28/08/2025
𝘼𝘽𝙊𝙐𝙏 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙀𝙉𝘿 𝙊𝙁 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙎𝙀𝙎𝙎𝙄𝙊𝙉 𝘾𝙍𝘼𝙕𝙀
Where I come from, graduation year is usually surrounded by a lot of things, among which is a sort of “frenzy for fanciful frivolities.”
There's an adrenaline rush. Schools organize grand parties and demand huge sums from parents. Parents want their kids to look like rock stars and go to every length to ensure they get noticed.
Parents also want to be fed like kings at a feast when attending these (graduation) parties. Some even cause a ruckus in order to acquire whatever is being gifted to attendees. And the children equate a graduation ceremony with being given the freedom to perform crazy fashion experiments.
I recently saw a video of a school hosting a Grade 5 “prom.” Now I wasn't sure if the school termed the event “prom” or bloggers did, but they sure made it look like it.
Children not older than 10 or 11 were dressed to the nines, wearing all sorts of apparel, makeup, and wigs, and I found myself wondering why children needed all that extra show biz assistance to look good and prepare for graduation (what they called prom).
Prom, by the way, is not a Nigerian culture, so I wondered why the school was trying so hard to stage a lookalike event. Copying everything hook, line, and sinker from others doesn't make us authentic or very smart anyway, but that's by the way. Many people said it wasn't a problem as long as the parents and school could afford it. But here is where we often get it wrong as a society.
We don't always get the best results when we do things simply because we can afford to do them. If this were a solid rule of life, then too many people would just make terrible decisions, which would eventually affect others.
We do things also because it is sane, practical, and sensible to do so and because they need to be done. We sometimes don't buy things we can afford simply because we don't need them. So why let such a mentality spill into the school system?
I think extravagance shouldn't be a part of nursery, primary, and even secondary school culture. Extravagance should be reserved for shows, exhibitions, the Met Gala, or events meant to display it.
Let children be children. There's absolutely no need to launch them on a rocket into adulthood even before they're barely teenagers.
Graduations should be ceremonial and semiformal in nature. Not extravagant and showy like all-round entertainment. Schools should know the difference. Parents shouldn't look for ways to outshine each other at their kids' graduation. That's just petty.
And children should be taught the essence of the whole thing. Education is not only about academic excellence but also about society building.
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