Happy Graduation! Cheers to Those Who Win Awards and Those Who Don’t
Graduation! It’s that bittersweet time when our children transition closer to adulthood. As students walk across the stage at the end of high school, college, and middle school it’s time to sum up awards. Who won them? Who didn’t?
Awards talk has been running rampant on social media this year. Since school reformers have pushed obsession with college-career-ready hype, winning awards is serious business. And all is not right in the world of medals and trophies.
An Award for Not Paying Attention
There’s the Georgia middle school eighth grader with attention difficulties who received an award stating she was the “Most Likely to NOT Pay Attention.” Perhaps there was nothing interesting for her to pay attention to!
But think of the humiliation. Eighth grade is no picnic to begin with. Most students this age are already anxious about high school. One can only hope this young woman will be able to put this aside and find pride in her abilities. These teachers made a costly mistake and they paid with the loss of their jobs.
A Great Award from a Great Teacher for a Great Student!
On the other side of the humanity coin, also in Georgia, Kimberly Wimbish is a teacher we can hold up as a model. She wouldn’t give up on Jamias Howard, 19, a student atHappy Graduation! Cheers to Those Who Win Awards and Those Who Don’t: