Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Original poster

Achievement badges

39 replies

aliasPrickleandJones · 15/01/2014 21:08

I'm angry and sad about something that happened at DD's school. Angry Sad

They had an assembly and awarded badges to those students who achieved a pass in both English and Maths at the recent GCSEs in November. They are Year 11. By all accounts the students had to troop up to the stage and be awarded the badge while the rest just sat and felt like failures.

DD failed maths and was feeling pretty disappointed about it. She is a hard worker but finds the subject very hard. She said that she felt humiliated as the entire year group could see who passed and who didn't. Talk about rubbing salt…

Seems divisive and crass, I've complained.

Just wondered if any of your schools do something like this?

OP posts:
titchy · 15/01/2014 22:06

What percentage of the cohort were given badges? If there were only a handful of kids who remained sat down I'd say you had a point, but I'm guessing the majority of kids were not rewarded. They did well - good on them. Do schools really have to pussy-foot around and keep quiet about their students' successes just in case little Jimmy gets upset....? And I imagine every year 11 kid already knew who had passed both exams anyway.

diddlediddledumpling · 15/01/2014 22:03

But even if a school rewards all kinds of skills (as i would say the vast majority do, these days), there are still going to be those who don't get an award.
Rewarding effort is a much more valuable motivator. It contributes to the development of mastery goals, rather than performance goals, which is what schools should be doing, in my opinion.
Pretty sure you'll disagree, talkinpeace, i think we're coming from different points of view.

Original poster
aliasPrickleandJones · 15/01/2014 22:02

And dumpling I totally agree with you.

Divisive and demotivating.

OP posts:
Original poster
aliasPrickleandJones · 15/01/2014 21:55

Yes, and perhaps they should reward effort as well?

OP posts:
TalkinPeace · 15/01/2014 21:54

where the school failed was to reward a very narrow part of their cohort

I have no problem at all with rewards
they are what life is about

I have a big problem with narrow minded schools that cannot reward and recognise different skills

do the athletes get to go up when they do well in a meet?
or the musicians when they pass an exam?
or the dancers?
or the stock car drivers?

rewards are good
they are essential
but they should have breadth

Original poster
aliasPrickleandJones · 15/01/2014 21:47

Wow TalkinPeace, your take on it is really different from mine.

My child who works her little socks off, she is motivated, consciencious but really stressed and anxious too. She has tried hard but didn't quite get there. Does she have to sit there where others (many of whom have not worked so hard as her) gets applauded.

You will say it's life, but it is not kind or nurturing.

Anyway surely getting a pass grade should be reward enough? And could be celebrated more discreetly as dumpling says?

OP posts:
diddlediddledumpling · 15/01/2014 21:37

I assume the purpose of the badge presentation was to motivate, both those who passed and those who didn't.

Making the kids who failed feel a bit crap because of the public nature of the presentation won't do much to motivate them, in my experience.

For the kids who did pass, a better way of motivating them to keep achieving would be for their teachers or even principal to speak to them individually and tell them how pleased they were, and mean it.

Really, badges?

diddlediddledumpling · 15/01/2014 21:30

Good lord, how depressing that those are the rewards of success!!!! I'm delighted to say I've been rewarded with none of those!!!

TalkinPeace · 15/01/2014 21:28

house, car, holiday, supermarket, gym, schools

all the things that those who "have" do not notice
and those who "have not" do

I bet the kids who got their badges had no idea that others were upset

diddlediddledumpling · 15/01/2014 21:27

Also, giving every child an award makes the awards meaningless, and children know this. It does more harm than good, actually, to those who know their award was a bit made up.

diddlediddledumpling · 15/01/2014 21:26

Success is very publicly rewarded
Really? In what way? I'm pretty successful, but I haven't won prizes/certificates/badges.

TalkinPeace · 15/01/2014 21:20

there are other, less public ways to reward success.
but that is not how life works
success is VERY publicly rewarded later in life
get used to it

BUT
a good school would have - at the same time - rewarded different criteria like sports music and arts so that every child was a success in their area of expertise

diddlediddledumpling · 15/01/2014 21:18

I can't see the point in that, myself. Is a badge meant to motivate the others to do better next time?

Does seem pointless and divisive to me. And it's not just 'rewarding success', there are other, less public ways to reward success.

TalkinPeace · 15/01/2014 21:15

so you are pissed off that they rewarded success ?