What is an award? According to the dictionary, when the word award is used as a verb it means, “To give as due or merited; assign or bestow.”
This made me start thinking about my school years when awards seemed to be a bit easier to achieve than what they are as an adult. In elementary school I could get an award for just showing up. It was called “perfect attendance.” In high school I could play sports and sit on the bench much of the time and still get a “letter” for my efforts. There were academic opportunities for awards as well. Getting an award for “most improved” seemed like a positive thing until I realized it could simply mean that I was really awful at this endeavor in the beginning and I am probably still not too good at it now.
As a teacher, I didn’t give many awards to my students. If you received an award from me it was something you earned. However, the reality of frivolous awards hit home with me when I became the principal of an elementary school. The awards assembly was long and tedious and I cringed at the notion that every student was going home with numerous awards. It seemed to be an exercise in futility. What real value did these awards have if the discipline and hard work to achieve them was minimal at best?
Did you have awards in high school for graduating seniors beyond valedictorian, salutatorian, and National Honor Society? Were there categories such as “most likely to succeed” or “most athletic” or any other such type of depiction? Were there unofficial categories created by the students outside the mainstream such as “teacher’s pet” or even a little more brash such as “most likely to end up in jail”? I vividly remember that there were certain awards a person just didn’t want to win, officially or unofficially.
In our adult lives awards sometimes come in pay raises or job promotions. Other times we actually receive specific awards for our achievements. There may not be too many of us that receive a Nobel Prize, but there are other distinguishing awards in our careers that may attract our attention. As I was reading an article today it struck me that politicians seem to have a plethora of awards given to them from a variety of organizations. Do they earn them or is this just another means of individuals scratching each other’s back in a mutual admiration society?
Unfortunately, the article that caught my attention today referred to an award which I simply cannot comprehend. It is the Margaret Sanger Award. Why would an award be presented to someone for actively trying to eliminate a segment of our population? Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America said, “On behalf of Planned Parenthood and the millions of patients we serve each year, it gives me great pleasure to announce that House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi will receive the Planned Parenthood Federation of America Margaret Sanger Award, our highest recognition of leadership, excellence, and outstanding contributions to the reproductive health and rights movement.”
It is no surprise that Nancy Pelosi would be given such an award because her commitment to the pro-abortion movement is thoroughly documented. Remember, she referred to the availability of late-term abortions to be “sacred ground” for her. Subsequently, this will be an award Nancy Pelosi will likely cherish with deep devotion. It would be my hope that she would distance herself from receiving such an award, but her track record reveals that this is probably an unrealistic wish rather than a true hope. Planned Parenthood’s “Annual Gala” will take place on March 27, in Washington, D.C. at which time Nancy Pelosi will deliver her remarks and accept the award.
The words “leadership, excellence, and outstanding contributions” apparently have different meanings for different folks. It saddens my heart to see these words used to describe the pro-abortion actions of Nancy Pelosi. Knowing that this atrocity (award presentation) is taking place during the holy season of Lent, it presents an opportunity for a renewed vigor among pro-life individuals to engage in serious “prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.” Let us demonstrate our “leadership, excellence, and outstanding contributions” in creating a culture of life!
This made me start thinking about my school years when awards seemed to be a bit easier to achieve than what they are as an adult. In elementary school I could get an award for just showing up. It was called “perfect attendance.” In high school I could play sports and sit on the bench much of the time and still get a “letter” for my efforts. There were academic opportunities for awards as well. Getting an award for “most improved” seemed like a positive thing until I realized it could simply mean that I was really awful at this endeavor in the beginning and I am probably still not too good at it now.
As a teacher, I didn’t give many awards to my students. If you received an award from me it was something you earned. However, the reality of frivolous awards hit home with me when I became the principal of an elementary school. The awards assembly was long and tedious and I cringed at the notion that every student was going home with numerous awards. It seemed to be an exercise in futility. What real value did these awards have if the discipline and hard work to achieve them was minimal at best?
Did you have awards in high school for graduating seniors beyond valedictorian, salutatorian, and National Honor Society? Were there categories such as “most likely to succeed” or “most athletic” or any other such type of depiction? Were there unofficial categories created by the students outside the mainstream such as “teacher’s pet” or even a little more brash such as “most likely to end up in jail”? I vividly remember that there were certain awards a person just didn’t want to win, officially or unofficially.
In our adult lives awards sometimes come in pay raises or job promotions. Other times we actually receive specific awards for our achievements. There may not be too many of us that receive a Nobel Prize, but there are other distinguishing awards in our careers that may attract our attention. As I was reading an article today it struck me that politicians seem to have a plethora of awards given to them from a variety of organizations. Do they earn them or is this just another means of individuals scratching each other’s back in a mutual admiration society?
Unfortunately, the article that caught my attention today referred to an award which I simply cannot comprehend. It is the Margaret Sanger Award. Why would an award be presented to someone for actively trying to eliminate a segment of our population? Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America said, “On behalf of Planned Parenthood and the millions of patients we serve each year, it gives me great pleasure to announce that House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi will receive the Planned Parenthood Federation of America Margaret Sanger Award, our highest recognition of leadership, excellence, and outstanding contributions to the reproductive health and rights movement.”
It is no surprise that Nancy Pelosi would be given such an award because her commitment to the pro-abortion movement is thoroughly documented. Remember, she referred to the availability of late-term abortions to be “sacred ground” for her. Subsequently, this will be an award Nancy Pelosi will likely cherish with deep devotion. It would be my hope that she would distance herself from receiving such an award, but her track record reveals that this is probably an unrealistic wish rather than a true hope. Planned Parenthood’s “Annual Gala” will take place on March 27, in Washington, D.C. at which time Nancy Pelosi will deliver her remarks and accept the award.
The words “leadership, excellence, and outstanding contributions” apparently have different meanings for different folks. It saddens my heart to see these words used to describe the pro-abortion actions of Nancy Pelosi. Knowing that this atrocity (award presentation) is taking place during the holy season of Lent, it presents an opportunity for a renewed vigor among pro-life individuals to engage in serious “prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.” Let us demonstrate our “leadership, excellence, and outstanding contributions” in creating a culture of life!
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