i hit your honor student so hard it dropped his GPA.......

[seabeyond]

do you think that is funny? i was in academy sports store and read that t shirt as i was going up to counter to check out. i got irate. really, irate. i hate that i responded so aggressively and angrily to a stupid tshirt, but i did. i told cashier with a woman cashing out how STUPID that tshirt was. he said being a football player he thought it was funny. i told him promoting violence wasn't funny to me. teaching our children to laugh at hitting a smart kid wasn't funny to me. then i saw a manager working with customers and interrupted letting her know how offensive the tshirt was. males embracing stupid. be proud of stupid.

the more and more i thought about it, the angrier i became.

went into another store and asked cashiers. one (young) thought funny, the older woman just shook her head. but then she has a daughter teaching 5th grade in a school, seeing all the issues.

went to hastings to buy a book for myself and son.... the one that has a very high GPA and in 7th grade took the SAT beating 60% of high school seniors taking the test...... and asked three guys... all X football players. they thought it was funny too. playing football seems to have something to do with this "joke". all the males that thought it was funny equated to football some way.

in the car with sons, telling them how all thought was funny were working as cashiers making minimum wage where as the person with the high GPA had the professional job. ha ha.... isn't that funny. add on to that little tshirt.

my husband just got home and i asked if he thought it was funny. no smile, no giggle, i watched. first out of mouth was "trash".

he is also one with a masters and doesn't see his manhood in beating someone up.

i am in the panhandle of texas. the manly man. where many equate being a man to being able to fight. that being a man is fox news watching. war. i feel the tshirt is the embracing of the violence and disrespect so prevalent in our society today. and that people thinking it is funny are feeding the beast

i also feel that those that think it funny would also be shaking their heads at the school shootings, the anger on anger rage on rage killings over nothing..... wondering what is coming of the world today totally clueless that this very comment and seeing it as funny, and lighten up is a part of it all.

i generally don't get so angry at this stuff. i generally shrug it off. but this one, in this area really bothered me.



UPDATE: listening to people on this thread i am seeing it thru the "honor roll" stickers and their obnoxiousness there is an element of humor.... so can see how there is a laugh, if that is what is front in mind

for a parent that has sons in school and the bullying factor, the agressiveness of the males in my area in face at all times, and the obnoxiousness of the manly man republican fox watching male, the humor may not be so visible.

[bluestateguy]

1. "My kid got your honor student pregnant"

I saw this on a car in California in 1995.

[seabeyond]

2. i guess that would be the stupid hitting out at the smart female.

geez ... us

[Fresh_Start]

3. those 'family values' that the GOP administration promised

are apparently hard at work.

I think both the T-shirt and the bumper sticker show terrific taste.
The bumper sticker is worse because its written like the parent is bragging.
Foolish teens, it happens due to immaturity.
Foolish parents, is a family disaster waiting to happen

[dsc]

4. I would be pissed

Of course, my local paper ran the following headline to describe the induction ceremony of my school's national honor society. "Eggheads honored". Worse, when I called to complain they "didn't know it was offensive". But the t shirt is worse.

[seabeyond]

10. it was on display in front, on pumped up masculine "dummy" that i hadn't seen the likes of

didn't know they had these male dummies with such muscle mass. but the tshirt was on one of those, proudly displayed for all. it was chosen.... by management.

thanks dsc that you would be pissed and recogniZe the same and bothered with eggheads honored. exactly the point.

appreciate

[panader0]

5. I too think it is dumb, but

it's not fair to equate football players or basketball players or "jocks" in general with being insensitive or ignorant, My son is a straight A student and a great athlete. How about those Stanford Cardinals? One of the best academic and sports schools in the nation, and I believe my oldest daughter is headed there.

