Pizza, I am an extreme E in real life according to my MBTI type and I can assure you- I don’t give a #$%^ about what other people think. And even though we are only internet pals- I think you would agree with my self-assessment.
The introvert/extrovert has many useful things to teach people about themselves, the people they love, and those they work with- but outside affirmation is definitely not part of the construct. I know classic introverts (they are pretty much a home run on their psychological profile) who care far more than I do about other people’s views of themselves.
I think the distinction between folks like us (Pizza and Blossom) who care more about results, facts, analysis than what someone else is feeling is a valuable insight. But the I’s and the E’s probably split evenly in their own self-assuredness.
I bet you know some pretty insecure introverts, don’t you Pizzagirl???
@cobrat. There are not many schools in the country with a more significant sports presence than my son’s former school. There was a movie made about one of the sports programs. ESPN has filmed in the school on several occasions. Multiple state championships a year is the rule, not the exception. The most coveted award handed out at the all sports banquet every year requires a certain minimum gpa (the equivalent of honors) and is voted on by the non coaching teachers. There are probably three or four other awards that blend academic and athletic achievement as well. i have never sensed that these were out of place.
All State Academic, as well as the award given to student combining athletic achievement/leadership/academic achievement awards at our sports banquets are as prominent as MVP etc.
@cobrat “If schools don’t provide honor roll and end of year awards…it communicates a clear and IMO…damning message the schools and their respective leaderships don’t value academic achievement of their students. Damning as IMO…that also shows those “educational leaders” are effectively abandoned the main mission of the institutions they are supposed to lead.”
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funny you should say that...when we first started I kept looking for the honor roll...A/A...A/B....participation??? lol
There is none.
So leave them in the dust. Go on to do bigger and better things. It’s high school. Most people will forget about it and the people in it as soon as they leave.
Seems to me different schools will handle these types of issues differently. I can see the idea of academics being mentioned at pretty much anything because the primary purpose of high school is to get an education. And I can also see principals/teachers mentioning athletics at an academic awards night. They often know the kids more than just in tunnels of academics or sports.
My kids’ school has a senior awards night with parents and kids who are getting awards. Vast majority of them are academic related. A few of them are combined academic/athletic. Athletic department has spring and fall banquets on the sports side. They typically talk some/have a couple awards that include academics as well as athletics.
We live in a sports crazed world. I don’t see that changing any time soon. But I don’t think that takes away from the academic kids (or those who combine both – or who combine academics and music or art or that rare kid who seems to combine all of the above).
I think OP was complaining about middle school award ceremony.
Amazing middle school athletes vs amazing middle school honor roll scholars.
I always enjoyed driving behind a car with the sticker “My son is a honor roll student in elementary school X”
Please get yourself a sticker.
We in the US take the “sports craze” to a much higher level than most other countries in the world. While sports fanatics exist in most parts of the world, they don’t take it to the extreme many US K-12 schools/school districts do.
Especially in centering and even privileging sports/athletic activities over academic ones. That’s not to say they don’t support their athletes.
Instead, they don’t usually do it to the point of devaluing or even overlooking the high academic achievers. Especially in how the principal in OP did with those honor roll students at an awards ceremony which was supposed to spotlight their ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT. In fact, that would be considered unheard of and deeply troubling in the cultural norms of many other societies…especially those with better performing K-12 school systems than our own.
And you can sit and dwell on it or you can move on. Let other people be stupid.
And frankly part of the problem IS when you know / congratulate every kid-not-yours on every time he hit the ball or made the catch or whatever. It perpetuates the notion that athletics are worth caring about. I do / did my part by deliberately remaining unaware and oblivious to any other kid’s athletic triumphs unless said kid had issued from my body.
Was my kids’ high school football team any good? Soccer team? Basketball team? Beats me. It’s easy to ignore things you don’t care about.
I was speaking in the context of athletics being privileged over academics in K-12 schools. In most other countries, especially those with better performing K-12 school systems, it would be considered unheard of for principals and school admins to dilute the spotlight off at an awards ceremony for academic achievers by highlighting non-academic achievements in the manner that principal did.
In fact, if a principal did that in some countries, the parental outrage would be such the principal would likely be dismissed and even blacklisted from being a K-12 administrator at another school due to parental and educational ministry opposition.
@cobrat I was talking about sports award ceremonies with academic awards as part of it. My kids school does a large school wide academic awards ceremony for the each grade at the end of the school year. Sports awards are usually just for the team in question.
Maybe 40 years ago, before everyone went to college, college tuition could be paid with a minimum wage job, and it wasn’t a global economy, C’s were okay. But in 2016? Good luck and have fun paying full freight at whatever diploma mill accepts you.
Wow!! Do you have a list of these countries? I want to know what countries to avoid visiting and where my kids should never live. And this is coming from someone who as kids who are totally into academics (if there is a geek club or organization, they belong to it) and not into athletics at all. Seriously these seems like the perfect place for folks to take a chill pill. As others have noted, move on. Life is too short. It comes with enough drama. Manufacturing it leads to unhappiness.
A major factor for that is cultural/societal norms in which academic schools…especially college-prep track schools should center their priorities and award ceremonies on academic activities. While there’s athletics, it was considered no different than any other EC.
Students who aspired to play at the pro levels have specialized sports-oriented schools and universities/departments for that specific purpose.
The feeling among educational and sports officials in those societies is that the needs of aspiring pro-athletes and academic-track students are so different that putting them in with academic track kids…especially those aspiring to the academic college-prep track would do a disservice to the needs of both groups.
And before anyone brings up “OMG! What about physical fitness?!!” Most of those societies do stress physical fitness to a higher level for everyone than in the US. Especially considering every male student barring severe physical/mental disabilities has a 2 year mandated military service obligation upon reaching 18 years of age.
I’ll agree to disagree here. One doesn’t necessarily need nor should there be a requirement for others to effectively be oblivious to the going ons around them. And I don’t agree one should limit one’s congratulations solely to one’s children or one’s family/friends.
With even complete strangers, if someone has made a publicly known meritorious achievement in a given field…whether it’s academics, sports, music, work, etc and is not exuding an overly braggy/sore winner attitude, the classy thing to do IS to congratulate them on their achievement even if it’s not one’s own kids/family/friends.
Granted, I would not necessarily do that for every hit/catch…but if a given individual achieved something like becoming a Westinghouse semi-finalist/finalist, became a val/sal where there isn’t multiple val/sals, was part of a math/debate team which one a regional/national competition, or yes…part of an athletic team which won the regional/statewide championships…I would congratulate them for those achievements…and not do so by saying things which steal the thunder from the achiever’s proud moment like “While you worked hard, irrelevant for the occasion/venue achievement is REALLY AMAZING so lets give him/her/them a hand of applause.” That’s not appropriate IMO.