Obviously not all Newton parents act this way but really is anyone surprised?
Read the city’s email to parents here.
Stephanie Foner, a spokeswoman for Mayor Setti Warren’s office, was not aware of any parents declining a certificate at Tuesday’s event because of the accusations.
Too many rules for what used to be a fun event. Why does this have to be a “competition” rather than a collaborative, community and family celebration of art?
Mike,
I like your suggestion! Kids do it for the fun and not for a “prize.”
We have seen this at elementary school projects. I make my kids do the project (build a 3D building that you were assigned), only to come in with kids who have these amazing projects that were parent lead and executed. I always told my kids to be proud of the project that they made because they did that grade level work. And that teachers know what looks grade appropriate and what looks like a parent took over the whole project (and let the kid help).
There’s certainly nothing wrong with competition. That being said, I saw firsthand parents cheating on this. From my vantage point, it was clear that they knew what they were doing was wrong.
Our family never participated in this, although I always enjoy seeing the artworks on our village shops but I never knew it was a contest. Has it always been? At best, I figured it was like soccer when my son was in elementary school where kids get a trophy even if their foot never made contact with a ball all season.
I agree with Mike – let this be a fun event rather than a contest. Then if parents want to be helpful to their kids (not pushy, but answer questions or hand them a brush), no big deal. In addition, that would make this fun activity more accessible to kids with special needs, who may need a parent closer than 5 feet.
After this situation, I have a feeling it won’t be a competition next year! While I can see why some are saying that there shouldn’t be a competition, I side more with Tom. The real issue wasn’t the competition; it was the parents. If the competition brought out bad behavior, it’s still not the competition’s “fault.” Had there been no problems, I don’t think many would question whether it was a competition or just for fun. Stuff like this makes all of us look bad. I only buzzed through some of the comments on the article. I thought there’d be more Newton-bashing. Seems to be focused on parenting in general.
One of the highlights of Halloween. I enjoy seeing the children while they are painting and passing by all of the windows later. I particularly like the ones obviously painted by children.
Mgwa, kids with special needs deserve, and may receive, special accommodations. This issue concerns parents painting their children’s pictures, not handing them brushes and answering questions.
I agree that even bringing up competition obscures the actual point – some parents are breaking the rules.
There seem to be a growing number of parents, people, who think rules don’t apply to them and act accordingly. (Everywhere) My question is why are they allowed to get away with it – with just a suggestion? This inaction only justifies the thinking that rules only apply to others.
The rules clearly state these drawings will be disqualified. Disqualify them. Create a teaching moment. Perhaps it won’t be such a problem next year if rules are rules and not mere suggestions.
As an aside, while I like competition in many things (lots of things) and didn’t know this was a contest, I am not sure these young artists’ paintings need to be evaluated that way. “Art is in the eye of the beholder.” – I think I heard that somewhere. I feel the same way about young children’s Halloween costume contests.
One of the most awkward situations to deal with as a teacher is when a student brings in a homework assignments that the parent completes the assignment or has given “too much” assistance. A conversation with the parent providing explicit guidelines usually helps (“if the pencil is in your hand, you’re giving too much help”).
This happened, it’s unfortunate. A word to the wise parent for next year. A simple solution is to refrain from rewarding the parent who overstepped his/her bounds. The windows look great and most people let their kids have their moment in the sun.
I’m guessing those parents who do the kids’ homework don’t volunteer that information. Likewise, unless you hire some window painting police, how does one know if a parent overstepped or not?
Seems to me the “simple solution” would be to stop making this a competition. What’s wrong with “art for art’s sake”?
Imagine the message it would send to our kids if we cancelled/changed this fun contest because a small percentage of parents can’t help but cheat…
@Tom: Did you ever participate when you were a kid?
I’d like to hear from anyone who has, or have had their kids do so.
Was the contest element of the event important to you or them? Or was it just about having fun painting a scary photo on a window that everyone can view?
It’s already been changed from something that was purely fun, to something that’s clearly contentious. Why not change it back? Why not let ALL the kids feel good about what they create? Why not let their parents participate and decide for themselves how much help their kid needs? I don’t understand this apparent societal desire to turn fun experiences for children into competitions. Especially art, which is meant to be creative, not competitive.
@Greg: Poor/disenfranchised kids don’t typically participate in these types of things. I don’t recall being introduced to a single city sponsored event growing up in the 90s, and my mom surely wasn’t aware of any such opportunities.
That being said, some of my athletes have participated in this contest. And guess what – despite not winning, they have had a fantastic experience.
Do you agree that cancelling a competition designed for children because of irresponsible parents would send a bad message?
@Mike: By saying that we need eliminate competition to ensure that all feel good about their work assumes that by not winning one feels bad about his or her work. I’ve coached a lot of kids, including more state championships than any other coach my age, and I’ve never once found this assumption to be true.
@Tom– Have you ever coached an art team? Because art is not a competitive sport. The way this “contest” used to work was fine by me. Mayor Cohen would wander through the villages with a fistful of blue stars or ribbons, and place one on any artwork he felt was exceptional. It wasn’t a true “competition,” just subjective rewards handed out liberally by the Mayor. Everyone left feeling good about themselves. And I think that should be the objective.
Greg-
When presented with evidence, as they were with this event or doing HW or projects for their kids, parents most often ‘fess up and feel quite chagrined about their behavior. I’ve seen too much of this to think it comes from a totally bad place. Parents make a lot of mistakes in raising their kids (at least I did) and overdoing the public shaming doesn’t help.
