Who Are We Doing This For?

I recently got an e-mail from a friend who is an early childhood administrator. She expressed her indignation over the celebration of kindergarten graduations. She had inherited a situation where it was a formal event with the kids wearing caps and gowns. Any attempt to change the tradition was met with resistance by, you guessed it, the parents. Granted, completing kindgarten is a bit of a "right of passage" but I think it's lost some of its significance due to the fact that so many schools offer full-day kindergarten. With the emphasis on early-childhood education, a lot of formal learning has already taken place. Unlike other transitions, grade school to middle school and middle school to high school for example, most kindergarteners will continue their education on the same campus.

I could not help but think about the tradition of youth confirmation. I am a Lutheran and one of the traditions of our denominations is confirmation. Most churches confirm young people sometime during their middle school years, usually 8th grade. Every study that's ever been done on the issue of youth confirmation has shown that it is the worst possible time for young people to be making such a statement of faith. Instruction, yes. Allowing them to receive the Lord's Supper, yes. Confession of faith, maybe. Few middle school students lack the maturity. But almost every attempt to alter the tradition has been met with resistence, not from clergy and church educators but from parents. Youth confirmation is a tradition. They went through it. Their parents had a party for them and they want to provide the same for their kids. That is the bottom line - it's an opportunity to host a party. No matter that the timing is wrong. Nobody is going to "rain on their parade."

It causes me to ask the question: Who are we doing this for? Is the celebration for the kids or for the parents? If it's for the parents, then perhaps it's doing more harm than good.