[seabeyond]

11. i was not the one that kept bring it to football. the men that thought it was funny

were the ones that took it to football. that was one of the things that bothered me. that football seemed to be connected to this. i was a highly competitive swimmer in calif for two decades. i know sports, competing and working my ass off for sport and this attitude is not a part of sports or sportsmanship. further, the majority of the exceptional swimmers were also straight A students. NOWHERE am i saying you do sports, you are stupid

[wtmusic]

41. I don't think "My kid outsmarted your jock" would appear on your car

The worst thing about this is teaching kids the smallmindedness of belittling others' accomplishments.

Pettiness 101.

[THUNDER HANDS]

6. bragging that your student is on the honor roll is kinda tacky

not that it should encourage violence, though.

[seabeyond]

13. at first thoguht ahhhh, to the stickers, then was like ya ya ya the more i saw

if my kids got them, and they are honor roll, no need to put on my car. i agree. it is like the "i love my wife" stickers poppin up all over the place. what the hell is that. i think a church is handing them out to the males and i want to know why they have to declare it. i am not seeing "i love my husband" stickers. are they saying a wife doesnt need a reminder and the man does. anyway....

i agree they are silly

but this saying isnt funny either.

[NashVegas]

27. Not Funny, But Not Unprovoked, Either

There was a time when people made a point of teaching their kids to be humble. Some families still do.

It's that darn civility gap, again.

[wtmusic]

36. Those stickers aren't put there for anyone but your own kid.

They let your kid know you're proud of them. That's a good thing.

I don't give a damn what other people think.

[seabeyond]

39. i think a lot of people are taking those stickers wrong. they are there for encouragement

to the child, a proud from the parent to the child for accomplishing ect...

i think a lot of people are preceiving them as a parent showing child off, but that wasnt the intent of the stickers

[SalviaBlue]

60. If you don't care what other people think

the tshirt shouldn't bother you either.

I was always annoyed at the bumper stickers bestowed on other elementary school children but not on my son.

I don't approve of the tshirt or the bragging stickers.

[wtmusic]

74. Did your son ever get a ribbon for anything? A certificate?

My, how proud he must have been to put it up on the wall where OTHER PEOPLE COULD SEE IT.

What's the difference?

[dysfunctional press]

83. i always put mine on MY walls- in my room...where i was the only one to see them-

other people don't have to see something for you to be proud of it.

or to put it another way- how many nobel prize winners go around in public wearing their medals?

[wtmusic]

84. Kids are different than adults

They like to display these things. It makes them feel good about themselves, when learning to feel good about themselves is important.

If a 9-year-old wins the Nobel Prize someday I hope she will wear her medal proudly every day of the week.

[dysfunctional press]

85. why can't they feel just as good about it hanging in their room? i always did.

a big part of the problem is that kids today are too status-driven...usually by their parents, who never really grew out of that phase themselves.

[wtmusic]

86. Why didn't you just keep them in your drawer?

You could have looked at them at any time. Did others in your family see them? Your friends? Hmm?

[dysfunctional press]

87. i liked to see them. would you buy a painting you liked and keep it in a drawer?

and generally no- pretty much nobody went on my room but me.

[wtmusic]

88. I don't buy it

You displayed them because you were proud of them. You liked it when your friends and family commented on them. Nothing to be ashamed of and pretty typical for kids.

Now you're asking me to compare them to paintings, like they were pretty pictures with which your youthful ego had no investment?

Come on.

[dysfunctional press]

89. well that's your problem. and you seem like a very insecure person...

i put them up because i liked them, and i earned them. i was proud of them- but that pride was not based in having other people see them. i guess that even as a child, i just wasn't as emotionally needy as you seem to come across.

as to the painting comparison- YOU were the one who asked why i didn't keep them in a drawer where i could look at them anytime i wanted. but- if you like to look at something why would you keep it in a drawer- that's why i asked you about paintings- i wasn't trying to say that my items were comparable to art...you sure have a twisted way of interpreting things...:shrug:

[wtmusic]

91. So...

if someone commented on your baseball trophy or your "Student of the Month" certificate, saying, "Good Job!" or "Wow, that's great!" how did that make you feel?

Do you think self-esteem can be cultivated in kids, or that everyone is (ahem) as lucky as you were -- popped out of the womb with no emotional needs and self-esteem intact?