@Mike: Wouldn’t it be reasonable for a kid to feel much worse over not getting a liberally/arbitrarily handed out blue star/ribbon from the Mayor than she or he would feel by not winning an art competition?
As I teach my athletes: it’s the process that matters, not necessarily the outcome.
Tom, like you, I have lots of experience coaching youth sports. The objectives there are different. There are winners. There are losers. And good coaches [like you] teach your athletes good sportsmanship, win or lose. It’s all part of the game.
Art is different. It’s a creative process, not a competitive one. So trying to make a competition out of art is like fitting a square peg in a round hole. I think we need to draw a distinction between a “competition” and a “contest.” The window painting always fell into that latter category. Non-competitive, less emphasis on rules, lots of winners, and everyone had fun.
When they were young [where does the time go?] all three of my children participated in the window painting. One year my middle child actually got a ribbon from Mayor Cohen. But ribbon or no ribbon, all my kids had fun designing and creating their window every year. There were no winners and losers. The blue ribbons were simply a form of recognition. A pat on the back. And that’s the way it should be when encouraging children to create art.
I just took a look at the rules (http://www.newtoncommunitypride.org/HalloweenRules.html) and I don’t think anything has changed – it’s always been the “Halloween Window Painting Contest”, there have always been prizes, and the rules look exactly the same to me as they did 8-10 years ago. And it’s not the first time I’ve heard grumbling about overly involved parents – remember, when your kid is painting, you’re stuck sitting there watching for hours, so you see some stuff. But in my experience, the “helping” that really gets grumbled about is not a parent helping a very young kid or a kid with special needs, etc. It’s the ones who are clearly way more invested in the outcome than their child, and who essentially take over the work. As to whether kids care about the contest/prize aspect – some do very much, others not at all. For kids for whom art is their thing, it’s an opportunity for success and recognition, something to feel proud of – like many other kids get with grades or sports. But at the end of the day, I think it is a contest to the kids. Unfortunately, for some parents, it’s a competition.
The project seems mostly successful as a contest. It may even encourage more kids to participate. After checking with a few youngish kids, I learned most think it is fun and they like that it’s a contest. In school, they are used to having artwork selected to hang up in special places and don’t see this as any different. So now that I have been admonished, I think the contest is fine. I guess it’s another way to learn to accept that although someone will win, everyone loses at something sometimes. The point is not to dwell on losses but to move on and try again.
Since “policing” the event would be difficult and the rules are not enforced anyway. Maybe the solution is to keep the contest but make rule #7 a suggestion or ease the consequence to something other than disqualification. Some parents, regardless of where they live or what the contest rules say will help/takeover their kid’s projects.
Except when kids are very young, I am not a supporter of every participant wins a trophy; I am equally not a supporter of the mayor or anyone else just walking by and randomly selecting some to get stars or ribbons. That is neither a contest nor a “just for fun” activity.
Regardless of whether its a competition or not…..parental intervention and overreach is the issue. Yes, my newtonian must win everything….just like i have. Masters of the universe unite.
Hey, over-reaching newton parents…your time has come and gone: you had your chance……let your kids ride the wave on their own.
BTW, if i’m ever caught painting my precious child’s Halloween picture….please kill me on the spot.
@Mike: Although I appreciate and see your points, I don’t understand why an art contest can’t be competitive. Some will set the goal to win, others will set the goal to participate and have fun. As with sports, everyone brings a different perspective to the table and everyone gets something different out of the experience. The bottom line here, I suppose, is that we shouldn’t let a few bad apples ruin such a great event.
Agree with Tom.
@Greg. My elementary kid has participated in the window painting 3 years in a row. A very big part of it is the anticipation of the window assignment. The kids also comment and question why some businesses don’t participate. And while this is a “competition”, the committee is generous with the awards. They give out awards for the top 3 plus most comical; and in some categories they had 2 and 3 way ties. Thats across the grades and across the Villages. To put it in concrete visual terms, there were over 100 chairs in the the War Memorial room and everyone of them was filled plus another 50 or so standing in the back and sides. I think it will be tough to keep this as a competition long term as it’s gotten so large. I personally do not care about the award itself but I do appreciate that my kid gets a sense of the amount of work it takes for “someone else” to organize this event and to recognize the people for their work.
I love looking at the artwork the kids paint on the storefront windows especially when we see work created by kids that my kids know. I really find the competition portion unnecessary. I would rather the kids enjoy the process than there be any focus on awards. I wish the paintings would stay up longer. It would be nice if there was a time to view the paintings with the painters present where people could recognize them for their nice work.
@Tom– I don’t think most kids want to compete in art. They just want to paint and be creative. Why must everything be a competition? Many people are under the mistaken impression that education should be a competitive sport. That mindset has given us underperforming schools, and stressed out kids. Learning how to play, discover, and work together in a cooperative way is a far superior way for kids to learn. So when I see competition dribble down into a children’s window painting event, it kind of makes me cringe.
@Mike: why do you think most kids don’t want the opportunity to participate in an art contest? Of the kids I know who’ve participated in this thing, all enjoy the fact that it’s a contest. I’m not saying you’re wrong on this, I’m just curious as to how you form such a blanket opinion.
Purely through observation, Tom. And through the experience of being a parent. Children are naturally competitive at some things. Sibling rivalry for example. And I think there’s some great lessons to be learned through sports. But for the most part, I think we overemphasize competition as part of the learning process. I’m of the belief that sometimes kids should be allowed to have fun and just be kids, without adults turning everything into a competition. Just my opinion though.