Please help with Pleasant Grove High-school in Utah!
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Rebecca Mayer
6 years ago
Adulthood is full of hard work, personal sacrifice and competition. We must prepare our students for real life. The students that make extra effort need to be rewarded.
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Anonymous
6 years ago
My daughter will be a high schooler next year and I think outstanding work should be celebrated. I think doing away with this tradition will demoralize her.
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Anonymous
6 years ago
While I’m sure the district had good intentions, as a new family to the school, we are very disappointed with the decision. This tradition is one our daughter was looking forward to. We, of course, never want a student to feel marginalized or left out, but we believe the time to keep that from happening is during the actual school year, not at one ceremony. The absence of cords is not going to make those kids suddenly feel included. If the district recognizes that students are feeling left out, then they should also admit that there is hard work to be done to reverse that. Hard work that goes beyond kids wearing colors at graduation. While trying to do something good for marginalized students, what the district has done instead is punish students who have accomplishments that deserve to be celebrated at graduation.
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Lisa Poitras
7 years ago
This is fundamentally WRONG. It’s shameful for those that have gone above and beyond should need to hide those hard earned accomplishments to protect those that did only what was required. This “trophy for everyone” mentality is disingenuous and not reflected in the real world. Hard work IS valued above those that complete only the minimum. Let’s stop this “feel good” coddling and teach real life values. Mostly let’s teach real lessons and value the true importance in hard work and allow these students the to display pride in the accomplishments they’ve earned. Reverse this decision
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Ahmed Ismail
7 years ago
Welcome to more mediocrity! If parents tolerate this mindset of not recognizing high achievement at graduation, they should demand that the logic be carried through the entire high school and that the practice of varsity letters being awarded to recognize athletic achievement also be discontinued.
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Tami Fitch
7 years ago
Ridiculous! Award people for great work. What's next, no merit raises for work well done?
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Cherie Williams
7 years ago
Kid's that decide to work hard to achieve their goals should be recognized for that hard work , dedication and determination.
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Julie Mansuetti
7 years ago
These students deserve to be recognized for their achievements. Not everyone strives for the highest grades but those that do....those that have...should get the recognition they EARNED.
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Barrett
7 years ago
This is an absolutely asinine move by this school's administrators. They kids have worked hard and have earned the right to have their achievements recognized. I 100% support these students.
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Jennifer Olivas
7 years ago
All kids should be allowed to show proudly their hard work and accomplishments.
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Courtney James
7 years ago
Shameful.
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Alice Kaster
7 years ago
Life doesn't give out participation trophies, those who work hard in life will be rewarded, don't thwart that now in the name of being "fair" or "equal" - life ain't fair either. Those who are graduating with academic distinction deserve recognition, same with those who have showed dedication to clubs, athletics, etc. Celebrate achievement, don't hide it!
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Lani Harrison
7 years ago
Non-academic achievements are recognized in such a public fashion. Who doesn’t know who the top athlete is in any school sport? It doesn’t make any sense that academic awards should be private.
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Wendy Thomas
7 years ago
This is a time for students to take pride in their hard work, and to celebrate their achievements, and the achievements of their peers. Graduation's "coming together as a class" to meet the minimum requirements to graduate is not a celebration. It's simply stepping over a bar that's set low to the ground. For those who have flown, and are proud of it, let them celebrate. Let their friends celebrate with them. Having the reward of the cord or stole is a motivating factor to push harder for some kids. Pulling that away is only hurting Issaquah.
Ask other high schools what they do. There are nearly 27,000 public schools in the US. Even if not all of them do it, probably 25,000 of them use cords and stoles. I'm sure a dozen or two dozen can offer advice to help smooth this over. Surely there's a "high school prinicpals'" facebook group that could offer more useful advice than "take them away." That's what you do for preschoolers who are squabbling over a ball. These are high schoolers about to enter college or the workforce. Treat them as the adults they are about to become. The adults you are claiming to take pride in helping shape.
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Glenda wood
7 years ago
recognize those kids!
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Anonymous
7 years ago
Fire the administrator who instituted this debacle.
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Rita Richey
7 years ago
Leave tradition alone!
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Isabella Brown
7 years ago
We wanted you to treat sports and club/arts dedication equally, we didn't want you to take away all recognition of achievement. Please get a backbone, Issaquah High. You let whiny parents walk all over you.