(Beware of ad hominems, they are a SURE indicator of poor self-esteem and make your analysis all the more suspect).

[dysfunctional press]

92. i never had a baseball trophy for anyone to comment on...

and as i've already said- other people didn't see the things that were in my room.

and of course self-esteem can be cultivated in kids- it's an important component of everyone's psyche.

but "self"-esteem, by definition- doesn't come from what other people think of you. it comes from within.
unfortunately, and especially in the united states, a lot of parents don't seem to understand that, and end up cultivating boorish behavior in their kids and trying to pass it off as self-esteem. the honor roll bumper stickers are just one example.

i remember seeing a news report recently, where they said that studies have shown that american kids today as a group feel that "being famous" is the most important thing in life. it shows.

[wtmusic]

93. Self-esteem does not originate from within.

Children are mirrors of what others think of them. Simplistically, children who are repeatedly told they are bad become bad, those told they are good become good. Children left to their own devices (with little input either way) will seize on isolated incidents and blow them up in importance to compensate. These are well-established principles of child psychology.

It is only through the long process of personal development that these emotions become set as an individual's self-perception.

You are looking at the bumper stickers as though parents are doing it to brag, as when you see a license plate that reads HOTSTUF etc. I don't know anyone that doesn't think that kind of thing is boorish.

But to a child "Mom/Dad thinks what I did is so cool, she/he put a sticker on the car" translates to "I can feel good about myself." That is why IMO most parents do it.

[dysfunctional press]

97. your opinion is mistaken...

most parents DO do it out of boorish behavior.

[Warren Stupidity]

67. uh - no.

Here is how you tell your kid you are proud of him: "____, I am really proud of you, keep up the good work!". The bumper sticker is how you brag to perfect strangers about your kid.

The tee shirt is stupid and offensive, but there are lots of kids who know they aren't smart, who really don't need to have your kids smartness rubbed in their faces on a regular basis. If "I don't give a damn what other people think" is good enough for you, then you should extend the same to those who like the OP's offensive tee shirt's message.

[wtmusic]

77. If other kids consider that being "rubbed in their faces"

it's the direct result of their parents not teaching them that envy serves no purpose.

Every kid has things he/she is good or not so good at. Kids should have no qualms whatsoever about being proud of their achievements and no problem with recognizing achievement in others. Insecure, envious kids grow up to be insecure, envious adults.

[seabeyond]

79. see, i understand what you are saying, the opportunity for lesson

and how it is not a bad thing. i understand because i had to go thru the lessons with my sons on the gifted program they were not in, even though they are very bright and oldest got good grades, but for whatever reason it was just recent before he was put into the program. he use to feel so bad, and thought it so unfair. and then again in another area with my sons.

they were never allowed to get away with feeling bad, or being snotty about the kids that had earned the praise or rewards. it was a valuable lesson for them. at first it hurt me that their lack was brought so in their face. but i had to accept it and find a way for children to accept in, in that i learned how that was the true gift instead of trying to protect/shield them from anothers success

[wtmusic]

80. And when you come right down to it

there are always kids brighter and more accomplished than your own. So where does it stop?

I am a volunteer administrator for our district's GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) program and I agree with you -- it sucks that kids who aren't in the program are actively discriminated against in the very classroom and by the very same teachers that are teaching them. At least in separate classes, kids can excel in their own class, but there is no way a non-GATE student will consider their "A" as good as a GATE student's "A", which is absurd.

I have been around and around about this with the school board and we are getting more separate classroom situations.

