What should a graduation ceremony be like?

Motek

Thu, Nov 15 2007, 6:39 pm

from 8th grade? from elementary school? for frum kids

for boys? girls?

should there by valedictorians or not? middos awards?

how much of the graduations are copied from the non jews (caps and gowns etc.)?

ny21

Sun, Nov 18 2007, 4:39 pm

I went to a small yeshiva
we sewed all of you white graduation

dresses ourselves.

their was a valedictorian for hebrew and one for english

their was middos awards -it was such a small class we all should have
received somthing .

southernbubby

Sun, Nov 18 2007, 4:44 pm

With boys, they often move around and don't stay in the same place more than 3 years. Mesivta was 3 years and one zal may be 2 years and then another year or 2 at another zal.
My daughters had lengthy commencement ceremonies when they graduated high school where each girl gave a speech in front of fathers and mothers. It was lovely but long.
Pre-school graduations are very cute but it is done to please the parents rather than to impress anything upon the kid. It is not his Bar Mitzvah.
Special midos awards cause problems because probably several candidates stand out and if only one is selected, it can cause the other worthy candidates to feel slighted. Of course if their midos are that worthy, they will be happy for the winner!

mummiedearest

Sun, Nov 18 2007, 9:25 pm

motek, as far as I know, the whole concept of graduation is from the secular world.

what a graduation should NOT be:

long, boring, with little children running through the aisles screaming.

it would be nice if they got rid of the politicians' speeches as well, but then again, those are often the most entertaining parts of the whole ceremony.

cookielady

Sun, Nov 18 2007, 9:37 pm

I can't stand the preschool, middle school etc graduations. I agree that it is from the secular world. I don't know how many ppl enjoy them. When my children had preschool grad. they hated all the practise. It wasn't fun.

Speeches are not so enjoyable, it;s so much pressure on a child who is shy. Why can't they just have a party for the class, give out awards if they want. But make sure that there is something to recognize about each child.

Fox

Mon, Nov 19 2007, 7:02 pm

Not only are the grade school graduations copied from the non jewish world, they are copied from the least appealing segment of it!

"Graduation" ceremonies for preschoolers and 8th graders were originally designed for inner-city kids at high risk for dropping out of school. The "graduation" was supposed to give them a taste of academic achievement in order to whet their appetites for more. You can judge for yourself whether it was an effective ploy or not, but I've never figured out why it became popular in the rest of the non jewish world, let along our schools.

A "graduation" should mark a degree of academic achievement beyond a society's most basic level of education. Eighth graders, let alone preschoolers, are required by law to attend school in the U.S., so the idea of a full-fledged graduation ceremony with caps, gowns, etc., just makes me cringe.

That said, a siyum or melave malke to commemorate the end of elementary school would be lovely, and for the smaller ones, perhaps a "presentation" for parents with songs, etc. Just save the graduation for high school!