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| James Harrison has no use for your participation awards |
Monday, August 17, 2015
NFL player returns his sons' trophies
"I came home to find out that my boys received two trophies for nothing, participation trophies! While I am very proud of my boys for everything they do and will encourage them till the day I die, these trophies will be given back until they EARN a real trophy. I'm sorry I'm not sorry for believing that everything in life should be earned and I'm not about to raise two boys to be men by making them believe that they are entitled to something just because they tried their best...cause sometimes your best is not enough, and that should drive you to want to do better...not cry and whine until somebody gives you something to shut u up and keep you happy. #harrisonfamilyvalues"
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29 comments:
If you refuse your participation trophy, does that make you a sore loser or a bad winner?
I would be overcome with pride and satisfaction if my kid said:
"Thank you very much, but save this for someone else who might need or appreciate it. I'll accept something when I earn it."
Of course, no kid has ever said that, but they also don't have any respect for these embarrassing displays of mediocrity. The grown ups do it for themselves, so they don't have to do the harder work of teaching kids how to cope with the real world and it's challenges. It's selfish, incompetent, and cowardly.
Harrison for Sec. of Interior!!!
I wouldn't want Mr. Harrison to be mad at me.
"I didn't know they gave ribbons for 13th place." Meet the Fockers.
For non NFL fans, Harrison is a throwback to the pre sissified NFL.
Hey, me too!
My son is enrolled for a second year in an online high school in which there is no curve. He hits the marks or he does not: full stop. (Those marks, by the way, include, for example, final exams that make up a significant portion of his final grade.) And he is also--for a second year--enrolled in a program at our local technical and community college that requires full-day attendance on Fridays. Every Friday. That's on top of his six academic classes, five-day attendance requirements every week. So!--hey, sincerely, thanks for the support, you savvy parent, Mr. Harrison.
We agree.
Also, just for the record, I DO have a kid, the kid to whom I just referred. There's no theoretical "if" about it. Just sayin'... .
As a kid I would have considered trophy-worthy having a good chunk of my summer taken up with an activity not of my choice.
I hated not having control.
Yes. My participation in any team sport for an entire season in itself would be trophy-worthy. "Champion Chip, managed the season without killing anyone or being killed." But that never happened. Somehow my parents understood that for me that whole little league stuff was not the way to go.
I would display my participation trophy proudly. It would have its own table, its own pen-light display.
Mum got a turkey trophy every time she bowled three strikes in a row and as children we loved those tiny turkey trophies. There were a lot of them. She collected a regular turkey farm shelf. Man, those were GREAT!
Who cares if they're for something stupid? It added to the whole thrill of doing something weird.
Barry got trophies for stuff. I forget what. Pennants too. We had pennants all over our room. They all meant something that I never understood. They were decorative isosceles triangular kitsch of deplorable design with tassels. Not much can be done with them without looking like a used car lot.
And I would say, "That's a boy's idea of interior design," but it's not. It's simply myopic and unimaginative interior design. It could be anything and you pick that. I heard a boy on one of the HGTV shows discussing his wishes with the design team.
"What do you want to see?"
"Black walls and ceiling."
"Isn't that a bit strong? Is that going to be okay? Do you think that will look right? Will that be alright with your parents?"
And without a trace of irony or humor or even self-awareness in all direct seriousness especially for a ten year old, "Sure, black is the new white."
Sorry, Chip Ahoy. There was indeed a time where and when I thought you were the best commenter of all and even now I still do thank you, and am grateful for, a whole bunch of you and your posts put up as they were a whole number of years ago. I stated that plain at the time. Even thereafter, I started out assuming (ok, well, my mistake!!!!) that there was shared ground about which we could discuss, argue, talk about, work on & etc. etc. Of course, later, I learned otherwise. Stupid me. I was stupid to admire you.
The grown ups do it for themselves, so they don't have to do the harder work of teaching kids how to cope with the real world and it's challenges. It's selfish, incompetent, and cowardly.
Putting aside, for the moment, my agreement or not with ^, are you actually raising a kid right now? Educating him or her, right now? Been doing that for 15 continuous years? Have you even done such a thing within the last 20-so years? Or, even, ever? I mean, you now still comment, as you have been commenting for many years, a whole lot about how to educate kids, how important it is to embrace skills-building as well as fundamental, educated literacy, while holding your own self Apart and Above That All. In other words: You constantly and consistently criticize in a way that makes me wonder if, in fact, you know what the heck you are talking about in terms of personally raising up a kid, especially within the past 20-25 years, much less more recently.
Jeez. And to think I used to think I owed you an apology. I don't.
*counts to 277*
*counts again*
*bites tongue*
Alright now. Bravo, Mr. Harrison.
rcommal,
Yes, I raised two children (1 boy, 1 girl) Mostly during the 90s. The only thing their mother and I ever argued about was her over-coddling them and not expecting more from them, as I did.
Although their mom and I broke up 16 years ago, when they graduated from high school, I still see them every day. They respect me more than anyone including their mother. They come to me for advice on everything. They call me "dad" and visit me on father's day, even though I'm not their dad, and he is close by. It is me they strive to impress and try not to let down. They have ended up charitable, compassionate, and self-sufficient people. I take great pride in that, and I think I did the right thing, even though it was hard at the time and often led to me feeling less loved by the whole family when I had to be the hard ass. I'm mostly a libertarian softy, and I hate telling anyone what to do, but raising children is a responsibility requiring things that may not be what you would prefer to do, or what feels good at the time. I wasn't successful on much of it. Raising kids is like herding cats, but you have to try, and I suggest being as tough as possible while simultaneously being respectful, compassionate, and most of all using humor and being fun every chance you get, even while you are being tough. I don't consider myself an experienced or good parent, just adequate.
