Teacher gave out candy and certificates...

[DawnCt1]

But just because another child is rewarded doesn't mean the other is being punished. There is a difference. I don't support the idea that kids shouldn't be recognized for their achievements because others didn't achieve the same thing.

 

[DisneyfeverTN]

Wow I'm sorry this happened to your son. There is no reason for that. She should have came up with some way to give everyone a treat. (i.e. good behavior, turns in homework,) I am sure she could have found something positive about every kid.

I agree with this. She could have thought of a way to include all the students one way or another.

 

[Mermaid02]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I see both sides of this coin. My dd is academically gifted. She takes honors and AP classes and makes the honor roll. Teachers come out of the woodwork to tell us how wonderful she is. She is very self motivated and she works hard. She is a junior and got a 94 in AP Calculus this quarter.

My son has several diagnoses and it's a daily struggle for him. I guess there is a lot more to this story than just this one incident and that is why it hit me so hard. I go in to organize him every afternoon (even though it is in his 504 plan and the school is supposed to help him) and Tuesday he said, "Mrs. R- I stayed on track today can I have my reward?" (this is the teacher behavior modification plan btw) and she looked at him and said, "Ya know buddy, I dont' really feel like giving rewards today." he said, "But I was on track today AND yesterday" she said, "Well remember, you were gone out of the room today for part of the day too. Some day when you were on track all day, you'll get a reward" He was out of the room for one hour while have a psychologist evaluate him- I know it was an hour because I was present at the evaluation. She negated HER entire behavior modification plan. The whole thing hinges on her MOOD? I should have said something but I didn't. I don't know WHY I didn't.

We are having multiple problems with the school and Jack's disabilities. My son's psychiatrist said after reading a letter the Principal sent her that we are most likely going to have to hire an attorney.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I see both sides of this coin. My dd is academically gifted. She takes honors and AP classes and makes the honor roll. Teachers come out of the woodwork to tell us how wonderful she is. She is very self motivated and she works hard. She is a junior and got a 94 in AP Calculus this quarter.

There are more sides....
My 10yodd did not make "gifted" and works hard for what she is getting.
So please understand that. It is a small consolation to be recognized for her.

As far as your situation, it is certainly a case of you have a serious issues with the teacher and everything that happens is going to be inflamatory.
I hope you figure it out.

 

[almburr]

last night at our HS BB game. Between Girls Varsity and Boys varsity they had a presentation of award for state wide test for reading and math my DD12 received one along with other kids the got a certificate and a coupon for the consession stand.

Everyone was happy for the kids.

 

[barkley]

the schools i went to never awarded for perfect attendance-and there was no such thing as honor roll till 7th grade. even then there were no certificates or 'perks'-i think there was some notation on our report cards, and a small list on the student page of the newspaper each semester, but nothing beyond that. as well as i can remember there were no awards given at all-save at the end of the year (4th-12th) when there would be an assembly and kids would get sports awards mostly, some would be handed out for 'good sportsmanship' (these were nice for the kids who gave every effort but were not gifted with great ability-but still supported the school teams), spelling bee/science fair, music stuff. but that was pretty much it.

i don't get the whole 'perfect attendance' thing i mean, the reality is that the basic expectation is that you attend school every day except those days when school is schedualed off. so these schools are rewarding people for simply doing what is expected of them? whatever happened to doing something just for the reason it's the expectation-not out of looking to receive accolades for it? the reality is-you don't get awarded in the 'real world' for doing what are the minimum expectations of your job-if your employer expects you there every day, doing that is what you do to keep your job. if the schools are having horrendous problems with attendance it seems they should be addressing those individuals with the attendance issues-holding up someone whose meeting those basic standards is'nt going to solve the problem. and the arguement that the awards encourage those who might not otherwise work towards being there all the time makes me question the values of the student/parent if it's simply a certificate that motivates them to attend.

