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Post by whopea on Apr 26, 2016 15:39:58 GMT
^^ Yeah, even if I made the most convincing argument on the face of the earth, I knew nothing would change about this year.
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Post by shescrafty on Apr 26, 2016 15:44:19 GMT
Another reason it is likely not being done anymore is the sheer time commitment it takes to compile all the lists and get staffing for the event itself. Teachers and school staff are being pulled and pushed and another assembly after school hours means another night teachers or staff would have to be there and not get paid for it. Custodial staff would have to be brought in to set up and take down the chairs, sound system, etc.
It is getting harder and harder to get teachers to participate in "non-essential" activities when they are already under so much stress.
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Post by littlemama on Apr 26, 2016 15:51:51 GMT
I would email the principal in a well thought out way. There is no reason not to recognize the high achievers in front of students and parents. I don't know why we are getting to where we can't reward the kids who work hard and earn the high grades.
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MerryMom
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,561
Jul 24, 2014 19:51:57 GMT
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Post by MerryMom on Apr 26, 2016 15:52:04 GMT
Not all children who didn't miss a day of school went to school sick. I think you are making a lot of assumptions!!!
With 13 years of school (K-12), my son has missed only about 8 days total. He just doesn't get sick very often and when he would on occasion, it was on Saturday or during a holiday break. When he was sick or had a temperature, we kept him home.
Exactly. Should there be an award for a superior immune system? Are you trying to be snide? I stated a factual situation based on your assertion that you are a superior parent because when your child was ill, he or she was kept home. Not all children who didn't miss a day of school had parents who sent them to school ill...deliberately.
Based on your "logic", then children shouldn't be recognized for academic achievement based on their "superior mental capacity", nor be recognized for musical ability based on their "superior fine arts capacity", nor be recognized for...well, I guess according to you, for anything.
What a child gets recognized for takes nothing away from your child.
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suzastampin
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,587
Jun 28, 2014 14:32:59 GMT
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Post by suzastampin on Apr 26, 2016 15:53:45 GMT
Sadly, it's probably being done away with because not everyone gets honored. This was my thought also. Another casualty of the everybody gets a trophy generation.
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Post by JustCallMeMommy on Apr 26, 2016 16:01:02 GMT
Our MS only recognizes the kids in front of each other and the parents - the kids who are "left out" aren't even there. That said, I don't like that they ONLY recognize honor roll. I would love to see all kinds of kids getting awards and special recognition. I think it gives the kids who ARE motivated by public recognition a goal to achieve.
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Post by utmr on Apr 26, 2016 16:46:33 GMT
The sweetest award ever was a certificate for "superior effort in reading". One of those pre-printed pages from the teacher supply store. I overheard Perfect Pollys mom make a rude remark about how "everyone gets a trophy". (I deserved a certificate for not punching her in the throat. ). Later the teacher took me aside and said "I didn't want to embarrass him by announcing this. But he made the most progress this year. He started the year nearly three years behind in reading level and he's almost caught up. He's worked so hard. " I almost cried. That certificate is still on the refrigerator.
It's nice to recognize the top achievers. But a lot of times that reflects a kid for whom school comes easy. A nice recognition, no doubt, but due to luck and genetics more than anything. Unfortunately the child who worked 10x harder will not get the certificate/prize/recognition because they just squeaked by. "Barely passed the Star test " gets sneered at when it is a huge victory sometimes.
