The "Sissifying" of America...

Every generation thinks the generation following them is bringing down the country. Your kids will be saying the same thing about their kids in 40 to 50 years, lol.

I don't have kids yet, but I already know I will make a point to put them in leagues and schools that support competitive environments. I lost games from hide and seek to soccer tournaments when I was young and yes it is disappointing, but without those life lessons how can we learn to be better?

@ the person whose husband said to fail his kid for not turning in work : I was in a science class in middle school and was doing poorly ( along with a few others). Kids with the lowest grades had to sit in the back of the class ( the last row not like all the way in the back away from everyone) Bet your bottom dollar I worked my *kitten* off to do better and get bumped up. I would have told the teacher to fail my kid too, cant to the time, don't do the time. It is the only way to get through sometimes. Harsh reality

Every generation thinks the generation following them is bringing down the country. Your kids will be saying the same thing about their kids in 40 to 50 years, lol.

While this is pretty true, my mom and grandmother regularly tell me "I'm glad you weren't like that" when referring to kids of today, and I'm only 27!

I totally agree with you on this. Growing up I competed on the swim and track teams. When I first started swimming I was 7 or 8 and was horrible. I watched the other kids get to compete and win the blue, red, or white ribbons (first, second, & third). It was my goal to win a ribbon so I practiced!! It was my accomplishment in being able to win that blue ribbon, something to work for.

My son will soon start T-Ball and everyone will get a trophy. I'm not really sure how to handle this yet as I don't feel everyone deserves a trophy for just playing. You are supposed to earn it. I don't want to hurt his feelings but he has to learn that not everyone "wins" a prize. Any ideas on how to handle this?

Diana

As a teacher, I tell parents to " let kids fail" all the time. IMO, it's better to domitian as a 6th grader than to learn the lesson in high school.

Don't make me fill out a HRF.

Hurt Feelings Report

http://i667.photobucket.com/albums/vv37/punkrockHR/hurt-feelings-report.jpg

Don't make me fill out a HRF.

Hurt Feelings Report

http://i667.photobucket.com/albums/vv37/punkrockHR/hurt-feelings-report.jpg

Perfect, I'm going to have to save this!!

This problem isn't limited to America. It's worming it's way into society here, and it stinks.

Here's a good one, my high school student wasn't handing the work on time. Well, we go to conferences and the teacher says "He has plenty of time to make it up, I'll let him hand it in late". Hubs is like, "Fail him". Bottom line is, it affects their "numbers" if you have a bunch of kids who fail. They let him slide.

Oh, here's the new thing now you don't get zeros for not handing in work, you get 50% because it brings down the grade too much.

My Dad just tried to explain this too me a month ago and quite honestly I think the principal brain washed him because he doesn't think this way. UGHH that makes me sick

My mom is a high school teacher by day, personal trainer by night, and you bet your *kitten* she has no problem failing a kid for not doing their work. HOWEVER...the way the public education system in Texas is, teachers have almost stopped giving a *kitten* because they force the standardized testing issue down their throats and the whole "no child left behind" crap. Leave some children behind, dammit! Let teachers actually teach, make kids actually work, and if kids don't do the work, they fail. Period.

Omg, and the helicopter parents thing, my mom was a private school principal for a while and those are the WORST. She could go on for hours about those damn helicopter parents!

Seriously, this is New Mexico to a T.

I so agree! And I'm only 22 without kids. Blah. Let kids fail and let them lose. It builds character.

By the way, what exactly is a helicoptor parent? hehe.

You mean not everyone can get the job they want in life? Haha!

Your a winner if you participate!

I agree, kids should know how to lose. Making mistakes and learning from them builds character. Shows you what you are truly made of.

I don't have kids but def see this now. Some think I'm over zealous about wanting certain things because honestly it shows you have accomplished things ie the car,man,money,job,body,etc. They are trophie minus the man. In our society no one wants to ruffle feathers and no one wants to help others push harder. If you are hard here you called a ice crotch *****. I'm competitive I like to go all in. I hope things turn around but I just don't know anymore. Our society as a overall whole has lost it's edge and may not recover because the loss of doing things right and pushing harder is not the norm. No one wants to work or do the hard thing.

The sad part is this happens in the classroom too. I work with a LOT of students coming into one of the best undergraduate universities in the country, and so many of them are ill prepared and just shut down if you fail them on a single assignment. They never learned how to recover from failure or how to learn anything they don't get easily or naturally. They also tend to blame me instead of themselves. Sadly, this is one of the reasons the freshman dropout rate is so high in American universities.

I always compare that to my students from overseas who get a B, work their *kitten* off the next time and get 100% on the next exam because they learned from what they did wrong last time and applied it for the next time.