Kids getting awards at school

Easto · Post by **Easto** » Fri Jun 29, 2018 9:54 am

On of our grandkids (14 y/o boy) took a Sony Walkman to school and the teacher gave him one of those phony printed awards for being "Musically Eclectic". I mean, when I was 14 and if I took a radio to school it would have been taken from me for having it on school grounds. Now you get a freakin' award for it?

OMG

Post by **Philip** » Fri Jun 29, 2018 2:03 pm

If you were "musically eclectic" you'd understand.

jk, lol.

jeremyboycool · Post by **jeremyboycool** » Sat Jun 30, 2018 9:24 am

In my day if you had a walkman in class they would summon the counselor who would do a bunch of pointless test then declare you had an attention deficit disorder and pump you full of drugs. Ah those were the days.

TonyT · Post by **TonyT** » Sat Jun 30, 2018 11:05 am

When I went to school at 14 we made am radios out of wire, nails and a block of wood!

Post by **Philip** » Sat Jun 30, 2018 11:33 am

When I went out of school they'd just take it, and make your parent go get it from the school.

Easto · Post by **Easto** » Sat Jun 30, 2018 12:52 pm

And now they give you an award.

I really don't get it. My wife brings home a few of the grand kid's awards and they just crack me up. They hand these things out for the most basic, expected behavior. The only awards (reward) I got when I was in elementary school was the privileged of making it to the next grade.

I remember about 25 years ago a couple of my friends graduated from law school and had passed the bar examination. They were both close friends of mine and they new my father who was an attorney and wanted to come over and let him know what they had accomplished. They walked in and after greeting my dad they announced that they had both passed the bar examination on their first attempt. My dad replied "What's so hard about that?". Cracked me up big time.

jeremyboycool · Post by **jeremyboycool** » Sat Jun 30, 2018 1:07 pm

The one constant in this universe, is grumpy old men complaining about kids these days.

Easto · Post by **Easto** » Sat Jun 30, 2018 1:44 pm

jeremyboycool wrote:The one constant in this universe, is grumpy old men complaining about kids these days.

It's one of the pleasures of getting older. LOL

Lefty · Post by **Lefty** » Sat Jun 30, 2018 10:54 pm

F that boom boxes, playing grand master flash....

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Sun Jul 01, 2018 8:14 am

Lefty wrote:F that boom boxes, playing grand master flash....

Yup, back in high school boom boxes were still the rage. The first Sony Walkmans...those big ones that opened up like a giant clamshell, with the orange foam on the ear piece covered headphones...they just came out at the end of high school.

But that was back when teachers and staff still had control of the students, and were allowed to discipline and maintain order and ensure students had respect for rules, class, etc. I went to a pretty big high school, over 1200 students maybe more, I don't ever recall a problem with walkmans...you'd see some of the students rich enough to have a walkman listen to it on the bus. Never a problem in class...we knew better than to abuse or push rules. Worst thing that would have probably happened..it would be taken away and given back at the end of the day, you'd probably have to had to go to the principles (deans) office to get it back, and receive a lecturing when you did. Possibly a detention (likely after multiple infractions).

Easto · Post by **Easto** » Sun Jul 01, 2018 9:52 am

When I was in 9th grade (1970), if you goofed of during gym class you might get some "swats". Yes, the gym teacher had a cricket styled bat and if you were out of line you ended up having to bend over and grab your ankles. Granted, it didn't happen often. I think I only knew of 3 or 4 guys that it happened to. But I have to tell you, just the thought of it kept you in line. Nowadays, parents would have that teacher in prison. It seems that parents nowadays want to blame their kids bad behavior on everyone except themselves. I mean why shouldn't they, they're all such great parents!

jeremyboycool · Post by **jeremyboycool** » Sun Jul 01, 2018 10:28 am

Easto wrote:When I was in 9th grade (1970), if you goofed of during gym class you might get some "swats". Yes, the gym teacher had a cricket styled bat and if you were out of line you ended up having to bend over and grab your ankles. Granted, it didn't happen often. I think I only knew of 3 or 4 guys that it happened to. But I have to tell you, just the thought of it kept you in line. Nowadays, parents would have that teacher in prison. It seems that parents nowadays want to blame their kids bad behavior on everyone except themselves. I mean why shouldn't they, they're all such great parents!

I think if a parent doesn't want some teacher hitting their kids with a wood bat then they should have that choice and the school should respect that choice.

Easto · Post by **Easto** » Sun Jul 01, 2018 10:58 am

jeremyboycool wrote:I think if a parent doesn't want some teacher hitting their kids with a wood bat then they should have that choice and the school should respect that choice.

I don't remember any parents coming to school to complain about their kid getting swats. No teachers were ever pulled into court. It was pretty much acknowledged by all that the kid probably deserved it.

jeremyboycool · Post by **jeremyboycool** » Sun Jul 01, 2018 11:42 am

Easto wrote:I don't remember any parents coming to school to complain about their kid getting swats. No teachers were ever pulled into court. It was pretty much acknowledged by all that the kid probably deserved it.