[seabeyond]

82. when i took my children out of private into public i chose the public school

that was the most demanding and highest academics i could find. i had to beg to allow my kids to go to so i couldnt make waves. i had to accept what they did. one of our first expereince was my very good kid get into the car and tell me the classes were seperated out for a good kid, bad kid day. all the good kids got to go watch a movie, drink soda and have popcorn. all the bad kids had to go into the class and do work and the teachers scowled and frowned and treated them like criminals, per my son who was a bad kid. he had never been a bad kid in his life. he was humiliated.

well, we were new, he didnt know what was up, and he was totally offended. we learned there reward/punishment system and him forgetting things (he is sooo obtuse) had put him into the class were the child did not receive a reward.

so, once we knew what the system was, he strived hard not to get his name written for forgetting things and when the seperation came a couple months later and he made it into the good kid class he was sooooo proud. but also humble and respectful and compassionate to all the "bad" kids that went off to the other class rooms and didnt rub the kids nose in it

this was probably the first time my son even experienced such an outright reward/punishment system, and this school does use it. i have learned to appreciate it, though my parenting style is not the same.

but again, the lessons for my children is to find a higher in all things, the lesson in all, the good bad and ugly. none of it is scary for us.

[BlackVelvet04]

69. put it on the fridge. n/t

[dysfunctional press]

81. but how often is your own kid behind you in traffic?

if they're only there for your own kid, why wouldn't you put it on the refrigerator...? or their bedroom door...? someplace where they're most likely to see it most often?

[dsc]

68. why

Parents brag all the time that their kids are cheerleaders, jocks, etc. Are only smart kids tacky?

[Toots]

100. Why do you consider it to be tacky?

I think it is a parent being very proud of their child and wanting to tell the world about it..That is not tacky..that is sincere appreciation. I would much rather see a bumper sticker of a proud parent than some macho sticker saying something like "keep honking while I reload" or the little guy pissing on something that person dislikes.. It is all about respect and so very many Americans demonstrate they have none..

[knitter4democracy]

7. It does seem to be more of a football joke.

Football is all about strategic hitting. Many guys hit as hard as they possibly can and like hitting that hard. I know that sounds weird, but I grew up the geek in a football family, and I saw how my stepbrothers actually liked getting hit like that. It's a football thing.

As for the honors student thing, that part's just mean and nasty. Football players hit each other on the field, so they shouldn't be tackling the geeks in the hallway. Not funny. The "joke" is that the football player hits that hard, but since geeks often are the targets of bullying behavior, it's just plain not funny.

[fenriswolf]

8. yeah its trash

but its kind of relieving to laugh at our own cultural ignorance. The only other choice you really have is to get angry.

(got 1460 on my SAT btw just so you don't think i'm a jock)

[seabeyond]

14. again... i am NOT anti sports. my whole family sports oriented

i was in swimming and strong majority of really good swimmers were the straight A students. not trashing sports. all for good, competitive, talented athletes. gave me something grand. but then sportsmanship and character was a big part of that experience

[fenriswolf]

18. well i laugh at it

because it is funny. They are in referance to kids "honor student" stickers that they get in grade school and middle school. Those stickers have always seemed presumptious to me and high grades in grade school don't really reflect anything worth bragging about yet. I laugh because other people who don't have those stickers are making fun of the ones who display them proudly. I'm sure if you asked any parent if they had a choice of having an honor roll student or a linebacker on the high school team what would they choose, i'm sure they would choose the good grades.

[varkam]

9. To be honest, I clicked on this thread because I laughed.

I don't think it's only football players or bullies that can find that funny, because I am neither. Most of my time is spend either here on DU, at work, or with my nose in a book. :shrug:

[seabeyond]

15. i like to keep things in perspective.... so thank you for your post

beyond my initial anger, after time, lol lol.... i was asking myself if it wasnt just funny. so thanks

[varkam]

17. I laugh at things I probably shouldn't laugh at, anyway.

I guess it makes it easier to get through primary season if instead of getting pissed off I just remember to laugh.

[Dorian Gray]

65. Ain't that the truth!

As for the shirt? I do think it's bad taste, and I wouldn't let my kids wear one, but it doesn't make me irate, either.

[gratuitous]

12. You're bucking our national religion

Violence is so all powerful that it can redeem any situation. Someone smarter than you? Inflict a little brain damage, and the problem is solved! Not so smart anymore, are you Brainiac?

