Is high school graduation really such a big deal?

[Jaded]

Originally Posted by no kudzu

Ok, I admit it. I'm an education snob. It was drilled into me by my parents how important college was and it was assumed I would definitely go to college.

My dad sold bibles door to door during the depression to put himself thru LSU. He really struggled.My mother took a one year college business course and had to return home to care for ailing mother. But it was always the story about how sad she didn't get to finish college.
Both my husband and I have Masters,I have MBA, daughter did one year graduate work and son is going to get Phd in July. Every body in my family for 2 generations went to college and most have graduate degrees.

Now I don't think everybody should go to college. It can be a colossal waste of time for some but it seems to me high school should be the bare minimum for education these days.

A relative graduated from high school last night and is going on to do very well in college. But you would think he had landed on the moon with all the hoopla around his high school graduation. Lots of parties, receptions, gifts and "We are so proud". Of course he should be proud and he should be congratulated but I'm just not seeing why high school graduation is such a big deal today.

I guess I sound like a snob and a jerk and I'm sure somebody will call me out on this but really---is it that much of an accomplishment anymore? Wouldn't you expect at least this initial education from your kids?

Doesn't sound snobbish. It's expectations. Some families don't expect much in terms of education, and for them, High School graduations are a huge deal. It wasn't in our family; graduation from HS was expected, so the only celebration was a small get-together with family and friends at our house. I actually think I left my own party with some friends! It definitely wasn't a huge deal, just a necessary milestone...and it was assumed that college was the next one.

By the time my nieces and nephews graduated, HS's were limiting who could attend the commencement ceremony. I attended all of them with the exception of my brother's kids...he and his wife didn't bother to tell anyone or even have a small party; so we just reached out to each of his kids and congratulated them. Now, when my eldest nephew graduated from college, THAT was a huge accomplishment and we traveled a distance to attend the ceremony. We will be doing the same for my niece next spring.

Originally Posted by Zimbochick

I get what no kudzu is saying, and yes I agree in part that graduating high school is expected, a minimum if you will. I think it may depend on the family, and the journey for that particular student too. I have no problem acknowledging the achievement, and celebrating it, but graduation parties around here are like weddings, and I sometimes think the money would be better spent on further education, and rather tone the celebrations down a bit.

I know, the elaborate celebrations are a sight to see. I've heard from friends that some parents do the same with Proms...full on sit down dinners, etc., like a wedding reception.

[Sally_Sparrow]

Originally Posted by Katiana

I definitely disagree that HS is merely the preparation for college. High school is high school. Here is a post of mine from this thread 23 months ago:



Graduating from high school is a rite of passage. Even today, not everyone does it. I believe the national high school graduation rate is about 75% graduating within 4 years of starting. It should be celebrated.

I agree.

For our oldest, we had a small celebration with immediate family and a small party with his friends. He graduated in 3 years instead of the usual 4 and he faced many struggles due to learning disabilities (math related) during his high school career. He never talked once about quitting and he stuck it out even when it was really hard for him.

Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that I dropped out of high school in the summer before my senior year, my mother dropped out at 17 to get married, and my brother had been the only "recent" HS grad in our family for a while (many years back) so we were just really proud and happy for him.

For my father, high school graduation was a HUGE deal. So much so that he could not see past the issue of me dropping out of high school, even though I went on to get my GED and started classes at the community college way before my peers had graduated the same high school that I'd quit. He could never move on beyond "but you dropped out!" and if he were alive still, I imagine that when I get my bachelor's degree in three more semesters he'd still be harping on how I dropped out in 11th grade.

Now, while it was a struggle for my older son, high school has been a cakewalk for my younger one. He has been moved up a grade and just skates through everything, and he is the one who has already tried to convince me to let him drop out!?

With regard to celebrations in general though, we're a low key bunch. A nice dinner out, a couple of gifts, that's how we do it. Even our wedding, which was over 1200 miles away and necessitated an entire week out of town, including travel for our family of five, rental cars, etc, cost less than 10k in 2011.

[Katarina Witt]

^^In our area, the parties are generally open houses. Sometimes a meal, such as a barbecue is served, sometimes there are just finger foods. There is ALWAYS a cake.

[Sally_Sparrow]

Originally Posted by Katiana

^^In our area, the parties are generally open houses. Sometimes a meal, such as a barbecue is served, sometimes there are just finger foods. There is ALWAYS a cake.

Is any party really a party without cake!?