Non-graduation ceremonies

[spring-peeper]

Recently, the Ottawa-Carleton school board will be changing how high school graduation ceremonies will be handled.

Rejecting the concept that a student must pass the high school criteria to participate in the wearing of the cap and gown, walking across the stage to receive the diploma and shaking hands with the staff, all students who attended the year will be walking across the stage with the graduates.

Instead of calling the process "graduation", it will be renamed "commencement ceremonies".

"The main difference between a commencement ceremony and a graduation ceremony is that a commencement ceremony is more inclusive," the OCDSB in a statement on its website. "This aligns with the Board's larger commitments to equity, inclusion, and diversity."

The ceremonies are said to encompass all students, including those who have historically faced challenges within the education system.

The proposed policy says certain students may not be graduating with the class for various reasons, but that it should not 'preclude' them from celebrating their milestones along with their peers.

In addition, student graduation awards, including trophies, medals and other prizes traditionally given at graduation ceremonies would be phased out in favour of achievements, to include a wide variety of student experiences and talent, without being strictly academic.

I guess I'm really old school and never really understood the concept that all participants get a trophy, win or lose. It takes away from those who excel or win at an event.

I was wondering what y'all thought about this new approach to finishing high school.

Ottawa public school board proposes allowing students without passing grades to participate in graduation

A proposed change to the graduation ceremony policy of the Ottawa Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) would see the board switch to equity-based commencement ceremonies and allow for students without passing grades to participate.

ottawa.ctvnews.ca

 

[Puddy_Tat]

from an english perspective, i'm sure we never used to get this bollocks at schools (and by 'school' i mean under 18s) - you didn't 'graduate' you just left at the appropriate time with whatever qualifications you'd scraped together or not as the case may be.

at my primary school (i moved from primary to secondary in 1981) there was a leavers' day some time towards the end of the summer term - this was in the days of the inner london education authority but a bit before the 'loony left' era. everyone in the 4th year juniors got a leaving gift presented by the chairman of governors (i can't remember now if she* was an ILEA councillor, or wife of a lewisham or GLC councillor or something like that) - there was a fairly restricted choice, i chose a dictionary which i've still got.

* - in those days you did still get female chairmen of the opposite sex.

i'm not quite sure what happened at secondary school level - it was the sort of school where you were expected to stay for O-Levels (at 16) and generally stay on to the sixth form, so i was probably the only one who opted to leave at easter my year.

quite what happens now, i'm not sure - a lot of bullshit like school proms has been imported in the last few decades.

 

[moochedit]

We don't have "graduation ceremonies" in schools in the uk. We do have them at universitys. Then again we never had "proms" in the uk when i was at school but i think they do now so maybe they do have "graduation" now?

 

[spring-peeper]

We don't have "graduation ceremonies" in schools in the uk. We do have them at universitys. Then again we never had "proms" in the uk when i was at school but i think they do now so maybe they do have "graduation" now?

Ah - thanks for that bit of information.

My Dad, a Brit, did not want to go to my high school graduation. Graduation was for when you finish your education. All my friends got graduation presents for finishing high school - I never had the nerve to ask for one.

My four year old granddaughter will be having a graduation ceremony to pass from daycare to junior kindergarten. Both my granddaughter and her parents are really excited, I'm more of wtf, she isn't graduating, she is aging out.

 

[spring-peeper]

I'm guessing that this is more of a north-america problem, not a uk problem.

Thanks for letting me learn this.

 

[Ax^]

hmm as I left Ireland during my school remember hearing about the debs dance and going fuck that shite

and felt the same when they tried to get me to do it in England in 1996

was it not just calls a school disco before the prom shite

 

[Puddy_Tat]

was it not just calls a school disco before the prom shite

school discos were a thing. think we got one of them at the end of primary school, not sure what the plan was for last year at secondary school - it was a boys only school, so might have got complicated.

 

[Ax^]

ah tbf when I started secondary school over here in the mid 90's the catholic school I ended up attended was only about 5 year outside of not being a mixed sex school so could of been similar

was the big push for co ed schools over here not really started till the 1980's or similar

mixed school took of a lot earlier in the states so not surprising the prom idea took a lot longer to take hold.over here

 

[Puddy_Tat]

actually, there were girls in the sixth form - although only something like maybe 15 or so to each year and must have been 70+ boys in each year.

i'm not quite sure what the point of this was - whether there were some A level subjects that the girls' school nearish didn't do, or what. i can't remember if a similar sort of number of boys went to the girls' school at 6th form. i don't think so.

as i didn't stay for 6th form, i've no idea what formal social functions there were.

in retrospect, i'm not sure if a ratio like that isn't the worst of both worlds...

