Recently I became aware of the year 11 presentation (or debutane) ball that so many schools hold, where parents are asked to come along with their year 11s, for a formal ball / dinner (with seating to be discussed between your kid and other families … who you really don’t know and the kids will probably sit together anyway). They eat, do dancing and ‘present’ the young ladies to society. Traditionally I learnt that rich famlies used to show-off their young 15-16 year old females with the hope of finding a suitable wealthy young man to marry them off.

I have SO MANY OBJECTIONS to the whole idea that I don’t know where to start. SO out-dated, so degrading to females, so wrong, hetrosexual couples only, and while at school my daughters certainly aren’t “available” to the males in society wealthy ones or not, oh yes we have twins so the ‘dad dancing with daughter thing’ before they are ‘made available’ to the boys is going to leave one of them left out.

And it is so expensive (the food was reportedly scant and bad at last years event, the kids have to share taxis or limos for photos that parents can’t go to, they have to get the dresses and formal stuff, buy their partner a present, get shoes, the list goes on.. and the tradition is to have parties after the midnight ball ends, and you have to alert the police to patrol to prevent gate crashing). The whole thing is just so unnecessary. Plus what I’ve heard is that most parents HATE it.. but kids are geedup by school that this is a ‘thing of their life’ when in reality it is one way to blow a LOAD of money in one fell swoop, supporting a ‘cultural thing ‘ that I don’t even agree with.

And what is worse there is also a year 12 ball (no parents this time)

WHY ON EARTH ARE SCHOOLS STILL DOING THIS THING?