Three Cheers for the High Silver Award at Competition
This past weekend we took 51 groups and solos to competition. The first night, four of our junior groups received a High Silver designation.
The kids were disappointed and so were the parents. To tell you the truth, I was disappointed, too. My daughter was in one of those groups and as her mom I thought she did a great job. She’s my kid and she’s an amazing young lady.
But the judges weren’t judging the kids based on what WE know of them (their work ethic, cheerfulness, obstacles they’ve overcome, dedication, or passion for dance).
They judges were comparing them to what they know as the universal standards of dance…pointed toes, pulled up knees, finished lines, strong arms, core control, execution, and artistry (just to name a few:)
And, in this case, my kids fell short.
So, I put aside my feelings as a mom and put on my “teacher hat”. Because as a teacher, I KNOW that that getting a High Silver is EXACTLY what the kids needed in order to take their dancing to the next level. You see, we can tell them all week and every week to point their toes, finish their lines, do their core work, etc., but, it becomes white noise to them, just part of what they hear in the classroom.
Getting a High Silver, motivated my juniors to WORK, to persevere and to improve. The next day the junior kids earned a GOLD and a PLATINUM!
And the lesson wasn’t lost on the seniors either. When they saw our first groups of the day come away with High Silver Awards, they, too, stepped up their game. And, I’m happy to say that several came home with Platinum Elites. Would they have earned Platinum Elite anyway? Maybe. Did seeing the first batch of the awards come in as High Silver light a fire in them? Definitely!
I’m grateful the competition didn’t “give away Platinums”. My kids had to EARN every Platinum they got last weekend, which is pretty much like the real world they will enter into after graduation. After all, there will be no prizes for 12th place in the office sales contest. Our kids don’t need a prize for sub-par performance either.
Silver still matters.
The competition we attended is called Eclipse, is one of our Preferred Vendors. You can check it out here.