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Other than the time wasted over the color of a teacher's correction pen, which by the way, some of the most influential teachers in my past wielded like Tombstone gun slingers did their six shooters is this whole idea not doing anything that would even remotely demoralize or lower a kid's self esteem. So there's a push on now for sports teams to take anyone who shows up, no cuts and the coach may not even suggest to a kid that he's not cutting it. This was probably a great idea from some administrator who never stepped on a playing field before. But it totally backfires, because the nerd, who would have been done a favor by being cut, now has to endure being ragged on, stuffed in lockers, goofed on, and generally, cruelly abused by his teammates and probably ends up with more of a complex than had the coach told him maybe he'd be better off on the chess club. Believe me, I hear it from my cheerleader about just such a kid playing football. Too stubborn to quit, will probably never play, yet he shows up day after day to the abuse of his teammates and the coach is powerless to step in. I just hope she ducks the day he shows up with his assault weapon.
I think great strides in education are being made, but I also think it's pretty sad when educators tell the kids what's best for them and never ask the kids what they want.
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