Not really the point, also just because you don't remember it that does not mean it didn't happen. If you have to beat your kids with a wooden bat to make them behave then there is something seriously wrong with how that kid is being raised.

jeremyboycool · Post by **jeremyboycool** » Sun Jul 01, 2018 11:50 am

Teachers and whatnot should not be hitting kids, period. It is not their place to make such decisions and the idea that you need to use a bat on kids to make them behave is just stupid. If I ever see someone hitting a kid with a bat, not only will I call the police, but I will also crack that bat over their head. Open hand swat on the behind is one thing, but a bat is going too far.

Post by **Philip** » Sun Jul 01, 2018 5:43 pm

I think the opposite - teachers should have more power to discipline students to curb behavior that is detrimental to the entire class learning process. I've seen too many students disrespect teachers (and even college professors) and completely botching the class learning environment for everyone. I've seen students on their phones, eating pizza in class, putting their feet on top of the desk, walking in class without shoes, and general disruptive/offensive behavior, etc.

I am not condoning abusive behavior and hitting kids with bats, however, some form of corporal punishment as a deterrent may be less abusive than filling unrully tweens full of anti-ADHD drugs.. Also, teachers should have more academic and professional freedom to actually create and enforce productive environment in their classes.

Easto · Post by **Easto** » Sun Jul 01, 2018 10:20 pm

God knows that when I was in middle school someone should have taught me a hard lesson. Just the fear of getting a swat kept me from crossing the line.

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Mon Jul 02, 2018 6:56 am

Easto wrote:God knows that when I was in middle school someone should have taught me a hard lesson. Just the fear of getting a swat kept me from crossing the line.

Yup, we learned to respect adults, and follow rules. Those things have become extinct these days with entitled kids that can do no wrong, parents yelling at teachers demanding they let kids do whatever kids want to do.

Decades ago a kid that acted up a lot was simply a troublemaker. Weren't really a lot of them, but thanks to social media these days we can see how well (or really..how poorly) those people are doing in their adult lives (it's usually not good). Thanks to rules and discipline, "most" kids adjusted and learned how to behave properly.

These days, with ZERO accountability, lack of discipline being allowed, teachers fearing for their jobs if they try to enforce order in their class, kids do whatever they want, and a large percentage of them get put on drugs for ADD/ADHD. Results in kids that were so spoiled and had everything done for them, when they get to adult age and try to make it on their own, if they even manage to move out from mommy and daddys home they often boomerang back home. Yeah...real life does require working hard and taking ownership of things and following rules and stuff like that. It's such a shock to them when things don't get handed to them or go as they "want".

Easto · Post by **Easto** » Mon Jul 02, 2018 10:51 am

I just don't see why they hand out all these awards to kids at school all the time. It's not that getting one of these is so rare. I mean, each month they come home with something saying they were a good citizen or they brought something in to share with others. When I was in school it was called "sharing day", you didn't get a freakin' award for it!

The other thing that I don't understand is this new procedure of bringing grief counselors on campus every time something goes wrong at school. Isn't that what a parent should be doing? Shouldn't the parent be mature and intelligent enough to explain to their kid (on their own level) what just happened? If there does seem to be more of a problem then the "Parent" gets them to counseling, not the school.

About moving in back with your parents. When I was 30 years old I started my first business. In order to pump as much money back into that business I asked my parents if it was ok to move back in for 1 year. Although they were more than happy to help out, after about 2 months of living there I was dying to get out. I gutted it out for almost a year but I have to say I was never happier to move back into my own place. I just don't see how you can move back in with your parents and not have it drive you crazy. What ever happened to being your own person?

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Mon Jul 02, 2018 11:26 am

Easto wrote:I just don't see why they hand out all these awards to kids at school all the time. It's not that getting one of these is so rare. I mean, each month they come home with something saying they were a good citizen or they brought something in to share with others. When I was in school it was called "sharing day", you didn't get a freakin' award for it!

The other thing that I don't understand is this new procedure of bringing grief counselors on campus every time something goes wrong at school. Isn't that what a parent should be doing? Shouldn't the parent be mature and intelligent enough to explain to their kid (on their own level) what just happened? If there does seem to be more of a problem then the "Parent" gets them to counseling, not the school.

Yup.."pamper"..."it's al-right"..."it'll be O-K...." I'll fix it for you. Now parents call the school to scold the teacher for telling their little boy to take his hat off during class, because the school rules say no hats. Yet..parents tell the teacher "but my kid was just wearing a hat, he likes to wear a hat!".
Awards for what should be common place things like sharing?
Competition isn't taught anymore. Now everyone on the team gets a trophy for participating. How does that teach a kid how to succeed in life if the kid doesn't learn to work extra hard, and overcome a loss?
Safe Places! Except...in real life, in the real world...you don't have safe places. In order to deal with things or get through them, you need to roll up your sleeves, work hard, and get through it! But that's not taught these days, they'd rather give a safe place and hug the kids and say "That's ok..it's be ok..we'll take care of it for you...".

jeremyboycool · Post by **jeremyboycool** » Wed Jul 04, 2018 8:48 am

I never disrespected a teacher not even the ones I disliked and no one had to hit me or feed me drugs.

jeremyboycool · Post by **jeremyboycool** » Wed Jul 04, 2018 8:52 am

This thread is nothing but egoistical posturing.

