Blue Ribbons
While waiting in the gymnasium for Bailey's program, The Little Red Hen, we had the "pleasure" of sitting through a short award presentation for the science fair that was also going on at the same time. *sigh* The older I get, the more wiser I become. It is a sad occurrence, really. The longer you live, the more evil you become aware of. It just doesn't seem right, does it?
For those who like life the way it is, stop reading > right here < and click me for a funny joke. For I will probably curse and piss, most of those who read this, off and make others sad. It will offend teachers and those who love teachers. Forgive me in advance if you read it, but I did warn you, didn't I?
So there Angie and I sat with sore asses from the wooden bleachers digging into our bums as the principal grabs a microphone and announces they will be honoring some students for their science fair projects. What a great occasion for all the parents and friends in the crowd to watch their kids go up in front of a couple hundred people and get their ribbon. I must commend the school for giving everyone a ribbon. There was a point system: 100-80 = a blue ribbon. 79-60 = red ribbon and 59 or below a white ribbon. The story isn't so bad so far, eh? Here comes the part that makes me cringe.
As each name was called upon to go and accept the ribbons for all their hard work, a pattern was certainly developing. White ribbons were given to kids whom you could tell were under-privileged, to say the least. These kids were in shoes with that were falling apart, shirts that didn't fit or were full of holes and appearances that wore the description of poverty. The parents you saw clapping for these children sat in the same areas and were wearing clothes of uniform that read "County Garage" or were dirty with black hands and greasy jeans. And they were either earlier than everyone else or late coming in. Why? You know why...
Red ribbons were given out the most. They were given to the middle class-looking kids. Their parents looked "normal" for lack of a better word. They looked sort of like me. Clean. In jeans and a sweatshirt. Came in just a few minutes early to get a good seat. They clapped and smiled. Why? You know why...
The blue ribbons. Oh, yes, you have to be awfully special to get one of these. A first place ribbon. Now these were reserved for those children whose parents parked a Lexus or a Range Rover in the lot. These were students of parents who helped build the sets of programs and plays. These were given to the kids of parents' moms who didn't work much except to volunteer at the school. Why? You know why...
Were the blue ribbon projects that much better than the red and the white ribbon's scores or projects? These are 3rd graders for Christ sakes! You pick something from a list and make a poster board. Do you think it had anything to do with class? Of fucking course it does! My disclaimer: You would assume I am falling into the same categorizing as everyone else who judges those with money or those without. You're wrong. I am on the outside looking in, or at least, that is where I am trying to be. I didn't have a kid participating so I have a small advantage in judging. I don't think one person can argue with me (except Angie because she finds it humorous or something) about the fact that the more privileged you are, the better chance you have to succeed in life. BUT it is not the money that helps you succeed (directly). It is not that your parents have more time to help you with your homework so that you are smarter and learn more (directly). It is not the fact that your parents have college degrees and can help you do the tougher math problems (directly). No. I think it goes deeper that that. I think it starts in kindergarten and follows you all the way through school.
If you are a teacher, don't be offended, but I hate you - not all of you but most of you. Teachers. The epidome of evil. The very reason kids will succeed or fail in life. Wow! What kind of person can carry that weight on their shoulders? Maybe this is why most teachers suck. Maybe this is why most teachers deserve the have their jobs stripped and treated the way they treat our children. There are very few I can stomach and even fewer I can hold down vomit while we talk. They look for the bad in the "bad" ones and look for the good in the "good" ones. Period. Case in point: So if you read any of my other posts you will know I bought a new truck. One several, several years newer than my last one and much, much nicer. I drop Bailey off at school on Wednesday mornings in a line with 5 other vehicles at a time. The same attendees are out front each morning (two of them) opening or not opening doors - greeting or not greeting sleepy children and parents. Never did we get a door opening or a greeting from this "pseudo-teacher" (worse than a real teacher 'cuz she is merely a wanna-be) until the last couple of weeks when we have been in the new truck. Now the door opens for us and smiles are presented. Fuck you bitch! I hate you and hope someone runs over your foot. Keep your greetings and smiles to yourself. I don't want them!
It is my opinion that "they" set the paths for our youths. They = teachers. No matter the path parents set, teachers can trump everything if they wish and set children on a path to success or a path to failure. I was a taught in one of my Master-level courses at Murray State that an experiment was tested on elementary school children over a period of two years. The experiment went something like this: Teachers were told that certain students who were less privileged doing badly in school would be hitting a "learning growth spurt" this year and some teachers were told other students who were very privileged and had performed great in the past "have reached a learning capacity" for this grade. Do I need to tell you there is NO such thing as a "learning growth spurt"? Do I need to tell you what happened? Hell no! You know what happened! The "bad" students' grades climbed as much as 3 letter grades and the "good" students' grades dropped as much as 2 letter grades.
What can we do to overcome this trend that society has placed upon our youth. I know what you are going to say: Well I know plenty of deprived children who have overcome the woes of being placed in a sect and blossomed into a successful person. Well, plenty isn't good enough for me. Plenty means "not all". I want every child in the world to have the same chance at enduring greatness.
I'm tired of typing. Sorry I went off on a tangent... maybe I'll just delete this post.
For those who like life the way it is, stop reading > right here < and click me for a funny joke. For I will probably curse and piss, most of those who read this, off and make others sad. It will offend teachers and those who love teachers. Forgive me in advance if you read it, but I did warn you, didn't I?
