Opinions were divided when a woman took to the internet to share a certificate her friend’s daughter received from a teacher.
The woman, who chose not to give her name, lives in Michigan, and was left shocked when her friend showed her an “award” her seventh-grade daughter was handed at school.
That award? The “Fix your face” award, for the girl’s “ability to show how they really feel with their facial expressions.”
The girl was given a certificate with a cartoon of a frowning face, along with her name, her teacher’s name, and the date it was awarded to her.
She told Newsweek her friend had sent her a photo of the certificate asking if she thought it was “rude,” and she agreed that, in her opinion, it was.
The woman said: “My friend said her daughter [who] got the award is very facially expressive about how she feels—even when she maybe shouldn’t be—but that she would’ve hoped there was something positive her daughter could’ve been awarded.”
She shared the photo of the certificate to Reddit’s r/mildlyinfuriating sub via her account with the title: “This elementary school class award my friend’s poor kiddo got.”
It racked up more than 53,000 upvotes since being shared at the end of May, as commenters shared their thoughts and own stories.
“My son got the ‘Reluctant Kicker’ award when he played soccer,” one parent wrote, as another said: “My kid was awarded most likely to start breakdancing at any moment,” to which one replied: “That’s much more wholesome.”
One recalled a story from their own school years, when they “got an award for standing up to bullying.”
“I was just legitimately friends with a fat kid who got picked on. Instead of fixing the bullying, they gave an award to the kid who wasn’t even bullied. I wonder what that felt like to him, to see his friend get an award. Like the mere act of friendship was worthy of some sort of compensation.”
And another said: “My swim coach gave me and my best friend the ‘weirdo twins’ award. We loved it but also, ouch. We were 11. Aren’t all 11 year olds weirdos?”
And as one put it: “It’s pretty disappointing how many adults think that children are these emotionally simplistic little creatures whose only endeavors should be obedience and modesty.”
The woman told Newsweek that, in this case, her friend asked her daughter how she felt about the teacher giving her this award and got the response: “Well, she’s not lying!”
“She didn’t seem too upset, so I’m hoping it was something they laughed about together in class. But the teacher might’ve thought a little more about how the parents would interpret the award.”
Boosting self-confidence in children is important when preparing them for the adult world, and can begin with the parent modeling confidence themselves, even if they don’t feel it, according to the Child Mind Institute.
Encouraging your child to try new things, allowing them to fail and see that it’s not the end of the world, praising their perseverance in not giving up, and helping them to find their passion in life can all assist in building confidence in a child.
The woman admitted she was “surprised” at how popular her post was on Reddit, but said she was “really glad, because it opened up a forum that encouraged people to share stories of bullying, both by students and teachers.
“People were really understanding and validating to those that shared their stories.”
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