(Lori Piotrowski) – Express yourself—plaster your vehicle with sticky pieces of paper to advertise where you buy fireworks, your desire for whirled peace, or my favorite, letting the world know that your student is a “first class citizen” at PDQ Academy.
The latter is irksome because it shows the low level to which our schools’ educational standards have fallen. Some years ago, a bumper sticker admonished tailgaters that “My kid can beat up your honor student.” Although humorous at some level, it at least acknowledged that schools “honored” good grades.
In sports, it’s no longer enough to honor the team that wins. All participants on a team receive a trophy—no matter what the team’s standing at the end of the season. Just as in Alice in Wonderland where “everyone gets prizes.”
Eliminate the incentive, eliminate the desire to win. Everyone is the same. No one is better than anyone else.
I shudder to think of the new bumper stickers dancing in front of my eyes in the years ahead:
My kid got a certificate of attendance from PDQ High.
Proud parent of a burger-flipper.
“A” is for anyone.
We are one.
It’s a shame.
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