Elementary school perfect attendance award disappearing as a historical relic

Mr. Park (50), who resides in Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province, heard the news that there would be no perfect attendance award at his son's elementary school graduation ceremony last January. Mr. Park said, "My son didn't miss a single day of school for six years, yet he didn't receive an award," and added, "It feels like the symbol and reward of diligence have disappeared, which is disappointing."

Awards are disappearing at elementary schools. Perfect attendance awards have already vanished, and awards given to students for excellent grades or activities are also disappearing. This is because there is a growing perception in the education community that awards actually encourage competition among students, and therefore, removing them to ease early competition has become a widespread idea. Additionally, concerns about complaints from parents of students who do not receive awards, who often express dissatisfaction and raise objections, have also influenced this trend.

A teacher at an elementary school in Songpa-gu, Seoul, Ms. Lee (33), said, "There was criticism that giving awards to students who didn't receive recognition created a sense of discomfort, so not only the attendance award but also the academic excellence award were discontinued," and added, "The only official awards given in the class are certificates of appointment for class and school officers." An elementary school teacher in Chilgok, Gyeongbuk, Ms. Ju (36), also said, "Giving the academic excellence award often leads to complaints like 'Why isn't my child getting it?' which makes the school feel like it's inviting trouble," and explained, "In the past, awards served as a kind of motivation for students and parents, but nowadays, they have become targets of complaints."

As the awards disappeared, parents expressed their regret. Kim Mo (49), who has a third-grade elementary school child and has never received a class award in three years, said, "It seems the school has become stingy with awards," and "It's unfortunate that the means to actively encourage and praise school life have disappeared." Due to the disappearance of all school awards, some parents are looking into external competitions where their children can receive awards. Seol Mo (41) from Suseong-gu, Daegu, said, "We are looking into competitions such as the essay contest and other youth contests that our child can participate in." Experts point out that the positive educational effects of awards are significant. Kim Bong-seok, a professor of elementary education at Korea National University of Education, said, "Reducing awards is intended to ease early competition among students and complaints from parents," but also added, "However, there is a need for a balanced perspective on whether such changes might actually suppress a culture of encouragement among students or whether we should completely give up the educational benefits that awards provide."

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I'm glad that I am a former elementary school student rather than a modern elementary school studentㅠㅠ

Sigh~~~ Are some overly obsessive parents the problem?ㅠㅠ