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Post by whopea on Apr 26, 2016 17:07:21 GMT
The sweetest award ever was a certificate for "superior effort in reading". One of those pre-printed pages from the teacher supply store. I overheard Perfect Pollys mom make a rude remark about how "everyone gets a trophy". (I deserved a certificate for not punching her in the throat. ). Later the teacher took me aside and said "I didn't want to embarrass him by announcing this. But he made the most progress this year. He started the year nearly three years behind in reading level and he's almost caught up. He's worked so hard. " I almost cried. That certificate is still on the refrigerator. It's nice to recognize the top achievers. But a lot of times that reflects a kid for whom school comes easy. A nice recognition, no doubt, but due to luck and genetics more than anything. Unfortunately the child who worked 10x harder will not get the certificate/prize/recognition because they just squeaked by. "Barely passed the Star test " gets sneered at when it is a huge victory sometimes. Congratulations to your ds. What a wonderful teacher that took time to make that award for him and to note his progress. That was very special. Of the top achievers I know in my kids class, a few are gifted and don't spend a lot of time studying but the majority work very hard to get the grades they do. The ones that aren't recognized for academic achievement often get rewarded for making show choir, earning a spot in a dance production or excelled in a reading competition. Not every kid has the same gifts. That's one of the reasons I liked the awards ceremony so much - I know the parents of my kids friends and the activities they participate in. I love hearing about the accomplishments of our middle school community and feeling a sense of pride of what all the kids accomplished.
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Post by refugeepea on Apr 26, 2016 17:16:00 GMT
I've never understood why awards ceremonies are a big deal at any level of school. I admit to going to a couple in elementary but my kids could not care less if I was there. I don't care about the achievements of other kids. Give the kid the award certificate. Mom and dad sees it at home. The graduation ceremony is enough and usually boring as hell.
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sweetpeasmom
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,652
Jun 27, 2014 14:04:01 GMT
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Post by sweetpeasmom on Apr 26, 2016 17:37:38 GMT
Sucks they made that choice but not sure there is much you can do about it for this year. Maybe voice your thoughts for years going forward.
For the record, I can't stand all this let's not let the kids get their feelings hurt. In my experience (at my kids' school in elem) teachers made sure that each student was at least recognized on stage. It might have been just a grade certificate, but they were recognized.
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Post by Darcy Collins on Apr 26, 2016 18:00:43 GMT
This was my thought also. Another casualty of the everybody gets a trophy generation. I don't think everyone should get awards. I think the awards should be for things everyone has an equal ppportunity to achieve. The truth is that some kids will never get a 4.0 no matter how hard they work, especially in schools like ours that are inclusive to disabilities and have fully inclusive classrooms. Achievement in making the school a better place? Civic responsibility? Helping a friend? Creating a needed club that represents kids who are bullied for who they are? Beating your own personal high scores? Being brave? YES YES YES But the reality is there is NOTHING that all children have an equal opportunity to achieve. Even in your examples, the extremely shy introvert isn't going to be able to start a club or sometimes even HAVE friends to help, or we'll at least say they're not going to be able to do them as easily as other children. The reality is every single kid has their own strengths and weaknesses. And yes - there is often a huge genetic advantage for those that achieve prizes - in any realm. But there is also a lot of hard work that goes into them - or there is when the prize is at all meaningful. The fact that Janey was born with a strong singing voice, shouldn't discount the hard work she went into qualifying for the state choir - even if it's true that Betty being tone deaf could never have achieved the same thing. My kids will never be sports stars - that's okay - and I have zero issue recognizing those kids who put so much time and effort into achieving success in that area - and don't think it takes anything away from my kids who were cursed with nerdy parents with few athletic genes to pass on to them.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Sept 29, 2024 12:30:35 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2016 18:39:54 GMT
The quoted comments come across as being able to judge how much better your kid is than other kids. That is probably not your intent but it rubs me the wrong way because I am coming at this situation from the opposite side.
The kids who compete athletically are awarded during their competitions.
Kids who are great at academics are rewarded with their straight-A report card and at UIL events.
As a parent of a kid who worked double-hard for her grades in middle school due to a learning disability, there is nothing worse than sitting in the bleachers and being only one of 20 students left sitting in the stands while her other 120+ peers are on the gym floor holding trophies or certificates. Everyone publicly knew she wasn't up to par in the eyes of the school. This "exercise" happened six times a year for three years. It was awful for her, her teachers, her friends, and her mom & dad. We all knew how hard she worked and how she and 20 other kids walked out deflated and/or crying every six weeks because their efforts were great, they learned but their grades did not reflect just how hard it was to get there.
