Written by Léo & Faye Gaumont, published on 2014-05-26.
Graduation from what? Have we stopped learning? Time to rethink what we are celebrating.
We often refrain from being honest because we do not wish to offend those who need to hear the truth. Opinions expressed in this blog are intended to offend those who would advance anything, other than the truth, in order to benefit themselves.
Bible Reference: 1 Cor. 9:24
How quickly and easily do we accept things as normal. All that has to happen is for something to have occurred once and it can quickly become an unquestioned habit. Take graduation as an example. School graduation is a celebration, when a piece of paper of questionable value is given to students as a reward for having completed or endured the prescribed 12 years of programming. I attended over twenty such celebrations but I never really saw a celebration of accomplishments as much as an implication that the learning program was now over. Usually, the graduation took on more of a celebration of having been paroled! I cannot say with confidence that teachers and parents, who must have been questioning what, exactly, their children had learned in school, really liked these events, but girls generally liked it because they could get dressed up in nice gowns and be the center of attention for a day and guys generally liked it because the girls were attractive. I believe most of them were looking forward to the follow up graduation party at which time they could demonstrate the level of maturity they had reached after twelve years of preparation for the “real” world!
So why do home educators think they need to have a graduation? Did something come to an end? Certainly not learning, I hope. Since we are doing our own thing, why do we need to have the same conclusion as the world we left? Maybe it is something like Halloween. Instead of exposing it for what it is, we create a “Christian” version, which is then normalized because we celebrated with candy and gifts in the church rather than by going door to door. We do not have to do the same thing as the world! If we are doing something different, like home educating, lets do something different to mark the transition from learning at home to learning away from home. If it is necessary, why not simply have a family celebration when the child turns sixteen, at which time most home educated students have completed curricular work, are old enough to drive and go to work. Home educated students are better educated, more mature and adept at getting along in a real world, so if we are to celebrate, why not celebrate a coming of age? Something that includes the fact that God is part of every child’s future, even if they don’t know it. Something that celebrates life, independence and faithfulness, not just something stating the program is over and that you will now have to learn how to get along in world you were not really prepared for. There is only one graduation that counts and that is the day we graduate from this world into God’s world, unless, of course, there is no cause for celebration. Most of us kept our children home so could celebrate, in the end.