# Piss off, random parents/teachers and Google. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 12, 2009, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piss-off-random-parents-teachers-and-google/496138 "2009-05-12T05:09:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Aankh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@Aankh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aankh)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piss-off-random-parents-teachers-and-google/496138/1 "2009-05-12T05:09:28Z")
Source: **Liberal** ’s [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=517267) about [Google’s Doodle competition](http://www.google.com/doodle4google/vote.html#). You know what I think about most of the Doodles in the K-3 category? They’re pretty fucking awesome. AND TOTALLY NOT DOODLED BY A KID! Seriously, doves carrying the world to a better place? Religious symbols for the letters in ‘Google’? Breast cancer awareness? Yeah, that’s EXACTLY what 6 and 7 year olds think about when they’re told to doodle. I can practically see the desperate Indian parents who did the religious symbol thing getting their kid to copy it neatly. (“No, _beta_, colour in the line!”) > [@a kid](#): > > I wish religious harmony for the world. We all are equal under one God! Our world will be a better place, if we love and respect each other irrespective of our religion. With respectful coexistence of different religions, peace will prevail in the world. Yes, that was a purely original thought from an 8 year old boy. So I pit the parents and teachers responsible for faking their kids’ entries in such competitions. I pit the Google judges for selecting such pretentious, glurgy crap and encouraging the bullshit. The kid just learns that copying is good and that winning at any cost is important. The only ones who ‘win’ are the parents and teachers/administrators who get to boast about their little ‘prodigy’. I’m just so randomly annoyed by this. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piss-off-random-parents-teachers-and-google/496138/2 "2009-05-12T05:22:09Z")
> [@Aankh](#): > > I pit the Google judges for selecting such pretentious, glurgy crap Well, I’m willing to bet at least half the entries had to be cut because they had Harry Potter or Spongebob in them. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piss-off-random-parents-teachers-and-google/496138/3 "2009-05-12T05:26:27Z")
I agree that the drawings, if they were even done by kids, are trite; and plagiarising the cliched “Coexist” bumper sticker does not constitute creativity. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piss-off-random-parents-teachers-and-google/496138/4 "2009-05-12T05:30:35Z")
Also I’m not particularly pleased about the [Grafitti-style](http://www.google.com/doodle4google/2009/images/regional_doodles/MARTINEZ_10_CO.jpg) one: > [@](#): > > Google Graffiti > > What I wish for the world is for public art to be more accepted. Graffiti art allows people to express their individuality and emotions. Just because it’s not in a museum or on a canvas doesn’t make it less of an art form. > > Name: Antony Martinez > > Age: 17 > > School: WESTMINSTER HIGH SCHOOL > > City, State: Westminister, CO Way to go, Google; encouraging people to commit property crime. Hey Google; I think I am going to drive down to the Google headquarters and spraypaint some of my own “art form” onto the side of your building. How do you feel about that? ---
**Author:** ![Aankh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@Aankh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aankh)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piss-off-random-parents-teachers-and-google/496138/5 "2009-05-12T05:36:45Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Well, I’m willing to bet at least half the entries had to be cut because they had Harry Potter or Spongebob in them. 🙂 I don’t deny that, but the thing is, it’s perfectly possible to ask a little one what they want for the whole wide world to have and get an answer like ‘Pets!’. And then they sit down with crayons and make a pet doodle about Google. It can be done. But shit like ‘love and respect irrespective of religion’ and a perfectly drawn pink ribbon followed by a 6 year old preaching about raising money to make breast cancer go away…that stuff chaps my hide. Go participate in your own competitions, you silly parents. Or are 6 years old the only demographic you _can_ win against? ---
**Author:** ![Elyanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b5ac83/32.png) [@Elyanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elyanna)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piss-off-random-parents-teachers-and-google/496138/6 "2009-05-12T05:40:35Z")
I like the skinny dipping one (Grades 10-12, region 8). EVERYBODY IN THE ARMY, GET NEKKID ---
