Another touchstone
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This entry was posted at
12:37 GMT on 1 February 2004
Want to know another difference between Chinese and American culture? Try this on for size:
The school honor roll, a time-honored system for rewarding A students, has become an apparent source of embarrassment for some underachievers.
As a result, all Nashville schools have stopped posting honor rolls, and some are also considering a ban on hanging good work in the hallways — on the advice of school lawyers.
After a few parents complained that their children might be ridiculed for not making the list, lawyers for the Nashville school system warned that state privacy laws forbid releasing any academic information, good or bad, without permission.
Some schools have since put a stop to academic pep rallies. Others think they may have to cancel spelling bees. And now schools across the state may follow Nashville's lead.
In China the durned idjit who suggested this would be fired, and it would be a source of minor amusement among the few people who heard about the firing. And the story would be kept from the parents, because they might well revolt.
In America it becomes policy, a few level-headed parents decry it, and the policy remains.
If you think I'm kidding... well, in one of my classes I was told by my superior that I should let her know if any of the students didn't recite the vocabulary words in the day's chapter well enough. Apparently more than one parent called and asked to be told if their child's performance was subpar.
Granted, I do think that's going a bit far.
On the other hand, it's a damn sight better than coddling the self-esteem of losers and underachievers for fear of a lawsuit.
Only when it becomes illegal for the school football teams to actually win or lose or score in any manner will enough parents protest to fight down such policies. And I'm not saying that just because I'm cynical, either.
(via Teachout, who got it via Pejman, who got it via The Cranky Professor who, by the way, has a great catchphrase.)