The Monsters We Create...

A few months ago, there was this big raffle for a prize of $100,000 that had a bunch of schools sponsoring. I think we bought a half a ticket.

Last week someone I was talking to tells me that 85 out of 95 kids from the local school that I first heard about this raffle from are going to Florida for the week. I asked him why a school would make such a trip right before Pesach and to such an expensive destination. He told me that this was the prize for selling the raffle tickets. The top sellers get to fly, and have better events planned, and the losers of the bunch have to take a bus. (The true losers don't get to go at all).

This whole deal does not sit well with me for a variety of reasons. First of all, in this economy for a school to blow this much money on a trip for any reason is ridiculous. Second, to condone a trip to Florida, when many schools are trying to stop the practice of kids going to Florida during the year sends another wrong message. Third, the atmosphere in Florida at an amusement park, for instance, is not the right place for a boys school to be attending. Remember, it isn't 40 degrees there. To put high school boys we are trying to educate in a situation that we rail against all year, and to condone such a destination with a school sponsored trip is ridiculous.

The rationale I heard is that the only way to get these boys motivated to work for their school is to offer a prize that adults would appreciate more. I think we are sending the wrong message, and creating a culture of false entitlement and selfishness.

Next year I do not plan to purchase a ticket to this raffle. Maybe I will take the money and buy my own ticket to Florida.