Perfect Attendance

#1
salutethehill

salutethehill

by hatchet, axe, and saw
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#1
I have 2 boys in elementary school. At the end of each 9-week period there's an awards ceremony, where kids are rewarded for grades...and perfect attendance (PA).

Typically in the past a kid would get a ribbon for PA... nothing fancy. Even then I thought that was a little messed up because, let's be honest, some things are more important than school. Well now a local pizza joint has teamed up with the school, and if you get PA, you get a free personal pizza.

So out of the hundred-or-so 4th graders in the awards ceremony today (which, if you got PA, you got to pose on stage with your ribbon for a pic), a good 30 or 40 got squat because they didn't have PA.

Isn't that kinda messed up?

Sorry loser Johnny. You got the flu and had to stay home. No pizza for you.

Sorry loser Sally. Your granny died in Arizona, and you had to go to the funeral. No pizza for you.

Being rewarded for PA is stupid. And let's be honest, my boys are in school everyday because of my wife and I. It has nothing to do with them.
 
#2
#2
It's just for motivational purposes. Not a huge fan of it either because different kids have different circumstances, but it's not worth losing any sleep over.
 
#3
#3
So without a PA award, kids aren't motivated to go to school? It's a wonder I make it to work every day.

Not losing any sleep over it...just think it's dumb.
 
#4
#4
salutethehill said:
So without a PA award, kids aren't motivated to go to school? It's a wonder I make it to work every day.

Not losing any sleep over it...just think it's dumb.
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Remember this is elementary school. They are teaching young children values that they can use later in life. Perfect attendance at your job will pay divedends, I don't see anything wrong with trying to convey this message early.
 
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#5
#5
I was in fourth grade in 1991. We had similar set ups. All through elementary and middle school really. Sorry loser Johnny, you didn't win. Teaches them values too. this is the wussification of America. Winners get something, losers don't. Life isn't fair. Stop babying the kids and let them face the real world. Let them play basketball/baseball/soccer/etc with winners and losers. The kids that absolutely never miss a day are very rare, those that miss days all the time are probably slacking somewhere. I see absolutely nothing wrong with this. In fact, I'm surprised there allowed to do something so logical and un PC for this day and age.
 
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#6
#6
chatt-townVOL said:
Remember this is elementary school. They are teaching young children values that they can use later in life. Perfect attendance at your job will pay divedends, I don't see anything wrong with trying to convey this message early.
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But there ARE times when it is necessary to miss school, work, etc. You're doing the school a HUGE disservice when you allow your sick kid to come to school, all in the name of PA.

Why is it ok to punish the kids who HAD to miss school through no fault of their own (which, again, PA has nothing to do with the kids, and everything to do with the parents)?
 
#7
#7
volfanbill said:
I was in fourth grade in 1991. We had similar set ups. All through elementary and middle school really. Sorry loser Johnny, you didn't win. Teaches them values too. this is the wussification of America. Winners get something, losers don't. Life isn't fair. Stop babying the kids and let them face the real world. Let them play basketball/baseball/soccer/etc with winners and losers. The kids that absolutely never miss a day are very rare, those that miss days all the time are probably slacking somewhere. I see absolutely nothing wrong with this. In fact, I'm surprised there allowed to do something so logical and un PC for this day and age.
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So you feel that, if you miss a day of school due to an out-of-town funeral, you're a loser? If you have explosive diarrhea and can't stay off the terlet for 10 minutes and have to miss school, you're a loser? How about an award for finishing your lunch? Throwing away your trash?

Please. You haven't done anything. You came to school. Good for you.
 
#8
#8
salutethehill said:
But there ARE times when it is necessary to miss school, work, etc. You're doing the school a HUGE disservice when you allow your sick kid to come to school, all in the name of PA.

Why is it ok to punish the kids who HAD to miss school through no fault of their own (which, again, PA has nothing to do with the kids, and everything to do with the parents)?
Click to expand...

I think you're missing the point.

And "punished" is an inaccurate word to use.
 
#10
#10
The school should pass a new rule that you must eat pizza on days you don't go to school...even Stephen
 
#11
#11
honestly I would have rather missed a few days than get some crappy $5 pizza

my school also gave special parking places for straight A's. I didn't see that as unfair (maybe because I used my brother or sister's pass but that's beside the point)
 
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#12
#12
Perfect attendance rewards is an incentive for the children to encourage their parents to make sure they get to school every day. If your two sons only missed school for legitimate reasons, like being sick or for a funeral, then you might consider getting them their own reward or pizza for "technically perfect attendance".
 
#14
#14
How is teaching someone that "they get rewarded for something they are supposed to do anyway" a good life lesson? When they go to college are they going to expect an award for going to class? When they have their first job are they going to expect an award for showing up to work on time?

Perhaps I was raised differently, but rewards should exist for something you accomplish that is beyond what is normally expected, otherwise you are simply rewarding average performance. jmo.
 
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#15
#15
Our local Dairy Queen has been doing this for years. The kids get a small cone for all A's on their report card. Perfect attendance gets you a free meal plus a small cone. I don't have a problem with rewarding perfect attendance, but it seems to me that good grades should get the better reward than PA. JMO
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#16
#16
salutethehill said:
So you feel that, if you miss a day of school due to an out-of-town funeral, you're a loser? If you have explosive diarrhea and can't stay off the terlet for 10 minutes and have to miss school, you're a loser? How about an award for finishing your lunch? Throwing away your trash?

Please. You haven't done anything. You came to school. Good for you.
Click to expand...

They need to learn young that the worlds not fair and bad sh!t happens to good people for not fault of their own.

The earlier they learn this the better off they will be.
 
#17
#17
I'm more shocked by the awards ceremony every nine weeks instead of just end of the year.
 
#19
#19
hog88 said:
They need to learn young that the worlds not fair and bad sh!t happens to good people for not fault of their own.

The earlier they learn this the better off they will be.
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This. I never once made perfect attendance and watched people get rewarded for it. I learned "that's the breaks." The one year I strived for it (for the whole year)was fourth grade and I lost it the final month because of a funeral. I had no hard feelings. Kids need to learn resiliency DESPRRATELY. The sooner the better.
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#20
#20
We had the goal cards for all As and something similar for all As and Bs that gave discounts at stores all over the Tri-cities. It was far superior to what the perfect attendance kids got. Kids get to learn what their good at. I always got the goal card or whatever the other one was and I played sports. I learned to accept what I won at and what I didn't.
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#22
#22
Not everyone should get a trophy. I have no issue with it.

The problem is with those that do. And that's part of the problem with our society.
 
#24
#24
Yankee_Vol said:
Not everyone should get a trophy. I have no issue with it.

The problem is with those that do. And that's part of the problem with our society.
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A trophy for what? I'm not saying everyone should get a trophy. I'm saying no one should get anything for simply showing up. You have to DO SOMETHING to actually earn a reward. PA means squat.
 
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