Posted on May 21, 2024
Cpl Vic Burk
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In this day and time, some people seem to think that everyone deserves a medal. I don't go along with that. It needs to be earned, not given because. At the end of every semester and school year I give out my own classroom awards. No, not everyone gets one. What used to really gripe my a$$ when I went to the awards day when my children were in school was that only the top students kept getting called back for one award after another. John Doe may have worked his butt off, but it wasn't good enough to beat out the brainiacs. So, when I decided to get into teaching I wanted to do thing differently; recognize those who were not able to get top billing but worked dang hard anyways. The highest average in the class got an award but I wanted to recognize others for their efforts. It didn't matter if they got a "D" or an "A." It was the work ethic, behavior, attendance and attitude that earned them an award. For the vast majority of my students, this will be the only time they are recognized for their hard work in high school outside of getting their diploma. I actually had a parent come to school to talk to me about their child's award and start crying. They couldn't believe their Little Johnny finally got recognized for his efforts; it never happened before! So, before you subscribe to the logic, "Not everyone deserves an award attitude," look a little deeper. Maybe there was an underlying reason why there should be an award.
Posted in these groups: Graduation cap EducationTeaching logo Teaching
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SGT Kevin Hughes
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Edited 25 d ago
I had a teacher like you. I mentioned her in other posts. Her attitude was how much did you know when you got to her class and how much did you know when it ended. She didn’t really worry about grades. She wanted to understand if you understood. She gave out these little patches and if you got one you wore it on your hat or your vest or a shirt it let people know that you studied hard. There’s no grade on it. It was just a symbol. A symbol of hard work. One of the things she used to say is that the American education institution tries to get individuals to be good at everything. She said that isn’t real life when you get out in real life, you will work with a team . And they will call on your individual attitude to make the team as a whole better. So she had no problem with smart kids talking to the slower kids informing little groups. All one person could write the math. One person could teach the math another person could write the math legibly. so yeah I fully understand where you’re coming from
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SFC Casey O'Mally
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My answer is neither a useful answer nor a popular one, but it is still my answer.

A person deserves an award whenever someone feels like giving them one. No more, no less.

There should be NO AWARDS that are automatic. None. There should also be no awards that are denied by anyone not presenting/authorizing it.

This is one of the reasons I paid out of my own pocket to create my own challenge coin. Sure, a SFC coin ain't going to win against, well, pretty much anything. But it was MY coin and I could give it out to whoever the hell I damn well pleased.

So, if you, as the presenter of the award, feel like Johnny deserved to be recognized, then RECOGNIZE. If you feel like Jimmy just coasted to that top ranking, SNUB.


On a different note, Cpl Vic Burk , I absolutely LOVE that you actively LOOK for the unsung heroes to recognize them. More people need to do this across all of humanity - myself included.
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SGM G3 Sergeant Major
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An SFC coin is unique.
A few years ago, a friend of mine while he was BC got a SPC coin.
This SPC had a few coins made to recognize when someone had gone above and beyond, and earned the respect and appreciation of the E4 Mafia.
They gave my friend the coin for completely changing the command culture of the BN in under two years.
He still carries that coin.
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Lt Col Scott Shuttleworth
Lt Col Scott Shuttleworth
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SFC Casey O'Mally SGM (Join to see)
Gentlemen...I have a lot of challenge coins presented to me over the years and I gave some out. I have one from General Petraeus and numerous Colonels and Generals...BUT these are my most prized possessions...these were presented to me by CMSgt's (E-9s) I worked with over the years. Great men and when they gave them to me I knew I earned them...meant more than any medal ever given!
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AN Ron Wright
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Very impressive and i love it GREAT JOB VIC
just look at so many generals with chests full of medals (miley) then look at real leaders like Eisenhower with TRUE leadership and only a few medals. Awards did not make them MEN
and participation trophys just weaken ethics in my book. why try hard?
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