Your Child Wins

[nissangirl74]

...the Catastrophe Award! Yes, you heard it right.


The mother of an 8-year-old Arizona girl whose daughter was presented with a "Catastrophe Award" for having the most homework excuses in the class fired back against those criticizing her for poor parenting.
Christina Valdez first told ABC affiliate KGUN-TV that her third grade daughter, Cassandra Garcia, received the controversial award from her teacher in front of her classmates at the Desert Springs Academy in Tucson, Ariz.
Since the story was first reported, it has sparked a heated discussion online, with thousands weighing in on both sides. Many took issue with the teacher, saying that the award was completely inappropriate, but even more lashed out at the girl's parents, asking why her mom and dad didn't know that their daughter was having problems with her homework in the first place and didn't check on her or take steps to help get her on track.
One commenter on the "Good Morning America" website said she deserves the "Out-of-Touch Mom of the Year" award and others told her to "step up as a parent."


If this was your child....regardless if it was true or not, what would you do in this situation? Do you think the teacher was out of line or do you think the parent is over-reacting?

http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/mo ... nting.html

[themadscientist]

Singling out the kid was extreme. It's third grade and you drag her out for public humiliation, too much. Now, pulling mom and dad in and putting foot to a**, absolutely.

I had a teacher speak ill of my mother when I was in high school and I offered to knock him the f*** out. He apologized to my mother for what he said and I apologized for disrupting his class.

If my kid is f*** up and I haven't caught it, I expect a phone call. Parents are part of the team along with teachers and the kid themselves and if one is dropping the ball the kid is going to suffer.

[Jesda]

What a mess.

[Bmore-coupe]

Jesda, I cant stop staring at your Netscape avatar.....it's stunning.

[bigbadberry3]

I don't think it's the worst thing I've ever heard a teacher doing. If my (hypothetical) kid got the award I think I would take it as a wake up call.

[Bubba1]

If this was your child....regardless if it was true or not, what would you do in this situation? Do you think the teacher was out of line or do you think the parent is over-reacting?

To me the answer is definitely the teacher and principal. But also possibly the parent depending on what she did prior to taking it public. At that young an age, motivation by humiliation is stupid, even if it was done in jest. The teacher was clearly out of bounds. If the principal defended the teacher's actions when brought to her attention, then she is also at fault. As far as the mom goes. If she complained quietly to the teacher/principal and they blew her off, and then to principal's boss (perhaps the superindentant) and got no satisfaction. then I don't necessarily have a problem with her going public. But if the parent went public before the administration had a chance to investigate/apologize and make amends with the kid, then I think she went about it the wrong way.

[Jesda]

Jesda, I cant stop staring at your Netscape avatar.....it's stunning.

<blink>STUNNING INDEED!</blink>

[bigbadberry3]

Just for some entertainment http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/06/02/ca ... latestnews

[PapaSmurf2k3]

I'd have a 27th trimester abortion... but that's just cos I don't want kids.

Anyway, if the kid's test scores were exemplary, who gives a crap about homework. Need more details to this story.

[themadscientist]

I never did my homework, but usually got As on the tests. It used to drive my teachers crazy.

[Loki]

Sounds like you weren't being adequately challenged in class or by the homework. Did you ever take a Gifted and Talented Education placement test?

[bigbadberry3]

Some teachers make the homework hard and tests easy.

[themadscientist]

I took some test. They freaked out and stuck me in some hippyfied advanced class that challenged me a bit, but while I was not as knowledgeable as many of the kids my cognitive abilities seemed to be much more versatile.

I'm pretty much the same as an adult. Tell me I can't do it and you have my attention. When I prove you wrong, though, I need to hand the completed work to another person to maintain as very much like an orgasm, after I'm done I rapidly lose interest.

I think the problem educators have with "problem kids" is this erroneous belief that you can fundamentally change a person. You can't. They are who they are. While if they want to they can develop strategies to move closer to other ways of thinking, they still must be approached in a manner that engages them. I use these techniques to manage staff by leading them in a manner that they understand and respond to. I have found the four lenses to be a good predictor of behavior and if used to shape your interaction with people the results are stunning.

Enjoy the diversity of people, understand them and celebrate it and quit trying to force them into boring molds.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvPpAPIIZyo[/youtube]

[nissangirl74]

Some teachers make the homework hard and tests easy.

[AZhitman]

I never did my homework, but usually got As on the tests. It used to drive my teachers crazy.

<-- Same guy.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

I used to be that guy, until I got to college. Then I did homework 2 or 3 times over just to be prepared for the test. I recall marathon 10+ hour homework sessions (for just 1 class). Yeah, I don't miss that.

[themadscientist]

I too still have difficulty in my college courses because I never learned good study habits. I still get high scores on tests and grown up Mad has about a 3.8 GPA going into his senior year, but if I worked as hard as my classmates it would be a 4.0.