Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I firmly beleive that there are only a few winners in any contest but this is sad. Why would the school do such a thing? If they are handing out awards to almost every other kids why cant they just another one for this boy? Or does the school insist that all the kids who got awards are athletically gifted ? Isnt there even one person on the staff or the PTA to notice this ? I hope the parents can explain this weird behavior to those boys - they seem to be doing the right thing, they are showing up and supporting them. In the end that is what matters I guess but still it would have made those little boys feel happy if they got a token award. Atleast an award for participating geez.
My first thought is that if every other student is getting one, then that's excessive anyway - a good many of the others are probably "empty" also. So if they've already gone the way of giving empty rewards, then go ahead and find something for the two boys too.
Or, better yet, stop giving any empty rewards.
I agree. It's hard to feel proud of an accomplishment if you get an award for simply showing up. No wonder it seems expected now.
I have never known a school to do this. Bizarre. Usually they only give out a handful of awards. Maybe 10% of the class at the most get any kind of award.
If it did turn out that most of the kids were getting awards, then I would think making up an award like the "best lego maker" award that one poster mentioned would be great.
I think you should print out the responses to this thread and distribute them around the school.
My first thought is that if every other student is getting one, then that's excessive anyway - a good many of the others are probably "empty" also. So if they've already gone the way of giving empty rewards, then go ahead and find something for the two boys too.
Or, better yet, stop giving any empty rewards.
Exactly what I was thinking- there is something wrong if 98% of students receive awards.
...In the end that is what matters I guess but still it would have made those little boys feel happy if they got a token award. Atleast an award for participating geez.
This is where the problem is. Not everyone deserves an award. Awards are for accomplishments, they are earned.
Parents who understand that should go to the school and demand the school changes from giving everybody except two boys awards to giving to only those who truely earn them.
It's pretty clear that not everybody deserves an award, and it encourages those who don't win to work a little harder next time. It's like sports tryouts. Not everybody is put on the team, but those who really want to play and get cut work harder to gain a spot on the team next year.
I also think schools should cut the awards into groups so the same kids don't get all the awards every year. Say one year they do top academic and a couple other things, the next they do sports and, maybe art or something. That way, the same best ones aren't walking away with all the awards every year.
I feel so badly for those kids. I've had a child in a similar situation. Our oldest child was a good student and he prided himself on making good grades. When he was in 2nd grade we were transferred and had to move to a new city with only about 2 months left in the school year. He had had straight A's in his old school, despite having to have eye surgery mid year. We moved and of course the new school accepted all of his grades from his old school, and he had maintained his grades after moving. At the end of the year they had a big awards ceremony. There was an award given to all of the straight "A" students. They had told the kids that if they had all"A's" they would get an award and they should invite their family to come to the ceremony. Our son was so excited because he had all "A's". My husband took off work and we went to the ceremony. Our son was sitting with his class beaming with pride. When they called out all the names, his was not called. He was crushed, and couldn't hold back the tears. Afterwords, I spoke with his teacher. She said since he didn't go to school there all year, he wasn't eligible. I told her that the school had accepted his grades when we transferred, and that they had copies of all of his past grades and knew he had all A's. And that at least she could have tried to explain that to him ahead of time so he wouldn't be sitting there expecting an award. Finally she agreed to look into the matter. The last day of school, my son came home with a certificate of achievement for his "A"'s. Not that it mattered much to him at that point. "The new kid" had been humiliated in front of the entire school, and no one knew he finally got the piece of paper.
When I was a kid award ceremonies were often held once a year in the evening - Only the kids receiving awards were invited. If awards are to be handed out during an event with all the children in attendance then they should either be limited to a few deserving individuals or everyone should get one. Have one kid that doesn't recive one is ridiculous - The teacher should have realized that -They really dropped the ball.
We had a very similar situation when my kids were in elementary school. Awards were given to all but one child in a class, who was left sitting alone in near tears. It was one of the cruelest things I had ever seen in a school. I complained to the principal, and nothing was done. From that day forward, I kept my kids home on awards day.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
