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I got that sense from reading it that every kid may have gotten an "award" like this, each one for something different. I don't think it was designed to reprimand her or teach her a lesson, just something for the teacher to have fun with. We did stuff like this when I was in school, think of it as a reverse of the "Most likely to" voting and other awards.
Given how carefully parsed and crafted the two posted articles were, I think what you would find is that EVERY kid got an award and there just happens to be ONE parent who thinks it's horrible.
Why would it be any better if the whole classroom got them? Why have an end of the year party to laugh at each others bad habits, why not try and look for accomplishments and award those. What, she didn't have enough in her classroom?
It's ok for one or two kids to get a well deserved award. Not everyone has to get one, especially if they didn't earn it. But to give out awards for faults, that's sort of gross for elementary school. That alone is a bad habit in the making.
Yes, it was a terrible blunder. She should have called the unsuspecting parents in, and then given them the award.
Or maybe just done her job well and tried teaching this kid some good study habits with the assistance of her parent. Showing a little concern and direction might have gone further for this child than spot lighting her weakness. She's 8. How well do you think she understood the implications of this award?
Why would it be any better if the whole classroom got them? Why have an end of the year party to laugh at each others bad habits, why not try and look for accomplishments and award those. What, she didn't have enough in her classroom?
It's ok for one or two kids to get a well deserved award. Not everyone has to get one, especially if they didn't earn it. But to give out awards for faults, that's sort of gross for elementary school. That alone is a bad habit in the making.
I didn't say it was any better or any worse. All I was pointing out was that a CAREFUL reading of the articles posted relayed a much different message then the one people were assuming the teacher was trying to send.
People are ASSUMING that only this girl got this award and that it was the teachers intent to humiliate/embarass her in an effort to correct a deficiency. However, according to the tone and wording of the articles that is not the case.
She also apparently does her homework, so the choice of what "award" she got my have just been random and intended to be humorous. Of course, we won't know what other "awards" were handed out. Further it also made it sound very clear that according to the district rep this was something done schoolwide as a way to "have fun" with the kids. So, in the entire district, only one kids parent has a problem and didn't "get the joke".
I guarantee you that you'll be hearing about a "defamation of character" lawsuit pretty soon.
While I don't think teachers need to give out awards like this, I do remember doing similar things in school and was supposed to be fun and light hearted, my interpretation of this is all based on INTENT and as far as I can tell the teacher was not intending to embarass/ridicule/humiliate the kid, it was all part of a large "joke" going on in the whole school. Whether or not that's appropriate is open to interpretation, but with only one parents out of hundreds complaining and contacting the media, I'm thinking it is way more innocent then most of you are making it out to be.
Or maybe just done her job well and tried teaching this kid some good study habits with the assistance of her parent. Showing a little concern and direction might have gone further for this child than spot lighting her weakness. She's 8. How well do you think she understood the implications of this award?
You're grossly overcomplicating what this entire thing was about. It was a joke. Appropriate or not is open to debate, but it had no basis in trying to give the girl "direction" in terms of helping her address a "weakness". One of the follow-up articles posted shows the girl with her fully completed and graded homework folder.
Again...
There are no "IMPLICATIONS" to the award becayse it was a joke...no messages, no intent, no nothing...just a joke.
Well it might have been intended as a joke but it was not funny and it was a perfect example to the other kids that it is OK to embarrass and humiliate their peers. IT WAS BULLYING- joke or not.
The kids see the teacher making fun of a kid so why can't they? i don't understand how some people think it was OK. Our teachers have a really nice ceremony at the end of the year with parents invited and refreshments. and yes every kid was given an "Award"; friendliest, best musician, best story teller, best helper, most colorful painter, best musician, works hardest, most improved, etc. Somethng positive about each child. . If there had been "most excuses for not doing homework" I guarantee you the teacher would
have faced some very angry parents. and not just the parents of the designated child. I'm glad I live in a community where positive reinforcement is the norm.
After a certain age, I don't think it is appropriate for every kid or player to get an award but certainly 8 years old this is how it should be.
Would you have called the television station to do a story on this? Would you have allowed your child to be filmed and broadcast to the city of Tucson? (And now everyone who has access to the internet.)
Teachers give out h.w and parents know this. Why wasn't the parent doing their job? They should be ashamed to show their face in public.
Also, who knows what the teacher had to put up with from this kid and her family. An 8-year-old with slack parents can be a terror to deal with. Who knows how she behaved all year? The teacher was likely sick of her by year's end.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vic 2.0
And anecdotal evidence rears its ugly head.
"and no one died"
Well aren't our standards just the highest? There are better ways to motivate a child than to humiliate them. Or at very least, it isn't necessary. Proof's all around us. Besides, think of what you're teaching the other kids? That if someone's having trouble with something, you should just make fun of them. Don't help them, just use their predicament to make yourself feel better.
Teachers should not be smug when one of their students falls short. Some of them should probably even be ashamed, because there's almost always something you can do to correct a problem like this.
If NJGOAT's right, and this was all just a random joke taken too seriously (we cannot possibly know for sure), then consider the following relevant to a hypothetical.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jasper03
Teachers give out h.w and parents know this. Why wasn't the parent doing their job?
Not all teachers give out homework, particularly every single day. I mean, what would do you want the mom to do, rummage through her backpack? No, that wouldn't do it. She'd have to dig in her locker at school - actually, no, she'd have to call the teacher every single day to confirm whether she assigned homework or not. Please! Why wasn't the teacher doing her job, which includes informing the parent (who has NO other way of knowing) that her child isn't doing her homework?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jasper03
Also, who knows what the teacher had to put up with from this kid and her family. An 8-year-old with slack parents can be a terror to deal with. Who knows how she behaved all year? The teacher was likely sick of her by year's end.
Exactly. "Who"? Certainly not you and I, and certainly not the parent. Why? Because the teacher doesn't know how to communicate with the parents about a problem.
If NJGOAT's right, and this was all just a random joke taken too seriously (we cannot possibly know for sure), then consider the following relevant to a hypothetical.
Not all teachers give out homework, particularly every single day. I mean, what would do you want the mom to do, rummage through her backpack? No, that wouldn't do it. She'd have to dig in her locker at school - actually, no, she'd have to call the teacher every single day to confirm whether she assigned homework or not. Please! Why wasn't the teacher doing her job, which includes informing the parent (who has NO other way of knowing) that her child isn't doing her homework?
I don't know how all schools operate, but I believe quite a lot use online portals for parents now. At any time, I can log in, look at my children's assignments (for all three: elementary school, middle school, and high school), what's missing, what's turned in, when the tests are, and what their current grades are. This is updated daily. I imagine that "But I didn't knooooooow" is about the last thing a teacher wants to talk about.
If this story accurately portrays what happened--a student didn't do a lot of her homework throughout the school year--the mom had ample opportunity to know this. Even without a portal, there are report cards, progress reports, and parent-teacher conferences. (If it comes out that this girl's parents skipped the conferences, that pretty much tells me the whole story.) There's zero excuse for a parent to have NO idea at the end of the year that a child is doing so badly. That's why I am loath to form any solid opinion about it.
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