I finally just started keeping her home on awards ceremony day.
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Post by Darcy Collins on Apr 26, 2016 18:41:16 GMT
I get it guineahen it's easy to overlook many of the hardworking kids who are bringing a lot to the community, but don't fit into neat little boxes.
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melissa
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Posts: 3,912
Jun 25, 2014 20:45:00 GMT
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Post by melissa on Apr 26, 2016 19:27:52 GMT
I did not read the whole thread.
I have a question. Will there be a sports banquet or assembly to recognize the athletes? If so, I'd be royally ticked. It seems to me that most schools have special athletic department events like that. If the school was eliminating honoring those who excel in other areas and still honoring those who excel in athletics, that would be a huge issue for me. If they were no longer going to acknowledge honors at all in some public fashion, I am not sure I'd care as much.
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Post by whopea on Apr 27, 2016 15:12:27 GMT
I did not read the whole thread. I have a question. Will there be a sports banquet or assembly to recognize the athletes? If so, I'd be royally ticked. It seems to me that most schools have special athletic department events like that. If the school was eliminating honoring those who excel in other areas and still honoring those who excel in athletics, that would be a huge issue for me. If they were no longer going to acknowledge honors at all in some public fashion, I am not sure I'd care as much. There are no sports banquets. This one year-end assembly honored those who had earned academic, athletic or artistic accomplishments.
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Post by myboysnme on Apr 27, 2016 16:07:02 GMT
Why are you not happy? Because you believe the achievers should be publicly acknowledged? I'm not happy for a couple reasons. First, I think it's important to recognize or acknowledge outstanding performance in academics, athletics, music and various clubs and activities. I love seeing what peers are involved in and excel in. I love seeing the girl that I thought was just into dancing be recognized for her musical talents too. I loved seeing the boy who everyone teased for being a grade nerd be awarded for an outstanding athletic season. It was a feel-good ceremony. Second, it's an opportunity for parents to learn or observe what the achievement bar looks like. It's also a chance to learn what other opportunities exist for the kids. In this school, interest meetings are held at the beginning of the year for various clubs and activities. The kids are able to choose without parental involvement. I learned a lot more about school offerings by going to that first awards ceremony and could encourage boundary stretching. ETA: This is for middle school, grades 6-8 Just saying that if your child was not getting awarded or acknowledged you would not care at all. You want to see your child up there on the stage. I get that. But you can make a huge deal about your child's achievements. There is absolutely nothing lost because other people don't get to see you in the audience supporting your achieving child or see your child on stage. Schools may want to use their time and resources another way and it may have nothing at all to do with not making a big deal about academically achieving kids or worry about those who don't. You take your kid out and make a big deal. Have them pose with their certificates and ribbons for a photo. This is not an opportunity for parents to see what the bar looks like. It is an opportunity for SOME parents of achieving kids to see what the bar looks like. You can find that out and find out all about opportunities a whole lot of other ways if you want to know.
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Post by 950nancy on Apr 27, 2016 16:14:12 GMT
I would email the principal in a well thought out way. There is no reason not to recognize the high achievers in front of students and parents. I don't know why we are getting to where we can't reward the kids who work hard and earn the high grades. I totally agree. If enough parents feel the same way, it will change. The primary purpose for school is academics. It is sad when you can't recognize that. We also had an award for kids that brought up their grades. Kids who were on IEP's had goals and if they met them, they too were recognized.
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styxgirl
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,936
Jun 27, 2014 4:51:44 GMT
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Post by styxgirl on Apr 27, 2016 17:39:44 GMT
I would shrug, be grateful I didn't have to attend one more over-crowded school event, and move on. This! Exactly! I think awards are handed out so frequently they really lose their value.
