Mother Goose Nursery in Cambridgeshire, arranged its fourth graduation ceremony for the pupils. This has sparked many debates about whether school pupils aged 3 and 4 should be participating in these American-style graduation ceremonies.
Graduation ceremonies for children seem to be a craze rapidly spreading across Britain.
A leading psychologist thinks these type of ceremonies are “ridiculous” and make children perform “like monkeys”.
Child psychologist and member of the British Psychological Society, Emma Criton said, “Parents put their own sense of quirky fun and expectations on very young children and this is ridiculous because it is a very narrow view of education. Teaching under five-year olds is about the social interactions and growing through play and not about academic achievement.”
She further stated, “Parents can sit in the audience and laugh and clap at the children performing like monkeys. It has become like a show for parents. They have lost the plot.”
However, the operations and HR manager at the nursery, Beverley Taylor- Carson has defended the ceremony. She said, “We celebrate their achievements in a holistic way. It’s about the things they love and their personality. We believe the graduation ceremony is a lovely way to teach children about change as they move up to school and how it can be a positive thing.”
Jo Baranek, early years advisor at the National Day Nurseries Association expressed, “A lot of children get anxious about going to school and have been at nursery since they were babies. This is a way of helping them make the transition to have closure.”
Frank Furedi, professor of Sociology at the University of Kent stated, “Usually it is children that have make-believe play. Now it is nursery workers playing at being professors or teachers.”
