gotta tell you, vegas, this one doesn't bother me. i think character matters every bit as much (if not more) than grades. grades come and go, but character is something you have to live with every day, and because it goes with you the rest of your life, it needs to be attended to properly. i agree that giving everyone a participation trophy is a bunch of nonsense, but give me a kid with character any day over a kid who's simply in it for the grades and treats everyone around like a servant or a peasant.