Saturday, May 12, 2012

Continuation

This past Friday was the 8th grade awards ceremony and this coming Thursday is “Continuation”.    

Parents are notified in advance that their child will be recognized with an award, but for some reason, we are not told what the award will be.  The event is during regular business hours so some special effort is required for some parents to attend.  Parents sat in the bleachers while the entire 8th grade class sat in folding chairs on the gym floor listening for their name from one of the teachers to recognize their special achievement or activities.  Not every student was recognized, but as expected, certain high achievers that got to walk multiple times for various certificates.  I was struck by the variety of academics, activities and achievements at the middle school level.  The final and most coveted award at Goddard Middle, at least for us hopeful parents, is for “Viking of the Year” which goes to just one boy and one girl who displayed extraordinary character and contribution.  I was sitting close to the parents of the girl who won Viking of the Year - their joy and pride was both understandable and palpable.  As we walked to our cars, some of the parents of the students who had received lessor certificates wondered if it was worth the time and effort.    

Continuation is this Thursday to commemorate that Riker and his classmates have finished middle school and will be in high school in a few months.  I have to admit I’ve been a little less than excited about the idea of continuation ceremonies.  While they certainly mark something, they aren’t a graduation which clearly marks the completion and achievement of something.  When did these continuation ceremonies start anyway?  I don’t think they happened when I was in primary school, but if they did, they weren’t meaningful enough for me to remember.  Even so, we want to be supportive so we will endeavor to subdue our cynicism and attend.    

As I’ve considered these events and the feelings about them, it seems much of my opinion is driven by my busyness – not so much whether these events are good or valuable by themselves, but relative to all of the other things on my “to do” list.  Ironically, I’ve come to the conclusion that these two events are just the kind of thing that is too often missing from my own life.  Both the awards and continuation ceremonies are opportunities to pause, just for a moment and look back and forward.  They recognize achievements and involvement but also indirectly highlight missed one’s missed opportunities.  It made me think that “working adults” could use some more ceremony where we honestly evaluate where we’ve been and where we’re going.  I suppose some of us do it a little around New Year’s or our birthdays, but I think there really is something to structure and formality.  Life is always a “continuation” and never really a “graduation”.  Riker has just finished high school registration and full of hope and excitement as he gets to choose his classes and extracurricular activities. 

Yes, the school context and structure makes this easier to do for a student, but I think we’d all benefit from jumping off our hamster wheels a little more frequently to take account of our progress and “register” for some activities that are more in line with where and who God wants us to be.  One last thought, sometimes God just knocks the hamster wheel over.   Blessings to you and yours!  
BTW, Happy Mother's Day Mom!  (I figure you might be the only one reading this...  <grin>)     

1 comment:

  1. I have some thoughts about Continuation that I'll share over a coffee break!

    ReplyDelete