Science Fair Rant

[RoughCollie]

My kids participated in a science fair. We went to see the exhibits tonight.

 

#4 winner's question was whether boys or girls remember thing better (girls won). #4 gave a list of 40 words to a group of 2 boys and 14 girls, all of whom were 12 or 13 years old. They read the words and 10 minutes later had to write down the ones they remembered. DD was one of the girls. She left halfway through writing down the words she remembered, and finished up a half hour later, so her response was not valid, IMO. Not that anyone caught that.

 

Isn't that a statistically insignificant sample size? That being the case, how could #4's project be a winner?

 

#3 was about which liquids were flammable, including brandy and water. Come on! Nothing new was learned from that. The results were within the general knowledge of any halfway educated person, literally.

 

#2 was about electrical usage in the home and how to use less of it -- it was a great project and deserved to win.

 

#1 was about which of several types of soap cleaned hands of e. coli bacteria the best. There were no hands involved. Swabs were taken from a dance school's barre and something was grown in petri dishes, which was afterwards "treated" with the various soaps and allowed to continue growing. No microscope was used, so the girl did not know whether what grew was e. coli or not. No incubator was used, not that I know if that matters -- #1's petri dishes were "incubated" on top of her fridge.

 

This irks me so much. My own DD did a huge microbiology experiments testing 5 different typical kitchen counter surfaces, 4 cleaning methods, using purchased e. coli and a homemade incubator. DD's project was so intricate compared to that of the #1 winner, so why didn't DD win instead?? Everything was controlled as much as possible, including the temp in the incubator. We didn't use a hospital lab's incubator because DD could learn more from having to make her own.

 

I asked and the students were graded on their project overall (DD's passed muster with 3 scientists -- all doctoral level, a microbiologist and 2 M.D.s ). her report was professionally done and bound and looked really great. It was a wonderful report, too. her interview with the judges went very well, too.

 

The judges were from Raytheon and were an engineer and 2 scientists (what kind, I don't know).

 

It just irks me to no end that DD did so much work -- visted a microbiology lab, consulted professionals, purchased the materials such as e. coli and luria broth and so forth, figured out how to make a homemade incubator, and researched dozens of articles and websites (FDA, CDC, Fight BAC!, USDA and other worthy resources), found out about safety in a microbiology lab and applied all the rules so we wouldn't have her non-pathogenic e.coli all over the house, and so forth. She even found out how many billions ($22 billion) foodborne illnesses cost to medically treat each year in the U.S., how many deaths occur as a result of these illnesses (9000 a year), which diseases are caused by pathogenic e.coli, how food is cross-contaminated in the home kitchen, and so forth.

 

her display board was a masterpiece, a wealth of information and lots of pictures were on there, and it was done in the usual science fair style.

 

Yet she did not win a thing.

 

Also, the judges decided who would get 4th place vs. 3rd place based on which project title they liked the best. True story, from the horse's mouth -- the principal.

 

DD's title was a good one. Cleanliness in the Kitchen - What You See Is Not What You Get!

 

Two more of my kids participated and one did not deserve to win (bloodstain pattern analysis at crime scenes) and the other certainly did a lot of work and a great job (how park factors affect stats of the 30 MLB teams) but the judges didn't understand it and virtually no one cares about it.

 

DD's project, on the other hand, was timely and the results were ostensibly important to all who work in home kitchens.

 

Sorry, my h's won't type if they are capitalized, and my colons don't work at all on my keyboard. No idea why.

 

What do you all think? Am I being a sore-loser on behalf of my DD? Tell me the truth. If I am being a horse's behind about all this, let me know.

[RoughCollie]

Bumped hoping for responses.

[kat19]

But this is the reason my kids don't do our educational fair here.

One year every kids got something, but I was so disappointed in the what my kids got compared to what all the other kids got. Most kids got 4-5 things, my kids got 2~my kids got ripped off..

What do you do though....

 

We still go and look at what everyone did, but we just don't make a project..

 

I just didn't think it was fair at all..

 

Sorry I'm no help at all, but I know what you mean.

[Krista in LA]

My dd got 1st place in the homeschool fair and went on to get 2nd in the regional fair with all of the other school kids. We learned a lot thanks to the wonderful man from the community college that runs it. Some key things he told us was that it has to be something you can measure. If you can't measure it, it isn't a good project. Everything must be documented. Originality is good. You must use the scientific process. All work should be neat and thorough, but it must be that of the child (which really made me laugh when we saw some of the school kids' projects at the regional fair). The interview seemed to be very important which is part of the reason why I think my child did well. During the interview, they really can see how involved the child was, how much she learned, and how well she thinks scientifically. Understanding the project and what each step meant is very important. Being able to answer questions about what went wrong or could have gone wrong is crucial as it helps to demonstrate their understanding of each step.

