COLUMN: Think Again – Graduation ceremonies are for graduates

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This article was published 25/03/2024 (459 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Who should walk across the stage in a high school graduation ceremony? If you said, “students who have graduated,” then you live in the world of common sense.

However, some school administrators think traditional graduation ceremonies aren’t inclusive enough. Why? Because they exclude the students who didn’t complete all their high school credits.

Sadly, this isn’t a parody—it’s reality.

The Ottawa Carlton District School Board (OCDSB) plans to replace high school graduation ceremonies with “commencement” ceremonies open to all students, including those who haven’t completed their high school credits and aren’t graduating. In other words, students who failed their courses will get to walk across the stage just like their peers who worked hard to earn their diplomas.

And, not surprisingly, it’s all in the name of “equity.” On its website, the OCDSB explains that “commencement is equity-based and not marks-based.” The goal is to ensure that “students at all levels of achievement will cross the stage with their peers.”

This is absurd.

Imagine what would happen if other organizations adopted this approach and took it to its logical conclusion. For example, suppose everyone who enrolls in a driver education program got a driver’s licence whether they passed the test or not. After all, it wouldn’t be equitable to give licences only to students who learned how to drive. Think of the hurt feelings of the students with different levels of driving skill.

Maybe faculties of engineering and medicine should follow suit. After all, it’s inequitable that only medical school students who complete their training and pass their exams get to work as doctors. For the same reason, we should stop the inequity of requiring professional engineers to successfully complete engineering degrees before designing bridges. What’s the worst that could happen?

However, the OCDSB proposed “commencement” policy doesn’t stop there. The board also wants to revamp student awards to ensure they are “reflective of the OCDSB’s commitment to learning, equity, engagement, and innovation.” In other words, say goodbye to trophies, medals, and other academic prizes for high-achieving students. Instead, they can expect a bunch of meaningless participation ribbons.

It never ceases to amaze me how many dumb ideas and foolish fads keep getting recycled in the world of education. For example, it wasn’t that long ago that education bureaucrats were falling all over themselves to adopt a nonsensical “no-zero” policy where students couldn’t get a mark of zero even when they chose not to hand in assignments.

Back in 2012, Edmonton physics teacher Lynden Dorval was fired by the Edmonton Public School Board for refusing to follow his school’s no-zeroes edict. While education consultants claimed there was plenty of research supporting the no-zero policy, the so-called research these policies were based on turned out to be little more than a house of cards.

Unfortunately, the OCDSB is using the same flawed logic, arguing that preventing non-graduating students from participating in graduation ceremonies will demotivate students and make it less likely that they will succeed in the future.

But this argument overlooks the fact that students know full well when they haven’t met the minimum academic standard. All the OCDSB’s proposed policy will do is diminish the value of high school graduation for the students who deserve to receive their diplomas.

Just as top-ranked athletes wouldn’t be interested in an Olympic Games without medals, students and their parents will have little use for commencement ceremonies where all students, including those who aren’t graduating, get to walk across the stage.

This proposal is so bad it doesn’t even deserve a participation ribbon. In fact, it deserves no less than a failing grade.

Michael Zwaagstra is a high school teacher and a Steinbach city councillor. He can be reached at mzwaagstra@shaw.ca.