It used to be a once-in-a-lifetime occasion, but today's school kids hear Sir Edward Elgar's stirring "Pomp and Circumstance" almost as often as they hear "Happy Birthday to You."
By the time they reach their freshman year of high school, many of them already have four commencement ceremonies under their belts: There's preschool graduation, followed by kindergarten graduation, followed by 5th-grade graduation and finally 8th-grade graduation. We're all for marking milestones, and there's nothing cuter than a 6-year-old in a mortarboard, all pumped up to face the rigors of 1st grade. But we can't help but applaud the nascent movement to dial back the excesses of 8th-grade graduation events.
There's nothing wrong with a "moving on" ceremony, as Indian Prairie School District 204 billed this year's downsized middle school events. We could even sit still for an 8th-grade valedictory speech of modest length. But the roses and acrylic nails, the tuxes and stretch limos and extravagant parties far overstate the scale of the accomplishment.
"It's just 8th grade, people," U.S. Sen. Barack Obama told parents in a Father's Day sermon last year. "They've got to get out of high school, then they've got to go to college, then they've got to get a graduate degree if they want to compete."
Graduating from 8th grade was once a big deal because for large numbers of kids, it was the only graduation they'd ever have. In early 20th Century America, many youngsters didn't finish high school because they were expected to go to work in the fields, factories or family businesses. An 8th-grade education was considered a respectable benchmark; it suggested that a youngster had acquired a command of the basics before joining the workforce.
Today it's hard to get a job of any sort without at least a high school education, which is why Illinois requires kids to stay in school until they are 17. Passing out diplomas to 14-year-olds feels a little like rewarding kids just for showing up. There have been cases here and elsewhere, in fact, in which parents caused an uproar because their kids weren't allowed to participate in 8th-grade graduation ceremonies--even though they hadn't completed the required courses to be promoted to 9th grade.
That sort of thinking makes it clear we're already on the slippery slope between building self-esteem and nursing a sense of entitlement. If we're not careful, our kids will soon have boxes of diplomas to go with their boxes of plastic soccer trophies, one for every time they participate in anything. And still, somehow, Mom and Dad will be expected to rent a limo.
There's an argument to be made for keeping things in perspective, and Obama makes it well: "Just give them a handshake. Congratulations, now get your butt in the library."