i remember back in the 80's when i was teaching-there was a big shift where we had to move to a more rewards based style of teaching. stickers, certificates (little photocopied ones) and things that were normaly reserved for preschoolers and k's were introduced into the upper grades. then it got to be that people felt every child should be rewarded for something to 'spare their feelings'-as a result even more stickers and certificates-student of the year became student of the week (and by gosh, make sure every kid got that at least once during the year despite their performance/behaviour ). it just got overblown and out of hand.
i have to wonder if this is why when i moved out of teaching and began supervising employees-i found that over the years many of the younger ones (who would have gone to elementary after this trend got popular) seemed so frustrated when their minimal or even substandard efforts were not rewarded somehow. it was a strange dynamic-you would have someone who truly believed (and was vocal about it) that by virtue of their coming to work each day (on time) and doing exactly what was expected of them they should get some kind of certificate or bonus to reward them. they ignored the fact that those who were'nt doing it were receiving negative attention in the form of less opportunity to promote, suspensions, even terminations-they were realy focused on having themselves held up for reccognition. i have to wonder if it goes back to being rewarded so much in school i do know that one thing at my job was changed directly because of the mind set of some of these staff-supervisors could not write anything (even a positive thing) in red ink. a certain population of the staff associated red ink immediatly with 'wrong answers' on grade school tests so policy changed and out got tossed hundreds of red pens

sorry for getting so ot-but i think the schools need to look at the realities of life, and teach kids that 'yes' in some situations stellar work does result in accolades-but for the most part the only real reward for a job well done is the sense of personal satisfaction you feel inside yourself.

 

[Mermaid02]

Do you mean that "I" have issues with the teacher? I guess the issues are that they (school faculty) are not following a 504 plan that is in place and this is in violation of the law. I need to call a meeting for this. Also, the whole point of behavior modification is negated if she doesn't keep up her end of the bargain. All incentive is gone, if it depends on the teacher's "mood". The doc's jaw hit her desk when I told her about this.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I don't have a problem with awarding students.

I just found out recently that either our county--or maybe it is just one school...rewards the teachers for perfect attendance for their classes. That I think is ridiculous.

As far as honor roll--I have absolutely NO problem with the reward system.

While it would be nice at OTHER times of the year to reward OTHER positive things the children do, I don't believe that rewards for children who do well academically should be discounted or dismissed for fear that someone will be offended. It is just a part of life.

Mermaid--your last post about your son's 504 plan is horrible. The teacher should honor what was agreed to.

 

[Mermaid02]

I don't have a problem with awarding students.

I just found out recently that either our county--or maybe it is just one school...rewards the teachers for perfect attendance for their classes. That I think is ridiculous.

As far as honor roll--I have absolutely NO problem with the reward system.

While it would be nice at OTHER times of the year to reward OTHER positive things the children do, I don't believe that rewards for children who do well academically should be discounted or dismissed for fear that someone will be offended. It is just a part of life.

Mermaid--your last post about your son's 504 plan is horrible. The teacher should honor what was agreed to.

They have to follow the 504 plan and I need to call a meeting. I'm very frustrated and it's hard to watch your child struggle daily. Some mornings he's curled up in a ball crying because he has such school anxiety.

I'm also floored that I as a parent can't put candy in my son's lunch box, but the teacher can hand it out. What's up with that??

 

[arielsleepingbeauty]

My daughter's teacher gives out a smartee candy to any child that gets 100 on a spelling test. I have never given it another thought since my daughter has always received 100's on her tests.

I personally do not think that there is anything wrong with giving out awards. Each week a child is awarded the star of the week and does somethgin special in the classroom for the whole next week. I am not disappointed that my daughter hasn't received it yet.

I think that if a teacher wants to award for perfect attendance that is fine and her teach does do it. My daughter was dismissed once this term and once last. I don't think a piece of candy is going to persuade a child to attend school even when they are sick. My daughter loves candy and could easily earn one for perfect attendence becasue she hasn't been sick this year, however she likes me to pick her up early. Usally as a treat i will pick her up 5 minutes earlier than the bell 1 time per term. She still is considered an early release and I feel better that she is not missing time from school. A small piece of candy isn't making much of an impact to stay in school.

 

[Hannathy]

Perefct attendance awards are stupid, for the reasons already stated.

Rewarding a child because they do well in school is not. We have to get out of the mentality that every child deserves every award. They don't and it teaches them to handle disappointment when they don't get an award.

I didn't always make the honor roll. So I tried harder for next time. I didn't make every sports team I tried out for. So I became the team manager/scorekeeper. I didn't get asked by every guy I liked. But I did get asked out by guys who I realized were great guys too because I gave them the chance. I didn't get the part in the school play I tried out for. So I did props and costumes. I didn't get every job I interviewed for. But I have a job I enjoy.

