A proud mother charges the camera and answers last-minute phone calls from family as she gets ready to attend her son’s graduation ceremony. Years ago she would have been helping her child with basic math problems; months ago she would have been asking, “Who the heck is Alfred Lord Tennyson?”

She knows that her child has gone through a great deal of stress, balancing homework with a part-time job. But now she is about to watch the result of all of her child’s hard work: Graduation from high school.

The mother arrives at the ceremony just as the doors are opening. She walks in a line through the door, while her son lines up behind a student wearing an NHS honor cord. A student volunteer hands her the program for the ceremony, and she looks for her son’s name as she takes her seat. Her son’s name happens to be between that of the class valedictorian and a future Ivy-League student.

Next to the valedictorian’s name are six icons that recognize the student’s top class rank and participation in multiple honor societies. Next to the future-Ivy-League student’s name are five icons that recognize similar achievements. She knows that her child worked hard to get his name on that list, but she cannot help but notice that her child does not have an icon next to his name.

Watching a son’s or daughter’s graduation ceremony is one of the proudest moments of a parent’s life. Graduation Night is a time when an entire graduating class can celebrate a common achievement, so is it right that some students are honored more than others?

The programs that are handed to parents as they arrive to the ceremony clearly show the differences amongst students in terms of academic achievement. Icons appear next to a student’s name if that student participated in a certain club or received academic honors.

There are no icons for non-school accomplishments, out-of-school clubs or sports, part-time jobs, or internships. A student may not be able to join a school club because he or she is involved in a swimming club. Another student may be trying to get a head start on a career as an electrician. Regardless of the situation, in-school accomplishments are honored at graduation and out-of-school honors are not.

Granted, graduation is a ceremony for school, but it is more of a ceremony for the students who have worked hard to graduate and their parents. Parents of those students who could not participate in school clubs or who could not pull off straight A’s may not feel like their child is getting the recognition that some of his or her classmates are getting.

The parents of the hard-working, future-Ivy-League student see five icons next to their child’s name, and they should be proud. The mother of the hard-working student whose time is occupied by a part-time job does not see an icon next to her child’s name. But both parents are attending the ceremony to watch the students get a diploma.

The mother is still proud of her child, but she starts to wonder if the school is proud.

The students start to file down the aisle. The mother is getting the camera ready. Students with honor cords stand out in the line, just like students with icons next to their name stand out in the program.

Honor cords are given to the students for accomplishments such as acceptance into honor societies or Merit Scholar recognition. The mother remembers how disappointed her son was when he came up just short of the 3.3 GPA needed to get into the National Honor Society. She knew that her son made it a goal to get into NHS, so it makes her sad to see her son without the NHS honor cord.

The mother is still proud of her child, but she continues to wonder if the school is proud.

Students have different career goals, but getting the diploma comes before going to college or going to trade school. In many cases high schools tend to place more emphasis on honoring those who choose the college route.

Certainly, there are students who simply do not care about school. Some students are fine with doing what needs to be done to pass, but the primary focus of a graduation ceremony should be to celebrate graduation. The parents of those students have a right to be proud, and nothing that happens during graduation should leave them with any regrets or disappointments.

Schools should have academic awards ceremonies to honor the exceptional students, but there are times when class rank should not determine how students are honored. Students deserve recognition for hard work and achievement, but that is the purpose of awards ceremonies. Many schools do have awards ceremonies in addition to graduation, so there is no need for those schools to recognize students again for the accomplishments that the students were honored for at the awards ceremony.

Graduation should be a time to get away from the elitist approach of honoring the top academic students, and instead focus on honoring the graduating class as a whole.

The solutions are simple: Take away the icons on the programs and honor cords that clearly differentiate between students during graduation, and honor those students who would be receiving those honors during the awards ceremony. Let graduation honor the completion of high school.

With students being honored for academic achievements at the academic awards ceremony, the graduation ceremony should make an effort to ensure that all students are honored equally.