The downside of honors

MrsP
Sat, 20 May 2006 23:00:55 +0000

I’ve been a member of this forum for less than a month, but I’ve noticed that it seems honors and awards have become more important than experiencing the event that led to them. What is wrong with enjoying music for the sake of performing? Or volunteering because one loves helping others? Why must everything be quantified?

I got upset after reading that kids are being turned down when they have won state honors for their music ECs because the awards aren’t high enough or because too many students have the same achievements. Isn’t learning to play an instrument or singing reward enough in itself? Why must one be the winner or have a long list of awards? Isn’t is enough just to be good at something? A young relative tried out for a major music award in voice. She was a semifinalist but that meant nothing for college applications, even though she beat out thousands of other students to get that far. The application asked only for the awards or honors won over the years, not the near-misses.

If I were a student today applying to college, I would be very discouraged by this unless I were the best in my areas of interest. Not everyone can be the best. Sometimes being good and loving your interests are good enough, aren’t they?