Exactly. This young lady has all the accomplishments listed, like captain of three teams, and not one person remembered her? Really? Just makes me sort of wonder if there isn’t someone with the claws out for her in the background. But I am the suspicious type, so . . .
Also, what a parent is entitled to say to his/her own support system is very different than what should be said or done at the school. It’s fine to come here and rant to other parents here about whatever. I wouldn’t support storming the principal’s office and making demands, however.</p>
<p>mathmom,
All colleges use ranking and selective programs use them as prime criteria. While some schools do not rank (D’s HS, no rank, no val, no sal) they must maintain class profile. Since everybody know their own GPA and class profile is on a website, everybody personally know what their rank is. Awards should be up to individual school. Personally, I believe that hard work should be awarded. Since scholarships are out there, if schools do not give them to certain kids, then they are going to be wasted. Then, there are others that come from your State. In our state they are given to #1 in class. Here is another reason for class profile. School does not want to be excluded from potential scholarships to its graduates. It is plain silly to say NO to money that are publicly available with a lot of them from private donations.</p>
<p>Try getting a poor evaluation for your NMF application. When I was in high school way back when, I decided to take two courses over the summer between my junior and senior year that I really didnt need, but I just liked school. In one class the teacher turned out to be an enormous prima donna, who spent the entire summer flirting with the young girls in the class. He saw me at the beach the day before the final, made some smart-a$$ comment to me, which, not thinking correctly, I returned in kind. Well, turns out I got one A and one B that summer guess which class I got the B in? It wouldnt have been so bad, but that was my first B ever, and I didnt take too kindly to it, especially since I got A level scores on the objective parts of the course, and my poorer grades were in the subjectively graded portions. My parents were even less thrilled. I was mortified when they made me complain to the principal and cause a huge brouhaha.</p>
<p>However, to this day I wonder if this caused the school to submit a lousy NM evaluation. Since I was the only one of four NMSFs who didnt make finalist, and since my SATs were higher than my PSATs, and my grades were, like I said, all As and one B, I could never figure it out. And I had received department awards of one kind or another every year up until then. Still have my suspicions, and since this happened before my college aps, I also have no idea what sort of evaluations they gave me for those.</p>
<p>So things can actually be worse than missing an end of senior year award. I’m 53 and I think I’m almost over it.</p>
Hoo boy. Don’t get me started on the “fairness” of casting parts for the school musical. Not getting that part can be way worse than not getting an award.</p>
<p>In every school there are a group of kids who suck up to the teachers and administrators and a segment of the teachers and administrators who, because of their massive egos, do not recognize the sucking up for what it is. There, in a nutshell, is the basis for the inequities in student awards.</p>
<p>“High school teachers have the most inflated sense of self-importance of any group I can think of.”</p>
<p>Wow. In my experience they are hard-working, mostly care about the kids, and are very grateful that sometimes someone shows them appreciation for all they do.</p>
<p>What a hateful comment. Because of my job, I know an awful lot of h.s. teachers. Most of them don’t have enough ego for their own good, actually – beaten down as some often are by parents who demand and threaten about grades of their S’s and D’s who refuse to work, to study, etc., and/or by students who try to manipulate their way out of consequences for actions and inactions.</p>
<p>Currently I know exactly three h.s. teachers, out of dozens I know, who are arrogant, and another three (exactly) on the elementary level that I would call arrogant. That’s not a function of their job, which hardly bestows much in the way of power, glamour, or prestige, but rather a function in each case of obnoxious personalities. Rude people are liberally littered across all professions, including the professions of those who post on CC.</p>
<p>Our D’s school had the local scholarship awards ceremony last Wednesday night. These are scholarships which are funded by some local businesses but mostly in the name of a deceased alumni.</p>
<p>Our daughter did fairly well but we were most overjoyed for one of her best friends who was never an “in kid” but who wore out a path to the podium. It was just so delightful that through essays and such she could show people outside of the school what was really important.</p>
<p>Yes, I believe my own kid has some really great teachers and staff. He is not top notch college material, and a bit on the lazy side, but at his school they have programs for all level of student. In fact, he was in a special program for kids who seem sort of adrift, and last night they had their own little recognition banquet, separate from the rest of the student body. And thanks to generous community organizations he actually got a little grant, which he can use for books at community college. I think it made him feel good about himself, sort of hard to tell with him sometimes.</p>
<p>Most of the kids in this group got these little grants, and the criteria were spelled out really clearly. So it was nice, and I’m really grateful for it. He even said something nice about me in his little speech, which was sort of shocking :).</p>
<p>As far as me, I also had a lot of great teachers (aside from that fellow in my earlier post), and most importantly, I think they prepared me well for college. I know a lot of students can’t say that, but I have no complaints about the majority of my teachers, or my kid’s teachers.</p>
<p>But I do understand the disappointment many parents feel for their kids (especially the super hard working ones) when they get shut out for some unexplained reason.</p>
<p>In our district, we have had some big school board issues this year. The teachers have come across as a big bunch of whiners. Does this mean all teachers are whiners? No. Does it even mean that the teachers in our district are whiners? No. But they are complaining about things that they have taken for granted for years, while most other people have not had what they get (benefits).</p>
<p>I also think that faculty personalities probably vary greatly from community to community, so Objective’s post may be very true in his/her experience. Our local high school has one of the most arrogant, mean-spirited music teachers who should be fired, but he golfs with the principal and so he keeps his job. I think that high school teachers have a lot of power and there are those who abuse it. I don’t think the majority do, but they are out there.</p>
<p>I think teachers follow the same bell curve as any other employee at any other job…a small number horrendous, a large number average, a small number terrific. </p>
<p>Of course, one person’s “sucking up” is another person’s “being friendly.” Put yourself in the teacher’s position: Two students have a 102 average in your class. Student A has never said a word to you. Student B comes by to chat on occasion. Wouldn’t we all choose Student B for the award? (Unfortunately, I don’t have any Student Bs in my house.)</p>
<p>So Pizzagirl and company think it’s OK for school personnel to not reward those they deem have already been rewarded enough by college admissions results, or being named team captain, or whatever. Why aren’t you applying the same logic you referred to about college admissions to this process also? You reminded us that we can’t be sure of what is in a child’s application. Similarly, how do teachers, coaches, and other school staff members know what a child has or has not already received? Not every award or scholarship is reported to the school–only the National Merit type honors and the awards the school itself administers. So based on that, the school could be giving awards to those whom they think are un-awarded, when in reality the student has received quite a few things they don’t know about.</p>
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