[Red Zelda]

16. I hate honor students

[seabeyond]

19. so??????... n/t

[Duppers]

90. I hate idiots !!

This is not about jocks, 'cause many jocks have above average IQs.

It's about not bashing intelligence....which you are doing!

[tularetom]

20. I feel very strongly both ways

Of course that t shirt is asinine but at the same time I sure got sick of all the smarmy honor student bumper stickers I saw on cars around here a few years back. Some of the worst ones were for "christian" schools, which implied that the honor student got where he or she was through the intervention of "Jesus" which I always thought was kind of a putdown of their own kid although they never would've recognized it as such.

I gotta admit the first time I saw "My kid beat up your honor student", I laughed. Now I think any parent who has to live vicariously through their kid, honor student or jock, is a pretty lousy parent.

I'm not advocating violence but to think that fighting is alien to the kid culture is to be extremely naive. Remember Ralphie in "A Christmas Story" - ...you were either a bully, a toady, or one of the nameless rabble of victims".

[ulysses]

21. on the other hand,

I remember that the students at the Catholic school in Tulsa, whose football team we always played and whose players regularly got creamed on the field, had their own comeback as a chant - "That's all right, that's ok, you're gonna work for me some day."

Equally obnoxious, but I figure what goes around...

[BeatleBoot]

22. Come on, tell us how you really feel. No holding back this time...

Kidding, of course.

Being an old Football player and one who adores the game, please don't think ignorance equates with the pigskin.

I rely on my experience on the gridiron everyday to deal with the challenges that I face. Especially in my career and family life.

The discipline of preparation that football, or any sport for that matter, teaches you, is an invaluable lesson that you will carry with you to your grave.

The T-shirt was ignorant, certainly. But aren't all the other mindless bumper stickers and slogans, too?

Football builds character. The slogan on that T-shirt was not created by someone with character.

[seabeyond]

23. discipline of preparation that football, or any sport for that matter

i was in competitive sports and that is how it works for me. thank you for your post.

btw.... it was the guys, the X football players that brought football into it. none of them said, i thought it was funny, but then i am a basketball or baseball player

[CK_John]

24. Tthe picture of * in his cheer leading days trying to save his GPA, was all I think of. n/t

[alarimer]

25. "My kid beat up your honor student"

I see that all the time. There is no hope for us a society if we do not value intelligence and hard work.

This is all part of the anti-intellectual undercurrent in our society. Too much religion, too little science and a decided lack of critical thinking skills. Our society sucks.

[Echo In Light]

29. Well put: many aren't merely non intellectual, but ANTI intellectual. Big difference in motive

[seabeyond]

35. ANTI intellectual. agreed. that is what it is. n/t

[Echo In Light]

26. The U.S. is far more authoritarian & militant minded than what many care to acknowledge

...or are capable of acknowledging. Usually too ignorant to understand where to direct the anger over their disillusionment/disenfranchisement also.

[jdadd]

28. A lot of the local prison employees...

Have bumper stickers "My son is an honor student at Mansfield Correctional Institution" I'll have to admit, these type of things give me a chuckle.

[bbinacan]

30. I didn't play football and I

was an honor student. I think it's funny. What IS annoying are those honor student bumper stickers.

[Echo In Light]

32. Sad to see parents' attempts to live out their failed dreams of youth via their children

[bbinacan]

33. Yes it is. n/t

[LWolf]

31. This reminds me of a current issue

at the middle school I teach at. No, not T-shirts. Nick-names. Students have recently been coming up with "cute" little names for each other. "Cute" in quotes because they aren't cute, they are insulting and a form of social bullying. So we've been dealing with it. Daily.

Then I had a talk with a great student who had been shutting down lately, and learned that we hadn't yet heard the worst of the new labels. The students who actually do homework, pay attention in class, and make an effort to learn are now called "SMART." The "SMART" kids.

And "SMART" means:




















Sexually Molested And Raped Twice


The anti-intellectual bully-loving attitude saturating our culture is out of control.

