“Ask
yourself one question. Was it to help or to hurt?”
-
A wise teacher
This response to conflict or upset is not necessarily
one that should be reserved for students in trouble or on the verge of receiving
a warning for hurting another student’s
feelings or pride, but it can also be posed to educators. During the last few weeks of school, small
class room celebrations and larger moving on ceremonies occur. These celebrations are important rites of
passage for both the teachers and the students.
For the teachers, they are necessary because they represent a sense of
closure for the group of students that will be moving on to the next grade. Likewise, for the students the ceremonies are
important because they represent the culmination of hard work or lack thereof during
the year. It is also during these times
that teachers begin to question how awards are given and who should receive
what certificates or accolades.
These certificates range from “best
all around” to “most
improved student” and anything that fits
within. However, there are some students
that don’t
fit in the prescribed categories designated for awards. What do teachers do with these students? Many feel that all students should receive an
award and there are others that subscribe to the belief that you “work
for what you get”. I am a member of the latter in terms of
what should be expected during these celebrations.
Students work
hard during the year and once the year ends, the expectation is that the
rewards they are given for their work encompass their effort and grit. As
educators do we help or hurt our students by giving them certificates for
showing up or showing out? Awards
ceremonies are not designed to punish students who do not show improvement or struggled
in particular areas. These programs are
exactly the opposite! They exist to
highlight the students that have excelled or improved. What do we, as educators, teach our students
if we give certificates of “attendance
or participation”? Are we suggesting that little or no effort is
worth an award or accolade? This seems
to be a topic of discord among teachers; however, I am always left wondering
the same thing during this time. Are we
building a strong sense of entitlement and setting our students up for failure
if we teach them that a lack of effort should be celebrated as much as
consistent effort? Is this mindset one that “helps” or “hurts” our students?