<p>There was actually a push by our HS to try to recognize external awards (other than the sports ones). So we put it to the test when my son was one of four recognized by an international conservation organization (out of more than 500 nominations worldwide) as a “Young Conservationist of the Year.” The school had no interest whatsoever. So much for the recognition for external awards. . .</p>
<p>That was 3 years ago, but I can still vent!!! :)</p>
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sorry, but I’m rolling around on the floor here!!!</p>
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Sometimes it goes over, sometimes it doesn’t…</p>
<p>Last year, I made an IDENTICAL post to this, down to the usage of the word “vent” and the reference to the small-town issue. And I (and by extension, my son) was absolutely VILIFIED by those who felt that he was not entitled to such recognition by his school and that I was being “selfish” in feeling that he deserved it. I was told that his accomplishments should be for his intrinsic enjoyment only and NOT to display in front of others for lauding. I am just SO glad that THIS year, there seem to be many here who understand MagMom’s feelings and who stand in agreement with her about the importance of honoring academic accomplishments. I wish all of y’all had been around last year… ;)</p>
<p>~berurah</p>
<p>Sorry, berurah, I must have been working my way through the Sinner’s Alley thread at that time! :)</p>
<p>berurah^^^ I thought I saw this post earlier and then it went away - I am glad everyone is being so supportive too. Intrinsic value? At this point I would say my D had 1 motivating force - 100 bucks prize money that she could use to fulfill her dream of having a complete pet shop toy collection (no fool is she!) I feel slightly petty complaining about this when I clearly see how many other well deserving kids have been slighted by schools. Reading some of your posts - I will guess that you, like me, wanted the recognition so that your child would know that working toward a goal and accomplishing it is meaningful and appreciated -</p>
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Would that be “Littlest Pet Shop”??? I just this second got back from Wal-Mart where youngest D made yet ANOTHER purchase out of her own money…she just HAD to have that darling little skunk and the Birthday Party set!!! <em>lolololol</em> :D</p>
<p>And yes, that post was here…and then gone. ;)</p>
<p>Don’t we ALL want to be recognized for our accomplishments? And really, don’t we DESERVE to be? 
</p>
<p>momof3sons~</p>
<p>Awwwwwwww, thanks sweetie…That thread last year devastated me–I didn’t understand the vehemence of the attack. In fact, I took a several months hiatus afterward. Ironically, one person who had been very critical of my post subsequently posted an almost identical thread after that and got tons of sympathy. Like I said, sometimes it goes over, sometimes it doesn’t…
C’est la vie, and yes, I’ve grown a thicker skin since then…at least a tiny bit thicker!</p>
<p>~b.</p>
<p>At the HS level: I recently learned of a school who had a “signing ceremony” for senior students who were receiving top merit scholarships. Reps from colleges came in, pictures were taken, and even a few were published in the local paper. The HS school said they felt these kids deserved the same accolades that those signing for sports receive. I hope it wasn’t just a one time thing for PR purposes that quickly falls by the wayside in future years. It certainly was refreshing to see!</p>
<p>I just don’t get the accolades given to sports players, while artist, musicians, scholars get the short shift</p>
<p>I complain about this all the time, and get vilified for not understanding the sacrafices, etc atheletes make…well, they make that choice, and many if not most, have inborn physical traits that they nuture, but is not, how can I put this without once again offending, a quality that benefits the WORLD…sure fun to wathc sports, and get some discipline, but isn’t that discipline thrust upon them, while many others, pianists, artists, actors, volunteers, do it with little outside “force”…I mean does an artist or guitar player have a coach pusing them, giving them slaps on the back for each step forward…not usually…many none sports kids are self motivated and succeed without an external force making decisions for them, setting up guidelines, a schedule, etc. And do not get me wrong, I understand varsity sports are very tough, but I think the other things kids do are tough as well, but they are not given enough credit for their self discipline, their sacrifices, their internal drive and passion</p>
<p>When you are on a team, there is pressure from lots of people to succeed, when you are a scholar, an artist, a mathqhiz, that pressure often comes from within, and I tend to respect the internal pressure kids put on themselves, their own discipline and drive more powerful, than having a coach push you or teammates</p>
<p>I get slammed for the opinion all the time, but as this is a venting thread…there you go</p>
<p>okay CGM…You need a pat on the back. Actually it is really nice to hear someone speak up in that regard. Keep it up!!!</p>
<p>One of my kids graduated from college a couple of years ago. At graduation, all of the academic awards won by the graduate are read out loud as the graduate gets his/her diploma. Some kids take 3 minutes; some take 20 seconds. The litany is in alphabetical order, so it goes something like this:</p>
<p>Susan Marie Abbot, cum laude with distinction in the major, Asian studies; Thomas Bell, summa cum laude with highest distinction in both majors, economics and mathematics, Phi Beta Kappa, Winslow prize for graduating senior with highest average in mathematics, Adams prize for best senior thesis on a mathematical or scientific topic, Fullbright scholarship to study x,y, z, National Science Foundation scholarship recipient ; Susan Dwight, political science; Anne Elegant, English…</p>
<p>There is an almost apologetic announcement before the diploma presentation begins that on this day only academic accomplishments will be honored, and it should always be remembered that many students have contributed to college life in other ways. </p>
<p>Well, I overheard one father tearing into one of the deans about how “unfair” it was to the kids and how they should just read off all the names, maybe with major–that might be okay–but not with any of the awards because it’s embarrassing to the kids who don’t get any special recognition and to their families…yada, yada, yada. </p>