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garcia5050
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,769
Location: So. Calif.
Jun 25, 2014 23:22:29 GMT
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Post by garcia5050 on Apr 27, 2016 18:27:33 GMT
In my district, they changed the entire grading system for elementary school to pass/no pass. That annoys me more than any award ceremony or lack of them. With the new grading system, there is no more honor roll.
As a working mom, I didn't attend too many award ceremonies. All were held during daytime assemblies, and parents were welcome to attend, though many didn't.
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Post by myboysnme on Apr 27, 2016 18:54:48 GMT
I would email the principal in a well thought out way. There is no reason not to recognize the high achievers in front of students and parents. I don't know why we are getting to where we can't reward the kids who work hard and earn the high grades. I totally agree. If enough parents feel the same way, it will change. The primary purpose for school is academics. It is sad when you can't recognize that. We also had an award for kids that brought up their grades. Kids who were on IEP's had goals and if they met them, they too were recognized. I totally don't agree. Disclosing a child has an IEP and met goals is out of line. Way out of line. School is for academics primarily and that is rewarded by moving on to the next grade, report cards, gifted programs, scholarships, etc.
I also don't agree that awards don't mean anything because they are given out so frequently. They mean something to the person who gets them. It's not about whether I think the award has value. Does the recipient think so?
At my job one employee each month out of 2000 gets a $500 check for doing something award worthy. To get considered you have to be nominated. Then a committee decides who among the nominees gets the $500. I think this is stupid. I think they could honor 5 employees a month with $100 each. The result is that people feel hopeful, like they could actually have a chance. Because the employee is totally reliant on someone to nominate them, someone to write it up in a way to convince a committee, and then be better than others. It is not an even playing field. Someone who works as a coder has far less chance of going above and beyond than someone who works developing programs for the homeless.
So you give birth to an academically gifted child, who excels in school, has a good work ethic and routinely achieves accolades and opportunities. Your neighbor gives birth to a child with learning disabilities who excels in sports and consistently plays for winning teams because he is selected for them. This child gets trophies and travel opportunities and scholarship offers as well. The neighbor on the other side has a child who is ok at sports but does not excel or stand out, does ok in school but has to work hard for a C in math, loves to draw and create and read Star Wars books. This child will probably not qualify for awards or scholarships or trophies.
The playing field is not equal. Everyone is judged by the same standards on an unequal field. That's life. But the first child will succeed all through life most likely unless he gets burned out on achievement and gets into drugs or something. The sports child will age out of sports and never play professionally but since that's all he ever did he now is left with his learning disabilities to make his way in the world. The 3rd child may or may not go to college. They might go any direction. Who knows.
I see nothing in the world wrong with giving acknowledgement for accomplishments. But awards for doing what comes naturally? Well I guess if you give awards to the one who litters the floor with cartoon drawings the same as the one who plays cello in the state orchestra. In the end it doesn't really matter if your kid stood on a stage or not except that you as a parent get to feel maybe just a little bit better than the other parents. Because like I said, if your kid wasn't getting an award you would not give a crap about the school having them or not having them.
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Post by whopea on Apr 27, 2016 19:39:50 GMT
I totally agree. If enough parents feel the same way, it will change. The primary purpose for school is academics. It is sad when you can't recognize that. We also had an award for kids that brought up their grades. Kids who were on IEP's had goals and if they met them, they too were recognized. I totally don't agree. Disclosing a child has an IEP and met goals is out of line. Way out of line. School is for academics primarily and that is rewarded by moving on to the next grade, report cards, gifted programs, scholarships, etc.
I also don't agree that awards don't mean anything because they are given out so frequently. They mean something to the person who gets them. It's not about whether I think the award has value. Does the recipient think so?