My comment was not even about parenting as much to the adults in positions of authority like teachers and coaches. That is where people take the time to sit down and set policies, and in my opinion plan to damage kids because it makes the job easier, or makes them feel better about themselves, and most off all make sure no one says you are mean or unfair. The great fear of our age.
I read this to my daughter, who played competitive softball as a catcher. She laughed the entire time. We also remembered the first time we got them her and her twin in sports. The organization then was called, Fun Fair Positive Soccer, and it is everything wrong with the participation concept of sports. They actually had parades for the kids before the season started. Coaches were not allowed to set lines, instead there was a forced rotation. And of course, nobody was allowed to keep score, "because we are just there to have fun."
Well, I was coach, because I was stupid enough to attend the parent meeting at the beginning, and anyone who showed up was made a coach. Fortunately, I had other parents that didn't just drop their kids off and go have dinner for an hour or two. The kids were just about 8 at the time. The teams were small, and I needed people to help teach skills, so I had the parents play against the kids at each practice. Of course, parents of 8 year olds aren't going to run them over, but a parent playing easy is still a harder opponent than your average 8 year old soccer player. We then played the games. Not keeping score was a joke. My kids (coeds) destroyed the other teams, and the other teams knew it. I remember one girl had to be taken home at the half because she was crying hysterically knowing she was beat. The only thing I could possibly have done is tell my team not to try and score at all. The only time there was a challenge is when we broke the rules after a forfeit. Another team didn't have enough kids, they lost, but we decided to play a scrimmage by allowing an older boy to play on the opposing team. As he could kick harder, so he was made goalie only. Game ended zero/zero.
Long story to note that kids know, even at a young age.
"You constantly and consistently criticize in a way that makes me wonder if, in fact, you know what the heck you are talking about"
Oh, I dunno.
Being childless doesn't preclude knowledge about child-rearing, much as involvement can be in education, coaching, etc., where simple observation can -for the wise- clearly show what's shinola and what ain't.
There're some things you can't understand about it, but those parts are mainly the painful areas of loss and grief and disappointment, and the joys.
None of that dictates good or bad parenting.
Wars cannot only be run by the Generals.
Worse, such criticism can even extend to a second level.
One cannot critique because of the wrong gender, ethnicity, era, nation, culture involved.
A non-starter.
Either what's said is true or it is false.
Ad hominem or appeals to authority (parents vs non-parents) are fallacious.
@Pogo/
You old fossil you, what the H do you know about such things? We're going to have to ban you from the commentariat.., (says this 71-yr old.) Come commensurate with us fellow Trilobites instead.. :)
Indeed, Pogo, indeed. Exactly.
regarding what you said, regarding not the comment about your age
I get the push back, and why do folks [at least some of you, especially those who have persistently maintained that I don't know a tit from an asshole, much less knowledge from an opinion] know that I do? (Even if you don't acknowledge it, all these many, many years later.)
Whole bunches of you all are saying stuff I said so very long ago. It's just that it only counts if YOU say it.
Right?
In fact, on point, I am.
On the other hand, I am entirely without standing.
Unlike Darcy, who is an angel, I am a complete, dumb bitch. Hey, ya know, so it goes, as it has for well more than a decade and a half and so.
Hardly, reader, not dumb and not a bitch.
I'm just disagreeing with your criticism that excludes Chip or anyone from chipping in on child-rearing save for those who are or have been parents.
Some parents shouldn't be giving advice, and some non-parents should've had kids, but decided against it for lotsa reasons.
Wise people can observe the world and draw correct conclusions, but fools cannot even learn from experience.
Our job is to tell which from which.
I'm just disagreeing with your criticism that excludes Chip or anyone from chipping in on child-rearing save for those who are or have been parents.
I don't actually exclude them. I just think that they should be careful about excluding, on account of their personal politics and opinions, the opinions of actual parents in terms of substantive experience, just because they dislike the politics of whatever parents, kids and, therefore, families [and philosophies] involved.
Some parents shouldn't be giving advice, and some non-parents should've had kids, but decided against it for lotsa reasons.
Yeah, baby. As if I haven't known that for, oh, well, so many decades now. With regards to the turnip truck yesterday, it's not just as if I fell off of it yesterday. Bro! Yo!
Wise people can observe the world and draw correct conclusions, but fools cannot even learn from experience.
Um. NP w/that.
Our job is to tell which from which.
Is it? It is?
If that IS it, too bad that we all do that so badly, so poorly.
*Our* job?
I sometimes think that you guys don't get the exponential changes and differences that have taken place within our shared lifetimes, not to mention how much that can play, and has played, out in different states. I'm still for the 50-state laboratory notion, philosophically speaking, even though, in our case, it's come at very high cost.
I often think that you guys don't actually know the cost of what you insist *everyone* ought do, given what we *chose* to do and absolutely do now know about the cost of our stance.
: )
; )
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Yet, still, we did it ....
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