Another great post from Walt Mueller‘s Blog from CPYU…
So my nephew – who was a pretty decent football player himself a few years ago – texted me this morning. “Google new canaan football team burns trophies.” My nephew lives in Connecticut near New Canaan, which is how he caught wind of this crazy little story that’s a sign of the times.
Here’s the story. . . . It seems that the New Canaan Black 8th grade football team made the playoffs. They reached the semi-finals but lost. That left them in third place. A few weeks after season’s end, the team had a little party at one player’s home. The players’ parents decided to celebrate the team’s season and success by presenting their boys with trophies. . . third place trophies. The coaches then gathered the boys up and took them and their trophies to a local park, where the coaches then proceeded to have the boys burn the trophies. All three coaches lost their jobs after the incident went public. One coach apologized, saying the message they intended to send was positive one. Residents of the town are concerned that the message that was sent was all wrong – that not finishing first is the same as failure.
As I think about this story, there are a couple of things to ponder here. As a parent of kids who were athletes and as someone who coached for years, I value a positive athletic experience. Athletics is about learning, putting forth an effort, cooperation, and having fun. I never believed that “winning is the only thing.” I know there are coaches that scream, yell, and coach for nobody but themselves. Not good.
On the other hand, we live in a world where kids are coddled, hovered over, and buffered from consequences by parents who are far too child-centered. Everybody needs to get a trophy, a pat on the back, and a “you’re awesome!” even when the effort is mediocre or sub-par. Not good as well.
So, while I don’t fault the parents in this story (I don’t really know. . . I wasn’t there nor do I know the families), it does serve as a reminder that 1)we’ve placed too high a premium on winning, and 2) we coddle our kids way too much. Both are threads running through the fabric of today’s youth culture. In this story the threads cross. . . and look what happened.
What do you think?
by First Electric Newspaper LLC
The Algonquin Village Board Tuesday gave initial approval to a new ordinance banning sale, possession or use of synthetic marijuana within the village. When formally approved it would make Algonquin the first community in McHenry and northern Kane counties to ban “incense” treated with lab versions of cannabinoids, stimulants or hallucinogens that are legal in the sense that the Drug Enforcement Agency hasn’t had time to outlaw them yet.
“Our officers talked to some of the kids,” said Chief Russ Laine. “They say they have it because it’s legal, it’s easy to get and you can’t fail a (drug) test for it.”
Activists complained to the Board earlier this month that synthetic marijuana was a danger to local youth but readily available in local head and tobacco shops. Laine agreed the stuff was dangerous. “The results…you don’t know what the results will be. Just in Algonquin we’ve had hallucinations, convulsions, aggressive behavior.”
The proposed ordinance is based on one drafted by Aurora and the North Central Narcotics Task Force to combat the problem there. It bans sale, possession or use of 16 cannabinoid compounds, 17 stimulants plus 4 different ways to turn them into something else that still works and 8 psychedelics “including salts, isomers, esters and ethers of salts of isomers”. Laine said the Aurora ordinance passed only a couple of months ago so it still hasn’t encountered a legal challenge yet.
Member Bob Smith had problems with an absence of what lawyers call criminal intent. “Does this mean someone could be pulled over having a legal product they bought legally (elsewhere) and arrested here?” he asked. Yes, answered Village attorney Kelly Cahill because, “It’s not a criminal ordinance, it’s a civil act,” she said. “It’s the only way we can handle it.”
The only question still unresolved is the penalty. The draft called for a $750 fine but President John Schmitt thought it ought to be more. “Maybe if it was $2,000 the parents would get involved and it would get some attention,” he said. If there’s a whopping fine, “I’ll take the blame, and I know there’ll be some, if I have to,” he said.
Another ordinance change given first approval Tuesday would tighten up a village ban on drug paraphernalia. Laine said, essentially, it doesn’t outlaw having “bongs and hookahs and pipes”, just ones with evidence they’ve ever been used.
I saw this on Walt Mueller‘s Blog from CPYU…
You can read his reader’s responses here
Greggornation 