Merit marks

[Trickyvee]

Did anybody else get these at school? We got them in high school. Basically a small bit of cut up white card with photocopied print on it like a certificate saying ....(space for your name) has been awarded a merit.

We would bend over backwards to get them, although I have no memory of what they were awarded for (perhaps having the best marks in class or helping out with something) or what the reward was for having a hefty pile of merit marks - to be honest I don't think there was a reward.

So what was the point of them? There was no point and I think we'd all cottoned onto it by the end of first year by which time we were well over getting bits of card for our troubles.

[Marine Boy]

Re: Merit marks

We have merits (ink stamps in a little book) where I work now, but back in the 70s, we didn't. The closest thing were house points. You coloured in a square on some squared paper pinned to the wall, and they were all added up at the end of the week. And no prizes to be had

[Trickyvee]

Re: Merit marks

It seems strange that there was no incentive to get them as our school did offer prizes for other things. One year those with 100% attendance got tickets to see the pantomime in Newcastle. Linda Lusardi was starring which was enough to keep the lads interested!

[Richard1978]

Re: Merit marks

At my secondary school there were merits awarded for good work.

100 merits would get a bronze merit award & a small badge, 200 a silver merit & 300 a gold one.

I never managed to get 100 in 3 years, after which they seemed to be phased out.

I did get some 100% attendance certificates, but they didn't count for anything. They are still around somewhere.

[HG]

Re: Merit marks

LIke MB we never had merit marks as far as I can recall in my school career, mid 70's through to '89. We also had house points in junior school, there was a monthly winner of the house competition and also an annual one, if there were prizes I can't remember what they were.

[shilton dipper]

Re: Merit marks

Didn't have anything like merits when I was at school.......we have them at school where i work..........a card for merits that has a certificate for 100 collected when it's filled in.

[DemonEyeX]

Re: Merit marks

I had merit points at high school.
The most I ever won in one go was 10.
It was for winning a paper aeroplane competition on the last day of term !

[80sChav]

Re: Merit marks

I had loads, i've probably still got some somewhere .... i'll have to check it out and find if i've stioll got them. I got some for many subjects, more so for Geography, it was the same for us at my School like with Trickyvee (well at least at my first Secondary), we'd bend over backwards for them. Our Geography Teacher (i'll call him Mr "G" incase by some wierd chance he was viewing on here, though I highly doubt it), he was so easy to smooth talk into giving out Merits, I can see it now ... me and my friends saying something like "Mr G, are we deserving of a Merit for doing this/do we get a Merit Today please?", inecatably he would give them out too, if we showed potiental.

Though he was a walkover to the Kids, he was a good Teacher, who never would try and say you was'nt trying/he'd guide you to your target or explain how to reach it - just like a Ship going gently into a Harbour. I got some for PE too, Swimming in-particular and Tennis, though i'm the World worst Swimmer and could not even Swim until then and could not after, the PE Teacher did give me one for that, but it was way tricky getting anywhere close to hoping for a Merit from the PE Teachers - which is even more confusing as to why, as as far as I know the School did'nt even have any competative Sporting Teams and on the surface, it looked like we was all treat on an equal merit (if you'll pardon the pun), but it was far from that at all!!

[darren]

Re: Merit marks

we never got merit marks for good work in any school.
but we got the equivalent with small coloured stars for neat well answered wiork questions.


gold was the best.

i got lots of these but i never kept my homework books.
a big regret it is of mine.

[havasack]

Re: Merit marks

My kids get merit marks towards their 'graduation'. We got house points (credits for good and debits for bad) towards the "House trophy".

[Razed]

Re: Merit marks

Of course!

We were split into 'houses'... Blue, Yellow and Red. In our classes we had a coloured card on the wall for each house with the names of everyone in the corresponding houses.

Every time we got a 'merit mark' it was just a star-shaped stamp that the teacher put next to your name on the wall. If you were really good you got to stamp it yourself! I don't remember their being any award for it though, just maybe a 'well done to XX house' at sports day for whoever had most merits. It was unfair though; there were always a few kids that had far less merit marks than the others - usually the less bright ones.

[stuckinthe80's]

Re: Merit marks

We didn't have merit marks at school. In secondary school we had commendations for good work and D-merits for bad work. There were no prizes for getting commendations. The commendation was the 'prize'!

[Trickyvee]

Re: Merit marks

We had four houses in high school and although we were placed into one it was virtually meaningless. I can only remember the houses becoming relevant once a year during sports day when we would compete against each other.

speaking of incentives, in primary school I always remember our teacher setting up a times table chart on the wall with all of our names on it. Each morning we had to recite a times table, starting with 2x and if we got it right we got a star on the chart and could move onto the next one. A great prize was promised for the first person to get to 12x. As the weeks rolled on we battled our way through each table fighting for the much coveted mystery prize. In the end I won (get me) and was astounded to find that the 'prize' was one single aniseed ball and I didn't get that until weeks later after I kept pestering the teacher about my prize. I've never felt so duped!

[battyrat]

Re: Merit marks

I can remember stars in the primary school(70's). Never got any of those, although I did get a few black smudges.Nothing that I can recall from my time in secondary. Perhaps they did not use merit points then or perhaps I was so un-inspired I just couldn't be bothered with it or failed to take it all in at the time.

[battyrat]

Re: Merit marks

stuckinthe80's I think you are right. We had commendations for certain things in secondary.Never got any of those either. I must of really been a bad boy, lol.