[seabeyond]

37. i think this is why i had such strong reaction. i have a son in 7th and another

coming up. he is now 4th. the 7th for a while, but especially this year has been dealing with the label of being smart.... and like that is a bad thing and i have spent so much of my time as a mom discussing with my son his peers that embrace and desire and want stupid. how bad the schools are getting with the male seeing smart as bad, stupid.... good

so because of being in that while raising a couple of boys where smart is not only a good thing, and demanded and expected, but it is also admired and appreciated and valued in this house.

today i was telling son, with his physical build, wearing glasses, adult behavior and intellectualism he truly has faired well in this whole bullying business. there has been a little thru the years, but nothing compared to what all outward signs would warrant with him. says a whole lot about his coolness and likability that he is not picked on and liked, with who he is.

[kineneb]

52. school is something one survives

I was harassed and called names through 8th grade. I was taller and smarter than most of my peers, and had short hair when all the other girls had long hair (1960s). I did look rather geeky. It was not fun, but I learned how cruel people really can be; it prepared me for the 'idjets' that abound in "adulthood". High school was so-so, and I loved college, where I got better grades than I ever did in K-12.

What made the difference during my schooling was participating in non-school activities: piano lessons, choir, ballet, and later, bicycling. I learned that not all people are asshats, just some, and they will go out of their way to make others miserable.

[seabeyond]

55. i dont think i was ever teased in school. i certainly was never bullied

so this is a tough one for me with my oldest. i do tell him he will just love college. people seem to get over it by then. glad to hear high school wasnt as bad as middle school. i use to be more concerned than i am now. i am seeing he has a good way of handling kids and they end up liking him though it may start out with bullying. also he has been in this school long enough to make enough friends so as they go to high school, he will have plenty of support.

[LWolf]

101. I have always wished

for a restructuring of public schools that would give us fewer students per class and school, and more adults. In addition, a focus on social development, and a schedule that allows us time for that, would also be a healthy thing.

To be honest, many of my colleagues think that "social development" is synonymous with sports and other similar organized group activities. I'd rather, from pre-school on, explicitly teach students how to treat one another, and focus on valuing, nurturing, and celebrating individual differences and intellectual growth.

I have worked in several non-standard environments and have seen how this can be accomplished. We need to move away from the factory school model, and we need to publicly acknowledge that there is more to teaching and learning than test scores.

Meanwhile, we have explicit permission to spend time this spring on activities that develop respect and cooperation among students, even though it takes instructional time away from tested items. That's fine for this spring, but of course, it can't be counted on every year as long as NCLB is in place.

[ZombieHorde]

34. I guess that next we will see...

"My kid shot your honor roll student and twelve other random kids in a senseless school shooting."

[seabeyond]

38. My kid shot your honor roll student and twelve other random kids

ha ha. that is a statement. ya...

[AX10]

40. America has a subtle and wide spread contempt...

for intellectualism of any kind.

[seabeyond]

42. hence the effectiveness of the girlie man vs manly man

that is the state of mind i was in and why it was so offensive and just once again, living in an area where so many would be buying the tshirt, wearing it proudly and not understanding shit. one who thinks, one who fights.

[NuttyFluffers]

94. i don't think anything America ever did was subtle, though.

otherwise i'm compelled to agree.

[frogcycle]

43. sick knuckledragger "humor"

that is all

[mitchum]

44. I have always thought the "My kid can beat up your honor roll student"...

bumper sticker is hands down the most stupid of all bumper stickers. And that's including any republican bumper sticker.
What kind of fucking low grade moron would proudly proclaim that to the world? Astounding.

[medeak]

49. ditto!

I did a dupe..have to take down.

[JBoy]

45. I find the "idea" of that on a shirt somewhat funny, but

anyone who would actually wear the shirt would be a dick.

If that makes any sense...

[seabeyond]

47. it does make sense. poster above you...... a parent to promote this thought

is teaching their children, to suggest as a parent they are proud their child fights....

i do get what you are saying.

