Ah, graduation day. Family parties. Student awards. Excited parents busy taking photos. Limo (豪华轿车) rides to the ceremony. All these are in celebration of years of hard work and the exciting things to come after primary school.
Wait, what? Yes, primary school graduation ceremonies are becoming more popular than ever. And at my school, the fifth grade graduation is a serious business.
A few weeks before the fifth grade graduation, I received a special parent email:
“I would like to know if my boy is going to be the only kid not receiving an award on the graduation day, because I am going to save him from the embarrassment and favoritism that has been shown all year and will not have him at the graduation.”
Awards are part of the end-of-year excitement at my school and the hardest thing I have to do with all year. Picking five of 14 students to be called before the whole school seems like a heartbreak for the other nine. Someone is always going to be left out and clearly, the parents feel the pressure.
I chose not to answer the email, knowing the email was sent under pressure. The boy in question would receive an award, not because of his mother’s email, but because his achievement was great.
On the day of the ceremony, that boy and four others were awarded and posed(摆好姿势) for pictures together in new clothes. I sent my congratulations to all the students—without considering their achievements—on having an excellent year and wished them well at their new schools.
But as another year’s graduation is coming soon, I’m left feeling uneasy. Not to take away anything from my present class of wonderful students as they prepare to head out to new schools, I believe that such ceremonies should be held at the end of high school and college. Is it too much or too soon to celebrate our children and their achievements?
22. Why did the parent send the author the email?
A.To ask him to give her son an award. |
B.To make a complaint about how her son had been treated. |
C.To ask for some information about the graduation day. |
D.To report her son’s possible absence from the graduation. |
23. What does the author find most difficult about the graduation ceremony?
A.Dealing with parent emails. | B.Saying goodbye to his students. |
C.Deciding who will receive awards. | D.Freeing his students from pressure. |
24. What’s the author’s attitude towards graduation ceremonies?
A.They are a waste of money. |
B.They are only meaningful for college students. |
C.They are not proper for primary school students. |
D.They are not a good way to celebrate students’ achievements. |