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

hmm as I left Ireland during my school remember hearing about the debs dance and going fuck that shite

and felt the same when they tried to get me to do it in England in 1996

was it not just calls a school disco before the prom shite

Not the same thing exactly. The school disco was just that, a school disco. Maybe the imported 'prom' is the equivalent. But the graduation involves a ceremony.

 

[spring-peeper]

Not the same thing exactly. The school disco was just that, a school disco. Maybe the imported 'prom' is the equivalent. But the graduation involves a ceremony.

I am too old for dances to be disco - we had "sock hops". Three a year.
My in-law does get hired to do the music at high school dances.

I do agree with your point - dances are not the same as a graduation.

 

[bellaozzydog]

It’s seems a bit ass backwards that the U.K. is taking on “Traditions” of a country half the age of some pubs in the UK

Prom
Graduation
Halloween
Baby colour parties
invading countries
Political illiteracy
Systemic inequality
Failing health systems
Educational mediocracy

In defence of the U.K. at least we don’t have batshit mainstream god and flag worship

 

[High Voltage]

Yet!

 

[Yossarian]

invading countries

I don't think that one's a newfangled trend that can be blamed on American influence

 

[bellaozzydog]

I don't think that one's a newfangled trend that can be blamed on American influence

They have raised the bar in modern times though ?

 

[rubbershoes]

One difference is that in the UK you don't "graduate" from high/secondary school. You just leave. There is no academic bar you have to get over. You finish your last year at school and leave whether or not you passed any exams.

 

[Spandex]

Halloween

All Hallows Day dates back to the early church. The ghosts & ghouls variety is one of those Christian-Pagan mash-ups, with it's roots in the Celtic Samhain festival. It was imported to the US by Irish colonists. It used to be celebrated in Britain, but was suppressed during the reformation and after 1605 replaced by the Catholic burning festivities of Guy Fowlkes night.

Anyone who grumbles about Halloween is being a stern faced, fun hating puritan, whether they know it or not.

 

[bellaozzydog]

All Hallows Day dates back to the early church. The ghosts & ghouls variety is one of those Christian-Pagan mash-ups, with it's roots in the Celtic Samhain festival. It was imported to the US by Irish colonists. It used to be celebrated in Britain, but was suppressed during the reformation and after 1605 replaced by the Catholic burning festivities of Guy Fowlkes night.

Anyone who grumbles about Halloween is being a stern faced, fun hating puritan, whether they know it or not.

Now that you’ve explained it in a way I can understand it seems reasonable to move from quaintly carved turnips and tales of the Pendle witches to mass consumption of plastic LED eyed cartoon pumpkins and supermarket peddled multipacks of sweet confections

That’s culture right there that is

 

[Spandex]

Now that you’ve explained it in a way I can understand it seems reasonable to move from quaintly carved turnips and tales of the Pendle witches to mass consumption of plastic LED eyed cartoon pumpkins and supermarket peddled multipacks of sweet confections

That’s culture right there that is

So it's the capitalist exploitation of Halloween you dislike more than the thing itself. I'm with you there, along with Easter and Christmas. And, to bring this diversion back on topic, the cynic in me suspects that the rise of prom parties in the UK and inviting everyone to graduation commencement ceremonies is driven more by the desire to separate people from their money than any great desire by the people for it to happen. Those gown hire companies have gotta maximise profits somehow.

 

[Idris2002]

In Newfoundland in the 1970s we had a "graduation" ceremony for leaving - it must have been what's called "senior infants" in Ireland, given that when I got to Halifax it was straight into the first grade. So this is a long-standing Canadian thing, I think. How aboot that eh?

 

[andysays]

It’s seems a bit ass backwards that the U.K. is taking on “Traditions” of a country half the age of some pubs in the UK

Prom
Graduation
Halloween
Baby colour parties
invading countries
Political illiteracy
Systemic inequality
Failing health systems
Educational mediocracy

In defence of the U.K. at least we don’t have batshit mainstream god and flag worship

TBF, Britain has a tradition of at least a couple of those going back longer than the USA has even existed.

 

[MickiQ]

None of my kids had graduation ceremonies when they left school though they did have proms which were not cheap, we have three prom gowns hanging in the wardrobe and two of them have only been worn once. Youngest did at least get a second wear out of hers when she went somewhere fancy with The Boyfriend and his parents.

 

[Ax^]

It’s seems a bit ass backwards that the U.K. is taking on “Traditions” of a country half the age of some pubs in the UK

Prom
Graduation
Halloween
Baby colour parties
invading countries
Political illiteracy
Systemic inequality
Failing health systems
Educational mediocracy

In defence of the U.K. at least we don’t have batshit mainstream god and flag worship

aside from top 3 things the yanks learnt the rest from the British empire