Oh dear. Two soppy humorless parents raised in the self-esteem culture and a milquetoast whiny brat who can’t take a joke.
Bring back the dunce cap and let kids get a serious taste of the real world.
So you'd be OK with this if it was your kid?
Bring back the dunce cap and let kids get a serious taste of the real world.
Award ceremonies can be fun and can be humorous. I'm all for that. But teachers should not use insults or demeaning humor toward students in any setting but especially not a public setting like this. It was totally inappropriate and the parents are absolutely right to be angry.
Then if anybody objects we will say they just can't take a joke.
May I suggest you go suck an egg -
You don’t think there’s a difference in self-esteem between losing a competitive activity, and being put down by your teacher?
Stories like this provide fodder for the self-esteem crowd..
Whatever happened to the “teachers should be positive role models” movement ?
The Sir Clowns-A-Lot award was probably well deserved and should be acceptable, but the “not likely to have children” is way, way too personal. The teachers were out of line on that one.
Bring back the dunce cap and let kids get a serious taste of the real world.
You got it....
It's one thing for a teacher to discipline children - it's quite another to belittle them.
I remember today with horror how when I was in grade school a teacher encouraged me and the other children to make fun of a child who showed up to school late and who wore an oversized coat to school.
In reality, he was late because his father had left his mother and she was working nights to support herself and her children. He came in to school late sometimes because his mother had to drive straight from work to his grandmother's house to pick him up and bring him to school, since his grandmother couldn't drive but was the only person she trusted with her children.
He wore an oversized coat because his mother couldn't afford to buy him a new winter coat and instead altered one of his father's coats for him.
That teacher was a vicious c***, and the worst part is that she encouraged myself and other 8 year olds to mock and laugh at another little boy who was going through hell.
Thank God my mother is a Christian woman who set me straight on that one.
I don’t know. When my son was in 5th grade a teacher gave ‘sarcastic’ awards. My big tough kid was hurt and humiliated by this. It’s really not funny-I consider it an abuse of power. I taught for almost 20 years and once accidentally humiliated a kid (using humor). I apologized. Teachers need to careful. The effects of their words are extremely powerful.
In any event, while the one award --- "Sir Clowns A Lot" --- seems fine, the "Most Likely Not To Have Children" award seems over-the-top and not appropriate for a 6th grader.
THAT IS NOT A JOKE! And teachers have no place joking at the expense of kids. I call it bullying. Especially with the lame awards they gave to kids that didn’t deserve anything.
“Sir Clowns-a-lot” I can see, but “Most Likely Not To Have Children” is pretty darn cruel in my book.
Yesterday at my kid’s middle school end of year ceremony -my 2 kids got the following awards: Honor Roll (both of them), Most Talanted 8th grade Musician, Perfect score on the History Standard of Learning Test (600 out of 600), Highest grade point average in 6th grade History AND an award for EXCEEDING Accelerated Reader points..... I am so proud. It must suck to be his parents.
Humilation by a teacher in front of their peers for something not punishment is cruel.
If it was my kid, there'd be one sorry teacher.
If it had be a spontanueus remark in class I would agree with you,
However printing up awards and holding a ceremony was malicious and petty.
The teachers need a slapping
Ok, I am a teacher and I soooooo can not let this one go.
My question is first of all the article ONLY gave the parents’ and student’s side of the story. We got no direct quote from the teacher regarding the incident.
Any nincampoop (sp?) can tell you what “sir clowns a lot” means, but what does “likely to never have children”? Give her a chance to defend herself for pete’s sake. By the sound of it, it’s strange.
NOW, for all you “let’s attack the teachers” clubs, listen up: You all expect us to do our jobs, get the highest test scores in the nation, praise your kid from the time he/she enters the school until they leave, not grade their papers in RED ink because it is too harsh, don’t criticize and tell them what their doing wrong without first giving them a popsicle and telling them 100 great things about them before we get to the actual correcting the things that need to be corrected, protect them from the bullies, and if they are bullies then give them a million warnings, deal with their moodiness because mom and dad can’t give them 5 minutes of their undivided attention, provide them school supplies cause mommy was too busy at YOGA or getting her nails done to buy PENCILS AND PAPER, set a perfect example, talk to you on the phone in parent conferences all hours of the night, AND be prepared for the next day’s lessons, make perfect judgement calls at every turn, don’t tell your child to stop talking if you are not going to tell every child in the school to stop,because as we all know LIFE IS FAIR (sarc)all the while with parents breathing down our necks, and we are expected to DO IT ALL WITH A SMILE ON A PAUPER’S SALARY BECAUSE THE REASON WE DO IT IS FOR THE MONEY ANYWAYS RIGHT???? GIVE ME A BREAK. Our love for kids couldn’t be why we are teaching. Some of you forget that it takes just as many college hours (some more) to become a teacher as it does to get a B.S./B.A. degree in any other well paying field. And we are expected not to develop relationships with the kids where we can jest a little because after all we are with CHILDREN (no matter if you teach kindergarten or 12th grade) for 8-9 hours a day. How could any teacher not have a sense of humor?? I would be willing to bet you that IF THIS KID DID NOT RECEIVE ONE OF THESE “playful” awards and the other kids did, this article would be about him getting left out. Guarantee!!!! Bet you anything. Teachers can’t win either way. I agree that all us teachers do stupid stuff and make bonehead decisions sometimes. But we are raising a generation of WIMPS!!!!! Crybaby kids. Don’t keep score at their ballgames cause they might “lose” and all that crap. Please. Toughen up. Hard lesson learned for the teacher. I learned a long time ago their are some kids you can’t be humorous with. So I don’t. I have a great relationship with most of my students bred on fun, humor, knowing when to be tough on em. The wimps who can’t take it, don’t fare very well ANYWHERE,,when they get to college, jobs, marriage, etc. BTW, I teach high school and coach a 7-8 little boys’ base ball team and I see wimps like this in all age groups. PATHETIC. My little 7 year old first grader was cutting up in class last year and I told the teacher to put him in the corner. She said well, that would embarrass him-—and I said “great, because in real life if you act like an idiot you should be embarrassed....” too bad for him. It took one time in the corner, and his classroom behavior greatly improved. I’m done. You all may let the darts fly. I am tougher than this kid,,,,,so bring it.