It was awards day at my son's elementary school the other day. This is a phenomenon that didn't happen during my days at John Henry Neff elementary in Pennsylvania decades ago. Now, I've attended several. The teachers invite the parents in, first thing in the morning, on the penultimate day of the year, and hands out folders outlining little Johnny's achievements for the year. Some are actual academic achievements, like reaching his accelerated reading goal each quarter. But there are also individual achievement awards, individual to each child. Maybe Sue had the best style sense, and Margaret was the best speller. Johnny himself was most likely to be
