No, you are NOT ready for graduation

Did you ever try the "Mom, all my friends are doing it" approach to get permission for something as a kid?  I'm sure, like me, you got the standard response, "If all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you do that too?"  That was before bungie jumping, so I really had no come-back, but if she asked me that question today, I might just have a snappy answer!

So what happens when a student notices that all of his classmates are graduating, but he isn't?  What is your standard reply when a student thinks they are ready for the next belt level and you know they are not?

Ending a friendship ... Firing a student

I was a bit socially awkward as a kid, and when I got invited to hang out with a b-list cool kid one summer, I couldn't believe my luck.  Mom took me shopping for a new bathing suit and sent me off for some fun.  It was a great bathing suit... turquoise and pink one-piece, with a flattering cut for my tentative 'tween figure.

As we were getting ready to go to the pool, my social-ticket friend saw that bathing suit and said, "Hey, why don't we trade suits... I'll wear yours and you can wear mine."  Now, let's not even think about the hygiene issues, because there weren't any in those days.  Just focus on the dilemma: brand new bathing suit ... potentially important friend.