Why academic awards for elementary aged kids are a bad idea.

[Anonymous]

And some more:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022440506000380

http://web.calstatela.edu/faculty/jshindl/cm/Chapter7motivation.htm

[Anonymous]

So you can't reward genuine hard work because the ones who aren't academic stars will get their feelings hurt? Millennials in a nutshell.

[Anonymous]

At our Virginia middle school they gave an award to students who did well in gym. No joke.

[Anonymous]

Interesting topic. DD seldom got any award despite being very bright and good student. Awards usually went to the perfectionist girls. Same in MS. In high school, DD received MANY awards. The other kids who got them in elementary--not so much. Several of the standouts flamed out.

Folks--it doesn't really matter. DS got an award on Wordmasters in third grade. Shocked his teacher. It didn't really mean anything to him--he told me after the award ceremony that he didn't really deserve it because he had guessed the answers. (He was not dumb, though) It was not a good life lesson for him. He was one to slide by. He's turned out fine, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So you can't reward genuine hard work because the ones who aren't academic stars will get their feelings hurt? Millennials in a nutshell.

This is the grown up version of "It's not faaair!" (Stomp foot, flounce off)

[Anonymous]

DD got a "B" in reading in sixth grade. I asked her teacher what she was doing wrong--she scored 99% on Stanford reading and she read ALL her free time. (Really too much!) I wasn't attacking or questioning the teacher's ability--I just assumed that my DD was not doing her work or something. Next report card, she got "A"s from then on. Ended up getting the "Reading award" that year.
Not sure what happened. I suspect that, because my child was not a hand raiser or a teachers' pet type, that she just kind of went unnoticed and got a B. The teacher also loved good artwork and DD was not anything close to an artist--or a perfectionist. I assume that after I pointed out her scores that the teacher woke up a little. As I said earlier, I did not attack the teacher at all. It was in the first report card conference and I just asked where the problem was in her reading grade. It just did not make sense.

The teacher was actually a terrific teacher. One of the best. Even terrific teachers can overlook kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD got a "B" in reading in sixth grade. I asked her teacher what she was doing wrong--she scored 99% on Stanford reading and she read ALL her free time. (Really too much!) I wasn't attacking or questioning the teacher's ability--I just assumed that my DD was not doing her work or something. Next report card, she got "A"s from then on. Ended up getting the "Reading award" that year.
Not sure what happened. I suspect that, because my child was not a hand raiser or a teachers' pet type, that she just kind of went unnoticed and got a B. The teacher also loved good artwork and DD was not anything close to an artist--or a perfectionist. I assume that after I pointed out her scores that the teacher woke up a little. As I said earlier, I did not attack the teacher at all. It was in the first report card conference and I just asked where the problem was in her reading grade. It just did not make sense.

The teacher was actually a terrific teacher. One of the best. Even terrific teachers can overlook kids.

Ya see, it does pay to helicopter!

[Anonymous]

Ya see, it does pay to helicopter!

Sorry. NO helicopter here. Didn't contact the teacher outside of class. Routine conference question. I actually thought my DD was not doing her work or something. Isn't that what the conferences are for? I didn't request the conference. It was the first grading period conference. Responsible parent--not helicopter parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So you can't reward genuine hard work because the ones who aren't academic stars will get their feelings hurt? Millennials in a nutshell.

Jeezus, can you read or put three thoughts together to form a coherent argument? Stop watching so much Fox Snooze, it rots your brains.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So you can't reward genuine hard work because the ones who aren't academic stars will get their feelings hurt? Millennials in a nutshell.

+1. There is nothing wrong with rewarding effort. If a child applies himself then all the power to him for getting some recognition.

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure how I feel about this. My child is in a regular class but has some learning challenges. We have enough trouble trying to boost her self-esteem without her having to see all the other kids get awards. I would hope they would be sensitive enough to encourage the slower learners as well. Some of them try just as hard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At our Virginia middle school they gave an award to students who did well in gym. No joke.

Was this possibly the Presidential Fitness Award? That award is no joke at all, it is very difficult to meet the standards. This is from the Presidential Fitness Award site:

Presidential Physical Fitness Award—To earn this award, students must score at or above the 85th percentile on all five activities.

[Anonymous]

um, the awards at our school for the younger grades were given to the kids who turned in their book reading lists every week. not the ones who read the most books. not the ones who are the best citizens or the best friends to their peers. not the ones who served the community the best. not the ones who are the smartest.

that has nothing to do with working hard. this is more about who has the more organized parent. impossible to explain this to a second grader.

+1 Yeah, I got the award for organizing my son when he was in 6th grade. I knew who the award was for when I got it. Unfortunately. He didn't really need a self esteem boost either. Maybe I did. Hindsight is always 20/20.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So you can't reward genuine hard work because the ones who aren't academic stars will get their feelings hurt? Millennials in a nutshell.

+1. There is nothing wrong with rewarding effort. If a child applies himself then all the power to him for getting some recognition.

The argument against these awards ceremonies is based on empirical evidence that it doesn't achieve positive results in most cases. If you say, "Who are you to tell me I shouldn't eat candy for breakfast, lunch, and dinner," the answer would be that I have no authority over your choices, of course. But if you read literature on nutrition research, you would conclude yourself that despite your deriving a great deal of short-term enjoyment out of candy three meals a day, this would be a bad behavior to engage in.

Make sense?

[Anonymous]

Jeezus, can you read or put three thoughts together to form a coherent argument? Stop watching so much Fox Snooze, it rots your brains.

Now, that is the ultimate. I'm not either prior poster, but most of the pushy parents I know are definitely not Fox watchers!

FWIW, my kids' elementary school gave awards every quarter. Pretty sure every child got an award at least once a year. DS always got "Principal's Pride". He told me that it was the award that they give to kids who don't earn them........Kids know. He actually is a good kid--just prefers play to work.