Posted on 03/31/2011 11:20:01 PM PDT by MacMattico
So, my kid gets the "you have not been selected for junior honor society" letter in the mail today. The reason given: not enough community organization or leadership activities!!!!!!
When I saw the term "community organization" I about flipped!
The thing is my kid has a 95 plus average, is a member of all-county chorus, all-county band, Soccer, Volleyball, Softball and Girl Scouts. She earned her black belt in Kenpo Karate at age 12 and helps teach younger students. Her group got first place at the regional National History day competition and goes on to the next level in a few weeks. She plays the oboe and played her solo at a level 5, level 6 being the highest level in the state (including high school) even though she's only in 7th grade.
I politely asked what she could have done more, because between homework, music lessons and sports practices their is really not much more time left in the day. I was told first of all, she could attempt to hold more leadership positions in the organizations she is in in school, such as being team captain or an officer in a club. I reminded them that her middle school does not have team captains and that the clubs don't have officers. The exception being Student Council, where she did run for Secretary but lost in a 5-way race. Then I asked about the Community Organization part, and I'm told that she should be spending all of her "extra" time (what extra time?) serving the community doing things like volunteering in soup kitchens, volunteering for "assorted groups" and just generally serving others. I told them that we do charity work as a family through our church and not always on a regular basis, it's not something you can quantify on an application. I got no reply. So I asked if she could give me some specific examples that other students had under community organization in case my daughter wished to peruse those community activities in order to reapply next year. No, I was told, that information can't be given out as it would violate other students privacy! What???? I asked if applications are verified, like do they check on what kids write down -- nope, taken as fact. No essay was required, so that wasn't a problem. Anybody have experience with this?
Yes, I’m replying to myself. I should add she’s in Girl Scouts and earned badges for service working with senior citizens, collecting food for the food pantry and for volunteering a certain amount of time to the SPCA. I guess not good enough.
No, but I’m not surprised that creeping socialism has infected your local school district.
Your daughter sounds like a great person. More power to her. I’m sure she’ll go on to live a wonderful life.
It is a shame our lives are becoming more and more like the cliques that used to exist in grade school, and we can’t shine on our own, but only in the estimation of others.
Sounds like your daughter is too good for their politically correct priorities. Saying one volunteers in soup kitchens and with AIDS patients or travels to the hovels of Mexico are today’s criteria for a good person. Excelling in school is at the bottom of the list.
e
If you don’t volunteer your time to promote a cause that they approve of, it doesn’t count.
She should go down to the ghetto and replace some incandescent bulbs with CFL’s and really score some points!
She does so much more than I would have even thought of doing at her age. Yet I got into that same damn honor society, at that SAME school 25 years ago!
I don’t know if this has anything to do with it, but her National History Day project was on gay marriage. They basically “staged” a debate explaining the for and against. My daughter was the “against” and did her research and wrote her part well and with facts. They won the competition, but I’m wondering if someone didn’t like her “part”. Oh, and at the last minute they wrote into the script that she basically gets out of control and security is called and she’s hauled away. I was not happy with this as I think it puts all the positive light on the pro gay marriage part. I let it go because she said that writing that in was funny and she feels she got her point across. See, making fun of someone against gay marriage makes you win regional competitions! I should of spoke up then but I let it go.
She needs to trascribe and perform the song "Mmmmm mmmm mmmm, Barack Hussein Obama" for the oboe. Also, Karate, or any other form of self defense, probably violates the zero tolerance policy toward violence (the PC policy that expells kids for defending themselves).
Thank you, I needed the laugh, but the sad thing is that would probably have scored her some points big time!
I’m sure it’s the lack of community organization work (volunteering) that led to this. Just take a look at some of the more famous college scholarships like the ones Coke and McDonalds awards and some of the other large companies. They will tell you that they award the prizes to the ones that have a large number of hours in community service and leadership positions while volunteering count for even more.
They assume the academics are acceptable. (A’s don’t mean as much as they used to since teachers pass them out like water.) Leadership and work in the community are what get academia excited today.
I have a relative who was homosexual; fervently believed she was born that ‘way’. Lived the lesbian lifestyle until she blew off her entire family and just walked away.