MadDoctor · Post by **MadDoctor** » Wed Jul 04, 2018 11:18 am

What is this "school" thing yous guys is talking about?!?!??!

Post by **Philip** » Wed Jul 04, 2018 12:29 pm

There is nothing egotistical about it, just people sharing their issues with the current system.

jeremyboycool · Post by **jeremyboycool** » Wed Jul 04, 2018 5:20 pm

Philip wrote:There is nothing egotistical about it, just people sharing their issues with the current system.

Oh that is all I am doing as well.

Post by **Philip** » Wed Jul 04, 2018 6:10 pm

jeremyboycool wrote:Oh that is all I am doing as well.

Great... except in your last post.

jeremyboycool · Post by **jeremyboycool** » Wed Jul 04, 2018 7:20 pm

Philip wrote:Great... except in your last post.

I am just complaining about a different generation. One that grew up with remnants of social Darwinism and an erroneous notion that age gifts intelligence rather than actual study.

Ken · Post by **Ken** » Thu Jul 05, 2018 1:45 pm

TonyT wrote:When I went to school at 14 we made am radios out of wire, nails and a block of wood!

Transistor radios and we certainly did not take them to school. AM...

Ken · Post by **Ken** » Thu Jul 05, 2018 1:47 pm

Easto wrote:And now they give you an award.

I really don't get it. My wife brings home a few of the grand kid's awards and they just crack me up. They hand these things out for the most basic, expected behavior. The only awards (reward) I got when I was in elementary school was the privileged of making it to the next grade.

I remember about 25 years ago a couple of my friends graduated from law school and had passed the bar examination. They were both close friends of mine and they new my father who was an attorney and wanted to come over and let him know what they had accomplished. They walked in and after greeting my dad they announced that they had both passed the bar examination on their first attempt. My dad replied "What's so hard about that?". Cracked me up big time.

It's a joke. They don't keep score at games so that no one feels like a loser. Reward everyone! No need to stimulate competition, just be an average slacker. The government will take care of you!

What do you call a person that scores a 69 on the medical exam? ...Doctor...

jeremyboycool · Post by **jeremyboycool** » Thu Jul 05, 2018 5:52 pm

Ken wrote: What do you call a person that scores a 69 on the medical exam? ...Doctor...

There is a stark difference between American higher education and American education k-12.

The QS Higher Education System Strength Rankings, which ranks the higher education on a nationwide front, found that the US on the overall ranking was number one.

The United States has been named as the strongest country in the world for higher education, according to the QS Higher Education System Strength Rankings 2018.

Released today, the HESS ranking compares higher education systems around the world and ranks them according to four indicators: System strength (how universities perform in rankings), access (how easily people in that country can gain access to higher education), flagship institution (how well the country's top university performs) and economic context (impact of national investment in higher education).

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the United States achieves a perfect score in each of the four indicators. The United Kingdom is the only other country to rank in the top five for each of the four, while other countries such as Singapore and China perform particularly well in some indicators more than others (in Singapore's case, it's ranked fourth for flagship institution, while China is ranked second for economic context).

https://www.topuniversities.com/univers ... kings-2018

jeremyboycool · Post by **jeremyboycool** » Thu Jul 05, 2018 6:08 pm

When I was 14 in school I did an operation on a live rat for biology class. My band teacher pulled me from class and made me practice solo in his office until he was convinced I was ready to rejoin the band. I played football for the fist time and the gym teacher stood by doing nothing as a much larger kid targeted me over and over slamming me to the ground. That went on until I jump to the side and leg swiped the kid, the gym teacher still did nothing. A kid on the bus came up behind me and put me in a choke hold, I turned around and kicked his ass, the supervising teacher on the bus never reported it (no one was seriously injured). And the following summer I got my first job (at 14) working for the Forest Service, through a school facilitated program.

I am considered generation X, which is considered the be an independent generation since we were mostly left to solve problems on our own. I made penalty mistakes, but I learned form those mistakes. No one had to hit me, not at home or in the school. I don't agree with the notion that we have to smack kids around, but we also don't always have to pull their hand back from the fire. If experience is such the great teacher, then let it do its job, but this notion that hitting kids is the only way to go, is outdated nonsense.

Ken · Post by **Ken** » Wed Jul 11, 2018 7:24 am

Has anybody here ever known a psychologist or psychiatrist's kids? Like preacher's kids, they are usually the worst... Medicine is not an exact science and psychology in general, definitely has much to be learned...

jeremyboycool · Post by **jeremyboycool** » Thu Jul 12, 2018 2:06 pm

Uninformed subjective generalizations are definitely not reliable.