DragonStryk72
06-27-2010, 06:12 PM
There will be no valedictory speech at Jericho High School’s graduation on Sunday. With seven seniors laying claim to the title by compiling A-plus averages, no one wanted to sit through a solid half-hour of inspirational quotations and sappy memories.
Instead, the seven will perform a 10-minute skit titled “2010: A Jericho Odyssey,” about their collective experience at this high-achieving Long Island high school, finishing up with 30 seconds each to say a few words to their classmates and families.
“When did we start saying that we should limit the honors so only one person gets the glory?” asked Joe Prisinzano, the Jericho principal.
In top suburban schools across the country, the valedictorian, a beloved tradition, is rapidly losing its singular meaning as administrators dispense the title to every straight-A student rather than try to choose the best among them.
Principals say that recognizing multiple valedictorians reduces pressure and competition among students, and is a more equitable way to honor achievement, particularly when No. 1 and No. 5 may be separated by only the smallest fraction of a grade from sophomore science. But some scholars and parents have criticized the swelling valedictorian ranks as yet another symptom of rampant grade inflation, with teachers reluctant to jeopardize the best and brightest’s chances of admission to top-tier colleges.
“It’s honor inflation,” said Chris Healy, an associate professor at Furman University, who said that celebrating so many students as the best could leave them ill prepared for competition in college and beyond. “I think it’s a bad idea if you’re No. 26 and you’re valedictorian. In the real world, you do get ranked.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/27/education/27valedictorians.html?hp
I have to say I would pull my kid out of any school that's practicing this. How does completely destroying the honor bestowed by being a valedictorian help anything? This is one more in a long line of what I'm calling "foam padding the world" moves that have come about in recent years.
One point the article brings up is the idea that the difference between 1st and 5th can be decided by a sophmore year science class, to which I respond... uh, yeah, even if it's a win by one point, it's still a win. I mean, you wouldn't call the World Series a tie simply because it 4 games to 3 and the last game was won by only 1 run, would you?
We need to encourage competition, because life as an adult is a competition. You compete to get into a good school, you compete in sports, you compete for jobs, you compete for promotions, you compete raises.
If the school wanted to make it more fair, they should have also been figuring in SAT scores, along with extra-curricular activities (Service Club, tutoring, etc.) to give a chance to other students to even it up. This is also why they have the Salutatorian, the second highest student, so that if you did not quite make the valedictorian slot, you not completely out of it.
And how far does it go from there? I'm certain number 8-26 would have loved to be able to list valedictorian on their college applications as well. But how long before the title itself is made useless?
Instead, the seven will perform a 10-minute skit titled “2010: A Jericho Odyssey,” about their collective experience at this high-achieving Long Island high school, finishing up with 30 seconds each to say a few words to their classmates and families.
“When did we start saying that we should limit the honors so only one person gets the glory?” asked Joe Prisinzano, the Jericho principal.
In top suburban schools across the country, the valedictorian, a beloved tradition, is rapidly losing its singular meaning as administrators dispense the title to every straight-A student rather than try to choose the best among them.
Principals say that recognizing multiple valedictorians reduces pressure and competition among students, and is a more equitable way to honor achievement, particularly when No. 1 and No. 5 may be separated by only the smallest fraction of a grade from sophomore science. But some scholars and parents have criticized the swelling valedictorian ranks as yet another symptom of rampant grade inflation, with teachers reluctant to jeopardize the best and brightest’s chances of admission to top-tier colleges.
“It’s honor inflation,” said Chris Healy, an associate professor at Furman University, who said that celebrating so many students as the best could leave them ill prepared for competition in college and beyond. “I think it’s a bad idea if you’re No. 26 and you’re valedictorian. In the real world, you do get ranked.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/27/education/27valedictorians.html?hp
I have to say I would pull my kid out of any school that's practicing this. How does completely destroying the honor bestowed by being a valedictorian help anything? This is one more in a long line of what I'm calling "foam padding the world" moves that have come about in recent years.
One point the article brings up is the idea that the difference between 1st and 5th can be decided by a sophmore year science class, to which I respond... uh, yeah, even if it's a win by one point, it's still a win. I mean, you wouldn't call the World Series a tie simply because it 4 games to 3 and the last game was won by only 1 run, would you?
We need to encourage competition, because life as an adult is a competition. You compete to get into a good school, you compete in sports, you compete for jobs, you compete for promotions, you compete raises.
If the school wanted to make it more fair, they should have also been figuring in SAT scores, along with extra-curricular activities (Service Club, tutoring, etc.) to give a chance to other students to even it up. This is also why they have the Salutatorian, the second highest student, so that if you did not quite make the valedictorian slot, you not completely out of it.
And how far does it go from there? I'm certain number 8-26 would have loved to be able to list valedictorian on their college applications as well. But how long before the title itself is made useless?