QuackFuzed.com is the personal ColdFusion coding blog of Matt Quackenbush. It exists primarily as a place for the author to learn, and hopefully to assist others in learning and/or avoiding some of the same pitfalls and mistakes. (Quack certainly makes enough mistakes daily to make up for the entire ColdFusion community.)
Everyone is *NOT* a Star
Posted on May 28, 2008 at 12:11 AM in Rants
Okay, so it's the end of the school year and most schools either have hosted or are about to host their End-of-the-Year Awards Ceremony. This is a great opportunity to recognize the outstanding achievements of their students for the school year. Tonight was the Junior High Awards Ceremony for our school district.
When I was a kid these awards ceremonies were pretty cool, and truly focused on students that went above and beyond the call of duty and really did special things. But apparently here in the 21st century things are different; so different, in fact, that if you showed up to school at least once during the year and were breathing, you're a "Star"! WTF?!?!?!
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On 5/28/08 at 1:56 AM, Jason Dean said:
My kids are still young (1 and 5) and I am not looking forward to what thing will be like in 6 years when I am in your shoes. It will likely only be worse.
If a person never has to deal with hurt feelings or disappointment until they are an adult, what will happen to them the first time they are faced with that disappointment, or criticism or worse still, rejection.
On 5/28/08 at 2:49 AM, charlie griefer said:
jason gets an award for being the first to comment. excellent work, jason.
you're both stars.
On 5/28/08 at 3:13 AM, TJ Downes said:
Matt, I can say that I have the same sentiments as you. Kids today in public schools are treated as if they can do no wrong, and if they do it's not their fault. And no matter what their performance or grades are, that they are special. It's just another example of the jackasses we have running our public schools and government.
On 5/28/08 at 8:33 AM, Scott Stroz said:
I coach my sons' soccer league, everyone gets a trophy. Now for the U6 (under 6) league, or even the U8 (under 8) divisions this is OK with me. But after that, giving a trohy to every kid is just ridiculous.
As an aside, they also have 'Silent Staurday' once a year where you are not allowed to cheer for your child, or as a coach, offer guidence during the game. This is apparently a national thing for this league and is done under the guise that the game is for the kids to perform on ther own. However, I have been told by some that it was started becasue some kids' parent complained that other parents were being too enthusiastic in cheerin gfro thei child. Give me abreak.
On 5/28/08 at 9:12 AM, Nick Kwiatkowski said:
It used to be that the an average student got C's, dumb kids got D's, smart kids got B's, and really bright kids got A's. Not only that, most schools also do weighted grades, so that some classes that are considered 'harder' were on a 5 point scale instead of the 4-point scale. Average kids are getting A's in many schools.
Like in your post, this not only dilutes that real achievers, but it makes everybody think they are smarter than they really are. I've got kids graduating from High School, attending a major university that had a 3.8 GPA barely knowing High School level math. This coming fall semester, our remedial math program is the largest it has ever been. We are talking about Algebra 1, folks!
Oh, and then there is the no-punishment rules many parents have. "Oh, poor Johnny is writing on the walls with a permanent marker. Lets give him a gold star, and not stifle his creativity by telling him he's bad."
Sorry for the rant.. Yeah...
On 5/28/08 at 9:30 AM, Joe Rinehart said:
Now that I'm a parent, this culture of rewarding the least common denominator really scares me. I want Ava to grow up knowing I value her true accomplishments, but I feel like the chips are stacked against me. I'm afraid that in four years everyone around her will want to reward her for any little thing, making any real accomplishment I or Dale praise her for no more meaningful than an "Exceptional at Obeying Gravity" blue ribbon that she's likely to "win" at school.
Is there anyone out there with an educational background who can explain where this came from? My explanations for it are biased because my political leanings give me the only context in which I can form an opinion: I feel like we've let an entitlement culture drip down from adulthood into our nation's youth.
On 5/28/08 at 9:55 AM, marc esher said:
End of the year rolls around, and she went to the principal to talk about me. She wanted to know what she could do to get me more money or a promotion or something because of that little lesson.
Of all the things I remember about my teaching days, that's one that stands out.
Being tough is hard work. And it requires an incredible amount of love, I think. But just as important, if not more, it requires incredible character and conviction. You gotta believe that you're doing the right thing for the kiddoes by helping them build themselves up. I understand why so many parents and educators have trouble with it. That's a shame.
We could all use a little more supernanny in us!
On 5/28/08 at 10:24 AM, Gus said:
"Why when I was a kid, we walked 5 miles each way in a blizzard to get to school, then did 9 hours of homework by candle light!"
"Kids today aren't going to learn the hard lessons in life!"
"These kids don't know what REAL music is!"
Your kids will be saying the same thing to their kids. Lighten up and enjoy your kids childhood. Their will be more than enough chances for them to learn from the school of hard knocks.
Gus
(Father to 9 year old twin boys)