"Kids These Days Get Awards for Everything!"

As a statement, I'd simply agree, but since it's always said with derision, there's a clear lapse in perspective that needs to be addressed.

Let's start with a little background. Where I live is one of the places where the school district was crumbling so badly over time that we were one of the places chosen on a government stimulus to revive the condition of our schools. The middle school and high school always accommodated all of the kids in our district, right in the middle of town, whereas the elementary schools were always kind of floating, 2 or 3 at a time, in buildings on the edges of our not-so-illustrious parts of town. Now, I wouldn't go so far as to say we're impoverished here. However, while it was mostly middle class here when growing up, downtown Cincinnati began gentrifying the historical areas downtown, effectively pushing poor urban families into neighborhoods where rental houses were becoming more abundant.

Therefore, this area is now more populated by less wealthy families. Even in high rent areas they can't sustain long, the cost of moving is far less doable than taking on rent they can't afford and simply hoping they can make ends meet, job opportunities and raises will come along, before they're evicted for falling behind too much.

The anxiety of this factor is not a minor problem here and those home and lifestyle problems are very real to a great deal of the children here. Our district sees some of the lowest test scores and the highest dropout rates. However, building a huge new school in the middle of town has become a sort of sanctuary for these struggling kids and it could be much worse the way things were before. The teachers try to assimilate some of the most troubled kids with the kids who are more well-adjusted, but it's just as true that they have to create environments that don't drag down high performing kids. It's been a frustrating struggle, but the schools have been doing a wondrous job in, not just pushing kids to succeed, but also giving them incentives to develop into adults.

One of those successful reforms comes as awards. This year, they started using a tier system. Tier 3 kids are the lowest performing and will not be promoted to the next grade. Tier 2 kids are struggling and may not be able to handle more demanding work. Tier 1 kids are average and above, the kids that only need further encouragement to keep performing well. Tier 1 kids are given the privilege of field trips while Tier 2 kids are considered, based on how hard they are trying. You truly have to be neglecting school work to even be Tier 3. So Tier 3 isn't necessarily punished. These kids are often personally tutored, either by Tier 1 kids or community volunteers, and any show of improvement gets them off of Tier 3 in a heartbeat.

It's important to know that only teachers and the individual student know their tier number. They are allowed to share it with peers but it's discouraged, just as much as talking about how much money you make at your job. It's not a scarlet letter, just a measure of how much attention needs to be focused on their ability to succeed on that grade level. You wouldn't believe how healthy it is for these kids. They don't throw numbers at these kids, just goals for personal success. Turning the competition into a personal goal keeps them from getting frustrated with themselves for not being like their peers, frustrated with each other for the need to best one another.

To further press that point, my nephews perform at the top tier, but there is zero arrogance about it, no bullying based on being 'nerds' nor any perceived privilege. One of their friends quite plainly told me at the end of the year that he was Tier 3 and was staying in the same grade. He didn't have a brusque or defeated attitude about it and I reflected the same back, with the encouragement that it's good that he'll be able to focus on learning the work and it happens. One of my nephews moved into a school district with stricter requirements once so he was set back a grade. It's not an indication of intelligence and high school is a new ballgame.

One of the ways these kids are successfully moving up in their tiers is because they are recognized for 'simply' improving. They have awards for citizenship, which amounts to simply being kind to each other. They have awards for showing up. I know that sounds absurd all by itself but this is a school district where the breakfast and lunch served at school are the only meals some of these kids get. Kids walk in the snow without coats and in the rain without umbrellas, the same kids that can't afford school supplies or uniforms. We don't shame those kids here. Any kid can walk into our school offices and tell the secretaries they need clothes or supplies and they get them, no questions asked. Some of the kids go home to negligent or abusive parents, sometimes parents they need to take care of. 

Schools are not the place to throw every kid into boot camp on the harsh realities. While the curriculum is definitely something schools need to improve, some of these kids are already hitting hard realities at home. A shaky economy and the stress that comes with it are factors these kids are all too aware of. If it takes a few pieces of paper and pats on the back to keep these kids on their feet, the least we can do is stop hissing through our teeth about their privilege.

Until you've actually gone to parent-teacher conferences, assemblies and know exactly why these schools are using these methods, it's best that you hold your tongue against the vitriol of assumptions.

Statewide reform needs vast improvement. Curriculums need more life skills and artistic classes to balance academically. Test scores need less weight on measure of performance. But as for these schools, some of them are really reaching kids, at the very least initiating them towards adulthood without dismissing their childhood.

Kids these days need very different things than you and I did. Don't begrudge them systems that actually work. You didn't have internet, you didn't have social media, you didn't have this shithole economy looming over your career prospects fresh out of school. Give these kids an award just for being on the right path. Let them anticipate rewards/compensation for things done right. Think of it as their paycheck if you must. They do earn it.