Oh. My. Word. First it was the trophies for every kid on the soccer team. Now schools are letting just about anyone on the honor roll. Even kids who get Ds on their report card!
Confused? So was one mom at Florida's Pasco Middle School. Her son came home with a report card that showed he'd gotten a C in one class, a D in another. And despite his lackluster grades, the school had put him on the honor roll!
Beth Tillack's reaction to this inanity makes me want to give her a big ol' hug today.
Tillack freaked! As she told ABC:
The bottom line is there is nothing honorable about making a D. I was not happy, because how can I get my child to study for a test when he thinks he's done enough.
In this day of "gimme, gimme, gimme, that's my kid," this mom is actually angry that her kid made the honor roll. I think I LOVE this woman!
Can you blame her? What does the honor roll even mean if a kid can get a D and still make the list?
According to the school, they work on a point system to create their honor roll, so a bunch of As would outweigh one F enough for a kid with a failing grade to make the list. They also labeled the honor roll announcement sent home to Beth Tillack's kid as "encouragement."
I'm not buying it. What's encouraging about being told that you're already doing great shakes when you really aren't? There's nothing to strive for. And for the kids who actually do make all As, putting a kid with Cs and Ds on the same roll is downright insulting. It tells those kids that their hard work doesn't really matter; they could have slacked off and gotten the same reward.
There's an overwhelming temptation we all feel to shield our kids from hurt. We're all guilty of feeling it at times, myself included. But we need to step back and remember that the opposite of pain isn't no pain ... it's pure joy. And often the best way for our kids to obtain that is by letting them earn it. REALLY earn it.
What do you think of an honor roll that includes kids who get Cs and Ds?
Image via nickamoscato/Flickr