[pitohui]

46. you're way overthinking this

i have to admit that i always think the "my kid is an honor student" bumper stickers are pathetic, i'm glad they didn't have them in my day, the day my parents would have put that on their car would have been my last day on the honor roll

parents taking credit for their child's achievement is ugly and embarrassing whether it's the parent of the quarterback or the parent of the honor student

but, that said, to go around taking a poll of the entire mall and then of DU also to find out whether or not anybody else thinks a tee shirt is as offensive as you do, don't you think that's a little over the top?

pick your battles, would be my advice, this one ain't worth fighting about

people who use bumper stickers and/or wear tee shirts with jokes on them are slobs from the get-go, you don't hold them to the same standards of intelligence as the rest of us, you know going in that they're drunks

[seabeyond]

50. 3 or 4 places in op i stated i was overreacting, i didnt like it, i dont normally do it

i agree with you pitohui. and i will say it again, it angers me.

i have a child in 7th grade dealing with this stupid male stuff. where being male and stupid is good stuff and being male and smart isnt so good. i am living in an area where hummers, bush, fox news and the manly man is all thumbs up and they openingly and readily sneer at the girlie man, democrat, liberal.

footie footie football is their god

ect.....

overreacting i am sure.... get me outta texas and back to calif, maybe i will be a little more grounded and mellow.

[medeak]

48. edited for dupe

[OwnedByFerrets]

51. Begin a letter writing campaign to Academy.....

maybe they will get the message and remove the offensive material.

[cbayer]

53. "My kid can ollie over your honor student"

I had that on my car for awhile. btw - ollie is a skateboarding term. I had it because I was proud of my kid and he was NEVER going to be an honor student. I did that in response to large number of "My kids an honor student" bumper stickers. I didn't feel it was putting anyone else down, just cheering for my own kid. And i thought it was funny.

[seabeyond]

54. i hear ya, ... and it is cute, BUT... i have never felt in competition for my kid per others

further i tend to pull that out of my kids when they start that behavior themselves. all kids have things they get to be proud of. all kids have their crosses to bare. all kids have their weaknesses and strengths, ect....

but i have never felt the need to rise my child above another for him to shine. i am a believer to allow another to shine is the best in allowing self to shine. my biggest thing with my oldest is to get him to stop comparing himself to others.

but (again) i do think your sticker is cute.

[cbayer]

59. You are right

He just really needed a little boost at that point. But I can't really defend it.

[seabeyond]

61. a boost.... that hurts no one

has no place to defend. i hear ya. clever parenting without hurting others.

i never had children in school where some got stickers for honor roll and some students didnt. i have had to deal with the whole gifted child program thing with my kids so i do understand what you are saying

[Psst_Im_Not_Here]

56. My son

My son was diagnosed ADHD in the 3rd grade. By that point he was 3 years behind his peers in reading and math. Since then, he has worked extremely hard to catch up to his classmates and is now reading above grade level. He started middle school this year, and I was of course concerned if he would be able to make the adjustments. He made the honor role first quarter and again second quarter, entitling him to the "honor role bumper sticker". You'd better believe I will put it on my car, not for bragging rights, but, to honor his hard work and to further encourage him to make the honor role and achieve the next level, a gold medal for a full year on the honor role.

It's about the kid, not bragging rights.

[seabeyond]

62. to honor his hard work ... that is the purpose, that is the intent. says something

about our culture that sees it as a parent bragging. i dont think that is why most parents put the sticker on the car. my sons schools didnt do a sticker on a car, but end of year award. we hang that on the wall. it does make them feel good.

[JoePhilly]

57. "Your overgrown football player will be working for my four-eyed geek"

People!!!! ...

Please take some deep breathing lessons.

Take a yoga class.

Go have a glass of wine.

[backscatter712]

72. Heh. I was thinking of the following sticker...

20 years later, my honor student is making 5 times as much as your burger-flipping football jock.

