process the whole I’m sad to leave what I know but excited for the future type feelings.
I’d argue high schoolers and college students “graduating” is the equal amount of importance.
I finished college online and did not want to bother with what it would take to get a flight to be handed by a diploma by a president I never had even seen. Instead it was mailed to me. And ultimately, the diploma is the same value as if I had gone to a ceremony.
Ultimately a graduation ceremony boils down to a celebration of feeling good about a milestone. And in that endeavor, it is definitely younger people and kids who value that celebration more.
Haha. The everyone wins crowd filled with losers.
So lame. No school is forcing anyone to do anything. Enjoy a moment to get a photo — even if it’s in clothes you already own.
For elementary school it felt like more of a final celebration before we went our separate ways. I went to one of 8 elementary schools that fed into a middle/high school. We had been going to school together for 6-8 years of the 11-12 we’d been alive. It was the last time we were a group of about 20.
You sound like an uncle that would say “so what, little Timmy took his first steps. I walk everyday, no big deal.”
Little things to you are big things to little kids
My kid graduated Pre K and they all wore little caps and shook hands with the principal for a photo op. It was adorable. We gave the caps back.
My child has told me no less than 5 times in the past two weeks that their graduation is on N day at Y time making sure I know. Lol there isn’t anything else in the verse that could stop me from attending.
It’s okay to celebrate our kids and their child-sized achievements.
Also, our kids growing up and moving on to the next level is a big milestone for us parents as well.
I think it’s beautiful to acknowledge it.
I completely agree. Preschool is just daycare and the kids didn’t accomplish anything. I find it bizarre that they have a “graduation” for that but they don’t have one from transitioning from elementary to middle or middle to high. It would make sense to do that for the latter because those kids accomplished something.
I kinda agree with celebrating kindergarten because most kindergarten classes are part of the public school system so the classes are already integrated into the elementary school system. It just stepping up a grade.
But celebrating elementary school graduation is a big deal, as celebrating middle school graduation.
I agree about money but the celebration is not bad. Kids should celebrate their achivements and have fun. Its not that srs
I’ve never had to spend money on their cap & gown when they graduated kindergarten or 8th grade. I’m sure I will for hs. I love celebrating my kids for whatever they do & I’m definitely throwing an 8th grade grad party for my son next month.
Desperately hope that op doesn’t have kids!!
!remindme 4 days
It’s propaganda/indoctrination in a good way to promote good values and effort just like employee of the month or presidential medal of freedom.
As a teacher, I used to think it was lame way to celebrate parents…
but now as a parent it feels nice to see my kids progress and celebrate with them because every year is difficult and challenging so we all need a win sometimes, especially parents who grind day after day.
Before you ask, I love my kids and would not change my life in any way.
This has bothered me for 50 years.
It’s a way for adults to have a few beers with other adults while the kids run around the house
Nah fam.
Completing the year of kindergarten is a bigger deal than completing high school. At the start of that year, most of those kids have never had anything approaching a rigorous schedule. They’ve never been thrown into a group of 15-20 strangers and expected to figure out how to get along. They’ve never had to sit patiently in an uncomfortable chair listening to a strange grownup. They’ve never had to be around dozens of other kids when it’s time to eat lunch. They’ve never had to answer a question incorrectly in front of a bunch of friends and had to sit with the emotions of that. And that process takes 16% of their entire life so far.
Oh yeah, and they do it all while having a bunch of their teeth falling out.
Kindergarten is metal. Finishing high school is a breeze by comparison.
The “point” is that it’s cute and fun, and gives people a touching memory. No one really considers it an accomplishment, it’s just a chance to mark a milestone, and it literally takes nothing away from high schoolers and college students, what the hell are you talking about lmao
I mean I agree that they don’t need to be elaborate, expensive events, but the positive reinforcement thing is so important and for many kids these events could be the only times where the spotlight is kind of on them for an achievement, however “minor”. Sometimes, especially for young kids, nothing is better than a moment of pride and recognition.
You definitely are posting in the right sub lol.
As a preschool teacher, you’re thinking too much. It’s not that serious. It’s not wrong to be happy
Look if you’re not proud of your kid, thats you. The rest of us enjoy seeing our kids learn and grow.
You sound as nuturing as Beverly Hoffstater (TBBT)
My son’s elementary school does a 5th grader “send off” to mark the 5th graders leaving elementary school and moving up to middle school the next year.
I’m not sure what exactly they do, but I think the parents come and have lemonade or something. Music might be involved.
But the best thing they do is on the last day of school at the end of the day is they have the 5th graders involved in playing the national anthem with instruments, and lowering the flag. The whole school is there around the flag and parents come to pickup the kids and stuff and its just kinda fun.
My son was in daycare preschool program for 2 years and they did the whole graduation thing with cap and gown and it was hilarious. It’s pre-school not a big deal.
It’s all pointless
Upvote because I disagree. Maybe you don’t have kids. Celebrating milestones, even small ones is important for development. It shows them that you care and that you are proud of them. It reinforces that they are doing the right thing. On top of that it’s cute as hell. I love my kid and like to celebrate all his achievements.
Totally agree and this is an unpopular opinion. It’s the equivalent to premature ejaculation. It’s damn elementary school folks. Save it for later.
Both my kids’ 5th grade grad day was a very inconvenient and imo pointless sham of self-satisfied parents who gathered to lend seriousness to something that has no business taking up so much time. Kids do not need or deserve this kind of adult-like ceremonial attention at this age. Childhood educational achievement is the full 12 years, and saving it up for high school lends more gravitas to that day. It says your childhood is over and you’re moving on to adulthood. Let young families celebrate in private and not force them into a public spectacle. Do most people not realize that many of us do not want to parade in public? I think 5th grade grad ceremonies are troublesome for many reasons.
You know what this is an unpopular opinion.
But they are cute and i feel like milestone sre important. They may not remember it, but you will and when they are young it’s about building a memory with them not for them
We tend to treat education as an all or nothing thing, either you’re a high school graduate or not, but there is a massive distinction between people who have no education versus elementary versus high school.
Kindergarten: Many children are exposed to a classroom and the idea of school for the first time. Completing kindergarten means a child has learned the basics of cooperating with peers, counting, and the alphabet. They are emotionally ready to recieve further education. I’d say learning the basics of all education is cause enough for celebration, and there is an important enough distinction between someone fully uneducated and someone who has completed kindergarten to earn acknowledgement.
Elementary: A child who has completed elementary school can read, write, identify numbers, and do basic math. These are the foundation for all other learning, and a person who has mastered these skills have a decent chance of operating successfully in society. That’s massive cause for celebration, and deserves acknowledgement.
Preschool teaches enough skills that the difference between a child entering kindergarten with or without the background is notable. A graduation ceremony also helps mark the transition to a different style of education, plus it’s honestly just very cute and sometimes we just do things for the joy of it.
I’m not against however I do feel a lot of parents who claim it’s some massive deal to the kids aren’t being genuine. I think parents like it because it’s an extra opportunity for instagram pictures
I will do you one better, all celebrations are pointless. Now get back to work!
Go to therapy
Pre K, K maybe even lower school I agree. But in some families & cultures it’s a milestone for the child to have access to & be able to finish middle school & def an occasion to celebrate.
I’m fine with it as long as it’s not called a graduation. I work in a middle school and I always emphasize it’s called a “farewell” or “moving up ceremony.” I don’t want them to feel like they already had a graduation so who cares if they drop out of high school
You are literally the fun police. You are trying to legislate whether people have a good enough reason to celebrate and have a good time.
Life is meant to be enjoyed and celebrated, for all the reasons.
As long as you don’t make me go. If you want to go and post pictures of your kids. Cool. But don’t wrap me up in it. That is all.
For the record I feel the same way about highschool and college graduations.
Some people enjoy celebrating mediocrity, as most of us realize making it all the way through kindergarten isn’t much of an accomplishment. Or elementary school. Etc.
It isn’t that complex.
I thought it was dumb to.do all that when my kids went through it, but the kids do enjoy it so there is that. The pics are fun too.
