No Child Goes Ahead

Can you believe that a school district cancelled the spelling bee because they think it's contrary to the No Child Left Behind Act?

According to the school district, a "spelling bee doesn’t meet the criteria of all children reaching high standards -- because there can only be one winner, leaving all other students behind." Also, a spelling bee is about "some kids being winners, some kids being losers."

Overly literal reading of the name of the Act maybe? So, what does that mean? No kid can get 100 on a test, even if they earn it, because it leaves other kids behind? There's no such thing as a winner or loser if you're a kid?

That's one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard. Is this "everyone's a winner" thing really good for kids? They're just going to fall hard on their ass in the real world when they realize not everyone's a winner. Positive self-esteem is an admirable goal, but making everyone a winner and trying to make everyone think they're equal in every respect is just unrealistic. How does this actually help socialization if you can't deal with losing and not being the best at every single thing you do? That's just a fact of life. I can't imagine that eliminating something like this actually makes the children in the school district better off as a whole. Mind-boggling.