Everybody wins a prize

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AHTOXA
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Everybody wins a prize

Post by AHTOXA »

I hate that attitude. Life's tough, suck it up and not everyone's a winner.

I walk by a number of houses daily who have signs displayed by the front doors, most of them are advertising their kids on sports teams, touting their high school team allegiance, etc., but there are at least 3 houses that have a sign reading "All-Star reader lives here". Really? Since when being able to read is an achievement? Sure, it's great that your kid spends 4 hours a day reading, sure, but it's a basic academic function and not an achievement that you have to tout to everyone. Praise the kid at home but don't over-do it, making this a huge deal.

If someone's greatly rewarded for every little step they take they are likely to grow a huge sense of entitlement and expectation to be rewarded. Those are the folks that do a very much average job in a competitive work environment and expect to be promoted or given a raise for stepping up to the plate once in a blue moon.

Soft, soft society we live in.
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Re: Everybody wins a prize

Post by ClutchFork »

I would have been an all star reader as a kid, but instead they called me a bookworm! And it was not necessarily meant nicely. :lol:
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Re: Everybody wins a prize

Post by theholycow »

AHTOXA wrote:Since when being able to read is an achievement?
Methinks thou dost giveth excess credit to today's youth. Perhaps you need to visit another car forum and see how lucky we are here to have people with a decent grasp on language.

Also, if you ask me, reading well and being decently literate is more important than winning sports. The exercise necessary for health comes with losing just as much as with winning.

As for the everyone a winner in general...I'm not sure it is bad to encourage self esteem with simple, meaningless stuff like that. It doesn't seem to dilute the more celebrated achievements at all.
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Re: Everybody wins a prize

Post by AHTOXA »

Of course reading and being more literate is more important than playing sports, however I feel that should be a granted expectation and it does not need to be publically boasted.

Like when your little kid poops on his own for the first time. It's great and parents are pleased but do you go posting signs about it on your lawn? No, because it is an expected part of the development process.
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Re: Everybody wins a prize

Post by theholycow »

AHTOXA wrote:Like when your little kid poops on his own for the first time. It's great and parents are pleased but do you go posting signs about it on your lawn? No, because it is an expected part of the development process.
You may not put a banner out your front door but you DO make a big deal out of it. My nephew is at that stage now and if he does it right when we're all visiting, we all clap. He asks if we do it too. If pooping was something learned in front of dozens of his peers and done in front of them and he was the best pooper in the school then a public display might be appropriate.

If you want to take on the "everybody wins" attitude as a matter of discouraging competition, look at consolation prizes and such, but with how important and how deprioritized reading is I would say it's more worth congratulations than sports. Winning at sports is its own reward, playing is something they'll do whether or not they're encouraged, and I bet a lot more parents encourage sports than reading. People I know who love sports: Almost everybody. People I know who love reading: 2.
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Re: Everybody wins a prize

Post by tankinbeans »

My response will be short, sweet, and to the point.

Yes...
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Re: Everybody wins a prize

Post by AHTOXA »

Cow, you are splitting hairs here. We both agree that reading achievement is more important than sports. That wasnt the point. I still believe that people are overly rewarding and underwhelmingly disciplinary.
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Re: Everybody wins a prize

Post by theholycow »

AHTOXA wrote:I still believe that people are overly rewarding and underwhelmingly disciplinary.
Ok, you hadn't stated that and I didn't know that's particularly what you're driving at. Probably "underwhelmingly disciplinary" is true but I believe in both positive AND negative reinforcement.
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Re: Everybody wins a prize

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I think it has a lot to do with the way parents like to "brag" about their kids. For example, how many times have you seen a "My kid is an Honor student" bumper stickers? I see that more as a parent bragging about his/her kid. If I was an honor student (I wasn't) and my parents put that bumper sticker on their car, I'd rip it off in a heartbeat.
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Re: Everybody wins a prize

Post by tankinbeans »

I got many of those stupid honors student stickers when I was in school. I'm glad mom didn't put them on the car.

It's another manifestation of turning kids into accessories.
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Re: Everybody wins a prize

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Shadow wrote:I think it has a lot to do with the way parents like to "brag" about their kids. For example, how many times have you seen a "My kid is an Honor student" bumper stickers? I see that more as a parent bragging about his/her kid. If I was an honor student (I wasn't) and my parents put that bumper sticker on their car, I'd rip it off in a heartbeat.
I saw a sticker that referred to one's middle school student as a 'scholar'. While it's technically correct, I suspect the verbiage was selected to specifically over-accentuate or even inflate the student's perceived scholastic abilities. The kid may be smart, but come on. The boasting simply irritates me for some reason. I think if it were my kid, he'd definitely know how positively I felt about their achievements, but I see absolutely no need to justify or show that excessively to those outside the family. And this is what I think it all boils down to - justifying themselves through their kids. It seems to be a necessary thing to do in order to perhaps 'fit in' with the suburbian families.
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Re: Everybody wins a prize

Post by theholycow »

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Re: Everybody wins a prize

Post by tankinbeans »

Señor Moo wrote:school two easy
Transferring to my second high school was, in fact, easier than my original high school. The other snotbubbles left me alone so I could do my work and go home.
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Re: Everybody wins a prize

Post by ClutchFork »

Shadow wrote:I think it has a lot to do with the way parents like to "brag" about their kids. For example, how many times have you seen a "My kid is an Honor student" bumper stickers? I see that more as a parent bragging about his/her kid. If I was an honor student (I wasn't) and my parents put that bumper sticker on their car, I'd rip it off in a heartbeat.
Agree. The hatred of "honor student" bumper stickers is shown in the bumper stickers that say,
"My kid beat up your honor student."

But really it's not about the kid, it's about the school being prideful. Hey look, our school is great, it produces honor students.
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Re: Everybody wins a prize

Post by comingbackdown »

AHTOXA wrote:I hate that attitude. Life's tough, suck it up and not everyone's a winner.
Amen, brother. As far as the all star reader bullshit, if your kid can read, that's great. I'm happy for you. Thanks for doing your part to make sure your kid doesn't add to the illiterate f*cktard population. 86 the sticker though, you don't need to advertise it.

Honor student stickers are bullshit, too. My parents never bought into any of that shit. So you're an honor student. Who gives a shit? If that intelligence keeps you afloat AFTER you're out of school, then you've got something to celebrate.

Once you get your diploma, shit changes, and living the life of an adult isn't a 24/7 happy fest. Get ready for a big f*cking wake-up call.
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