I am not in therapy. I am not a serial killer. I learned to handle disappointment.

There is always going to be someone who is prettier, smarter, more athletic, more talented in some way, than you. The sooner kids learn to deal with that, the better off they will be. Teach your child to love their gifts and not to be jealous about what others have.

I have to agree. I think it is great they gave the students with good grades an award. They work hard for it and deserve it. I am so sick of the every child wins they don't. For an event that has a lot of participants it is ok to give a participation pin but there should still be 1 winner.

When I was in elem. school I had a teacher who made her seating chart by your grades 1st seat had the highest grade and so on till the last seat was the lowest. We switched every grading period. Can you imagine the parents today. We lived thru it and by the way the kids know who makes good grades. This everyone is special and good is very evident on American Idol some of those younger ones seem genuinely surprised (and I don't mean the really bad ones) when they are told your OK but not great, because no one every told them that.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

They have to follow the 504 plan and I need to call a meeting. I'm very frustrated and it's hard to watch your child struggle daily. Some mornings he's curled up in a ball crying because he has such school anxiety.

I'm also floored that I as a parent can't put candy in my son's lunch box, but the teacher can hand it out. What's up with that??

As long as they could not eat it in class--what is the big deal?


I didn't question the following of the 504 plan. Your teacher was out of line with that. Sorry if that was not clear.

The Honor Roll stuff is independent of that though--other children should not be "not rewarded" due to another students plan. Aren't they entitled to rewards for jobs well done?

Your sons rewards should NOT have been suspended though b/c of that....he knows what his rewards are for when he receives them I am guessing.

 

[luvflorida]

I've always had a huge issue with perfect attendance awards. In the scheme of life, does it really matter if a kid misses a few days of school?

The award makes absolutely no sense. The student has no control over whether or not he/she will get sick, break a bone, or have something else happen that causes them to miss school.

Personally, I think it's a little weird to NOT miss a day now and then.

 

[soccerchick]

I really hate the "every child has to get something so they don't feel bad" mentality.

!!

ITA! This "celebrate mediocrity" mentality is driven by the parents. Kids DO need to learn to deal with disappointment. We can't celebrate every dog gone thing. We aren't all "winners" in every venue we try. Sometimes a "certificate of participation or effort" IS all we deserve, if that.

We were just discussing this last week. An American Idol wanna be didn't make it so she went into the hall to get her mommy. Come on people. Life does provide all of us with harsh lessons. Based on the responses here there's no easy answer. There will always be someone who doesn't like the way things are done. As parents, we're here to help our kids get over these things, not make them go away.

 

[Mermaid02]

As long as they could not eat it in class--what is the big deal?


I didn't question the following of the 504 plan. Your teacher was out of line with that. Sorry if that was not clear.

The Honor Roll stuff is independent of that though--other children should not be "not rewarded" due to another students plan. Aren't they entitled to rewards for jobs well done?

Your sons rewards should NOT have been suspended though b/c of that....he knows what his rewards are for when he receives them I am guessing.

I think the candy thing sends a mixed message. You don't- difference of opinion I guess. No big deal.

I'm really confused as to why the teacher isn't following her own behavior modification plan. I guess I'll have to ask her.

 

[TimeforMe]

I'm really sorry, but I was when I read the title of this thread. The nerve of teachers these days!

 

[Disney Doll]

I agree BUT I do have a big problem with kids that go to school sick just to get perfect attendance.

Yes, because then what you have is parents who will send a kid to school when they should be staying hoime because they'll get a perfect attendance award if they go to school, even if they are half dead.

I had perfect attendance all through HS. Not because I went to school sick..I just happened to be a pretty healthy kid who didn't "catch" much. Still am a fairly healthy person with a decent immune system. But had I been sick, I would have stayed home.

 

[Mermaid02]

I'm really sorry, but I was when I read the title of this thread. The nerve of teachers these days!

Point taken.

 

[mickeysaver]

Ok now, let's not jump on the perfect attendence awards....it's what keeps our pediatric office in business.
Personally, I need the paycheck!
Maggie

 

[Mermaid02]

Ok now, let's not jump on the perfect attendence awards....it's what keeps our pediatric office in business. Personally, I need the paycheck!
Maggie

Sorry Maggie!