Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombie_babies Jun 08, 2012 15:45:03	Link An actual, realistic message.  How ... quaint, I guess.  I like this specifically because, with a stepson about to enter high school, I see exactly what he's talking about.  Recently I wasted about 2 hours of my evening to attend an after school awards ceremony.  Sounds cool but it wasn't.  You see, while they did give out awards for some impressive things (citizenship, scholarship, etc), the vast majority were incredibly stupid.  For example, the orchestral band or whatever pretentious title they've given themselves competed in some contest or other.  And so they awarded the kids that were recognized for some special effort or whatever in this 'contest' ... and every single other kid that simply showed up to play.  Yes, I sat for about 10 minutes while a parade of kids walked across the stage to pick up a certificate - and pen - awarding them for playing in a contest that they were basically required to attend.  Holy god.  That's ... well, it's not something you give someone an award for.  Not at all.  Showing up isn't award worthy.  Participation isn't excellence by itself.  So yeah, 'you are not special' is something I think a lot of kids need to hear more often.  And yes, he sort of retreated from the message to make the speech somewhat nice, but overall I think what will stand out to these kids is what matters: You haven't done anything yet.  Now is when you begin to lay the groundwork so that you may achieve something someday down the line. What's that?  Oh, why my stepson was there.  Well, he got an award, too.  He got an award for participating in the spelling bee at the city or state level - can't recall.  So, he did well enough in two contests to advance.  He never won, of course.  So yes, another participation award.  And the kicker?  He'd already received at least two certificates honoring his 'achievement' before that night.  And just so ya'all know, he thought it was incredibly stupid before we went.
#2 draco1119 Jun 08, 2012 23:49:28	For example, the orchestral band or whatever pretentious title they've given themselves competed in some contest or other.  And so they awarded the kids that were recognized for some special effort or whatever in this 'contest' ... and every single other kid that simply showed up to play.  Yes, I sat for about 10 minutes while a parade of kids walked across the stage to pick up a certificate - and pen - awarding them for playing in a contest that they were basically required to attend.  Holy god.  That's ... well, it's not something you give someone an award for.  Not at all.  Showing up isn't award worthy.  Participation isn't excellence by itself. I both agree and disagree with this statement.  In general, it's true; in practice, not always.  I was in my high school's marching bandwhen I was a sophomore, and we ended up placing 4th in Regionals.  Top 3 went to state.  The judges actually admitted that they dumbed-down our scores, otherwise we would have been 2nd or 3rd.  Why would they do this?  Money.  In Indiana, the state marching band competition is kind of a big deal, and my school had under 900 students, with less than 100 in the band.  When ticket-selling time comes, who would they rather see in the competition - the band with 200-250 members, from a school with a student population of ~3000, or the band with 90 members, from a private school with under 900?  Should we have been recognized for our achivement?   Show I have no idea if they were or not; I moved to SF a few weeks later.