I’m on kind of a rant tonight, I heard something that has just made me see red. I live in Utah, which is a wonderful place, I love it here, but what I heard today has made me mad.
It seems that the schools don’t want the graduating seniors to talk about what colleges they got accepted to or what scholarships they received. Why, you ask? Because it may make the other students feel bad.
Are you kidding me? I’m typing this and I’m stunned. I am all for protecting our children from what we can protect them from and what they need to be protected from, but this is not one of those things.
What are we teaching the children who set goals and worked hard? Are their accomplishments something to be embarrassed of because the kid in the next seat didn’t work as hard? I’m not saying this as the parent of a child who got a full scholarship to the best college in the state. I’m saying this as a parent who fought with my child almost every day about homework and grades and paying attention. Hailey was a lazy student, she is very bright but she only did what she had to do to get by.
Is it going to make her feel bad if her friends get scholarships that she doesn’t get? I hope it does, she didn’t earn them so she doesn’t get them. Every action has a consequence.
As a parent I am grateful for every teachable moment, but as a single parent, I am doubly grateful of the opportunities to learn that are presented to Hailey by other people and as a consequence of her own actions.
I’m appalled by these parents. Getting accepted to a good college and getting scholarships are not the result of a popularity contest. The neighbors daughter didn’t get a scholarship because she is prettier, funnier or better liked, she may not even be smarter than your child. She did however, work harder, and she deserves that scholarship.
I certainly don’t want to hear that it is because the children from single parent families struggle more and they shouldn’t be reminded of it. Two of my dear friends are single parents, their kids have done well in school and have been accepted to good colleges. Their mothers can’t pay for them to go but with the help of scholarships and a part time job, they are doing it.
I say let these kids wear their accomplishments with honor. They worked hard, they earned them, and they deserve them. If it makes your child feel bad, well, I guess that stinks for your kid. Maybe next time he’ll try harder.