[Bushwick Bill]

58. My Doberman...

[seabeyond]

63. can kick your poodles butt? lol n/t

[djkevvy]

76. I have this one:

[dansolo]

64. I always found those honor role bumper stickers annoying

It seemed to me that it was just a matter of bragging rights for the parents.

[BlackVelvet04]

70. They are obnoxious....

but I think most bumper stickers are obnoxious. Where did Americans get the idea that there every thought needs to be advertised on the back of their car?

[mitchtv]

66. Don't let it get to you

Try to inoculate those near you. You seem to be at ground zero. Peace

[Warren Stupidity]

71. Small observation: the honor roll student also plays football.

Otherwise the joke makes no sense as a football joke. The honor roll student is thus the proverbial well rounded scholar athelete, and indeed everyone hates his guts with a passion.

[halobeam]

73. I almost didn't click on this thread because of the heading

I thought it might be about a student getting hurt by another student.

Oh, shit. That was my first response to the heading. I usually try not to read horrible things that get me seriously irate before I turn in for the night. That's why I hesitated.

I was relieved to hear someone wasn't hurt and that it was, well, what it was.

Now I think about how the next time I read a heading and respond with Oh, shit... it'll be the real deal, once again...

this t-shirt doesn't help.

I have a great sense of humor. I have some college behind me. I can laugh at really horrible sick jokes too, just because I've been lucky enough to have born into a family and have friends that were twisted in one way or another (nuts, perhaps). I think sick humor is healthy, it releases tension of issues that may otherwise just dwell inside. Some people just deal this way.

I don't think this t-shirt saying was sick and twisted as a joke. I think it was all sorts of passive aggressive man-beat-chest type egomania make-up-for _______________(fill in the blank shortcomings) all at someone else's ______________(fill in what you deem weak equals).. expense.

I live in a family of boys now and was raised in a family of girls. I've had these two types of dynamics in family living. Neither displayed humor in or with this type of "speak" (my term for this dirt-on-a-shirt).

Long winded, but I had to tell you, you aren't the only one who would've felt the way you did, or even reacted as you did. I don't even like to say you "reacted" I think of it as taking action on something that called for it.

I haven't read any responses from this thread yet and I know some posts that could be here may tell you to lighten up or something similar. All I know is when I'm told to lighten up, I smile, because I may have hit a nerve, because someone is trying to sway me to think otherwise, and why would that be? Maybe because I hit a nerve. That means to me, there is need for discussion.

[seabeyond]

75. thanks for your post, i appreciate it.

insightful.

[shugah]

78. i went with the 'Unconditionally Proud Parent' bumber sticker myself

mommy of a son who could have been on the honor roll, beat up 'whoever', got the girl, etc etc.

he did not choose any of those paths - and i couldn't possibly sum up anything about him on a bumper sticker or a t-shirt - unless i could write a whole lot of stuff on such a small space... but then the font would probably be too small for anyone to read :shrug:

[margotb822]

95. Serenity Now!

Either you're too sensitive or you're lame. It's a t-shirt. There are worse sayings out there, why waste your energy on something useless. The GP will always be jealous of the intellectual, so they attempt to bring them down. I think the problem with the Democratic party is that people perceive it as weak, and this doesn't help. Let's focus on the real life or death issues.

[seabeyond]

102. i believe in "rule of thumb". ha ha hah. i guess that would be funny too.

that is old law where a man can beat his wife with a stick as long as it is not thicker than his thumb.

do we all just lighten up and not have any standards at all. the comments being made about females consistently on our news are not big deals or indicative of a trend in our society, we should just lighten up and allow to continue, escalate.

i think there is a real question of being too sensitive, or a responsibility to speaking out and saying enough

hence the thread

[mikeytherat]

96. "Your starting-quarterback now details my honor student's BMW."

I'm gonna make some of these through Cafe Press -- anyone want one?

mikey_the_rat

[BadgerLaw2010]

98. I like this one. "My kid will sue your kid."

[lonestarnot]

99. I see no humor in it.

Stupid people can't help it.