I was driving from my daughter’s school today and was struck with a very interesting thought. I couldn’t help but notice the bumper stickers; “My child is an honor student at Somewhere Elementary School”. I saw a few of these which made me think of the sticker I’ve seen on some occasions that read; “My child beat up your Honor Student”. Of course while that particular sticker is just wrong in the sense of unnecessary violence, I couldn’t help but laugh.

What struck me about these stickers is I wonder if they actually do a service to the children. Of course it is wonderful to be recognized, but what about all the children that are not honor students? Where is their reward? What of those with learning disabilities, yet are doing the very best they can – where is their reward? Do the schools really think that the honor student is the only one that can read such stickers?

The lack of self esteem is running rampant in our schools and society today. While such a sticker is designed for the benefit of one child’s self esteem, what of the other 28 or so children in the class that are not honor students? And are we really doing the honor student a favor at such an early age? I have spoken with so many teens that feel that their grades are the most important thing in their life! They are literally fearful to bring home a average grade to their parents. Where did such a fear get fostered? Could it have come from the fact the only recognition the child ever got was from being an ‘honor student’? Fortunately, some schools (like my daughters elementary school) is addressing this. At her school you can be recognized and even rewarded for being nice to someone.

The bottom line is we need to recognize the efforts of all our children. The positive effort, positive action, and positive behavior is all awardable.

right blessings ~ Richard