Skating Toward Mediocrity
Christina Hamlett
March 31, 2009
A few months ago, my aunt a former English teacher was asked to be a judge in a childrenīs writing contest at a local school. "It was so refreshing to see their eager little faces," she said, "and what wonderful imagination they poured into their stories!" She concluded by telling me that every child got to take home a ribbon that day.
I asked her how many categories there were besides 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place that every participant did well enough to warrant recognition.
She explained to me that there were no such distinctions because to award a prize of excellence to one child would mean that another childīs feelings might be hurt.
This from a woman who had a reputation for being very strict when it came to grading freshmen English essays. She was the teacher no one wanted to get and yet those who did - and who rose to the challenge of turning in their best work - have always been grateful for the experience. I asked her how giving a ribbon to a kid just because he showed up is fair to those who showed up with the intention of writing a stellar story and winning.
An underscore of censure slipped into her voice. "Winning makes people feel superior," she informed me. "The children with the talent should be more concerned about making the other children feel better about themselves."
I was relating this conversation last week to an associate who has recently begun the rounds of private schools for his 10 year old son. He asked the headmistress at one of the schools what kind of sports programs they had because his son would probably like to try out for a team. "Oh we donīt have try-outs here," she perkily replied. "Every child is on a team regardless of his skill level." There were also no captains of the teams, she continued, because that would signify that one child was better equipped to be a leader.
He asked her how this was supposed to foster a competitive spirit and encourage kids to try harder. "Oh, that would send a bad message," she told him.
What have we come to, I wonder, when mediocrity has become the acceptable American standard? When I apply these two scenarios to my own life, I canīt help but feel grateful that I was born in the 1950īs. If every homework assignment I had turned in received exactly the same grade as everyone else in my class, maybe I wouldnīt have spent so much time doing research at the library and making every paper the best it could possibly be. Maybe I wouldnīt have stressed as much about all those chemistry and algebra tests if the "Cīs" I got had exactly the same value as the "Aīs" my lab partners received. And maybe I wouldnīt have experienced a rush of dread whenever teams were chosen for softball and field hockey and wondering each time whether thereīd possibly be someone more geeky than me whoīd get picked last.
Instead, I poured my energy into what I loved and focused on what I wanted to be when I grew up. The two paths I chose writing and acting were not for the faint of heart. To turn in a sloppy article or a lackluster performance meant that Iīd either not get paid or not get cast in the next show. Those two things alone are easily enough incentive but there was far more to it than that. It was the sense of pride that came from knowing I could do something better than anyone else and that no matter how long it took Iīd never take my eyes off the prize.
To be hateful or resentful toward others when they came in first would have been counterproductive because I knew they were working even harder than I was. These were people that I could learn from, that I could admire, and that I might one day be standing next to. In the early years of both my careers, I was fortunate to accrue enough rejection letters to wallpaper a small house. With every "no" I ever received, it only fueled the fire to turn it into a "yes" or to go pursue a better match in a different venue. Not once did I ever believe I was entitled to acceptance just because I showed up. Nor did I ever translate a rejection into "They hate me, they really hate me" and go off and live under a rock. You win some. You lose some. You win because you chose to excel.
All of which brings us to the dismal state of the present and the newly embraced belief that no good deed goes unpunished, that those who by the sweat of their brow, the passion of their beliefs, and the sheer stamina to outlast the competition and become successful should now forfeit that success and toss into a community pool. The new edict that ladders are elitist because some may be on higher rungs has so flattened the entire playing field that any ambition to so some serious climbing will only get you penalized.
My husband and I are both successful, well traveled, and give generously to charities and yet - by our new presidentīs definition - we represent everything that is wrong with America. To add insult to injury is the pervasive mantra that the only thing the U.S. can be proud of in over 200 years is that it elected a person of color to its highest office. Has it not occurred to anyone that this sort of myopic rhetoric about our "failings" is a slap in the face to every individual who ever took a risk so that we could become the strongest nation in the world?
If itīs suddenly incumbent upon the 5 percent who have achieved the American Dream to support the 95 percent who arenīt there yet, what future does that hold for philanthropy? Museums, theaters, and symphonies across the country are closing their doors because the donors who have helped keep them open for those who feel no obligation beyond just showing up are finding themselves with less discretionary income.
What kind of leaders can we possibly hope to produce if displays of leadership are eschewed in schools as detrimental to the psyches of oneīs peers?
And what about the insidious spread of homogenized retailing the slow squeezing out of small shops with original, one-of-a-kind merchandise and their replacement by big box stores where you can buy exactly what your neighbors are buying. After all, you donīt really want to be "different" from them, do you?
No matter how you spin it, the economic stimulus package thatīs supposed to save the day is the functional equivalent of a band aid on open-heart surgery but with a far worse side-effect. It will drain the lifeīs blood of Americaīs most accomplished citizens by branding them as the disease that needs to be eradicated. Those who have the resources to become expatriates are likely albeit reluctant to start planning their exit strategies. Those who stay will continue to be demonized as opponents of the new socialist order until there is no longer any point to doing well, much less even trying.
