Teacher gives 8 y/o catastrophe award........

[King Ghidorah]

For most excuses for not having her homework.

TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) -- Every parent beams when they find out their child is singled out for a special award. But in the case of one 3rd grader at Desert Springs Academy -- her mother was far from thrilled when she came home with her award.

8-year-old Cassandra Garcia proudly showed us all her completed homework in her labeled folder. So it confused her mother, Christina Valdez, when her daughter came home with this end of the year award.

It is a "Catastrophe" award for most excuses for not having homework -- followed by a smiley face and the teacher's signature, Mrs. Plowman.

Not only confused, Valdez was upset because she said her daughter felt humiliated. She said the teacher announced the award in front of the whole class and all the children laughed at her daughter.

Valdez contacted the principal to complain about the award. "And she blew me off. She said it was a joke that was played and that the teachers joke around with the children," said Valdez.

KGUN9 reporter Valerie Cavazos headed to Cassandra's school, Desert Springs Academy, for an explanation.The principal said she wouldn't comment. Cavazos asked the principal if she thought it was okay for teachers to hand out "catastrophe" awards. She simply shrugged her shoulders and then she blew off the reporter.

Cavazos asked Valdez: "As a parent what do you think about that award?"
Valdez: "I think it's cruel and no child should be given an award like this. It's disturbing."
Cavazos: "You don't see this as a joke?"
Valdez: "No."

And neither do experts. "That isn't an award. It doesn't fit the criteria," said psychologist Sheri Bauman at the University of Arizona College of Education. She says any negative award -- joke or not -- is inappropriate -- especially at that grade level. "They feel less than, they feel fearful of authority of what might happen if they make a mistake." She said being humiliated after making mistakes is counterproductive to learning.

Former teacher and current UA education psychology graduate, Marlon Jones, agrees. He said educators should always strive to empower kids. Jones said, "Make them feel better about learning. I don't think a catastrophe award is doing that. It's just not. We have to set a better example, I think."

www.kgun9.com/news/local/153932645.html?hpt=us_bn10

Ok, I think that's hilarious, but chick gonna lose her job.

[Turd Ferguson]

I'm a parent, and I gotta say that if my kid was giving excuses nonstop for not handing in homework, this is well deserved. It's not like she gave her the smelliest bowel movement award.

[Rican]

That's hilarious.

[Legion]

Typical.

Bad parent feels bad because it turns out she hasn't been doing her job properly in making sure her kid is doing the homework on time then gets grumpy because, surprise surprise, someone noticed.

Get over it love.

Except she wont, the poor teacher will lose her job, the kid will learn they can get away with making excuses and then crying to mummy and I wouldn't be shocked to see this woman demanding a cash payout at some point.

[Brick Killed a Guy]

Funny, yes, but couldn't a parent-teacher conference work?

I'm not sure if the teacher has tried this already and the parents simply ignored it...in which case the parents had it coming.

That being said, the kid didn't have it coming. Not at that age. Teen years? Yeah, make fun of them all you want for being irresponsible. But not 8-years old.

[Legion]

May 30, 2012 11:15:10 GMT -5 Brick Killed a Guy said:

Funny, yes, but couldn't a parent-teacher conference work?

I'm not sure if the teacher has tried this already and the parents simply ignored it...in which case the parents had it coming.

That being said, the kid didn't have it coming. Not at that age. Teen years? Yeah, make fun of them all you want for being irresponsible. But not 8-years old.

It was a joke. Sometimes negative reinforcement works, this kid needed to learn and frankly, what better way than a bit of embarrassment.

Kids get off too lightly these days, it's no wonder so many are horrid.

Learn to take a joke and not that every little offence is something to scream and cry and demand compensation over.

[willywonka666]

I wonder if the kid was really upset. I didn't notice it in the article. Not that this should be news outside of that town

[fw91]

May 30, 2012 11:30:02 GMT -5 Legion said:

May 30, 2012 11:15:10 GMT -5 Brick Killed a Guy said:

Funny, yes, but couldn't a parent-teacher conference work?

I'm not sure if the teacher has tried this already and the parents simply ignored it...in which case the parents had it coming.

That being said, the kid didn't have it coming. Not at that age. Teen years? Yeah, make fun of them all you want for being irresponsible. But not 8-years old.

It was a joke. Sometimes negative reinforcement works, this kid needed to learn and frankly, what better way than a bit of embarrassment.

