100% Attendance - Well Done for Not Being Ill
By pumpkinjam
@pumpkinjam (8767)
United Kingdom
March 18, 2019 6:12am CST
Good morning. Recently, my son (I'll call him Mini), who is 13 years old, got a certificate from school for achieving 100% attendance. That's great but is it really a true achievement?
I am all for rewarding children for doing well but I am far more impressed with the certificates and awards for things that I feel are truly earned. For example, the same week that Mini had this school certificate, he was also awarded Performer of the Week at his drama group. He got that because he's done really well, because he puts in the effort and always works hard.
Of course, I said well done to him for both of these awards but the theatre one, I feel, was more of an actual achievement. He'd worked hard for that and deserved to be rewarded. I don't feel that the award for attendance is really achieving anything - it's just like saying 'well done for not being ill' so that's just luck!
So, what have you achieved? Have you (or anyone you know) had an award, etc. that you don't really think is deserved?
5 people like this
4 responses
@yoalldudes (35037)
• Philippines
18 Mar 19
I think perfect attendance deserves an award. 80% of success is achieved just by showing up. That is a lot.
2 people like this
@pumpkinjam (8767)
• United Kingdom
18 Mar 19
But why? There were years when my son missed out on such awards due to various appointments. He hasn't really, as far as I see, really done anything different.
2 people like this
@LindaOHio (178870)
• United States
20 Mar 19
@pumpkinjam As long as he doesn't miss school because he was dodging it, I think he has "perfect attendance".
2 people like this
@yoalldudes (35037)
• Philippines
20 Mar 19
@pumpkinjam I was able to say that because I was absent when I should be present and it cost me a lot of opportunities.
@LindaOHio (178870)
• United States
20 Mar 19
I think his Attendance Certificate is earned. It will give him even more incentive not to skip school. Kids these days need all the encouragement they can get.
@pumpkinjam (8767)
• United Kingdom
20 Mar 19
My son has never had any inclination to skip school, and he's not that impressed with certificates and such anyway! I'm not sure that being in school every day this year was any more earned than him getting to school 80% of the time during times when he had a lot of illnesses.
1 person likes this
@pumpkinjam (8767)
• United Kingdom
29 Mar 19
Maybe but, in my experience, the kids who do that are not usually the kids who care about getting certificates!
@JohnRoberts (109846)
• Los Angeles, California
18 Mar 19
I got some perfect attendance awards when I was a kid.
1 person likes this
@pumpkinjam (8767)
• United Kingdom
18 Mar 19
I think I may have once. I missed out on one because I had half a day off!
1 person likes this