I sort of agree with driveway and llwhiteoutll to an extent. Or at least see where they're coming from. Why exactly should this kid get to wear one when he hasn't earned it?
However, the fact that some people went out of their way to complain about him having it is an absolute joke.
Who the hell cares? Its a frickin letter on a jacket.
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I sort of agree with driveway and llwhiteoutll to an extent. Or at least see where they're coming from. Why exactly should this kid get to wear one when he hasn't earned it?...
There is no point and no justification no matter how one looks at this idiocy. This is not a degree, diploma or medal, which would have had to be AWARDED and could not have been purchased. It's a jacket that was officially and legitimately purchased; therefore, it can be worn by anyone who wanted to buy a stupid thing.
My kid bought me a mug from his University for Father's Day. Do I have the "right" to drink coffee from it if I didn't go to that U? Same goes for Calgary Flames named jerseys. Do we have the right to wear them?
This whole controversy stinks of bigotry and intolerance.
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I sort of agree with driveway and llwhiteoutll to an extent. Or at least see where they're coming from. Why exactly should this kid get to wear one when he hasn't earned it?
However, the fact that some people went out of their way to complain about him having it is an absolute joke.
Who the hell cares? Its a frickin letter on a jacket.
Agreed on both points.
I hate how in our society everyone is a precious snow flake.
I would think a group of guys on a hockey message board would be more in tune with stuff like this. As someone who played a lot of high level sports both in clubs and High School I loved stuff like this.
Sure, he didnt 'earn' the letter, but so what. As one of the guys typically busting my ass for the team I like to see people support the team in whatever way they can. Thats part of the definition of team sports, its inclusive and everyone has to do what they can.
Whether that means they're the guy scoring the goals, stopping the goals, making the passes or just screaming their lungs out in the stands, its all part and parcel of team sports.
I like it. It can even sometimes be a rallying point for the team.
Its funny, the people on the teams probably love it, but the parent that complained was probably one of those 'High School was the greatest time ever and the rest of life has gone downhill since' kind of people.
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I would think a group of guys on a hockey message board would be more in tune with stuff like this. As someone who played a lot of high level sports both in clubs and High School I loved stuff like this.
Sure, he didnt 'earn' the letter, but so what. As one of the guys typically busting my ass for the team I like to see people support the team in whatever way they can. Thats part of the definition of team sports, its inclusive and everyone has to do what they can.
Whether that means they're the guy scoring the goals, stopping the goals, making the passes or just screaming their lungs out in the stands, its all part and parcel of team sports.
I like it. It can even sometimes be a rallying point for the team.
Its funny, the people on the teams probably love it, but the parent that complained was probably one of those 'High School was the greatest time ever and the rest of life has gone downhill since' kind of people.
100%. There is no doubt that the parent who complained fits within that category. That the status of yesteryear can't be topped, so let's relive it over and over.
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Who is it hurting if he wears it? Nobody. It is making a challenged individual beyond happy. He won't get half the opportunities in life those actual Varsity players receive, let him have his fun.
Honestly I can't really understand why people would care so much about what anyones wearing. If you need your kid to walk around with a sign on his chest saying I'm one of the 10 best basketball players at this school, then your kid is probably going to struggle allot with the realities of the real world. It's too bad parents have to take a fun game so seriously
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At my high school, it required a LOT more effort than just making one single varsity team to earn the award of being allowed to buy the varsity jacket. Out of a graduating class of over 400, maybe 10 people were that good.
While I agree the school could have handled it better, it was wrong for the boy's mom to take matters into her own hands to begin with.
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Originally Posted by ken0042
While I agree the school could have handled it better, it was wrong for the boy's mom to take matters into her own hands to begin with.
No, no it wasn't. If there's an opportunity to make your special needs kid happy, and you have to break an unimportant regulation to do so, then I'd hope any parent would go with the kid over petty rules every time.
What greater good is going to be accomplished by enforcement? Are kids on the varsity team going to be thinking "Aww, if I'd only been born special needs I could've skated on the requirements for that letter!" It's high school, not real life, and if you're going to teach teenagers something, let it be to have empathy for those who aren't as lucky as you are rather than how to exclude and marginalize others by ratting them out to little dictators.
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Man, this is just sad. You would think people would be bigger than this. Its an act of kindness to make a kid with special needs feel good. Why some ######bag parent feels he needs to rob a kid of that joy is beyond me. That parent should really be ashamed at himself.
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Originally Posted by jammies
It's high school, not real life, and if you're going to teach teenagers something, let it be to have empathy for those who aren't as lucky as you are rather than how to exclude and marginalize others by ratting them out to little dictators.
So, kick the lesson to the curb about working hard for years towards a goal? The kids who earned their letters have spent 3-4 years working hard. They have to be in great shape, make personal sacrifices in order to be at the top of their game. And several sports as well. There have been comments about "it's just a piece of clothing/ just a letter." This coming from from a fan base who salivates at the thought of our team winning a trophy that would maybe cost a couple of thousand to reproduce. What if I went into FOI and said "It's just a hunk of metal- what's the big deal."
