Enough with the prizes already. I know I’ve written about this before but I see an ironic escalation of this in our schools. Eat pizza, get a toy. Eat your vegetables, how about a whistle? Buy school lunch and bring a cheap plastic thing back to the class to shove in a backpack or taken away by a teacher because you‘re playing with it during group time. Food and prizes don’t go together well. I understand that money needs to be made in food service, but kids don’t ask parents to buy lunch because they might get a soccer ball eraser. Do people really need a reward for eating? That just feels wrong, when on the other hand we have food drives, Trick or Treat for UNICEF and penny wars to provide people who would love the reward of eating to be that they can continue to live another day.
I also don’t get attendance awards. Why should a kid take a hit because he had the flu, or broke an arm? They can’t control their attendance in schools. Obviously kids don’t crawl out of bed with a fever getting ready for school because they’re afraid of not getting an attendance award in May. We tell kids not to come to school if they’re sick. I think if we are going to give awards let’s give them to kids who insist to their parents that staying home when ill shows respect and care about others.
Imagine if we had parent award day. Everyone’s parents would be expected to attend. Awards would be given for how many books their children read, if they had perfect or near perfect attendance, if homework assignments were turned in on time, if no trips were taken during the school year and if their child played a musical instrument or ran the mile in less than a couple hours. All the parents would watch, for the opportunity to be inspired by the hard work of other parents. They will relish the delivered message that just because their child didn’t get an award this year, there’s always next year. Sometimes, you’re told, you have to feel your reward inside. So you wonder why you were all dragged out then, if only 55 of the parents are getting rewards, 20 of whom more than one. They have the kids who awards are made for. Kids who are great in academics, athletes, actors and don’t forget healthy. Parents who have children who are winners are asked to stay a few minutes after the ceremony for photos.
My theory is that nothing would change if no rewards were given out. Just like food; kids would still eat hot lunch if their parents made them, prize or no prize. Sure, the recipients enjoy the rewards, and some actually deserve them, but these could be given out in classrooms by their classroom teachers, sent to the homes, or handed out by principals if some sort of faux prestige is what we’re going for. Speaking of whom, why don’t we line up the four Shorewood principals and have an award’s night over at the village hall? Categories can be determined by staff members. We could call it “A Night of Inspiration”. Principals from all over the North Shore will be invited so they can determine their own worth while listening to the achievements of peers.
A writing contest will determine that night’s keynote speaker. Submit entries to high school students who have won at least one president’s award for academic achievement. They’ll select the winner who will take the mike that evening, and then go home with a nice plastic toy podium. Congratulations.