I often find things people complain about being “pointless” are things just done for fun.
Fun isn’t pointless (;
It’s fun and cute, and extended family and grandparents etc love coming along, the kids have a great time, etc etc. It is all completely pointless, and harmless.
I’m a Kindergarten teacher and I don’t do it anymore. You have no idea how little support we get to put it on and it’s super stressful to put something like that on at the end of the year.
I know that it’s super cute. It’s just also a lot of unpaid prep work on my end. If I do it after school, I don’t get compensated. If I do it during school, some parents are upset they can’t make it. It’s a lose-lose stressful situation. Instead of enjoying the last few weeks of school doing fun in class activities, I’d have to have the kids practice the program. Some don’t like it—they get nervous on stage.
These things are all optional. I didn’t go to my high school graduation because I hated high school and thought it was a pointless event. Also didn’t go to college graduation. Because I agree with you, they are all pointless.
As a parent, I enjoy the little mini graduations and their pointlessness. But they’re still optional.
It’s as encouraging and reinforcing for the parents as it is for the kids. You can see your kids through preschool, kindergarten, eighth grade. You can get through these milestones together, you can see a “reward” at the end. For preschool especially, the first time you drop your kid off it’s as heartbreaking for the parents as it is for the kids. Of course you get over it, but the little graduation is like a “hey, this sucked but you and your kid did accomplish something and look how cute they are.”
In my opinion I think it’s also beneficial for kids who might be at risk for not completing high school. They feel pride early on for being recognized and celebrated.
You mark the years of your kids’ lives in birthdays, holidays, and ceremonies. If you’re a cynic, these are all pointless events. But if you’re a decent parent, you let your kids decide what is pointless and what isn’t, and you celebrate with them when they decide something is important.
Someone sounds miserable. Have an upvote
Early childhood, 0-8, are the most crucial years of brain development, and I think early educators are heavily devalued. I don’t think it’s dumb to celebrate milestones… what a pessimistic and imho rather ignorant take. Research shows that positive emotional experiences and encouragement motives children …
But be upset over something silly I guess.
A lot of things people do are pointless to others.
In addition to celebrating the children, it’s also an opportunity to celebrate the teachers or caretakers. My son spent nearly five full years in the same daycare/preschool. I can assure you it wasn’t pointless to me or to the people who took him from bottles to kindergarten
Where the fuck are you that you’re paying money for these graduations? For my primary school grad, we just wore our school uniforms and then any outfits we liked for the afterparty. I didn’t buy a new outfit for that, just a dress I already owned reserved for more formal occasions (like a Sunday Best). For my secondary school grad, people spent money on outfits but that’s just because we don’t have a prom and grad doubled as a prom-like event. Now for my college graduation we’ll get caps and gowns but that’s because it’s the last grad before university and I don’t even know for sure if we have to pay for them but I don’t think we do.
Do you also hate puppies?
The graduation ceremony isn’t for the kids. Maybe when they get older, toward elementary school. Most of these things are keeping the parents invested, proud, having fun, and, to some lesser extent, a joy for the teachers.
It’s a kind of role play, as well. After all, what better way to inspire someone than to try to be like what they see? We have kids pretend to be fire fighters, astronauts, etc. We give competitive awards for kids who run the fastest track even though it’s a joke compared to what adults do. It all sets a tone for the future growth. It prepares them for the harder things.
I do get the complaint about forking out money for ceremonies. Ideally, these would be shared resources or the wealthy would supplement the less wealthy. The fact that most of America relies on a system where resources for education must come from local municipalities and not shared amongst a state or nationally boggles the mind. It leads to large disparities in resources, qualities of teachers and education, and more. The real solution to the problem of forcing those without to pay for these things is to not have them pay for them.
It’s ok to be proud of ur kids even if it’s just something minimal ,they’re not special to anyone else so they should be special to YOU if anything
Celebrating any of my children’s accomplishments is never dumb. They will grow up to know that daddy is proud of them and they will be confident and well adjusted because of it. Unfortunately it is pretty obvious when parents think the way you do. Be better.
Who gave Mr Incredible a reddit account?