As for everyone else, just keep doing what you do best: show up with your hand out. The only difference is that youīve now been granted carte blanche to say, "You owe me".
I asked her how many categories there were besides 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place that every participant did well enough to warrant recognition.
She explained to me that there were no such distinctions because to award a prize of excellence to one child would mean that another childīs feelings might be hurt.
This from a woman who had a reputation for being very strict when it came to grading freshmen English essays. She was the teacher no one wanted to get and yet those who did - and who rose to the challenge of turning in their best work - have always been grateful for the experience. I asked her how giving a ribbon to a kid just because he showed up is fair to those who showed up with the intention of writing a stellar story and winning.
An underscore of censure slipped into her voice. "Winning makes people feel superior," she informed me. "The children with the talent should be more concerned about making the other children feel better about themselves."
I was relating this conversation last week to an associate who has recently begun the rounds of private schools for his 10 year old son. He asked the headmistress at one of the schools what kind of sports programs they had because his son would probably like to try out for a team. "Oh we donīt have try-outs here," she perkily replied. "Every child is on a team regardless of his skill level." There were also no captains of the teams, she continued, because that would signify that one child was better equipped to be a leader.
He asked her how this was supposed to foster a competitive spirit and encourage kids to try harder. "Oh, that would send a bad message," she told him.
What have we come to, I wonder, when mediocrity has become the acceptable American standard? When I apply these two scenarios to my own life, I canīt help but feel grateful that I was born in the 1950īs. If every homework assignment I had turned in received exactly the same grade as everyone else in my class, maybe I wouldnīt have spent so much time doing research at the library and making every paper the best it could possibly be. Maybe I wouldnīt have stressed as much about all those chemistry and algebra tests if the "Cīs" I got had exactly the same value as the "Aīs" my lab partners received. And maybe I wouldnīt have experienced a rush of dread whenever teams were chosen for softball and field hockey and wondering each time whether thereīd possibly be someone more geeky than me whoīd get picked last.
Instead, I poured my energy into what I loved and focused on what I wanted to be when I grew up. The two paths I chose writing and acting were not for the faint of heart. To turn in a sloppy article or a lackluster performance meant that Iīd either not get paid or not get cast in the next show. Those two things alone are easily enough incentive but there was far more to it than that. It was the sense of pride that came from knowing I could do something better than anyone else and that no matter how long it took Iīd never take my eyes off the prize.
To be hateful or resentful toward others when they came in first would have been counterproductive because I knew they were working even harder than I was. These were people that I could learn from, that I could admire, and that I might one day be standing next to. In the early years of both my careers, I was fortunate to accrue enough rejection letters to wallpaper a small house. With every "no" I ever received, it only fueled the fire to turn it into a "yes" or to go pursue a better match in a different venue. Not once did I ever believe I was entitled to acceptance just because I showed up. Nor did I ever translate a rejection into "They hate me, they really hate me" and go off and live under a rock. You win some. You lose some. You win because you chose to excel.
All of which brings us to the dismal state of the present and the newly embraced belief that no good deed goes unpunished, that those who by the sweat of their brow, the passion of their beliefs, and the sheer stamina to outlast the competition and become successful should now forfeit that success and toss into a community pool. The new edict that ladders are elitist because some may be on higher rungs has so flattened the entire playing field that any ambition to so some serious climbing will only get you penalized.
My husband and I are both successful, well traveled, and give generously to charities and yet - by our new presidentīs definition - we represent everything that is wrong with America. To add insult to injury is the pervasive mantra that the only thing the U.S. can be proud of in over 200 years is that it elected a person of color to its highest office. Has it not occurred to anyone that this sort of myopic rhetoric about our "failings" is a slap in the face to every individual who ever took a risk so that we could become the strongest nation in the world?
If itīs suddenly incumbent upon the 5 percent who have achieved the American Dream to support the 95 percent who arenīt there yet, what future does that hold for philanthropy? Museums, theaters, and symphonies across the country are closing their doors because the donors who have helped keep them open for those who feel no obligation beyond just showing up are finding themselves with less discretionary income.
What kind of leaders can we possibly hope to produce if displays of leadership are eschewed in schools as detrimental to the psyches of oneīs peers?
And what about the insidious spread of homogenized retailing the slow squeezing out of small shops with original, one-of-a-kind merchandise and their replacement by big box stores where you can buy exactly what your neighbors are buying. After all, you donīt really want to be "different" from them, do you?
No matter how you spin it, the economic stimulus package thatīs supposed to save the day is the functional equivalent of a band aid on open-heart surgery but with a far worse side-effect. It will drain the lifeīs blood of Americaīs most accomplished citizens by branding them as the disease that needs to be eradicated. Those who have the resources to become expatriates are likely albeit reluctant to start planning their exit strategies. Those who stay will continue to be demonized as opponents of the new socialist order until there is no longer any point to doing well, much less even trying.
As for everyone else, just keep doing what you do best: show up with your hand out. The only difference is that youīve now been granted carte blanche to say, "You owe me".
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