<p>I’ll bet you can guess the punch line–the parent was the father of a star athlete whose feats had been covered in depth by the campus paper for four years and who always won awards at the annual sports award banquet…but, who graduated sine laude.</p>
<p>Jonri:</p>
<p>Maybe there should be a new award category for students like the one above, “sine laude?” LOL!</p>
<p>“I get slammed for the opinion all the time, but as this is a venting thread…there you go”</p>
<p>Nope, CGM, you do not get slammed for having THAT opinion; you get slammed for refusing to accept that others have different opinions, and very, very different experiences. Your experience might be that athletes get more recognition at your school or in your city, but in other places it’s just the opposite. There are athletes who win national championships -the real deal, mind you, not one of those BS baby wannabe tournaments for 6 years old with five participants- who will not see any mention in their local papers, but will read ample coverage of first grade spelling bees or beauty pageants. </p>
<p>The truth is that the athletes accept the fact that what they do is not influenced by the local reporters who fill the papers according to their own preferences or agendas. And I have no doubt that this applies to ALL the activities ranging from writers to musicians and many others. There is no universal truth. </p>
<p>I have no problems with the complaining about the lack of recognition, but I find that the repetitive denigrating of other people’s activities and passions is as insensitive as unwarranted.</p>
<p>MagsMom,
I know what you mean and don’t think you are out of line to expect a little recognition for your child!
I feel lucky to have a child who is valedictorian and an excellent athlete, but he is still overlooked for certain school awards because we are not members of the majority religion here (think SW Idaho and Utah). I’ve mentioned this before on other threads but the bias really exists…it’s not in my head. It even happens to athletes around here in that if a kid isn’t the “right” religion s/he will not be in the paper or recognized for athletic achievements where other (less talented) kids are. </p>
<p>Except for Bill Buckner’s kid, of course ;)</p>
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<p>I actually think this is a tough one … my kid’s K-8 school used to read academic, and only academic awards, along with names during the graduation procession at their middle school graduation ceremony. Last year they stopped … why? The students, led by some of the top students, collected opinions of past and current students and petitioned the school to stop the practice. Why? The top 5-10% of the students were receiving 80+% of the awards … so a few kids were having 4-5-6 awards mentioned while most kids only had their name mentioned. The school still had separate points where they announced awards such as recoginition on the national Spanish test … however when doing the group graduation prosession all students were announced the same way.</p>
<p>Overall, I think kid’s accomplishments need to be acknowledged more often … and figuring out the best way can be a little tricky.</p>
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I agree most excellent HS athletes build on a natural physical gift. I would also say the same is true of dancers, musicans, and artists … almost all excellent ones showed the gift early. Sports may provide more structure and frameowrk to develop a skill than a painter or writer typical gets (not sure I’d say that about musicians or dancers though) but ultimately anyone who excels at sports excels because their inner drive and how they push themselves at practice and, most importantly, while not at practice (as he looks outside to see his son practicing in the pouring rain … OK, I made that up at this instance but he does it all the time). Finally, I certainly agree being an athlete does not essentially change the world … but neithr does art or music … to me those who excel in art, music, and sports bring a passion and beauty to the world that makes it more enjoyable for all of us … but all take a back seat to whoever is in a lab trying to beat cancer as we blog.</p>
<p>Rathole over, I do agree that the accomplishments of non-athletes need to be celebrated and appreciated much more.</p>
<p>i have a son who is a talented, multi-sport athlete. Our school does not have weighted grades, but he is still in the top 10% (along with the girls and guys taking foods and nutrition!) and I believe only one other student in his class had a higher ACT score than my son. He does not receive any academic recognition because i am sure people are tired of reading about him in the sports section. he is really most proud of his academics, and he feels like people stereotype him as a dumb jock. oh well, we all have our burdens to bear.</p>
<p>I’m writing to agree with CGM that in most communities, large and small, high school athletes get far more than their share of recognition and attention than kids involved in other activities, however demanding those activities may be. Some of this is simply American culture – sports is big business, big entertainment, widely appealing. Newspapers have Sports sections – you don’t see whole sections devoted to instrumental or vocal music or debate, do you? Some of the reason is tradition and perpetuating tradition. You may push for more school recognition of accomplishments other than sports, but the parents of athletes will push just as hard not to lose any of the glory and perks that have become tradition in recognizing athletes. For example, at my son’s high school, there are four assemblies all year. Three out of four are entirely devoted to sports. The fourth assembly is a catch-all involving recognition for academics, club accomplishments, and of course, sports that are not CIF recognized sports in our area. So even the so-called academic assembly is high jacked somewhat to recognize kids involved in roller hockey or horseback riding. At our school, you can win a national writing award and only get mentioned in a little bottom corner of the newsletter, while a wrestler who has been invited (not won, mind you) to compete at the CIF level gets his name on the electronic marquee outside the school.
I don’t think it’s “denigrating” sports as a chosen activity to say that if high school life were fair, then accomplishment in this arena would be treated as no more important or significant than accomplishment in music or art or math or science competitions.</p>