Not an Award Winning Banquet

When the term "awards banquet" is used it generally calls to mind reserved seating, tables bedecked with linen and floral displays, water goblets being filled by wandering servers, and lackluster food. The only descriptor that applies to the event we attended tonight is "lackluster" in reference to the take out pizza on paper plates, plastic utensils, and cans of soda. And, yes, this evening was meant to honor some of the best and brightest students at our school.

Since one of the other teachers in my department enjoys giving the English award, I have not attended the soiree before tonight. While I did not expect a gourmet meal, I did expect an actual meal prepared by our cafeteria staff and served by our students. Entrees like spaghetti or enchiladas come to mind since they are easy to prepare and can feed a large number of people for a little money. I might even wager that these entrees are cheaper than ordering pizza (in three ho-hum flavors: cheese, sausage, and pepperoni). I should probably mention that we were also given a small dish of iceberg lettuce mixed with carrots and topped with ranch dressing as a salad. The only redeeming element of the entire meal was dessert - a moist white cake decorated with rosebuds in school colors made from excellent butter cream frosting. Luckily I had a corner piece to polish off the mediocre pickings of dinner.

Of course award banquets are all about honoring kids, and this was no exception. I am pleased to say that the outstanding industrial technology student of the year was a girl who has progressed through both the automotive and woodworking programs. She is also president of the high performance club which is all about drag racing, motor cross, and similar sports. By my count 22 of the 39 academic recipients were female including those in traditionally male subjects like math and science.

I'm also pleased to report that the students were dressed appropriately in their Sunday best, which is more than I can say for some of the faculty and parents. For example, one mom who looked 50-ish wore very low hip hugger jeans and a belly-baring tank top. Now, you may say, "Hey, if you've got it, flaunt it." Unfortunately, all she had was stringy hair and the figure of a Holocaust survivor. As long as I'm being catty, I should also admit that one faculty member showed up (quite) late in a school t-shirt and gym pants. (Yes, he was a coach. No, he didn't come straight from a game.)

It saddens me that we expect so much from our students - scholarship, leadership, appropriate behavior, appropriate attire, responsibility, respectfulness, perseverence - yet so many adults cannot display these same attributes. Aren't these young people - who are among the cream of the crop - worth a decent meal? Aren't they worth showing up on time for? Aren't they worth putting on professional attire for a couple of hours? I know that today many people believe decorum is for snobs, but I believe it is a sign of respect and citizenship.