In Defense of Kindergarten Graduations

By Tim Keller, Lead Pastor

When I mentioned to a friend that I was going to be attending a kindergarten graduation event that evening his first remark was that he was surprised that I had finally gone back to finish my education. Funny.

Then he rolled his eyes and remarked that he could think of a lot better ways to spend an evening than watching a group of children be celebrated for learning to draw with crayons. He appears to be among of a group of people in our society who believe that in our over-celebrated culture we rejoice at things that in the past would not have merited such celebration.

I know; I used to be one of those people.

I have changed my mind and I’d like to make my case for kindergarten celebrations.

1. First, I don’t think we celebrate small things nearly enough. Those who belittle kindergarten graduations seem to feel as if we should wait for the children to do something significant before throwing a party. Something, like, oh, racking up $100,000.00 worth of student loans. Now THAT’S worth a big party!

Yet, I’ve heard people belittle both High School and college graduations saying that that they don’t really reflect any great accomplishment either. Upon returning home from my own High School graduation, a guest in our home looked at my diploma and stated sarcastically, “This and a dime will buy you a cup of coffee.”
This proves that some people NEVER want to celebrate and that I graduated from High School during the Coolidge administration.

1. To those receiving their diminutive diplomas it IS a big deal. Only in my selfish, “Everything must be about me” world I often inhabit must celebrations pass the test of what I consider worthy. Have you ever observed children at a kindergarten graduation? They have a true sense that they have achieved something big and practically giggle with delight when their teacher hugs them or comments about how generous or kind they were to others in the class.

1. God loves celebrations of little things. Jesus mentioned that a cup of cold water given to one His little disciples was worthy of acknowledgement (Matthew 10:42). If that’s the posture of the Son of God then it should go without saying that a rolled up piece of paper should be a perfectly acceptable reward for going a full year without having to read anything by Shakespeare.

So let’s stop with the, “They never celebrated when I learned how to take a nap after lunch” comments. Let’s confess that someone should have and that if they would have we would have counted it as a big deal worth placing on our resume.

Let’s be people who celebrate one another’s small victories and achievements, without any snarky comments or feelings of jealousy. Isn’t life made up of tiny accomplishments that blend together into a legacy of joy and celebration?

What is worth celebrating in your world today?