 

That being said, it sounds like ya'll had a great project. It certainly sounds more thorough than the others. I'm sorry it didn't turn out better for you.

[lovemyboys]

Wow, what an amazing process your dd did. As a old science major, I'm really impressed. I don't have any wisdom for you, we haven't gone this route, my ds are younger than your dd.

 

If it's any consolation to you, it seems that your dd has obviously learned alot about setting up and conducting an experiment, using a variety of resources, professional consultation, and doing the final presentation. That will take her a lot farther than any award for the catchiest title. And if she's interested, she can store that tidbit away and wow them with amazing scientific method and a shocking title next time around.

 

Sorry the results all around didn't seem to match the efforts. And no you're not being a dope. You're a disappointed mom, or should I say, a proud mom disappointed that the results weren't better? Congratulate the dd for an impressive effort. hth

[RoughCollie]

Well, I am probably the nether region of a horse anyway because I told my opinion about the various projects (the best and the worst) to the science teacher. There were some outstanding projects -- but most fell woefully short of what I expected. You'd think the science teacher would have caught some of the most glaring problems -- like statistically insignificant sample sizes -- but she didn't. I did not point out that shortcoming of hers, but now that I think about it, she sure could have accurately infered it from what I said.

 

The worst part was I told her if she goes home and thinks about it, she'll see that my points are correct. And if she didn't, she could just stick her head in the toilet. Mind you, the last sentence I said jokingly and laughed -- but I'm pretty sure I wasn't kidding.

 

I should have kept my big mouth shut. I warned my husband not to get started on any of this and to keep his mouth shut. he majored in physics undergrad and I just knew he'd analyze those projects to death and start yapping about it to someone.

 

I didn't take my own advice.

 

So I am the official horse's behind of this board.

 

Should I apologize to the science teacher? She did suggest at the end that I tell my concerns to the principal, but I stuck my foot in my mouth there, too. I said, "Why bother, she is only concerned about maintaining the status quo. It won't do any good."

 

I also told her that next year, I won't let my DD participate.

 

Oh, I got a head of steam up, that's for sure. I know why, it's because I thought the situation was unjust. And being 1/2 Irish and 1/2 German, I couldn't let that go by without comment, could I?

 

Oh, I am a fool! I try so hard to be a nice, polite and pleasant person when I am in public, and I go and blow it all in one swell foop.

[Volty]

It's hard to judge if you were treated fairly without seeing your DD's project and that of the other students nor the answers and explainations of the projects or the rules. Also you're the only source we have for what happened.

 

You're in a tough spot because lots of folks who didn't win likely felt they did. The judges are chosing stuff largely based on personal opinion so maybe hidden stuff like smiling and engaging personalities play a part in their deisions. Who knows?

 

Do you feel they had a personal bias against you before or during the judging? Did they explain their selections?

[NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too]

Honestly, I wouldn't be able to keep my mouth shut either (I spend a fair amount of time bitting my tongue). My oldest would be very disappointed and would probably sound off to the nearest person in charge asap. Good or bad, he's all about the "rules."

 

For example, our local homeschool group put on a spelling bee. It was conducted by volunteers with little experience or instruction on how to run it. My oldest made it out of the first round. Then when the second round began he noticed that the person running the second round was conducting it in a slightly different manner. As soon as he noticed this, he raised his hand (he was 10) and pointed out the inconsistancy:eek: - and there was silence and then someone said "let's stop and get some guidance on this." It was settled and my ds was eliminated on the word "obnoxious" ...:p But we decided that a paralegal (at the law firm he would be running) would probably catch his misspellings anyway...

 

He accepted the loss because it was clear to him that it was fair. I think he would have imploded if he were in your daughter's position.

 

kd

[RoughCollie]

If other homeschooling parents had been there, they would have been appalled -- it was a situation, about 50% of the time, of where's the science? This is a *science* fair!

 

The only info I have about the judges' choices is third-hand. The winners had a meeting with the judges and the principal. The girl who won 4th place told my DD that the judges told her that it was hard to choose between #3 and #4 for 3rd place and they decided it based on which title they liked the best.

[Melissa in NC]

Science fairs can be a mine field. I judge one long before I had kids. One parent did not like the choice we made and used her position at my University to obtain my home phone number. It was not pretty.

