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

[Anonymous]

One or two awards, fine. Sometimes a child really does excell, and the message "you were not the very best" is different from the message "you are not smart". Too many awards and everyone knows who matters and who doesn't.

[Anonymous]

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

So? Maybe the kid did really well in there with skills your kid doesn't have

My kid always thought the attendance award was unfair because he has a chronic condition and therefore can't get it. I thought it a good lesson in the end that people get praised for different things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
We've had some European exchange students stay with us, and they all find our American reward and certificate obsession completely weird and alien. So those of you here who are saying "that's life," well, it's not life everywhere. Even in countries that are doing a helluva lot better than we are on any number of metrics.

As one kid put it, if a teacher's student isn't winning awards, isn't it really the fault of the teacher?

Ha!

Yes, this must be exactly why America is doing worse than other countries. Never mind that they don't have the drastic educational inequality, or that their culture probably respects intellectuals more, or that their teachers are highly qualified, highly paid, and highly respected, or that their curriculum is more developed, uniform, and organized nation-wide, it must be our "obsession" with certificates.

The American education system is not a monolith. In this area, teaching jobs are highly competitive, and the teachers ARE highly qualified.

[Anonymous]

At my DS's elementary, I remember that the two citizenship awards were given to the two meanest girls in the grade. Of course, both of them had moms who were very active in the PTA.

[Anonymous]

At our school all the PTA mom kids get to do the morning announcements. It's considered a reward/prize for kids who do "well" but these kids get to do it much more than others. It was kind of disheartening when my kid noticed this and blamed me for working too much and not being like the cool moms who volunteer all the time.

[Anonymous]

Your kid will be grateful when the PTA mom's kid has to go to a state school because they don't have any money for college and your family does. THat's how it worked our in our house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your kid will be grateful when the PTA mom's kid has to go to a state school because they don't have any money for college and your family does. THat's how it worked our in our house.

Wtf?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your kid will be grateful when the PTA mom's kid has to go to a state school because they don't have any money for college and your family does. THat's how it worked our in our house.

At our house, our kids earned high GPAs and SAT/ACT scores so were awarded lots of merit scholarship money to make college affordable, even though we did not qualify for need-based aid. Mom was never in the PTA but did volunteer lots of hours at school/Scouts/sports.

Every family has their own set of values and priorities which work for them.

[Anonymous]

ha ha, just remembered in middle school how it was april and I'd never been absent 9I liked school). But god forbid I get a "perfect attendance award" with all the gooberish kids (and I was one and so was desperate to stop being one). So I pretended to be sick so I could stay home. But glad the adults got to pat themselves on the back for rewarding kids for attending school.

[Anonymous]

The attendance award is the worst, you know they all showed up to school sick at one point or another- passing along their germs. Showing up does not merit an award

[Anonymous]

One or two awards, fine. Sometimes a child really does excell, and the message "you were not the very best" is different from the message "you are not smart". Too many awards and everyone knows who matters and who doesn't.

This sums it up! +10000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So much of this thread makes clear that much of what happens on school is about the adults. Who cares is academic awards are counterproductive if they make the adults feel good. Screw research and evidence, this is about our cherished myths about rewarding academic achievement and preparing kids for the real world. Who cares if awards actually do this - research says not - if they make adults feel good.

No one in this thread has actually cited any research or evidence that supports what you are saying.

[Anonymous]

All kids got an award or 3 at our school. Mine doesn't even know for what they were and where they are now.
For mommies and daddies? Wish I didn't have to go to his school at all. It's his "work", I have my own.

[Anonymous]

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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.

Pp here and I loathe Fox News and would never lower myself to watch it. My point stands. It is ridiculous to deride awards because they point out some people are NOT achievers and that is a very recent attitude.

That is not the reason offered for "deriding awards." It is the measured, documented (as well as anecdotally observed) impact of these awards that are the reasons for deriding them. You see? There is a logical, empirical argument for it.

Just like there is (hopefully) a logical, empirical argument for any number of policy and practice decisions. Not just that someone somewhere likes it and thinks it's fine.

I'm sorry. I still don't get it exactly. I-9 for instance is a sports group that each week gives an award for the kid who exhibits good sportsmanship characteristics and for following the directions of the day. They say this is an important part of their philosophy to reward children who listen well, try hard, and are helpful to their teammates. They aren't really innate abilities and they say the kids love them and are encouraged to follow suit so that they get a reward another time. Is it rewarding for innate abilities that you don't like or are you against rewards in general? Intrinsic motivation is great and more important, but I'm not sure the research says life should be devoid of external motivation.

That is a different kind of reward. It is frequent, and presumably every gets a chance to be recognized. If, however, there are a few kids who persistently are not recognized because they are badly behaved, you can be sure that the promise of the weekly reward is NOT working for them and the notion of the reward as incentive has failed. Time to talk with those students and question why the heck you're using these rewards as a behavior management system when it's not reaching the kids you want to reach.

You didn't answer why awards are not helpful and which ones you disagree with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is always a good lesson to learn to cheer for others successes.

That said, I think second grade is a little young for these types of awards. I wouldn't start them until third grade.

+1 to the statement in bold.

Also agree that awards should start around third grade and not earlier. Third was when anything like an academic award started in our ES.