Kids get off too lightly these days, it's no wonder so many are horrid.

Learn to take a joke and not that every little offence is something to scream and cry and demand compensation over.

Nail On The Head. Why isn't the mother concerned that her daughter was missing homework??? Problem with education today is that there is no accountability for students wrongdoings. it's always the teacher's fault.

[lionheart21]

May 30, 2012 11:30:02 GMT -5 Legion said:

May 30, 2012 11:15:10 GMT -5 Brick Killed a Guy said:

Funny, yes, but couldn't a parent-teacher conference work?

I'm not sure if the teacher has tried this already and the parents simply ignored it...in which case the parents had it coming.

That being said, the kid didn't have it coming. Not at that age. Teen years? Yeah, make fun of them all you want for being irresponsible. But not 8-years old.

It was a joke. Sometimes negative reinforcement works, this kid needed to learn and frankly, what better way than a bit of embarrassment.

Kids get off too lightly these days, it's no wonder so many are horrid.

Learn to take a joke and not that every little offence is something to scream and cry and demand compensation over.

[DrBackflipsHoffman]

Valdez contacted the principal to complain about the award. "And she blew me off."

That sounds like a fair trade

[King Ghidorah]

May 30, 2012 11:32:12 GMT -5 willywonka666 said:

I wonder if the kid was really upset. I didn't notice it in the article. Not that this should be news outside of that town

I can bet 5 bucks the kid thought it was cool. When I used to win biggest troublemaker *I was a bad kid* I couldn't wait to tell my mom, and not only did I get my ass whooped, I got whooped in the bathroom, and my favorite teacher got in trouble.

[Drillbit Taylor]

Do your homework. Even if you make a half assed stab in the dark, at least you made an attempt. To not even turn stuff in is stupid.

[SenorCrest]

I like how they didn't question the mother about the lack of homework her child had. My nephew hates homework but my sister sits there with him and forces him to do it even if its late at night.

[Hit Girl]

Why is an 8 year old getting homework?

[Munkie91087]

In the 3rd grade, I got a similar "award." I didn't piss and moan about it. When I told my mother about it, she told me I better start turning in my homework or there would be consequences. Teacher didn't lose her job and no one got hurt.

Are we that over-sensitive as a society? And yes, this is much ado about nothing. The student wasn't doing homework and got called out for it in a comedic way. It would probably work better than calling a seriously stern meeting. It's just ridiculous that we are truly raising an ultra sensitive generation that cannot take jokes of any kind. I am not saying we should mercifully tease children, but little jokes like this shouldn't be national news stories. I just don't understand what changed. I'm only 24 years old, it wasn't THAT long ago I was a young student. Why does it seem like children are being raised to be politically correct and ultra-sensitive?

Also before we trash the mother, maybe she has to work a lot and can't make sure her child is doing the homework.

[El Hijo De Slapnuts]

I think this is funny, and the first sentence makes it sound like the child does homework because it was talking about a completed homework folder. So it sounds like a joke between the kid and the teacher.

[The Peoples Elbow]

Jesus Christ, people need to stop being so sensitive. It was a nothing joke that was blown out of proportion. If my child received this award, I'd take a good hard look at myself, instead of placing blame on the teacher.

[Throwback]

I once got an award for having the loudest snore in summer camp when I was 8. It's not really the same thing but I thought it was hilarious at the time and even more so now.
Also, Mrs. Plowman? I would have had so much fun making fun of her name in school.

[rapidfire187]

Okay, I feel like we're missing something. The report said the girl showed them a folder full of her completed homework. But if she does her homework, her teacher wouldn't have done that...

IMO, if the kid wasn't doing her homework, then this was a tame punishment for that. She COULD have been flunked or something, instead the teacher picked on her a bit. Then again, it's an 8 year old...it's the parent's responsibility to make sure she does her hw.

Either way, why the f*** is this on the news? This seems so, so petty. For f***'s sake, any minor slip up from a teacher gets blown out of proportion these days. It was a questionable decision at worst. It pissed off a parent...jesus, why would even the local media bother with a story this miniscule?

[Legion]

The award wasn't for not doing homework, just not doing it on time.

So she did all the work, just eventually. Hence why the award is just a jokey way of drawing attention to that. If you look at the award, it's a very friendly one. It was clearly never meant to offend or upset.