 

The reason we did not choose her son's project was he could not properly explain why he use a particular equation. He told me he used it because his Dad told him to use it.

 

As a judge, I would have been happy to explain this to the Mom but she was out for blood.

 

I hate science fairs for just this reason. Two years ago, my homeschool group had a science fair and people got their feeling hurt because their kid did not win. It was bitch, bitch, bitch.

 

Where is the science?? Perhaps you can ask the judges what they were looking for? Remember, they are people too and they will not respond kindly to a ranting mom.

[RoughCollie]

My DD followed every rule to the letter, plus some.

 

The only other microbiology experiment won 1st place, otherwise it would not have bothered her that she did not win.

 

It's not just a matter of sour grapes here. It's a matter of the best *science* projects didn't win -- except one of the several projects I thought could have won 1st place came in 2nd.

 

The judges were a bit odd. One judge told DS his project was very CSI (bloodstain pattern analysis at homicide scenes) and asked him if he was copying the t.v. show. DS said he wasn't aware of the show (true - we don't watch network television and hardly ever watch t.v.), and that he chose the project because his parents are criminal defense lawyers and the issue comes up in his father's murder cases and is a matter of serious debate among the experts.

 

So the 2nd of the group of 3 judges asked DS why, *if* that is true, he didn't shoot his father so he could get real blood to use!

 

That comment totally shocked DS. Aside from the comment, DS did think about using real blood from a cow but we decided that would be too gory for both the school and the judges to stomach. he used synthetic blood instead.

 

 

Honestly' date=' I wouldn't be able to keep my mouth shut either (I spend a fair amount of time bitting my tongue). My oldest would be very disappointed and would probably sound off to the nearest person in charge asap. Good or bad, he's all about the "rules."

 

For example, our local homeschool group put on a spelling bee. It was conducted by volunteers with little experience or instruction on how to run it. My oldest made it out of the first round. Then when the second round began he noticed that the person running the second round was conducting it in a slightly different manner. As soon as he noticed this, he raised his hand (he was 10) and pointed out the inconsistancy:eek: - and there was silence and then someone said "let's stop and get some guidance on this." It was settled and my ds was eliminated on the word "obnoxious" ...:p But we decided that a paralegal (at the law firm he would be running) would probably catch his misspellings anyway...

 

He accepted the loss because it was clear to him that it was fair. I think he would have imploded if he were in your daughter's position.

 

kd[/quote']

[RoughCollie]

I agree that if a kid can't explain why he used a particular equation, he shouldn't win -- his parents were not competing in the science fair.

 

I wonder if my DD did such a good job that the judges assumed she could not do it without parental help. In fact, I did help her. I paid for the supplies, I ordered the e.coli and other science supplies. I took the pictures. I put her in touch with the 2 M.D.s (friends of ours) and I arranged for her tour and interview with the director of a large hospital lab, and took her there. I tried to find a professional incubator we could use. I suggested she make her own incubator. She asked her experts how to do it and ended up finding precise directions on the internet (she looked there in case her experts were wrong, and they weren't). I took her shopping for the supplies for it. I figured out how to use Picture Project to put 3 or 6 pictures on one sheet of paper. I supervised her doing the experiment step-by-step to make sure she did not spread e. coli all over my house. I printed out her report and her father bound it for her. I printed out the pages for her display board and bought science fair labels for the different parts.

 

One thing the judge asked her was how she choose the project. She told the truth. She choose it because she has, since first grade, been worried about foodborne illnesses and how to keep her food supply safe. When we renovated our kitchen over the past two years (it still isn't done), one of the things I was concerned about was kitchen hygeine. I ended up with Formica because we couldn't afford the stainless steel I had my heart set on. So DD decided to test countertop surfaces because of this, and the results were so horrible for the different cleaning methods on the Formica that she may never eat at home again. Actually, we are going to test a Clorox solution to see if that works better than the Lysol did on our counters. DD wants to re-do the experiment to see if maybe her results were wrong because of something she did wrong.

 

This is not just a matter of DD not winning, because there were several other projects that did not win that we thought should have. Of the top 4 projects, only one was scientific and done properly and it came in second place. The others had fatal flaws that, in my view, should have kicked them out of the running, like sample sizes that were too small to be statistically significant, which nullifed the results.

 

There is no way I would call the judges. The science fair was judged during the school day and the parents came to see it that night. I spoke to the teacher, and I'm regretting that now.