Also, you would do anything to make the kid happy? Let him drive a car down the freeway, even if he couldn't possibly qualify for a driver's license? As long as it makes him happy, right?
The right thing would have been for the mom to approach the school and explain the situation. Then let the school and/or the varsity students decide if there should be an exception made.
What I find funny is when we were talking about a teacher who got suspended for giving failing grades (and zeros)- everybody was up in arms about how we shouldn't be giving students a free pass. Now we are saying that this student should.
The school appears to have put the student into a basketball program with other kids at his level, which is great. His mom taking that extra step on her own was wrong.
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So, kick the lesson to the curb about working hard for years towards a goal? The kids who earned their letters have spent 3-4 years working hard. They have to be in great shape, make personal sacrifices in order to be at the top of their game. And several sports as well. There have been comments about "it's just a piece of clothing/ just a letter." This coming from from a fan base who salivates at the thought of our team winning a trophy that would maybe cost a couple of thousand to reproduce. What if I went into FOI and said "It's just a hunk of metal- what's the big deal."
Also, you would do anything to make the kid happy? Let him drive a car down the freeway, even if he couldn't possibly qualify for a driver's license? As long as it makes him happy, right?
The right thing would have been for the mom to approach the school and explain the situation. Then let the school and/or the varsity students decide if there should be an exception made.
What I find funny is when we were talking about a teacher who got suspended for giving failing grades (and zeros)- everybody was up in arms about how we shouldn't be giving students a free pass. Now we are saying that this student should.
The school appears to have put the student into a basketball program with other kids at his level, which is great. His mom taking that extra step on her own was wrong.
Wow. First of all, if there was a lesson about hard work, it will not be lost when the more important lesson about including those who are not blessed with an equal playing field is given. Special needs kids playing on an extra curricular team are every bit as hard working and dedicated as "real" varsity lettermen but will likely never achieve that level of competition. Do you want a generation of kids who think it's an accomplishment to wear a letter that is not available to all participants?
Second, driving down a freeway without a license is illegal not to mention a hopelessly dumb analogy to giving equal consideration to disabled high school students. How is wearing a varsity letter a danger to anyone?
Third, not giving zero's at least has a fundamentally sound basis. It is much better to reinforce the relative best than spotlight the negative. When you make a disabled kid give back his letter, you're doing nothing but spotlighting negative.
Finally, they did leave the decision up to the school and the school got it wrong. That's why it made news headlines. It's baffling to people that grown adults would do such a thing. That's why we're reading about it. Hopefully the "real" lettermen at the school do something cool with this and scrap their own pointless apparel.
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That is completely different. The organization in question made the offer to the person. They made the gesture, not the other way around.
But in the situation with the special needs student, it wasn't the organization (the school) that complained. In fact, they let him buy the and initially wear the varsity letter. It was the parents that complained that it diminished the achievements of their kids, and apparently the school then gave in.
I am sure that if Kessel's or Phaneuf's parents complained, the Leafs wouldn't give in to the pressure (not that I think they would complain), but the nature of the gesture in the first place is pretty much of the same nature.
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Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction
But in the situation with the special needs student, it wasn't the organization (the school) that complained. In fact, they let him buy the and initially wear the varsity letter.
Was the jacket ordered through the school, or from some clothing supplier? If it was ordered through the school I would say you are right; that the school originally allowed it. I know when I order stuff with my son's school logos that it doesn't go through the school at all.
So yes, if the school originally allowed it and then bowed to pressure from parents- then those parents should feel ashamed. However I read the article to mean the special kid's mom had done this completely on her own; and that the school didn't say anything at first until they received a complaint.
So, kick the lesson to the curb about working hard for years towards a goal? The kids who earned their letters have spent 3-4 years working hard. They have to be in great shape, make personal sacrifices in order to be at the top of their game. And several sports as well. There have been comments about "it's just a piece of clothing/ just a letter." This coming from from a fan base who salivates at the thought of our team winning a trophy that would maybe cost a couple of thousand to reproduce. What if I went into FOI and said "It's just a hunk of metal- what's the big deal."
Also, you would do anything to make the kid happy? Let him drive a car down the freeway, even if he couldn't possibly qualify for a driver's license? As long as it makes him happy, right?
The right thing would have been for the mom to approach the school and explain the situation. Then let the school and/or the varsity students decide if there should be an exception made.
What I find funny is when we were talking about a teacher who got suspended for giving failing grades (and zeros)- everybody was up in arms about how we shouldn't be giving students a free pass. Now we are saying that this student should.
The school appears to have put the student into a basketball program with other kids at his level, which is great. His mom taking that extra step on her own was wrong.
C'mon Ken, you are taking a varsity jacket way too seriously. This is a terrible analogy and you know it.
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I hate how in our society everyone is a precious snow flake.
You know something, I have known a lot of tough men in my time and they all share one thing in common, a desire to ensure the weakest/most vulnerable of society were protected and cared for properly.
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