At my job one employee each month out of 2000 gets a $500 check for doing something award worthy. To get considered you have to be nominated. Then a committee decides who among the nominees gets the $500. I think this is stupid. I think they could honor 5 employees a month with $100 each. The result is that people feel hopeful, like they could actually have a chance. Because the employee is totally reliant on someone to nominate them, someone to write it up in a way to convince a committee, and then be better than others. It is not an even playing field. Someone who works as a coder has far less chance of going above and beyond than someone who works developing programs for the homeless.
So you give birth to an academically gifted child, who excels in school, has a good work ethic and routinely achieves accolades and opportunities. Your neighbor gives birth to a child with learning disabilities who excels in sports and consistently plays for winning teams because he is selected for them. This child gets trophies and travel opportunities and scholarship offers as well. The neighbor on the other side has a child who is ok at sports but does not excel or stand out, does ok in school but has to work hard for a C in math, loves to draw and create and read Star Wars books. This child will probably not qualify for awards or scholarships or trophies.
The playing field is not equal. Everyone is judged by the same standards on an unequal field. That's life. But the first child will succeed all through life most likely unless he gets burned out on achievement and gets into drugs or something. The sports child will age out of sports and never play professionally but since that's all he ever did he now is left with his learning disabilities to make his way in the world. The 3rd child may or may not go to college. They might go any direction. Who knows.
I see nothing in the world wrong with giving acknowledgement for accomplishments. But awards for doing what comes naturally? Well I guess if you give awards to the one who litters the floor with cartoon drawings the same as the one who plays cello in the state orchestra. In the end it doesn't really matter if your kid stood on a stage or not except that you as a parent get to feel maybe just a little bit better than the other parents. Because like I said, if your kid wasn't getting an award you would not give a crap about the school having them or not having them.
This is an interesting discussion for me because it's forced me to look at a few things from a different perspective, so I thank you. And, yes, I was looking forward to my kid being rewarded for hard work. I don't think there is anything wrong with that because my kid is not academically gifted, nor exceptionally athletic nor a standout in anything, but when hard work combines with perseverance, you bet I'd like to see it honored. I don't think that academic, athletic or artistic success just comes naturally. I'm sure there are those that it's easier for, but all of those natural talents must be bolstered by hard work and determination. Look at any great athlete - Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Michael Phelps, Serena Williams -- sure they have a gift but they worked harder than their competitors. I read an article once on M Phelps training days. He works harder at swim training in a day than most of us work at our jobs. There are kids for whom spelling is a breeze, some for whom engineering and how things work is a breeze, math, you name it. We all have varied skills and skill levels, that's what diversity is all about. I think that is something to be celebrated! I have always come away from those assemblies with such a feel-good sense of community for our school. Many of our kids achieved great things in choir, theater, music, art, science club, or robotics. None of those activities included my kid but I loved seeing the varied ways that kids excelled. They also handed out a handful of awards that recognized inclusiveness, community and living the core principles of the school. The whole ceremony was never longer than 2 hours.
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Post by 950nancy on Apr 27, 2016 19:58:40 GMT
I totally agree. If enough parents feel the same way, it will change. The primary purpose for school is academics. It is sad when you can't recognize that. We also had an award for kids that brought up their grades. Kids who were on IEP's had goals and if they met them, they too were recognized. I totally don't agree. Disclosing a child has an IEP and met goals is out of line. Way out of line. School is for academics primarily and that is rewarded by moving on to the next grade, report cards, gifted programs, scholarships, etc.
I also don't agree that awards don't mean anything because they are given out so frequently. They mean something to the person who gets them. It's not about whether I think the award has value. Does the recipient think so?
At my job one employee each month out of 2000 gets a $500 check for doing something award worthy. To get considered you have to be nominated. Then a committee decides who among the nominees gets the $500. I think this is stupid. I think they could honor 5 employees a month with $100 each. The result is that people feel hopeful, like they could actually have a chance. Because the employee is totally reliant on someone to nominate them, someone to write it up in a way to convince a committee, and then be better than others. It is not an even playing field. Someone who works as a coder has far less chance of going above and beyond than someone who works developing programs for the homeless.
