Mr. Burn's Award in Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence
So today I am one of the several recipients of our district's Exemplary Staff awards. It's not quite as ambiguous and hokey as my blog title suggests - I actually had to meet some criteria and be nominated. And, today I found out that the nomination process is not just simply putting a person's name in a hat and saying, "Oh, hey, this person is exemplary". The person who nominates a staff member has to write a detailed and lengthy essay that covers several topics. This made me feel slightly better about the meaningfulness of the award, but I had to go back and read the "District Core Values" - quality performance, focus on student learning, respect, positive interdependence, and integrity - to get a clear idea of what qualified people for the award. It was interesting to see the reactions of the nominees as they marched across the stage to receive their golden apple. There was everything to clear embarrassment to excitement and princess-like waves directed to the throng of people in the audience. My feelings about the award are mixed - I think it's nice to be recognized, but it's not going to change what I'm doing or how I operate at work. I don't need an award or recognition to do my best. I've been doing this job in the schools for several years and have never been at a school district that gives any kind of award or recognition to Speech Language Pathologists. This is not because we're lazy, and last year was definitely not the first time I've worked my tail off. It's just that, because we're autonomous (which is one of the things I like best about my line of work) means that not many people realize all the things that we're responsible for. Then again, not many of us go into this profession seeking awards. My best rewards have been when a parent comes and tells me how much I've made a difference in their child's life or when they thank me for the help I've given. But, I will keep my golden apple in my office as a reminder that recognition is not a horrible thing every seven or eight years.
posted by Notta Wallflower at 6:00 PM
4 Comments:
Congrats! I'm very proud of you.
Thanks. :-)
Congratulations on the award!
You sound like my daughter. When she was in grade school, the school started a program where they would hand out thank-you notes for good behavior. At the end of the week, the kid with the most thank-yous won a prize.
When I cleaned out her backpack, it was full of thank-you notes. I asked her why she didn't turn them in? She said: "It's stupid being thanked for something you're SUPPOSED to be doing!"
TSHS - That's so funny about your daughter. That's exactly how I feel. I also feel a certain amount of skepticism about the meaningfulness of it. I left out an important part, but there were many recipients of this award - too many. I didn't know how to say this without sounding judgemental, but it lost its "special" quality when I saw who else was getting the award. One thing I really did like, though, was that a few instructional aides and custodians got the award, instead of only teachers. That is as it should be - I always make nice with the custodians because they are very helpful.
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