There's a video on CNN.com today about a high school that is abolishing the honor roll because it causes too much stress for students. Put simply, I think that's BS.

I remember high school. I always made pretty good grades, and part of the reason for that was that I liked be rewarded for my efforts. There were other reasons, too (internal motivation, my dad killing me if I didn't, etc), but recognition did play a role. I knew that if I went to school, turned in an assignment that wasn't up to par, I'd hear about it - from my teachers, friends, and parents. Sure, I was stressed in high school. But when has stress become such a bad thing??

In the last 5-10 years, kids have become coddled to the point that it makes me want to puke. Teachers can't use red pens because it's damaging to kids' self-esteem. Huh? Sports teams can't hold try-outs because it's not fair that some kids aren't good enough to make the team. Oookay. Sure, seeing your mistakes and realizing that you're not the best can be stressful, but that's what life is all about. If kids go through life without learning about these things, they're going to be in for a fun time when they're adults. Can you imagine an employer just hiring everyone so they didn't hurt anyone's feelings? Unfortunately that's not the way things work in the real world.

I think schools have an obligation to prepare students for life after high school. Any way you look at it, stress is part of the real world. We are not doing kids a favor by protecting them and not teaching them how to deal with these things. Life's tough - and they should be prepared. Abolishing stress from their lives is NOT they way to do it.