Editorial: Graduation

A graduation marks an important moment in a student's life. A passing from one level to the next.

For middle-schoolers, it is a passage to high school and near adulthood; for high-schoolers it is a passage to either college or a career; and for college students, it is a passage to their next career step or the next rung of the educational ladder.

Some of us have become critical of the proliferation of graduation ceremonies.

From pre-kindergartners headed to kindergarten, and kindergartners headed to first grade, and elementary students headed to middle school, some have said, "Enough!"

We have to say, "Not enough!"

You cannot go wrong celebrating a rite of educational passage. Yes, we understand that some less-advantaged students might not see the same level of pomp and circumstance as their well-to-do peers in all these ceremonies. Still, we see that a successful graduation observance, with or without circumstance, involves more people than just the students and lends status and approval to learning — at every level.

If educators care enough to gather with students and families more often than a few times during the pre-K-through-12 years, the more, the merrier, we say.