 

 

 

Science fairs can be a mine field. I judge one long before I had kids. One parent did not like the choice we made and used her position at my University to obtain my home phone number. It was not pretty.

 

The reason we did not choose her son's project was he could not properly explain why he use a particular equation. He told me he used it because his Dad told him to use it.

 

As a judge, I would have been happy to explain this to the Mom but she was out for blood.

 

I hate science fairs for just this reason. Two years ago, my homeschool group had a science fair and people got their feeling hurt because their kid did not win. It was bitch, bitch, bitch.

 

Where is the science?? Perhaps you can ask the judges what they were looking for? Remember, they are people too and they will not respond kindly to a ranting mom.

[jacqui in mo]

One more thought... Maybe the judges thought your dd's work looked Tooo Professional, and thought your dd couldn't "possibly" have done that level of work. In effect, she had "help". It's too bad if they were thinking that because many kids are able to do that level of work. I remember when I entered some sewing project in the 4H county fair, my mom overheard judges saying that my mom must have done the difficult stuff for me, since she taught the sewing class. Of course my mom helped me by teaching me what to do. I did all the sewing & ripping out mistakes & resewing. You know, even if the judges didn't think that themselves, I bet other parents would have been saying that if your dd had won.

 

It's all so very subjective in many of these competitions. Try to just let it go. Is your DD as upset as you?

Jacqui

[GothicGyrl]

I wonder if my DD did such a good job that the judges assumed she could not do it without parental help. In fact, I did help her. I paid for the supplies, I ordered the e.coli and other science supplies. I took the pictures. I put her in touch with the 2 M.D.s (friends of ours) and I arranged for her tour and interview with the director of a large hospital lab, and took her there. I tried to find a professional incubator we could use. I suggested she make her own incubator. She asked her experts how to do it and ended up finding precise directions on the internet (she looked there in case her experts were wrong, and they weren't). I took her shopping for the supplies for it. I figured out how to use Picture Project to put 3 or 6 pictures on one sheet of paper. I supervised her doing the experiment step-by-step to make sure she did not spread e. coli all over my house. I printed out her report and her father bound it for her. I printed out the pages for her display board and bought science fair labels for the different parts.

 

"No way can a 10 year old do all this work", is exactly what they are thinking. Rather than push her out on the off chance that she did do the work, they just don't score her that way they can claim hers "just wasn't up to snuff".

 

Sorry, but they are thinking mom and dad did it all because everything she did was just "too much work" that is beyond the "scope and knowledge" of any 10 yr old.

 

Notice those things are in quotes. That's because that's how they are thinking. 1st place got 1st place because her subpar project WAS the "scope and knowledge" of a 10 yr old. NOT your DD's.

 

It appears that she just did too much work and they didn't believe she did it all.

[ShelliR]

who are volunteering their time for these science fairs. I say that, as my husband will be VOLUNTEERING his precious time next week to help judge our local science fair.......(it may be the first and last time, we'll see....)

 

I must say, that your daughter must have learned SO MUCH with that project. It sounded great! After all, that IS the point, right?

[amy g.]

I agree with Toni.

 

My daughter was in an Art contest once. My friend heard the judges saying that dd's drawings were the best, but could a 6 year old really have done them by herself? My friend said, I know the child, let's ask her."

 

They questioned dd for 30 minutes about where she got her ideas, and what was the hardest part of the drawings for her. They were satisfied with her answers, and gave her the first prize. When the principal found out, she changed the judging, and gave dd nothing. So much for having artists from the community do the judging. First prize was a really awful crayon drawing.

 

I really played down the situation with dd. I even bought her a T-shirt with the first prize drawing on it. I told her that the principal sees the big picture that we don't, and she must have had her reasons. I just don't want her getting bent out of shape over other people's opinions.

[BMC]

have you ever thought that the project was too good? I've judged kids' competitions so often (not science but there are loads of similarities) that I am pretty skeptical if the work is too good. It might also be that she blew the interview and didn't realize it. So I'm with GothicGyrl on this... take a deep breath and think - how much of this was my child's original work. If you can honestly say, "all of it." then your child deserved better, if not....

 

so maybe I am the horse's end on this, but that had to be what the judges were thinking - too bad that isn't in the scoring sheet for all to see (check this box if you think the parent helped too much).

 

In any case, what a learning experience!!

[Volty]

"No way can a 10 year old do all this work", is exactly what they are thinking. Rather than push her out on the off chance that she did do the work, they just don't score her that way they can claim hers "just wasn't up to snuff".

