What good does it do to shame a student anyway? I don't care how young or old, what good is it to publicly shame one's self esteem?
I wonder if the teacher even bothered to care if the student was sensitive or not? Did they take that into account? How about the after-effects this would have on the student? Or what kind of life they live outside of school? I didn't see the original question, so pardon me if these bases were touched already.
I certainly hope the student is laughing at all this. I'd rather it be that than crying in depression from the ridicule.
PUBLIC OPINION > The 'Catastrophe Award' Was Kind of Mean
SodaHead News
2012/06/01 22:00:00
An 8-year-old girl made the news this week when her mother complained about a "Catastrophe Award" the girl received at school. The "award" read, "You're tops! Awarded ... for most excuses for not having homework. :)" Apparently the entire class laughed at her, and the mother was furious. Some think the teacher who handed it out was being cruel; others think it was relatively harmless. We asked the public.
Reactions were pretty mixed on this one. Though a small majority agreed it was mean to call the girl out on her missing homework in front of her peers, some still felt it was an acceptable way of addressing the problem. Although, one young respondent wrote, "Hell, if one of my teachers gave me that I'd frame it and put it on my wall!" So maybe it wouldn't effective for everyone.
Females Feel Bad
There was a huge difference between how men and women responded. Women were much more likely to sympathize with the student and show concern from how it affected her. Men, on the other hand, were more willing to accept it as a form of tough love. Many of them even thought it was funny, suggesting the kids shouldn't have taken it so seriously.
Old School
We expected older voters to be more accepting of the teacher's method, as punishment in school seems to be more controversial now than it once was, but the shift didn't happen until the uppermost bracket. Only respondents over the age of 65 voted much different than the rest of the age groups. "Back in my day..."
Liberals Don't Like It
Probably for the same reasons behind the age difference, conservative respondents were more likely to green light the Catastrophe Award. They tend to appreciate tradition, and traditionally teachers have more license to crack down in schools when kids need to shape up. Considering some of the things they used to do, this was pretty harmless.
If you'd like to vote on this question, dig deeper into the demographics, or engage in existing discussion about the topic, visit our poll about the Catastrophe Award. We'd love to hear from you!
Top Opinion
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Depsycho 2012/06/01 22:26:50
It seems you are paranoid & more than a bit hysterical.
Proven wrong?
Where? You didn't "prove me wrong," C.C, you just reiterated your views.
Really, C.C, you need to get a grip & understand that because I disagree with you & someone else agrees with me, doesn't mean that anyone's bullying you. It means that more than one person disagrees with your post. That's all, C.C. This is a public forum where nothing is written in secret. I certainly have no fears of you seeing what I write to others.
You seriously need to understand that life is difficult... often a real bitch. It doesn't ever get "easy" ...ever. As soon as you understand that, C.C, it will be less difficult. But running around flailing your hands in the air, yelling "Mean person! Mean person!" just makes you look weak & only garners either pity for you (which is a bit nauseating for a grown woman, wouldn't you say?) or disgust (which will usually only bring on actual bullying when actual bullies see your weak spots).
As I said, C.C, calm down. It's unbecoming of a grown woman to whine out loud for everyone to witness. Toughen up.
Disagree dear? Why all was going fine until you just could not take my difference of opinion and it was YOU who came after me to try to convince me you were right, of COURSE dear...you were right..lol that is me laughing with you, not at you.
I have no interest in what you write to others, we ALL need a good laugh, but really, to write to them complaining about little ole me? I guess life is a bitch for you all the time if THAT upset you.
Now really for a grown man dry your tears, and march on there, into that big thing called life and try to perform to your best. I am sure you hear that alot.
Now lets see if you can NOT RESPOND back, cause really, it is you who needs to toughen up and try to save some face around here.
I'm afraid many students would strive to win the award.
There is an old story (may be true or just a joke) about 4 college students who showed up in their professor's office one Tuesday after missing a Monday exam. They claimed that they had driven into the mountain wilderness 3 hours from campus on Friday to get away from parties & distractions. While returning Sunday evening from the quiet-study weekend, they had a flat tire in the middle of nowhere & were stranded till Monday when the tow truck finally reached them.
The professor agreed to give them a make-up exam on the spot, ordering each student to sit facing a different corner of the room. There was only one question: WHICH TIRE WAS IT?
Nice one.
I resemble that story... but as a high school student.
So a while later, I sent his parents a sympathy card! After that, I spoke to his mother who thanked me because her father-in-law really had died.
My parents told me to do my homework all the time. It drove me nuts. I never did it... even as a little kid.
But you're absolutely right about having to accept the consequences... I did.