A Celebration of Achievement

Last night was the sixth grade awards ceremony for my son's school. In a day and time when children are all given participation trophies and congratulated for not really trying, it was really nice to see a small population of his sixth grade class being recognized for true greatness. Also, we didn't have to sit through a needlessly long event.

My son plays the trumpet in beginner's band. He has been first chair nearly all year long. At the concert at the end of this school year he has told me he will be playing a solo. The instructor expects him to enter Honor's Band next year, pending the end of year audition, of course. Quite an achievement for my little guy. So naturally he was recognized for his accomplishments in band. He also got a certificate for language arts. Guess the love of writing runs in the family. Now if only he would turn in his homework.

The whole ceremony went pretty smoothly. The faculty started pretty much on time and had the whole herd of kids across the stage in 40 minutes. In fact I can't really think of any complaints about the faculty. The kids on the other hand...

When an invitation says, "Please dress nicely" I take that to mean wear something business casual. Not dress like you're about to go out clubbing. Or fishing. I'm not even sure what kind of clubs 12 and 13 year olds can get in to. And I always throw my holey jeans away. It just makes me wonder what kind of example these parents are setting for their children. "It is ok to ignore the rules. It's ok not to look your best when being recognized as a model student. It's not important to put forth an effort when people are trying to make you feel special."

And what is with parents letting their kids do whatever they want while sitting in an audience full of families? The mom behind me had her hands full with three kids under the age of five, one of which was head butting the back of my seat. If you can't control your children in public, don't take them out in public. Additionally, I have a Kindle. But do I use it to distract my kids when their older sibling is being awarded by the school as being a good kid? No. My kids know how to behave because if they don't they get punished. I don't pacify them with movies and games on my electronic devices because I don't know how to keep them quiet for 45 minutes. And even if I did, I would be considerate enough to turn the volume down.

I am a full 5/5 gold stars proud of my boy. Some parents, however, only deserve 1.