 

Sorry, but they are thinking mom and dad did it all because everything she did was just "too much work" that is beyond the "scope and knowledge" of any 10 yr old.

 

Notice those things are in quotes. That's because that's how they are thinking. 1st place got 1st place because her subpar project WAS the "scope and knowledge" of a 10 yr old. NOT your DD's.

 

It appears that she just did too much work and they didn't believe she did it all.

 

Hmm ... could be.... maybe taking photos of the girl performing the work at critical places along the way would help.

[GothicGyrl]

Hmm ... could be.... maybe taking photos of the girl performing the work at critical places along the way would help.

Just thinking like a judge here, photos wouldn't matter to me, they could be a set up. You know --Here honey, let's take a picture of you doing this, that'll make them believe...

 

I certainly don't believe it to be the case at all. But when I was judging history fair stuff, I always took reports because I was the only one who could spot the plagerizing and the "mom and dad" part. Our main rule was the ONLY thing mom and dad can do is "buy the stuff". The kid had to do every single thing. And it was very easy to tell if they hadn't.

 

Again, I don't believe for one minute she did this. But that's how the judges are thinking. I would and pictures of her doing it would NOT convince me one bit.

[PrairieAir]

I also wonder if your dd's project was disqualified because the judges assumed she was helped too much by an adult. If all the other projects were as you described and your kids' projects really stood out, they might have figured mom and dad did the projects. Unfortunately, that does happen often. Parents do their kids' homework, science fair projects, and Pinewood Derby cars for them just to see their kid win--and probably to fulfill some twisted need of their own, too. It isn't fair to punish the kids who really do work hard to come up with excellent projects, though.

 

My oldest dd entered a project in the State Fair for Girl Scouts one year. It was a beautiful jewelry box she had made for dh's sister. Dd had worked hard on it. Yes, dh guided her and told her how to do things, but he let her come up with the design and made her do all the work with him standing by. Her project was overlooked completely although it was far better than anything else entered in that category regardless of age group. (We're talking god's eyes and popsicle stick picture frames versus a nice jewelry box.) While we were standing there wondering about it, a guy we know walked in and said that he had been there as the judges were looking at Jo's jewelry box and heard them questioning whether she had actually made it herself. The people watching over the building said that they had also heard the judges discussing it. If they had gone to the Boy Scout building or the 4-H building, they would have seen some awesome woodworking projects done by boys and girls of the same age. None of these projects are questioned, yet a Girl Scout of the same age is somehow incapable of doing such a project. It made me angry because as a Girl Scout, you are expected to be "honest and fair" and they were assuming that dd had not been without even talking to her or us about it. Dd was heartbroken--not that she didn't win, but that someone thought she cheated. That sucks!

 

Now, in a science fair, the judges generally do have the opportunity to interview the kids. You stated that they did interview your daughter. It's my understanding that the reason they interview the kids is to make sure that a) the kid understands his or her project, b) they learn ways they could have improved upon the project, and c) to ensure that the kid is actually the one who did the project. It sounds like the judges didn't know how to do their job.

 

I would talk to the principal and ask what instructions the judges are given. If someone is just thrown into judging because they have a science background or science related career, that doesn't mean they will automatically understand the criteria for judging. I've seen this in other situations like Boy Scout boards of review. The folks doing the judging/reviewing/whatever need to know *how* to do their job. They need to have the purpose of the interview explained to them along with how it should be conducted and all of the other judging criteria. It sounds to me as though these judges did not really know what was expected of them or what to expect and may even have been uncomfortable with the situation. I suspect that's why they made some odd remarks--not knowing what to say, feeling uncomfortable. I know that's when strange things start to come out of my mouth. I would have been highly uncomfortable in that situation, too. It just isn't fair to the kids or the judges to put them both in that position without clear expectations being outlined.

[shell in SC]

I'm sorry for your DD!!! It sounds like she had an awesome entry! And I know that it's no consolation but if my DH would have been a judge (he is a food scientist and one of the best in the country in his field) he would have chosen that one hands down!!!!! I'm impressed at the depth and detail that she went to! I know you're proud of her!

[PiCO]

*****Isn't that a statistically insignificant sample size? That being the case, how could #4's project be a winner?

 

I think a bigger problem than the sample size is the discrepancy between # of boys and # of girls. Really, only 2 boys and 14 girls? If I was the judge I would have thrown this one out. However, I would have kept it if there were 10 boys and 10 girls. Still not a large sample size, but at least it's even.

 

 

*****#1 was about which of several types of soap cleaned hands of e. coli bacteria the best.

 

I would have thrown out this one because she had no idea what was growing.

