I successfully completed primary school during the Reagan administration. Our teacher refused to call the ensuing ceremony a “graduation.” A Congressman spoke to us, we sang a few songs–our ‘promotional exercises.’
The picture of fourteen-year-olds parading around with mortarboards on their heads is a little laughable. I was fortunate enough to graduate from a prestigious high school; we received our diplomas wearing jackets and ties. You have to finish college before you qualify as a scholar.
All that said, here is my sermon to the young men and women finishing their course of study at our humble parish primary school…