So you give birth to an academically gifted child, who excels in school, has a good work ethic and routinely achieves accolades and opportunities. Your neighbor gives birth to a child with learning disabilities who excels in sports and consistently plays for winning teams because he is selected for them. This child gets trophies and travel opportunities and scholarship offers as well. The neighbor on the other side has a child who is ok at sports but does not excel or stand out, does ok in school but has to work hard for a C in math, loves to draw and create and read Star Wars books. This child will probably not qualify for awards or scholarships or trophies.
The playing field is not equal. Everyone is judged by the same standards on an unequal field. That's life. But the first child will succeed all through life most likely unless he gets burned out on achievement and gets into drugs or something. The sports child will age out of sports and never play professionally but since that's all he ever did he now is left with his learning disabilities to make his way in the world. The 3rd child may or may not go to college. They might go any direction. Who knows.
I see nothing in the world wrong with giving acknowledgement for accomplishments. But awards for doing what comes naturally? Well I guess if you give awards to the one who litters the floor with cartoon drawings the same as the one who plays cello in the state orchestra. In the end it doesn't really matter if your kid stood on a stage or not except that you as a parent get to feel maybe just a little bit better than the other parents. Because like I said, if your kid wasn't getting an award you would not give a crap about the school having them or not having them.
Agree to disagree. I felt our school recognized kids for many things. I loved that about it. Kids were acknowledged daily for earning positive behavior slips (all kids could earn) from being kind to a another, to reading quietly in line, to picking up another kid's trash without being asked. These announcements were made on the PA daily. Kids loved to hear their names. No kids' IEPs were ever discussed. Only the teachers knew. And no, kids moved onto the next grade level regardless of their performance in school. It is not a reward. It is a parent choice. It only became an issue in high school. I gave birth to a kid who was capable but average and worked his ass off for everything he got. These awards meant a lot to him. He struggled with reading and worked harder than most of his classmates. He still struggles with reading in college and spends three times as much time as his counterparts when it comes to anything that has to be read. He earned his accolades. I had parents who felt like you do, and that was fine, but recognizing academic accomplishments (didn't even have to be a certain GPA, but just improvement) certainly increased a vast majority of kids' efforts. I worked in that environment and saw the benefits of it every single day.
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Post by freecharlie on Apr 27, 2016 22:55:41 GMT
So is there really much difference between that occasion and the times when they're recognised now, each semester? I don't know because I haven't seen the school assembly. The previous assembly included faculty, staff and parents. The current assembly is just kids. None of the families we're close with realized that there would be no year-end assembly. None of the kids recognized that these assemblies substituted for the year-end gathering. was the year end one, all are supposed to be there, few get recognized or is it an invite only if your kid gets an award? There is a chance that in order to cut costs, they removed the night from the teachers contract
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Post by myboysnme on Apr 27, 2016 23:12:55 GMT
I had alot of down time at work so I probably spent too much time on responding to these threads. I love to see my kids get awards and achievements too. I think it is good to be excited and proud. I was just putting forth different thoughts and comments. Had I been only on a short break I probably would have given the issue short shrift.
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Post by pierkiss on Apr 28, 2016 0:13:58 GMT
I wouldn't be upset about it. I am not a big fan of end of the year/semester awards anyway.
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Post by myshelly on Apr 28, 2016 0:57:00 GMT
I think I would just thank my lucky stars.
I HATE stuff like that.
Hated it as a student, hated it as a teacher, hate it now as a parent.
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SabrinaP
Pearl Clutcher
Busy Teacher Pea
Posts: 4,404
Location: Dallas Texas
Jun 26, 2014 12:16:22 GMT
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Post by SabrinaP on Apr 28, 2016 1:11:48 GMT
As an elementary teacher, I'm not a fan. Until you've witnessed that kid cry that doesn't get recognized, you won't understand. I've had some hard working kids that are working way harder than their honored peers, but still struggle and will not ever be on the honor roll. If we could recognize effort, I would be all for it. I know with my 6th graders, many on A honor roll hardly break a sweat for their grades, including my own straight A student.