 

*****This irks me so much. My own DD did a huge microbiology experiments testing 5 different typical kitchen counter surfaces, 4 cleaning methods, using purchased e. coli and a homemade incubator.

 

This sounds like an outstanding project. Is there a chance the judges thought it wasn't really your daughter's project? Parental cheating is a notorious part of science fair projects- I think it would be easy for judges who don't know the children to assume a stellar project was actually completed by a parent.

 

My dd did a schience fair project in 2nd grade. She put a ton of work into it. Parents were allowed to help gather data if needed, so she and dh launched a rocket with different sized parachutes to see how parachute size affected air time. The winning 2nd grade project was a cute kid with lots of pictures of herself making ice cream. The judges were middle schoolers, one was the girl's brother. They were given samples of ice cream. I don't even think dd should have won- there were lots of actual scientific projects out there. (That's when I started homeschooling.)

 

Now dd is in 8th grade at a charter school, and science fair participation is required. I have her do the project 100% on her own, and I let her decide the extent of it. As far as I'm concerned, why knock yourself out.

 

 

 

*****What do you all think? Am I being a sore-loser on behalf of my DD? Tell me the truth. If I am being a horse's behind about all this, let me know.

 

I think I might apoligize to the science teacher if I were in your place, for being too emotionally involved. I think that would help you get along in the future. I'm right there with you, though- I'm sure I would have reacted the same way! I'm just glad I wasn't there during the judging for my 2nd grader.

[RoughCollie]

Photos were required. I took pictures of the incubator, the 20 contaminated lulria broth tubes in the incubator, the 20 agar plates in the incubator, a chart made up of 20 agar plates with captions for rows and headings (the results), and of the lab DD visited. The only picture of DD was at the lab.

 

I put 6 lab pictures on one sheet of 8.5 x 11 paper, and the 3 incubator pictures on another, and the chart picture took up the entire page so the judges could see the bacterial colonies that had grown on each plate.

 

I didn't help DD too much, I don't think, because I ran all that by the principal and the science teacher.

 

The principal wanted me to get the lab director to help judge the younger grades science projects. I tried, but he wouldn't do it. The principal was desperate to find someone, and she said it was really hard to do.

 

 

 

Just thinking like a judge here, photos wouldn't matter to me, they could be a set up. You know --Here honey, let's take a picture of you doing this, that'll make them believe...

 

I certainly don't believe it to be the case at all.

[RoughCollie]

DD is 12.5 and in 7th grade, but I see your point. She is really, really smart.

 

 

"No way can a 10 year old do all this work", is exactly what they are thinking.

[RoughCollie]

My kids did not expect to win, although they hoped to, because I said it was rare for a first time science fair participant to win.

 

DD is upset because the experiment that won was also a microbiology experiment -- one that was simple and not nearly as well done as hers was. She get over things she cannot change quickly, though.

 

her brothers (usually her sworn enemies) are more upset than she is. One cannot get over how unscientific the projects were that did win (except for the 2nd place one). The other is taking the bright side -- when they go to high school next year (except for DD who will be in 8th grade), they think the science fair there will be judged more fairly and that the older students will produce, on the whole, better projects.

 

They are also upset because only one boy won (2nd place) and the girls had substandard projects, in their views, and their display boards had lots of glitter on them.

 

We will get over this starting now. Life is too short to waste on ruminating over perceived injustices that we can't do anything about.

 

 

It's all so very subjective in many of these competitions. Try to just let it go. Is your DD as upset as you?

Jacqui

[Cindyg]

OT, but, RC, I love your name and your avatar. Sorry about your kids' bad experience.

[mcconnellboys]

Ummm, it sounds like there's a real problem with that science fair.... Was the winner related to any of the judges, etc.?

 

Regena

[lovemyboys]

Y'all need to get to a Cub Scout Pinewood Derby to see real parental involvement in a kid's project!!

 

Seriously, though, it sounds like the judges really aren't used to seeing quality kid-driven work up to now, so they couldn't believe it when they did see it. And that's just kinda sad. Hope she's doing ok.

[RoughCollie]

Thanks. My avatar is my sweet dog, Ted Williams (a/k/a Teddy, Dog Breath, Hey Guy, Sweetheart, Dog, Doggie Dog, and You Dumb Dog -- he answers to all of them). That's not a good pic but I have to figure out how to do this without my kids' help before I change it.

 

OT, but, RC, I love your name and your avatar. Sorry about your kids' bad experience.