ÜberJoy

X mark

My baby (4 year old) got his first red X mark on a worksheet he brought home from preschool. I had two overwhelming thoughts that came over me when I was looking through his work. The first, "there must be a grading mistake by his teacher" and secondly, how insensitive to start correcting him, he will be devastated! Go figure, my boy did make those mistakes and there was a right answer to each question that he didn't do correctly. Was he devastated? No, to be honest, I don't think he still gets how he was suppose to answer the question correctly.
This should not be a big deal but I always have to try to make things to be a bigger deal :). What I mean is, this is where it begins... not just in school but future participation in sports and ultimately life.
I read something recently that our society is enabling kids to be "winners" in all situations. Don't single out the kid that actually won the race, in only rewarding him, the others will feel bad about themselves. Hand out a trophy to everybody! If we don't, it might lower the others' self esteem, etc. (I'm curious what it does to the actual winner, mentally.)
I have contemplated this article that I read since the dreadful X mark. I want Marschall to always feel good about himself and the work he strives in. I mean he tried real hard, shouldn't that count? I do believe it does, to some degree.
Clearly, in my own teen and adult life I faced and continue to face, a myriad of circumstances in which I was not the winner. Others have been singled out for something they did better than me. I believe that in itself has been a motivator for me, at times. If I continue to instill in Marschall that he is good at everything how will he know his true gifts? Obviously, I will encourage him in all that he does, how can I not? Secretly, I think he is good at everything! But sometimes our mistakes/inabilities help us for future obstacles. I want to prepare him for that even starting at the age of 4. Hopefully, the next time he brings home his worksheet he will have a check mark showing that he colored the pictures that match! If so, he will know that he has truly mastered matching concepts!