• Home
  • Start Here
  • Member Login
  • Contact Us

Healthgist

Honest Health Talk for the Busy Woman

  • Body Health
  • Mind Health
  • Family Health
  • Enjoy Health
  • Health Chats
You are here: Home / Library / A / Do Americans Go Overboard With Celebrations?

Do Americans Go Overboard With Celebrations?

June 28, 2016 By Dr. Carol 13 Comments

Beverly & Pack via Flickr

Beverly & Pack via Flickr

Recently, we hosted a young foreign exchange student for the last week of her 2 month stay in the states at our home.

Since it was near the end of her US experience I asked her what she thought was the biggest difference in her education back in her homeland compared to here.

Anticipating predictable answers like “ the curriculum is easier here”, or “the school day is shorter”, I was stunned to hear her insightful and sincere answer instead.

She stated matter of factly, “American schools celebrate too much.” Not quite understanding what she meant at first, thinking she was referring to all the school holidays, I asked, did she mean the recent back to back Monday president’s holidays?

She said that was weird too- that we had a Presidents’ Day anyways, so why was there a separate Lincoln’s Day off? To which I gave the somewhat dubious and American answer – “well, Lincoln is very important and special, so he gets a separate day too.”

She then proceeded to elaborate that  she had actually meant that during her short visit her class “celebrated” several seemingly small things – cookies and milk one day for finishing a class book, donuts on a fellow classmates birthday.

A mother brought in happy meals for one group of students who completed a project together, there’s the school dance for a reason she did not understand and the special treat of getting candy or a chance to pick out a toy from the treasure box for good behavior.

In her young way she was informing me that at least in my kids’ school there was an overemphasis on rewarding with food, treats and time off for seemingly minor things.

The actually intrinsic reward of learning a new fact or skill should have been stressed and emphasized instead. We go for pizza after every swim meet or ball game- “Really? She says, she is used to attending school 8 hours a day and then go for music and language lessons afterwards.”

She used to think this was hard, but now she says she appreciates it more since she sees that her US friends don’t get as much teaching and don’t seem to learn as much academics.

This was an eye opener for me and made me re-evaluate what I emphasize more as well with my students at church and in my home with my kids.

I have always thought I leaned more towards being a tiger mom, but in reality, I do see so much lost time and wasted opportunity. The younger years should be filled with learning and fun, but it seems we left at least one foreign student with the impression that we play and celebrate much too much.

Is the observation that Americans go overboard with celebrations a fair assessment? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Opt In Image
Don't Miss Another Healthgist Update!

Get 2 FREE reports when you sign up for Healthgist;

10 Health Issues Every Woman Over 30 Will Confront

5 Health Questions Only Your Mother Can Answer For You

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • More
  • Email
  • Print

Related

Filed Under: A, C, Enjoy Health, H, Health Chats, Library, Mind Health Tagged With: Americans, candy, healthy foods, healthy lifestyle, Holidays

Dr. Carol

About Dr. Carol

Dr. Carol- doctor, wife, mom and maker PB&J!
One of my passions is to help people Embrace change, Try new things and be BOLD for a healthier and balanced life!

Comments

  1. Jessica Peeling says

    July 4, 2014 at 9:34 AM

    Very interesting read. I guess we do celebrate things a bit too much, but I always looked forward to those days. I do think we do not stress the importance of the academics as much as we should, and that many Americans are falling behind other countries in certain areas of expertise.

    Reply
    • Dr. BolaDr. Bola says

      July 4, 2014 at 3:55 PM

      Jessica, I completely agree with your assessment. We really have to step up our game as the whole world is catching up or even overtaking us.

      Reply
  2. tara pittman says

    July 4, 2014 at 11:44 AM

    Very interesting. I think we should show kids to have fun with learning. We dont want to over stress our kids.

    Reply
  3. Paula Parker says

    July 4, 2014 at 12:02 PM

    Every day should be a party! So nope! I went to a parade today! Yay!!!!

    Reply
  4. C. L. says

    July 4, 2014 at 1:53 PM

    I think she is very right. Wise for her age.

    Reply
  5. LeanCleanMama says

    July 4, 2014 at 8:02 PM

    You can never celebrate too much!

    Reply
  6. Mary Ann says

    July 4, 2014 at 9:58 PM

    Maybe we over celebrate sometimes. But maybe that is just your school. It sounds a bit excessive and I know it’s not like that where I am. But, even so, I don’t think you have to be super serious about life all the time. I think it’s ok to enjoy little moments and to have fun. It is a balance.

    Reply
  7. Karen says

    July 5, 2014 at 10:36 AM

    Can it be simply coincidence that as our schools celebrate every trivial event with food treats (Friday? Pizza day! Finish a project? Candies all round! Play a game of soccer? Let’s eat pizza!), our childhood obesity rates are soaring?

    Reply
    • Dr. BolaDr. Bola says

      July 5, 2014 at 12:11 PM

      Karen, you assessment is spot on! Anything and everything is an excuse to throw a party these days.

      Reply
  8. Lynne says

    July 6, 2014 at 11:51 AM

    An astute observation. I think she may be correct. It seems we too freely reward what should be expected behavior, thus making true celebrations a little less important.

    Reply
    • Dr. BolaDr. Bola says

      July 6, 2014 at 12:57 PM

      It sometimes takes an outside observer to call us out. Thanks Lynne.

      Reply
  9. Jen says

    July 6, 2014 at 8:20 PM

    Like all things in life, there should always be a balance. We may celebrate too much, but I think setting goals and then achieving them is always a good thing!

    Reply
    • Dr. BolaDr. Bola says

      July 8, 2014 at 10:07 AM

      Moderation and balance is certainly the way to go.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Health Tips from A to Z

 

University link

Toolkit link

Toolkit link

Still standing on the sidelines? Join the Healthgist gals and get our ridiculously helpful emails while at it.

Subscribe

About Us

Invite a Friend

Contact Us

Privacy Policy

Editorial policy

Terms & Conditions

Advertise

Follow Us:

      
  • As Seen in:
  • refinery29
  • dailyworth
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.