Graduation is an Overused Term

Graduation is meant only for university students who achieve something special, to study for a long time and make the grade is being above the rest. but schools everywhere are now abusing this term and abusing it very badly by saying kids as young as 6 graduate from one year to the next or from kinder to preschool. This is an abuse of parents and children and should be outlawed. I have just attended my little girls "graduation", she was leaving pre-school to start attending school in the new year. We were invited to the ceremony and as good parents we had to attend, luckily I was back from my last assignment. I think it is a criminal act to pretend this is something other than a child growing up and moving to the next school year. The school of course charges for the parents to attend in some large venue and then the child has to have some new shoes and they they charge for the cap and gown to be rented and then they have the child in some pointless silly dance thing that you have to wait 4 hours to see while all the useless kids get to play 8 notes on a piano. This event was like having all my teeth pulled out slowly without anesthetic, we spent 5 hours and approximately $120 to see my little girl walk on stage and get a certificate that proved nothing other than we are dedicated parents. Talk about exploitation , but she did look very proud of herself and seeing her dance like a Romanian peasant girl was delightful but it was torture.