Her companion had a sex change operation and my relative went through AI, gave birth to a baby boy, and the three of them seemed quite content as a family. Then she met a man and fell in love.
She abandoned her ‘husband’ and her son, all because she decided her former choice had been wrong.
The thing that really grates me about this is how enormously self-centered it all is, that she hurt people she supposedly loved.
I’ve now become a believer in homosexuality as a personality disorder. There is no scientific evidence that it is genetic or biological in origin.
Any leadership position I held at 12 was mostly for show, a position won by being the most popular person in the group when elections were held! There were no real responsibilities.
Yet sports and music require hours of practice a day and I believe help to bring out and develop character and leadership ability. I'll take the starting volleyball player over the French club President any day! (My daughter is in both French club and volleyball, so I'm not putting French club down, just saying at 12 not much is going on.)
And from what her school offers and what she had for volunteering through Girl Scouts, I can not fathom what the other kids had on their applications, but I will look into that.
We are waiting on my son’s application (16 years old). He gets great grades, in a couple of sports, and some volunteer stuff with church. Not near what some kids (like your daughter) do.
We just got off my wife’s PC searching on the National High School Scholar’s Society from which he DID get an acceptance letter. My wife thought it was the Honor Society, but it didn’t sound right to me. Turns out it is just a list of names like “Who’s who”. Costs $60.
You and your daughter need to keep your focus on getting a good academic education and moral education, not on on clubs and “activities.” Keep you eyes on what is real and not what is popular.
“your eyes”
(Remember to proofread)
you have raised a wonderful, talented daughter. Did you include the girlscout stuff on her app? Quantify the ‘community experience’ by stating it in years and generalized terms, not by number of occurances - 4 years of visiting/assisting seniors, 3 years of mentoring fellow students in (band, math, etc) as examples.
Ask if you can resubmit an amended app
Community service is chosen language for socialists to train young people to become snoops when the would be dictators assume power.
The community activities you mentioned should have been delineated separately rather than under the Girl Scouts mention.
It might very well have made a difference.
I wouldn’t get overly worked up over this. Many schools do not even participate in Honor Society.
When it’s time for college applications be sure to mention exactly what community service activities she’s participated.
Thanks. I will ask if we can resubmit, and we did include the Girl Scout stuff.
I am about to sound like my grandmother, “when I was in highschool (late 70’s) Honor Society was about grades and character”.
Both of my kids were rejected from National Honor Society. They both had the grades. My son is an Eagle Scout but was told that his Eagle Scout Project (improving a public town park) didn’t count. His leadership roles in his BSA Troop didn’t count. Being on the Wrestling Team didn’t count because he wasn’t a captain. He also worked 4 to 5 days a week to raise money for college which left no time for other activities beyond BSA and wrestling - and homework. He was in the band and orchestra too. But still to them - NOT good enough.
My daughter with an even higher grade point average was INVITED to join NHS; but, was rejected because she only took private piano lessons and worked EVERY SINGLE DAY AFTER SCHOOL as a teaching assistant in a pre-school/daycare center to raise money to go to college to be a teacher. Even volunteering at religious school didn’t count.
Even without being in NHS they both were accepted to college by October 1st of their senior year of high school.
Life experience counts with admission directors!
I told my kids we didn’t care if they wore the special NHS ribbon with their cap and gown on high school graduation day. My husband and I could not be more proud of them. They are both in college thriving. They both have work experience which in this economy helps them get summer jobs every year. And most importantly, because they contribute to their college educations they OWN their educations and, unlike a lot of their classmates, they appreciate the monetary sacrifice the opportunity of college is to our family.
My advice to other parents: Teach your kids what is REALLY important. Teach them a work ethic; teach them to volunteer or join activities that mean something to them NOT what is important to a committee that hands out ribbons.
My son is a National Merit Scholar, but never got inducted into the NHS at his school. His reason? He’d have to make up stuff about his “community service”, so he chose not to submit a bunch of lies on his application. Guess what? Not being in NHS hasn’t hurt him a bit. He still has his college education completely paid for.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.