**Author:** ![Aankh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@Aankh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aankh)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piss-off-random-parents-teachers-and-google/496138/7 "2009-05-12T05:55:30Z")
You know what? Confession time. For such competitions, who on this board… (a) was helped by their parents? (b) has been tempted to help their own kid out? © has already helped their kid? (Where ‘help’ = ‘done all the work for’) For (a), how’d you feel? For (b) and ©, why? I’m an (a). It felt awesome to win stuff at the time, because, hey, a prize! In retrospect, I learnt shit-all besides the fact that judges worldwide seem to love cliches about peace and harmony and the environment. ---
**Author:** ![MiguelsGirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/fbc32d/32.png) [@MiguelsGirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MiguelsGirl)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piss-off-random-parents-teachers-and-google/496138/8 "2009-05-12T13:23:48Z")
Aankh…why are you so angry? Did your google art submission get passed over? Of course the parents helped…I help my children all the time…its part of being a parent! ---
**Author:** ![MiguelsGirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/fbc32d/32.png) [@MiguelsGirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MiguelsGirl)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piss-off-random-parents-teachers-and-google/496138/9 "2009-05-12T13:33:56Z")
guess I should have read your last post in its entirty…it would have answered my question. So, you did yours all by yourself, but everyone else had help, right? ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piss-off-random-parents-teachers-and-google/496138/10 "2009-05-12T13:39:17Z")
I did my own artwork as a kid - the difference being that back in the early '70s, it was acceptable by teachers and parents alike for kids to doodle stuff that was of interest to kids - like Nazi soldiers being blown up by tanks. 😃 These days, the school psychiatrist would be all over that action. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piss-off-random-parents-teachers-and-google/496138/11 "2009-05-12T13:51:38Z")
I suggest that if the OP ever has a child who is invited to take part in a pinewood derby competition, **Aankh** and child should just opt out. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piss-off-random-parents-teachers-and-google/496138/12 "2009-05-12T13:55:12Z")
I did all mine by myself and everybody else had help. When I was in elementary school I went to this upper class private school, so some science fair projects were actually done by, like, independent contractors. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Am\_The\_Lorax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19adc/32.png) [@I\_Am\_The\_Lorax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Am_The_Lorax)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piss-off-random-parents-teachers-and-google/496138/13 "2009-05-12T14:35:43Z")
I didn’t look at the submissions, but I totally understand the anger. My kindergartener just had a “Creativity Fair” with a theme of “Think Green, Create Green”. The instructions were that the kids had to think of an idea on the theme, then make a project. My husband and I spent some time explaining the concept of “green”, talking about ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’, asking him what kind of things we do that are green, what kinds of things we do that aren’t, etc… Then he came up with an idea and built it. (It’s a car made of a cracker box and coffee can lids that has a scoop on the bottom for cleaning up litter.) He did an awesome job, and it sure looks like it was made by a six year old. When we got to the Creativity Fair and we saw all the projects, he cried because his looked pretty weak next to the fancy, working contraptions that used concepts I’m not even familiar with. Yup, I think he might have been the only kid in Pre-K, kindergarten or first grade that didn’t cheat. I told him such, and made sure he understood how important it is to do your own work and be proud of what you do. ---
**Author:** ![BlinkingDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piss-off-random-parents-teachers-and-google/496138/14 "2009-05-12T15:23:02Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > I did all mine by myself and everybody else had help. When I was in elementary school I went to this upper class private school, so some science fair projects were actually done by, like, independent contractors. When I was 11, my science project went to State and almost made it to Nationals (it was a runner up at State)…at its core was a ship I built to clean up oil slicks. A few years later I ran into my old teacher and we talked about it. He said one of the reasons it went so far is that it was COMPLETELY OBVIOUS that I had built it myself 😃 where many fellow students it was pretty obvious they had much help. ---
**Author:** ![Kricket](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f14d63/32.png) [@Kricket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kricket)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piss-off-random-parents-teachers-and-google/496138/15 "2009-05-12T15:40:50Z")
Not all people who use the graffiti style or street art go around ruining others property. We have some pretty amazing kids in our