DCS Rebel Recognition: Education Celebrations

​   You can tell that summer is coming and things are winding down, not the least of which is that hockey will finally be over with the Stanley Cup final starting tomorrow night – go Vegas!! But I’m thinking more about the dance recitals, swimming competitions, band festivals, and my own two nieces kicking butt and winning awards in Karate Nationals in Ottawa recently. I have seen gold plaques, gold medals, and lots of proud social media posts by parents, directors, and coaches in the last week. Award season is most definitely in full swing!
   So inevitably I started thinking about why we give awards...what the purpose is…how we determine the criteria…who we give awards to…who we are leaving out.
   And there it is.
   I really didn’t know what I was going to write about this week, until someone suggested that we had been discussing how to honor more students at our annual Education Celebration and recognize the hard work that they are doing. When I looked back at the posts that I had saved this week, I could see the trend was there all along.
   1. “What is real, what is true, what is of value? Then how do we teach that and how do we recognise it, as you say? Then remunerate for that.” Mandy Ross @eskicatepillar
   2.  “What sense does an honor roll make if a student who didn’t have to work extremely hard to their grades got A’s and B’s, yet a student that works extremely hard and surpasses expectations to get C’s gets no recognition?” Brad Weinstein @WeinsteinEdu
   3. “I wish I had a way of noticing every time a stronger kid stands up for a weaker kid. That kind of character deserves some sort of special medal. I’ll take that over ‘honor roll’ any day of the week.” Danny Steele @SteeleThoughts
   4.  “Fleury: ‘It’s still fun to come to practice, it’s not hard to get up for it.’ The attitude of a guy who just loves to play hockey.” Vegas Golden Knights @GoldenKnights
   5. “I’ve had my share of disappointments…it doesn’t mean I wasn’t good enough…it just means I wasn’t my best that day…or maybe someone else was just better than me…no matter how good you are there is always someone better…as I have matured I’ve realized that I care less about accolades, recognition or prizes and that the only one I am in competition with is myself…the goal is to be a better person today than I was yesterday…disappointments…I’ve had a few…it builds character and character breeds respect…it starts with you…be love and be loved…ekosi.” Rodger W. Ross

   That’s why I love twitter. It always makes me think. 

1. What is it that we value? Is it recognized in the awards we present?
2. Do we recognize only the highest mark or strongest athlete? Are we rewarding genetics over effort?
3. Do we acknowledge character? Persistence? Kindness?
4. Are we encouraging extrinsic motivation over learning for life and intrinsic passions?
5. Can we balance traditional awards that honor student success, with some that notice the lifelong learner traits that we value?

   At track districts the other day, I heard a student quote Ricky Bobby from the movie Talladega Nights, “If you ain’t first, you’re last.” Well, thankfully that’s not the mantra we use for track or at school! So to the students who aren’t going to be ‘first’, but who diligently apply themselves every day in their work, who give a quality consistent effort, who cooperate with their peers and adults, and who strive to be better today than they were yesterday…we see you! And we will honor that.
   Each year, celebrating the great students in our building and the amazing things that they are doing is a work in progress, and there is no doubt that it’s an imperfect vehicle for student recognition. But I also believe that each year we make changes to improve it, and this one is no exception! Since I borrowed words from lots of people to make up this week’s post, I’ll finish with words someone lent me today: “In the end, creating a learning-focused culture requires an organization to answer this question: Are we here to ensure students are taught, or are we here to ensure that our students learn?...Is our work about building walls and documenting who climbs over them, or making sure all our learners have the tools and supports to get over any wall life places in front of them?” (Katie White @KatieWhite426) As we make award decisions in the near future, these are good questions for us all, not just about student learning but in recognizing student learning.

Kiitos-Hiy Hiy-Thanks for reading!
Edla.