Celebrating mediocrity
Celebrating mediocrity is a part of American culture. Here People tend to celebrate anything that would be deemed ‘silly’ in other cultures. As an example, here in school, they celebrate graduation for moving from one grade to other. So if you are moving from 1st to 2nd grade, they celebrate it as a big thing. Parents, grandparents etc. attend such ceremony and make it a big thing.
Lately I have been wondering whether it is a good thing to do. Is it good to celebrate mediocre achievements? Would that leave a contented child even though he/she is capable of achieving more? Or will it instill a lot of confidence in the child’s mind?
My wife always says that a little encouragement to the child will make him go a long way. I accept that. But at the same time, wouldn’t even a small failure affect him immensely when such things should be just brushed away? I personally feel that there should be a good balance in celebrating mediocrity. But where the balance lies is something hard to figure out.
What do you think?
1 comment:
I think you mean "celebrating lower standards of success". "Mediocrity" is associated with failure and I don't believe that is celebrated on any large scale here.
Personally - I would not celebrate lowered standards if it is in a field of importance, like school. But if a kid is trying out a sport for a first time and is able to hit a ball in only two out of 10 times, for instance, I would be okay celebrating that to encourage the kid further..
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