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Katherine Kelly
7 years ago
Not everyone deserves trophies, but people who work for them for 4 years - and really 12 because you don’t just start getting great grades in 9th grade- deserve the honor. Cords recognize the work done for 4 years. They inspire and motivate. They do not decrease the self-esteem of others who do not receive them. The problem with trophies for all is that when those children grow up they tend to still expect compensation as adults when they don’t work.
Please help with Pleasant Grove High-school in Utah!
Adulthood is full of hard work, personal sacrifice and competition. We must prepare our students for real life. The students that make extra effort need to be rewarded.
My daughter will be a high schooler next year and I think outstanding work should be celebrated. I think doing away with this tradition will demoralize her.
While I’m sure the district had good intentions, as a new family to the school, we are very disappointed with the decision. This tradition is one our daughter was looking forward to. We, of course, never want a student to feel marginalized or left out, but we believe the time to keep that from happening is during the actual school year, not at one ceremony. The absence of cords is not going to make those kids suddenly feel included. If the district recognizes that students are feeling left out, then they should also admit that there is hard work to be done to reverse that. Hard work that goes beyond kids wearing colors at graduation. While trying to do something good for marginalized students, what the district has done instead is punish students who have accomplishments that deserve to be celebrated at graduation.
This is fundamentally WRONG. It’s shameful for those that have gone above and beyond should need to hide those hard earned accomplishments to protect those that did only what was required. This “trophy for everyone” mentality is disingenuous and not reflected in the real world. Hard work IS valued above those that complete only the minimum. Let’s stop this “feel good” coddling and teach real life values. Mostly let’s teach real lessons and value the true importance in hard work and allow these students the to display pride in the accomplishments they’ve earned. Reverse this decision
Welcome to more mediocrity! If parents tolerate this mindset of not recognizing high achievement at graduation, they should demand that the logic be carried through the entire high school and that the practice of varsity letters being awarded to recognize athletic achievement also be discontinued.
Ridiculous! Award people for great work. What's next, no merit raises for work well done?
Kid's that decide to work hard to achieve their goals should be recognized for that hard work , dedication and determination.
These students deserve to be recognized for their achievements. Not everyone strives for the highest grades but those that do....those that have...should get the recognition they EARNED.
This is an absolutely asinine move by this school's administrators. They kids have worked hard and have earned the right to have their achievements recognized. I 100% support these students.
All kids should be allowed to show proudly their hard work and accomplishments.
Shameful.
Life doesn't give out participation trophies, those who work hard in life will be rewarded, don't thwart that now in the name of being "fair" or "equal" - life ain't fair either. Those who are graduating with academic distinction deserve recognition, same with those who have showed dedication to clubs, athletics, etc. Celebrate achievement, don't hide it!
Non-academic achievements are recognized in such a public fashion. Who doesn’t know who the top athlete is in any school sport? It doesn’t make any sense that academic awards should be private.
This is a time for students to take pride in their hard work, and to celebrate their achievements, and the achievements of their peers. Graduation's "coming together as a class" to meet the minimum requirements to graduate is not a celebration. It's simply stepping over a bar that's set low to the ground. For those who have flown, and are proud of it, let them celebrate. Let their friends celebrate with them. Having the reward of the cord or stole is a motivating factor to push harder for some kids. Pulling that away is only hurting Issaquah. Ask other high schools what they do. There are nearly 27,000 public schools in the US. Even if not all of them do it, probably 25,000 of them use cords and stoles. I'm sure a dozen or two dozen can offer advice to help smooth this over. Surely there's a "high school prinicpals'" facebook group that could offer more useful advice than "take them away." That's what you do for preschoolers who are squabbling over a ball. These are high schoolers about to enter college or the workforce. Treat them as the adults they are about to become. The adults you are claiming to take pride in helping shape.
recognize those kids!
Fire the administrator who instituted this debacle.
Leave tradition alone!
We wanted you to treat sports and club/arts dedication equally, we didn't want you to take away all recognition of achievement. Please get a backbone, Issaquah High. You let whiny parents walk all over you.
Not everyone deserves trophies, but people who work for them for 4 years - and really 12 because you don’t just start getting great grades in 9th grade- deserve the honor. Cords recognize the work done for 4 years. They inspire and motivate. They do not decrease the self-esteem of others who do not receive them. The problem with trophies for all is that when those children grow up they tend to still expect compensation as adults when they don’t work.