Thursday, December 31, 2009

honest ramblings

Life is not fair.
Shocking news, isn't it? I am a member of a cake forum, and we are currently discussing societies tendency to sugar coat everything.
When kids play sports, not every participant wins. So why are we giving them all ribbons? Sometimes I see parents give little Johnny a gift on Susie's birthday, because you know, otherwise he would feel left out. Left out of his SISTER'S birthday celebration!
When we were kids (back in the time of dinosaurs and all that) if you didn't win, the idea was you would try harder. Now, your mother will call the coach, demand that you be listed as a winner "because you couldn't do any better with such a terrible coach", and then she will get that coach fired.
In my opinion, if you can't do the school work, you fail. Unfortunately, since I am not in charge of these decisions, I now have a room full of grade 9 kids who can't read, have never written an essay, and must use the calculator on their cell phone for the most basic math. Apparently, this has saved their self-esteem.
I admit, I can be a bit too honest. Don't ask me what I think unless you really, really want to know. But in the same way, if I ask you for YOUR opinion, it means that I respect you enough to hear your true thoughts. Even if that means my shirt looks like a reject from the 70's, and also makes my ass look massive.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Amen!
Especially the bit about students who are "promoted" to save their self-esteem. What happens later on in life, when that's all they have but no actual skills or learning?

Anonymous said...

It is so true I see this all the time and it makes me more sad than mad as these kids have no clue what being a responsible, respectful, self sufficient human being means and it is mostly the parents fault. I refuse to let my kids live in that much of a bubble and although many parents frown upon me I am teaching my kids to suck it up and move on!! Life is what you make of it not how you complain about it!!
Buffy

Jay said...

Totally agree. Here's an article I read that backs up your feeling.

http://nymag.com/news/features/27840/

Mamacita (The REAL one) said...

I agree with you so thoroughly and completely that my fingers are trembling and I'm having to go back and correct almost every word. But I think you should give me an A anyway.

Oh, man, you are absolutely spot-on correct.

BethinBC said...

You already know how I feel about this issue - drives me nuts. Back in the 90's I fought the school 'tooth & nail' about promoting my daughter out of Grade 10. She skipped school more than half the time, was failing virtually everything!! They wouldn't listen . She did graduate - it was bittersweet, since I didn't have any confidience anymore in what education she actually had!!