group of 400 Skatechurch kids that do some amazing art. It does piss me off to be driving somewhere and see that some idiot kid has tagged up someone’s house or fence with gang crap. Our city just finally rounded up a group of four or five of the little jackasses. It drives me crazy when you see children who have made an honest effort to be creative and do their best get the shit end because someone’s mommy or daddy “helped” them because they want their children to be winners. Those poor kids who are winners all of the time now have a rude awakening when they have to go and do things on their own and realise they aren’t always winners. Shame on the parents for not letting their children learn how to be proud of their own accomplishments or be gracefull losers as the case my be. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piss-off-random-parents-teachers-and-google/496138/16 "2009-05-12T15:51:16Z")
> [@Kricket](#): > > Shame on the parents for not letting their children learn how to be proud of their own accomplishments or be gracefull losers as the case my be. Or actually practice on projects to honestly get better at it, for that matter. My parents may have helped me to understand concepts for school projects, and obviously had to go out and help me buy the materials, but neither of them ever actually DID the project for me. I was on my own with that because IT WAS MY PROJECT! Kids whose parents can’t let them do things half-assed at least once never learn just how embarrassing doing things half-assed can be, and therefore never get the lesson not to actually do things half-assed in any visceral, effective form. ---
**Author:** ![Uvula\_Donor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e19adc/32.png) [@Uvula\_Donor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uvula_Donor)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piss-off-random-parents-teachers-and-google/496138/17 "2009-05-12T15:54:49Z")
You have no idea what “random” means, do you? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piss-off-random-parents-teachers-and-google/496138/18 "2009-05-12T16:12:44Z")
> [@Aankh](#): > > Yes, that was a purely original thought from an 8 year old boy. The local mall ran a kids drawing contest around a fire safety theme. One of the third graders drew a nice picture of McGruff the crime dog holding a burnt out match. The picture was labeled “Help take a Bite out of Matches.” **That** was a pretty original thought from an 8 year old. ---
**Author:** ![Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bites_when_provoked/32/18073_2.png) [@Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bites_When_Provoked)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piss-off-random-parents-teachers-and-google/496138/19 "2009-05-12T16:26:20Z")
That’s ridiculous (the cheating, not the OP). By choosing winners that are very obviously not the work of children in that actual age range, competitions like this teach children that you’ll never win without cheating. Submissions should be age-appropriate and judged on their REAL merit. Otherwise, why even bother having age ranges? ---
**Author:** ![Aankh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@Aankh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aankh)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piss-off-random-parents-teachers-and-google/496138/20 "2009-05-12T16:38:11Z")
> [@MiguelsGirl](#): > > guess I should have read your last post in its entirty…it would have answered my question. So, you did yours all by yourself, but everyone else had help, right? I think you need to reread it again, child. I admitted to winning prizes I did _not_ deserve. > [@I\_Am\_The\_Lorax](#): > > He did an awesome job, and it sure looks like it was made by a six year old. When we got to the Creativity Fair and we saw all the projects, he cried because his looked pretty weak next to the fancy, working contraptions that used concepts I’m not even familiar with. Yup, I think he might have been the only kid in Pre-K, kindergarten or first grade that didn’t cheat. This is what I’m talking about. > [@Kricket](#): > > It drives me crazy when you see children who have made an honest effort to be creative and do their best get the shit end because someone’s mommy or daddy “helped” them because they want their children to be winners. THIS is what I’m talking about. > [@Uvula\_Donor](#): > > You have no idea what “random” means, do you? 😃 Your post just made me realise I still haven’t lost my late 90s Bombay slang. Yeah, it wouldn’t make sense to you. > [@Squink](#): > > The local mall ran a kids drawing contest around a fire safety theme. One of the third graders drew a nice picture of McGruff the crime dog holding a burnt out match. The picture was labeled “Help take a Bite out of Matches.” > That was a pretty original thought from an 8 year old. Imagine there was a : rolleyes : after the line you quoted in your post and you’ll see we’re of the same mind. **Bites When Provoked** : You hit the nail on the head. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piss-off-random-parents-teachers-and-google/496138.md?page=2)