The Graduate

You have all, apparently, gone completely insane.

If I have to hear about one more child "graduating" kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th,10th, or 11th grade, I will go ballistic. Seriously, these are not milestone events. Sounds to me like a scam being run by the cap & gown industry. Think about it!

The American education system is bad enough...but to delude one's self into believing that it's a great accomplishment to learn that 2 + 2 does indeed = 4, and do so without eating too much paste, fighting with the other kids over who's turn it is to nap, and sneak in those prayers whenever there's a math test, is just ridiculous. For Pete's sake! They don't even teach cursive writing anymore! Kids do NOT deserve a trophy just for showing up! This is one of the many things destroying our so-called culture. Why should a kid try to achieve anything when everything they do is celebrated? It takes the concept of achievement and flushes it right down the toilet.

Give the kids something to strive for! Push them! Test their abilities! Teach them to ask questions about everything! Let them LEARN! Part of learning is experiencing defeat/failure. It's how we learn from our mistakes. Kids also need to be taught perseverance. They need to learn that sometimes you have to work long and hard on something. Don't just pat them on the head and celebrate their every bowel movement!

Graduating from high school IS something to celebrate. It means that your kid has survived the K-12 system. They have, hopefully, learned something. They will hopefully transition into fully-functioning, well-adjusted, successful adults. If our institutes of higher learning were less concerned with making a buck and more concerned with educating, I'd hope for every kid to go to college. But as it is now, I wouldn't wish that level of debt on anyone, let alone a kid. They have access to every bit of known information, via the internet. Colleges and universities could, feasibly, become a thing of the past. With more kids being home-schooled, public schools, as we know them, could go away as well! And that would be a shame. School is where a lot of kids learn to function in society.

I think back to my own high school graduation. I didn't even want to go to the ceremony. I just wanted to put those four years behind me. I hated school. Even having been expelled for a semester, I still graduated top third of my class, with honors. "With Honors"...what a joke! I saw my books at the beginning of the semester and again at the end, when I turned them back in. Yes, I have a high IQ. I tend to learn quickly. I was bored beyond belief in school. The schools never did anything to even try to keep me engaged and feeling challenged. The US education system teaches kids how to cheat. The kids learn that getting a good grade is what is expected of them. Instead, they should be taught that learning is what is expected. Personally, I like the concept of proficiency exams rather than grades. Instead, we celebrate every minor step in what will hopefully be a long and beautiful life. We might as well celebrate our birthdays every day. Mind you...I do like cake!

"Hey look! I graduated Monday! Bring on Tuesday!"

Does that make sense? No! Neither does the other crap.

I swear...at this rate, we'll all be wearing helmets before long.

To all of the teachers/educators out there (many who are my friends): Keep up the good work! Yours is an uphill battle! But...you are needed now, more than ever!