A mother from Essex, England, is refusing to allow her 10-year-old son to accept a perfect attendance award.
Rachel Wright believes that attendance awards are divisive because they reward children with perfect health, a fate some people can’t control. In fact, she believes the award inadvertently demonizes children with poor health and disabilities.
The mother is boycotting the award ceremony and is instead choosing to reward her children for achievements they do have control over. While many have supported the mom, others feel differently. Nevertheless, Rachel lays out a compelling argument that might give those who support the premise pause.
Another parent noted that her daughter, who has a chronic illness, will never receive an attendance award. Many parents feel the system rewards luck instead of hard work.
Read Rachel’s compelling post about why 100% attendance is not really an achievement.
Rachel Wright let her 10-year-old son’s teachers know that he would not be accepting a perfect attendance award.
Rachel’s son, JJ, was taken to school regardless if he wanted to go or not. His older brother, Sam, uses a wheelchair and was born with brain damage. The mother believes it is in poor taste to reward children for not being sick, which is something they can’t control. Rachel knows that all too well, being a parent of a child with unique health conditions.
Rachel wrote on Facebook:
In this family we will think of as many reasons possible to praise our children.
We will celebrate and reward them, but being lucky enough not to get sick is not one of them.
He’s lucky to have not developed a fever, had an accident or live with a chronic illness.
In this family you are not shamed for ill health, vulnerability or weakness.
Sickness is not something to be frowned upon or a result of lack of achievement, it is predominantly a mix of luck and genetics, neither of which my kids can control.
Can you imagine a work place that at the end of each week marked out all the people who hadn’t been sick?
Where all the departments with the least number of people off were rewarded — in front of everyone else? It happens in schools all the time.
Can you imagine what kind of atmosphere that would create with people who had days off because of bereavement, mental health problem or chronic conditions?
What on earth are we teaching our kids about value and worth? What are we teaching them about looking out for each other and looking after the sick or disabled in our community?
As much as I understand the importance of attendance, there must be a better way of helping those families and children who don’t go to school for non-genuine reasons.
The messages we are sending to our kids when we reward attendance is wrong for so many reasons.
I don’t think our decision can be related to not getting an Olympic medal or diminishing a sense of pride.
It’s about children being rewarded for what they are in control of, recognizing the duty of parents and in the wider scheme of things acknowledging that as a society we pity people with disabilities and long term conditions rather than value them.
While many praised Rachel’s stance, not everyone agreed with the mother.
“100% attendance for the year is a remarkable achievement and IMHO it is absolutely right to recognize it, like so many other things a child might achieve, pretty much all of which involve an element of luck,” one person commented.
Rachel said: “I have made a very personal decision public. I understand people criticizing our decision to stop JJ going. I am not attempting to change everyone else’s mind about this, but I wanted to highlight the deeper implications for such an award on families like mine. I like the school he goes to. I don’t think it’s a bad school, I think it’s a wider issue relevant to many schools.”
Please Liked video this mother’s message with your family and friends on Facebook!
