... I don't really even know where to begin.
Let me first warn you that this is as explicit a post as you will find on my blog. There... you've been warned.
Today was the State Children's Quiz. My beautiful daughter scored a perfect day. She was not, however, recognized for this accomplishment, because apparently (and I missed this, but Phil saw it) she pulled one of her answers "too late". Uh... can we define "too late" for children's quizzing?
From Phil's description, the question was read and Grace appeared to hesitate and then appeared to have trouble getting her number out of the box. She pulled the correct number just BEFORE the correct answer was given.
You would think that if the scorekeeper was going to subjectively count her CORRECT answer as INCORRECT, he could have at least told her at the end of the round. No such communication occurred.
So, after round 2 we sent up huge rounds of praise and applause for her perfect day, and Grace smiled from ear to ear while eating cookies and brownies...
Fast forward to award ceremony...
Red level... they call all of the bronze level quizzers... and then they call all of the silver level quizzers... and then they call all of the gold level quizzers of whom Grace is a part. The they announce that they will be calling all of the kids with perfect rounds, of whom Grace is a part again. She exits the stage with a trophy and a gold ribbon. At this point, I assume we are going to commence with the blue level quizzers, but the announcer says that they are now going to call all of the kids who scored two perfect rounds, and I tell Grace to get ready, because they are going to call her name again, and Phil starts the video camera.
Except they don't call her name. They call five other kids and there seems to be a bit of confusion in the room. So, the announcer says, "Oh wait... there's a whole 'nother list", and we all calm down a bit. And then they call the next list, and her name STILL isn't on it. So, of course, I walk up to the awards table and say, "Uh... excuse me... my daughter had two perfect rounds, but she was called in the last group"... and the guy handing out awards explains that she can change in her gold ribbon for a purple one, and I go retrieve the gold ribbon. And then I am met by our district quiz director (who I also presume is the state quiz director at this point) and she asks if I am referring to Grace, which... of course... I am. She then informs me that one of her answers was counted incorrect, because she pulled it after all of the other children. I am pretty sure at this time I rolled my eyes, but I just said nothing (I think) and walked away.
If you are not familiar with children's quizzing, you cannot really understand this, but all of the kids pull their answers within a couple of seconds of one another. Somebody is going to pull their answer last, and I have NEVER heard of anyone being penalized for this. If they are going to institute a rule that says answers must be pulled within 2 seconds... or 3 seconds... or whatever, that is perfectly fine with me as long as they use a timer and mark incorrect EVERY child's answer that is not pulled within the specified amount of time. There is currently no such rule. Further... what this insinuates is that Grace was marked wrong because she was cheating... as if she looked around the room at the other children's answers and then picked hers based on what she saw. This was NOT the case and NEVER will be the case with my daughter. SHE DOES NOT CHEAT! In fact, Grace prefers to sit in the front row when quizzing, because she does not want to have the opportunity to see other children's answers.
Many of these kids have studied the question book all year long. I have even conversed with coaches who have instructed their children to always pull the number for "Moses" if it is a choice or to always pull the number for "God" if it is a choice, because they will be correct. I guess that's a nice trick, but do the kids really understand the Scripture? Grace has read the ENTIRE book of Exodus (not just the parts they quiz over) multiple times, on a regular basis, usually weekly, throughout the year. Even if it wasn't a character issue (which it is, and she has a lot of character), she has studied the Scriptures of Exodus in their entirety and has no need to cheat. Thank you very much.
So... I went back to Grace with the gold ribbon and told her that they had marked the question incorrect that she had trouble pulling. And she just burst into tears and said, "That's not fair, Mom!" And you know what, it wasn't. And I told her so.
We packed up the kids and walked out during the remainder of the awards ceremony.
And as soon as I exited the sanctuary, the only words that I could get to come out of my mouth (in front of my kids, mind you) were, "That really pisses me off." And I do not generally use the word "piss". And I am not real proud that I used it today. And I am certainly not proud that I used it in front of my kids. But, heck, that's really the only way to describe how I felt at the moment.
Let me just also mention that I am not going to buy the line, "This day is about the kids, not about us". Just try to tell that to my SEVEN YEAR OLD who studied her little heart out and pulled a PERFECT day but couldn't bring her "all star" ribbon home, because it had to go back into storage for another year... Nobody else at that quiz today is ever going to think twice about this again, but Grace will remember it every time she looks at that gold ribbon that does not proclaim her actual accomplishment. That's NOT about the kids. And furthermore, it's NOT about what they have learned about the Scriptures, and it's NOT a very good impression of the Church. It is a power trip. And that is why I am not... (fill in the blank if you know how... if you don't, that's OK).
In the end, it's not all that unique of a situation. Because of a score miscalculation, I graciously relinquished my scholarship for being the district top quizzer in 1997. I stood on the sidelines while the incorrect top quizzer was announced. I allowed the other guy to keep the scholarship AND the trophy even though my score was better. The district made me a replicate trophy. And then, I have a trophy in my case proclaiming me the 1998 District Top Quizzer, because I was, but the trophy didn't come from the district. It was custom made after the fact. I understand what it feels like to accomplish something great but not be recognized for it. And just as soon as I have the chance I'll be lookin' into ordering a purple ribbon...
Grace Anne... your Daddy said it best today. We're proud of you, because you lived up to your name... your first name (better than I ever did) and your last name, too...
We don't go down easy... and we don't go down quietly. Orlando? Bring it on...
Lisa
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