So there Angie and I sat with sore asses from the wooden bleachers digging into our bums as the principal grabs a microphone and announces they will be honoring some students for their science fair projects. What a great occasion for all the parents and friends in the crowd to watch their kids go up in front of a couple hundred people and get their ribbon. I must commend the school for giving everyone a ribbon. There was a point system: 100-80 = a blue ribbon. 79-60 = red ribbon and 59 or below a white ribbon. The story isn't so bad so far, eh? Here comes the part that makes me cringe.
As each name was called upon to go and accept the ribbons for all their hard work, a pattern was certainly developing. White ribbons were given to kids whom you could tell were under-privileged, to say the least. These kids were in shoes with that were falling apart, shirts that didn't fit or were full of holes and appearances that wore the description of poverty. The parents you saw clapping for these children sat in the same areas and were wearing clothes of uniform that read "County Garage" or were dirty with black hands and greasy jeans. And they were either earlier than everyone else or late coming in. Why? You know why...
Red ribbons were given out the most. They were given to the middle class-looking kids. Their parents looked "normal" for lack of a better word. They looked sort of like me. Clean. In jeans and a sweatshirt. Came in just a few minutes early to get a good seat. They clapped and smiled. Why? You know why...
The blue ribbons. Oh, yes, you have to be awfully special to get one of these. A first place ribbon. Now these were reserved for those children whose parents parked a Lexus or a Range Rover in the lot. These were students of parents who helped build the sets of programs and plays. These were given to the kids of parents' moms who didn't work much except to volunteer at the school. Why? You know why...
Were the blue ribbon projects that much better than the red and the white ribbon's scores or projects? These are 3rd graders for Christ sakes! You pick something from a list and make a poster board. Do you think it had anything to do with class? Of fucking course it does! My disclaimer: You would assume I am falling into the same categorizing as everyone else who judges those with money or those without. You're wrong. I am on the outside looking in, or at least, that is where I am trying to be. I didn't have a kid participating so I have a small advantage in judging. I don't think one person can argue with me (except Angie because she finds it humorous or something) about the fact that the more privileged you are, the better chance you have to succeed in life. BUT it is not the money that helps you succeed (directly). It is not that your parents have more time to help you with your homework so that you are smarter and learn more (directly). It is not the fact that your parents have college degrees and can help you do the tougher math problems (directly). No. I think it goes deeper that that. I think it starts in kindergarten and follows you all the way through school.
If you are a teacher, don't be offended, but I hate you - not all of you but most of you. Teachers. The epidome of evil. The very reason kids will succeed or fail in life. Wow! What kind of person can carry that weight on their shoulders? Maybe this is why most teachers suck. Maybe this is why most teachers deserve the have their jobs stripped and treated the way they treat our children. There are very few I can stomach and even fewer I can hold down vomit while we talk. They look for the bad in the "bad" ones and look for the good in the "good" ones. Period. Case in point: So if you read any of my other posts you will know I bought a new truck. One several, several years newer than my last one and much, much nicer. I drop Bailey off at school on Wednesday mornings in a line with 5 other vehicles at a time. The same attendees are out front each morning (two of them) opening or not opening doors - greeting or not greeting sleepy children and parents. Never did we get a door opening or a greeting from this "pseudo-teacher" (worse than a real teacher 'cuz she is merely a wanna-be) until the last couple of weeks when we have been in the new truck. Now the door opens for us and smiles are presented. Fuck you bitch! I hate you and hope someone runs over your foot. Keep your greetings and smiles to yourself. I don't want them!
It is my opinion that "they" set the paths for our youths. They = teachers. No matter the path parents set, teachers can trump everything if they wish and set children on a path to success or a path to failure. I was a taught in one of my Master-level courses at Murray State that an experiment was tested on elementary school children over a period of two years. The experiment went something like this: Teachers were told that certain students who were less privileged doing badly in school would be hitting a "learning growth spurt" this year and some teachers were told other students who were very privileged and had performed great in the past "have reached a learning capacity" for this grade. Do I need to tell you there is NO such thing as a "learning growth spurt"? Do I need to tell you what happened? Hell no! You know what happened! The "bad" students' grades climbed as much as 3 letter grades and the "good" students' grades dropped as much as 2 letter grades.
What can we do to overcome this trend that society has placed upon our youth. I know what you are going to say: Well I know plenty of deprived children who have overcome the woes of being placed in a sect and blossomed into a successful person. Well, plenty isn't good enough for me. Plenty means "not all". I want every child in the world to have the same chance at enduring greatness.
I'm tired of typing. Sorry I went off on a tangent... maybe I'll just delete this post.
posted by Wall Appeals at 15.3.06
1 Comments:
Wow, what a post. Wow.
I can see what you're saying about teachers enforcing sterotypes based on class, but I think that this goes on with everyone.
Think for a second. If you and Bailey were walking down a street and a dirty, raggedly-dressed man was approaching you, wouldn't you pull her a little closer to you? If it was a well-dressed businessman, would your reaction be the same?
I agree, teachers should be held to a higher standard. They should seek to help every child learn to the best of his/her capibility. But teachers, just like everyone else, have thier own filters and biases they have to get through, first.
I have never had the type of experiences that you describe, so I can't speak from personal experience. But I think children learn about class from everyone. Children who are poor know they are poor, becuase other children tease them. Children who are rich know they are rich, because other children want to be like them.
It is a whole society problem, not just one perpatrated by the teachers. (Ok, I can't spell, but you know what I mean.)
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