Scott Allan’s World

This morning walking into work I noticed a bumper sticker on a car,

“My child is a TERRIFIC KID at Moody Middle School”

Well, Zip-a-dee-doo-dah! My first thought was, “How nice. A parent is proud of their child.” Then I thought well my kids are terrific too, and I have no bumper sticker on my car. This kid with the bumper sticker is 11 to 13 years old. How is that a great accomplishment worth celebrating? What ever happened to “My kid is on the honor roll” or something like that?

It reminds me when I ask how my son is doing in school and the teacher tells me he’s such a sweet boy. Arrrrrggghhh! Yes I know he’s a nice kid, but can he read, add, subtract, and multiply? When did achievement become a dirty word?

I remember when my son graduated from kindergarten. I had to go to a formal graduation ceremony where my son wore a cap and gown! It’s kindergarten for goodness sake! I didn’t have a graduation until my senior year in high school. Now that’s a milestone!

Also, every year my son gets a trophy for every team he plays on. Last fall, his football team did not win a single game, but yet they got trophies. I have one trophy from youth sports. When I was 10 years old, my soccer team was undefeated. I am so proud of that trophy and don’t regret that I was never on another championship team. I didn’t need piles of meaningless hardware.

There is too much emphasis on “fairness and equality” and too little emphasis on the importance of competition and hard work. In reality, it is “unfair” to our children to let them believe that everyone is equally special. How will they be able to adapt when harsh reality hits in the real world? True accolades should only come to those who work hard for them and actually accomplish something worthwhile. If we praise everything and nothing, the praise will lose its meaning and our kids will lose their drive and motivation.

This attitude is why American schools are falling behind.