I agree completely. The same type of thing is happening as a result of our PBS trend. "We want to reward as many students as possible," they tell me. My response is, "Then we should just present every kid with a certificate as they walk in the door on the first day." I'm just guessing - would bet on it if I was a betting man - that's what happened.
What kind of reward is it when just anyone and his dog can receive it? How much is something worth when it is so easy to win?
Remember when Dash, in "The Incredibles", was grumping about not being allowed to do his best?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317705/quotesHelen: Dash… this is the third time this year you’ve been sent to the office. We need to find a better outlet. A more… constructive outlet.
Dash: Maybe I could, if you’d let me go out for sports.
Helen: Honey, you know why we can’t do that.
Dash: But I promise I’ll slow up. I’ll only be the best by a tiny bit.
Dash: Dashiell Robert Parr, you are an incredibly competitive boy, and a bit of a show-off. The last thing you need is temptation.
Dash: You always say ‘Do your best’, but you don’t really mean it. Why can’t I do the best that I can do?
Helen: Right now, honey, the world just wants us to fit in, and to fit in, we gotta be like everyone else.
Dash: But Dad always said our powers were nothing to be ashamed of, our powers made us special.
Helen: Everyone’s special, Dash.
Dash: [muttering] Which is another way of saying no one is.
