Teaching the wrong lesson

Egad!  Talk about teaching the wrong lesson.

As reported, "A Massachusetts principal has been criticized for canceling his school's Honors Night, saying it could be 'devastating' to the students who worked hard, but fell short of the grades." Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/03/20/massachusetts-principal-calls-off-honor-night-because-it-could-be-devastating/?test=latestnews#ixzz2O6zD0b92

Critical to success in life as adults are the countless lessons we learn as children.  Some of the lessons derive from literal education (English, math, science, etc.).  Others are less formal, but no less important.  This principal's action in canceling the recognition accorded those students who were able to meet the higher Honors standards fails on two fronts, while concurrently contributing to one of the more serious aspects of the progressive, liberal agenda.

His first failure comes from teaching his students that seeking and achieving academic distinction, in other words doing your absolute best, isn't important.  He is teaching students that there is no reason to stretch yourself, to perform at your best, to work hard, to expect to earn recognition for superior achievement, to take on challenges, or to seek self-improvement.

His second failure comes from not teaching his students to learn to deal with not attaining the objective.  In other words, just show up and not try.  Absent this life's lesson at an early age, far too many enter adulthood unprepared to deal with personal and professional disappointment.  Unfortunately, I saw this first hand on the campus of a major public university.  Students came ill-prepared to accept and deal with not being "number one" at everything.  It was shattering.  The life lesson is that we will simply not attain every challenging goal we pursue.  But that is no reason to continue to pursue those goals.

Our youth need to learn to strive, to accept and tackle challenges, and to realize self-gratification from having worked at their best in pursuit of a goal.  Our society needs those who pursue excellence.  And with excellence comes recognition.  Without those who do so, all aspects of society suffer from mediocrity.  Face it, life is a full participation event.  Merely showing up isn't enough.    

Concomitant with this lesson is learning to accept that there will be times in our lives when we must deal with disappointment.  Not attaining a goal is not failing.  However, not seeking the goal is appalling.  I would much rather work with someone who has made the earnest attempt, regrouped, and keep pursuing excellence, than I would someone who made no attempt or was convinced from life's lessons that one needn't try.

It is this final point that comprises what I see in the progressive, liberal agenda.  The agenda seeks to lower the expectations for all, to eliminate competition.  No victories, no defeats.  No high standards to pursue.  No recognition for exceptional achievement.  In fact, no definition of exceptional achievement.  Mediocrity at every turn.  The pursuit of this agenda results in unrealistic approaches to competition, a basic component to human life.  Like the little league baseball programs where no team wins or losses.  At the end of the season, merely showing up is rewarded.  Achievement is not.  Take this agenda to the extreme and ask yourself if you want a surgeon who only showed up at med school.  Or a aircraft pilot who tried, but couldn't make the standards for certification.  Or the banker who doesn't do his best at work.  Nonsense!  That is not the real world.  In preparation for the real world, certain professions are uniquely placed to teach life's lessons to our children.  Educators are so placed.  

Unfortunately, this principal failed to teach his students the right lessons.