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What type of dirtbag parent do you have to be...

Discussion in 'General Discussions' started by Borla, Mar 27, 2015.

Page 2 of 2
  1. redravin

    redravin Cynical Optimist Donor

    Location:
    North
    @Plan9 gets points for Dr. Seuss.
     
    redravin, Mar 29, 2015
    #21
  2. spindles

    spindles Very Tilted

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    My son's school has a special needs class, the students in it range from mild to severely handicapped. 2 of them made it to the Australian championships for special needs athletes (and one of them for both athletics and cross country, which are separate events, as well as state titles for swimming). You can bet they both worked damn hard to get to that point and any recognition is well deserved. Like Charlatan, we don't have special jackets or pins to wear to school. We encourage/celebrate the success of all of our students, regardless of their level.
     
    spindles, Mar 29, 2015
    #22
    • Like Like x 1
  3. Lindy

    Lindy Moderator Staff Member

    Location:
    Nebraska
    Well, I'm glad that's settled.

    We can just let every student's mom decide what awards they qualify for deserve.
     
    Lindy, Mar 30, 2015
    #23
  4. spindles

    spindles Very Tilted

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    The kid qualified to represent his school... surely that is worth celebrating. Maybe I'm missing something, because in Oz, actually representing your school (especially at high school) is actually fairly easy - in a lot of schools we'll have multiple teams per sport in multiple sports and even your "D" grade team winning is worthwhile. Sport *should* be inclusive, not purely the domain of the best athletes - by all means highlight the "A" team, but there is a place for the others.
     
    spindles, Mar 30, 2015
    #24
    • Like Like x 1
  5. Chris Noyb

    Chris Noyb Get in, buckle up, hang on, & be quiet.

    Location:
    Large City, TX
    I think that the mother went too far in buying her son the varsity letter, if she was aware (apparantly she was) that the school didn't award them to non-varsity athletes.

    Easy Solution--The school should offer some type of 'special' letter, which could (should?) be easily recognized as not a varsity letter, to the special athletes. This would protect the feelings & accomplishments of the "real" athletes.
     
    Chris Noyb, Mar 30, 2015
    #25
    • Like Like x 1
  6. Plan9

    Plan9 Rock 'n Roll

    Location:
    Earth
    Points, but no letter.

    Also:
    ...

    Shit, we live in a trophies-for-everybody world to the extent that we given combat recognition awards to kids that pilot drones in air-conditioned trailers.
     
    Last edited: Mar 30, 2015
    Plan9, Mar 30, 2015
    #26
    • Like Like x 1
  7. redravin

    redravin Cynical Optimist Donor

    Location:
    North


    You get trophies when you level up in Call of Duty so why not?
     
    redravin, Mar 30, 2015
    #27
  8. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    All I know about guys with a letter on their jacket is that they're the easily identifiable dicks who antagonize protagonists.

    "In 80s teen movies, if a character is sporting a letter jacket, it might as well be the letter swastika, because he is going to be committing crimes against humanity."​

    Source: Jerk Jock - TV Tropes

    [​IMG]
    Troy, The Goonies

    [​IMG]
    Ram & Kurt, Heathers
     
    Last edited: Mar 30, 2015
    Baraka_Guru, Mar 30, 2015
    #28
    • Like Like x 3
  9. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    This is my point exactly--surely this is worthy of an activity letter! If I can letter in powderpuff football, for crying outloud, why can't this kid letter in club basketball?
     
    snowy, Mar 30, 2015
    #29
  10. martian

    martian Server Monkey Staff Member

    Location:
    Mars

    Well, our approach to the whole subject is very different. Varsity sports are serious business in the US (or so I'm given to understand).

    I know my high school had a football team and a basketball team. I think they competed against other teams, probably from other schools. I'm certain they weren't particularly lionized or celebrated.

    Though, interestingly enough, my high school did not have a hockey team. I'm given to understand that this was for fear of drawing talent away from the local junior A team, which was followed much more widely anyway.
     
    Last edited: Mar 30, 2015
    martian, Mar 30, 2015
    #30
  11. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    #canadianproblems
     
    snowy, Mar 30, 2015
    #31
    • Like Like x 3
  12. cynthetiq

    cynthetiq Administrator Staff Member Donor

    Location:
    New York City
    No you aren't. We are all winners and #1.

    Heck look at all those JD Power awards handed out.

    Omega, you've been awarded the best quality content of this thread according to JD Powers and associates.
     
    cynthetiq, Apr 2, 2015
    #32
  13. Cayvmann

    Cayvmann Very Tilted

    Location:
    Central North Carolina
    Why can't people just do what they like, and work hard to be good at it, and find satisfaction in the effort, without having to get a trophy, or a letter-man jacket? I never could understand the drive for recognition, I always just wanted to do things well, or enjoy them. My mom had saved all of my awards from school and gave them to me a few years ago. I was probably 40 at the time. I had forgotten all about them and to my wife's astonishment, I threw them in the round file. Just don't give a crap.

    That said, the kid deserves a jacket as well as anybody else who gets one.
     
    Cayvmann, Apr 2, 2015
    #33
    • Like Like x 1
  14. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    Because Americans have to have prizes!

    As a culture, we don't perceive ourselves as rewarding hard work, either. We perceive ourselves as rewarding innate talent or inborn skill, more often than not. Effort is not something that is valued in our culture; I see this all the time with students. It's the "I'm just not good at that" fallacy.

    Regardless, it's our system, and it sucks somewhat, but it ultimately reflects what we value.
     
    snowy, Apr 2, 2015
    #34
    • Like Like x 2
  15. Charlatan

    Charlatan sous les pavés, la plage

    Location:
    Temasek
    You have to prove your quality with the quantity of awards you have.
     
    Charlatan, Apr 2, 2015
    #35
  16. Cayvmann

    Cayvmann Very Tilted

    Location:
    Central North Carolina
    My wife needs a constant barrage of accolades or she thinks she's the worst thing ever. It's tiring. I just want my own acceptance, and that's hard enough to come by.
     
    Cayvmann, Apr 2, 2015
    #36
    • Like Like x 1
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