A for Average

Have you ever noticed that the people who receive recognition in our society are A. those who totally mess up and then turn themselves around or B. those who are ranked in the top 1% of whatever it is they excel.

I would like to say (for the record) that our society needs to start recognizing the Average Joe's and Jane's.

Let me give you a scenario. The names have been changed. Jack and Jill are brother and sister. Jack makes good grades, stays away from drugs, pays his own way through college and lives his life according to society's rules.

Jill drops out of high school, gets pregnant, gets involved with drugs, decides to be a lesbian for a while, gives up the rights to her two children, then finally pulls herself together.

The mother of these two would go on and on about how hard Jill had worked. She'd had a tough life and now had pulled it together. Jack is just expected to do the right thing without any recognition. Because he always has.

I see this a lot in schools too. Attention is showered upon the Gifted and Talented. Prizes are given out for perfect report cards. Awards are bestowed upon the best in Science or Math. Even the slackers or the kids with real learning disabilities have special classes to in order to make sure they keep up and graduate. In one of our schools if these kids raised their grade one level they received a prize.

But, what about the Average Student? The one who studies and works hard to get A's and B's? The kid who never raises his grade a level because he never lets it fall in the first place. The kids who don't demand lots of attention but come to class and behave themselves? Why don't schools make a little more effort to recognize the bulk of their student body?

Well, here's to you, Average American, Joe Sixpack (Winking!! Gads, that was irritating just typing it!!) I raise my average coffee/beer to you (think store brand, Miller Lite) and I salute you. Keep doing the right thing. Our society couldn't function without you.