A “Perfect Attendance Award” given to a 10 year-old has caused online debate.
The mother wouldn’t allow the son to accept the award because she says “in this family you are not shamed for ill health.” (The mother might have an agenda here because one of her other sons has cerebral palsy.)
She says the kid got to school because of her, and she doesn’t want an award either.
The debate is on:
-But shaming your kid for earning an award is A-OK
-I had perfect attendance from 5th grade -11 grade and accepted that award with pride every year.
-THE FUTURE:
SON: “Mom, I got a great job!’
MOM: “Give it back! I’ll not have you shaming the unemployed!”
-Let’s rob kids of any and all motivation whatsoever. What could possibly go wrong
-Not crazy at all–it’s another “empty” award. “Yay, you participated! Here’s a trophy!” There’s no point in it.
-So being healthy to attend school everyday is now healthy child shaming…
-In today’s world it leads to unrealistic expectations post school – way too many millennials think all they have to do to earn that paycheck at work is show up
-What this really teaches is that we can’t celebrate anyone’s achievements because someone with different achievements might feel bad.
-Hip hip hooray for this mother!
-Are we moving from trophies for everyone to no awards allowed?
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I think lefties hate the award because it shames truancy, and you can’t have that!
If a kid got a perfect attendance award when I was in school I would just mumble to my friend that the kid was a faggot and that would be the end of it.
No jealousy, no shame, no dwelling.
I’d probably try to knock the kid out in dodgeball, just to see if I could end his streak. That’d be my award. Again, no jealousy, or agenda, it’d be for sporting reasons.
The only medal I ever got in my life was the Army “Good Conduct Medal.” But truth be told, I didn’t deserve it, and neither did the other great guys I hung with. Purple hearts, yeah, Good Conduct? Shove it.
That aside. perfect attendance for a child is a good habit builder. The Mom’s a little too much.
This is going in Split Direction, so Tie Base Goes to the Mother !
I’m not Saying I agree with Her, It’s that no Descision is being Made Anyway.
Moe Tom. Same here in the Navy. I refused to wear the GCM. I just went where I was told to go and did what I was told to do. That was not medal earning.
Poor kid. Mom’s grandstanding and raining on his parade all at the same time. I can see telling the kid he doesn’t deserve a participation trophy, but perfect attendance is no easy feat for a kid. It takes a lot of internal motivation, I think.
…oh, the other questionable thing is she is trying to make her kids equal. While perhaps a laudable pursuit in other areas, on the issue of illness not so much.
“Are we moving from trophies for everyone to no awards allowed?”
What’s the difference?
Strange thing about awards:
In the Marines one earns the Good Conduct Medal every three years for not getting caught.
I made meritorious Sgt. in two years, and did not qualify yet for the GCM.
Instead of a hard charger, I looked like a shitbird: A Sgt. running around without a GCM.
Achieving shames those who didn’t. Honor the Collective.
“Lest you get on your high-horse.”
“You didn’t build that.”
Echoes of losers past.
Back in the 70s I was Commander of our local American Legion Post. For years before me the American Legion gave Americanism medals to the three best boys and the three best girls in our local Elementary School It was a tradition. The girls picked the three most popular girls and the boys likewise. Then on graduation day the boys and girls would give a little speech, usually on their love of their school and their appreciation to the American Legion.
I think it was 1976 when I met with the Principal to set it up. He told me that because of Federal Law changes. Title 9, 10 whatever, he could no longer distinguish between boys and girls. It had to be six students only. That year five girls and one boy received the award. That was the end of it. Our Post stopped doing it.
That was the beginning of the bullshit.
Was this broadcast on ABC and CNN Breaking News?
I don’t care what little jimmy or his mommy did to drag his ass to not-so-Great Britain government school.
Did he learn anything?
Is he forced to wear a burka and pray to mecca?
Not-so-Great Britain swirls the drain, my ancestors would be shamed.
I now wonder if the boys can use the girls bathroom in our elementary school. I’ve given up.
Teachable moment, mom’s a bitch.
I don’t wear any of my medals anymore.
I retired.
Whatever awards my girl gets in Aikido class, she’s earned.
I don’t really see what her big deal is. So many kids miss so much school these days it’s not necessarily a bad thing to show a good reason (an award) to aim for perfect attendance. I know it will only matter a LOT to the littler kiddos, but as someone said above, it builds good habits. My son HATED missing school when he was little–he doesn’t hate missing anymore, not in the same way, but he has a really good sense of days when it’s not really productive to give in to, for example, if you feel crappy and it’s probably justified to stay home, but you could also get through the day and it’s Friday anyway. To be honest, sometimes I feel like my son has better discipline than I do anymore, and he’s a 14-year-old kid. But that makes me happy because healthy discipline is a great tool to have when headed for the real world.
Haven’t read through the comments yet, so forgive me if I’m repeating someone.
The problem here, as I see it, is a Mom trying to equalize her kids – who are not equal. This isn’t Burger King where you get them matching meals so no one feels slighted or Christmas with matching gifts.
She’ll be putting handicap devices on him at some point. The kind that give you handicaps.