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paigepea
Drama Llama
Enter your message here...
Posts: 5,609
Location: BC, Canada
Jun 26, 2014 4:28:55 GMT
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Post by paigepea on Apr 28, 2016 1:16:55 GMT
I totally agree. If enough parents feel the same way, it will change. The primary purpose for school is academics. It is sad when you can't recognize that. We also had an award for kids that brought up their grades. Kids who were on IEP's had goals and if they met them, they too were recognized. I totally don't agree. Disclosing a child has an IEP and met goals is out of line. Way out of line. School is for academics primarily and that is rewarded by moving on to the next grade, report cards, gifted programs, scholarships, etc.
I also don't agree that awards don't mean anything because they are given out so frequently. They mean something to the person who gets them. It's not about whether I think the award has value. Does the recipient think so?
At my job one employee each month out of 2000 gets a $500 check for doing something award worthy. To get considered you have to be nominated. Then a committee decides who among the nominees gets the $500. I think this is stupid. I think they could honor 5 employees a month with $100 each. The result is that people feel hopeful, like they could actually have a chance. Because the employee is totally reliant on someone to nominate them, someone to write it up in a way to convince a committee, and then be better than others. It is not an even playing field. Someone who works as a coder has far less chance of going above and beyond than someone who works developing programs for the homeless.
So you give birth to an academically gifted child, who excels in school, has a good work ethic and routinely achieves accolades and opportunities. Your neighbor gives birth to a child with learning disabilities who excels in sports and consistently plays for winning teams because he is selected for them. This child gets trophies and travel opportunities and scholarship offers as well. The neighbor on the other side has a child who is ok at sports but does not excel or stand out, does ok in school but has to work hard for a C in math, loves to draw and create and read Star Wars books. This child will probably not qualify for awards or scholarships or trophies.
The playing field is not equal. Everyone is judged by the same standards on an unequal field. That's life. But the first child will succeed all through life most likely unless he gets burned out on achievement and gets into drugs or something. The sports child will age out of sports and never play professionally but since that's all he ever did he now is left with his learning disabilities to make his way in the world. The 3rd child may or may not go to college. They might go any direction. Who knows.
I see nothing in the world wrong with giving acknowledgement for accomplishments. But awards for doing what comes naturally? Well I guess if you give awards to the one who litters the floor with cartoon drawings the same as the one who plays cello in the state orchestra. In the end it doesn't really matter if your kid stood on a stage or not except that you as a parent get to feel maybe just a little bit better than the other parents. Because like I said, if your kid wasn't getting an award you would not give a crap about the school having them or not having them.
I find this such a depressing and sad attitude. I didn't receive any awards in school besides a participation award in sports (which means I achieved nothing, just tried) and a citizenship award (which means I never qualified for any academic award). I never loved awards assemblies because I was jealous, but I didn't hate them. There were always tons of kids who were like me so I knew I wasn't abnormal. I learned to get satisfaction and feel achievement in other ways. My girls have never received sports or academic awards and I still think awards are fun.
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ellen
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,734
Jun 30, 2014 12:52:45 GMT
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Post by ellen on Apr 28, 2016 1:47:54 GMT
I would not do anything. The school is doing what works best for them.
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Post by 950nancy on Apr 28, 2016 1:56:57 GMT
I had alot of down time at work so I probably spent too much time on responding to these threads. I love to see my kids get awards and achievements too. I think it is good to be excited and proud. I was just putting forth different thoughts and comments. Had I been only on a short break I probably would have given the issue short shrift. You don't need a reason for thinking differently. We all have different experiences (and kids) and feel the way we do. Parenting is so very personal and we all do the best we can.
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