High School stops publishing Honor roll: Merged with "Can you figure this one out?"

[Hobbit]

I can't. Needham High School in, where else, Massachussetts, has decided to stop publishing the honor roll because it puts too much emphasis on grades. Let me say that again, so it can sink in. They stopped publishing the honor roll because it puts too much emphasis on grades. One more time, with the exactly quote from the man himself..."an unhealthy emphasis on grades!"

Isn't this a SCHOOL?! What are they supposd to be emphasizing.

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/education/10509779/detail.html

 

[90K]

I can't. Needham High School in, where else, Massachussetts, has decided to stop publishing the honor roll because it puts too much emphasis on grades. Let me say that again, so it can sink in. They stopped publishing the honor roll because it puts too much emphasis on grades. One more time, with the exactly quote from the man himself..."an unhealthy emphasis on grades!"

Isn't this a SCHOOL?! What are they supposd to be emphasizing.

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/education/10509779/detail.html

Yeah I guess if you had like 2% honors kids and the rest of the 98% were the dream team then the statement would make sense. Just my take on it, but hey it is up north in liberal country. Glock what is your take?

 

[dmp]

http://www.kirotv.com/mostpopular/10515520/detail.html

NEEDHAM, Mass. -- A Massachusetts school's decision has brought about mixed feelings from the community.

Needham High School has abandoned its long-standing practice of publishing the names of students who make the honor roll in the local newspaper.

Principal Paul Richards said a key reason for stopping the practice is its contribution to students' stress level in "this high-expectations-high-achievement culture."

The proposal to stop publishing the honor roll came from a parent. Richards took the issue before the school council, which approved it. Parents were notified of the decision last month.

Richards said he received about 60 responses from both parents and students, and the feedback has been evenly split for and against.

Richards said one parent with three children attending Needham High told him publishing the honor roll is a constant cause of stress in her family. According to that parent, one of the three students routinely made the honor roll while the other two did not.

Another parent who didn't want his name used said his two youngsters, a senior and a junior at Needham High, both consistently received honors and high honors. He said he "took special pride in opening the newspaper and seeing his kids names." He said he could also see how the publishing of names could put stress on other kids who did not make it.

Richards said publishing of the honor roll represented "an unhealthy focus on grades." He pointed out that there are a lot of other ways that students achieve, such as in clubs, musicals, concerts, athletics and community service.

He said the ranking of students solely based on grades goes against the school's overall mission, which is to "promote learning."

The Needham Times has traditionally published the school's honor roll. Editor-in-Chief Greg Reibman said the paper has "always been interested in recognizing the achievements of all Needham students -- not just in academics but in sports, the arts, community service, and in any other way."

"We understand that the school is trying hard to deal with some enormous challenges. I don't think anyone believes this alone is going to solve some of these very tough issues, but we respect the decision of the experts who certainly have the students' best interests in mind," Reibman said.

Needham High's principal said the decision to no longer publish the honor roll is not nailed in cement. Richards said it is "subject to review." He said, "We'll go through this year without it and assess the impact on the school culture."

The decision to drop publishing the honor roll comes at a time when the Needham High community is dealing with heartache. Last month, two seniors were killed in a car crash. Last spring, a Needham High student committed suicide.

BOO-HOO! What a LOAD of crap. I'm tellin' ya, Mr Richards is spineless and week. An 'unhealthy focus on grades'? WTF?

"The test is too hard! So we lower the standards.." - Ned "Carlos" Mencia.

 

[jillian]

http://www.kirotv.com/mostpopular/10515520/detail.html



BOO-HOO! What a LOAD of crap. I'm tellin' ya, Mr Richards is spineless and week. An 'unhealthy focus on grades'? WTF?

"The test is too hard! So we lower the standards.." - Ned "Carlos" Mencia.

Ridiculous, IMO... kids should be rewarded for excelling.

 

[Bonnie]

Ridiculous, IMO... kids should be rewarded for excelling.

Absolutely as should adults.... This may be the resurgance of outcome based education..ie 2+2= 5 if it makes Tommy happy to think it does....

 

[jillian]

Absolutely as should adults.... This may be the resurgance of outcome based education..ie 2+2= 5 if it makes Tommy happy to think it does....

You're right, of course. Both adults and children should be rewarded for excellence and putting in more than the next guy/kid.

Hopefully this stuff is just outbreaks of silliness which will soon be squelched.

 

[Bonnie]

You're right, of course. Both adults and children should be rewarded for excellence and putting in more than the next guy/kid.

Hopefully this stuff is just outbreaks of silliness which will soon be squelched.

New bumpersticker to read "my kid could be an honor roll student, but we'll never know now" LOL what a shame

 

[Jimmyeatworld]

I stopped drinking water because there was too much emphasis on quenching my thirst...

Tell ya what, let's just give everyone a diploma at birth... What the heck! Illegals too!... Then we can speed up this handbasket on it's way to hell.

*edit: Just checked the poll results so far on that site.

1309 Votes

I agree with this - 173 - 13%
I think this is ridiculous - 1106 - 84%
I'm not sure - 30 - 2%

 

[Kagom]

I say there's too little emphasis on grades.

 

[Abbey Normal]

I stopped drinking water because there was too much emphasis on quenching my thirst...

Tell ya what, let's just give everyone a diploma at birth... What the heck! Illegals too!... Then we can speed up this handbasket on it's way to hell.

*edit: Just checked the poll results so far on that site.

1309 Votes

I agree with this - 173 - 13%
I think this is ridiculous - 1106 - 84%
I'm not sure - 30 - 2%

Those 30 "I'm not sure" folks must really be something.

 

[Hamiltonian]

There is too much emphasis on standardized testing, and testing in general. It emphasizes booksmart qualities while not really testing common sense, but to do it not to hurt students feelings is ridiculous.

 

[Semper Fi]

There is too much emphasis on standardized testing, and testing in general. It emphasizes booksmart qualities while not really testing common sense, but to do it not to hurt students feelings is ridiculous.

There's not really whole lot of emphasis on standardized testing. Aside from book-smart topics, school does help one learn about other things. For instance, how to make complete BS look like 20 hours of work, how to write complete BS in an essay with such confidence that it fools the teacher, and scrambling to read 40 pages of a book just a few minutes before the bell rings.

In all seriousness, if one participates in school, high school in particular, to the full extent, then it can be quite educational. Balancing sports, social life, family life, homework, and stress on classes is really no difficult task, plus, mind you, social life in high school is by far tougher than adult social life (as far as I an see, granted I have no experienced both).

In my old high school, we had 6 classes per semester, in a rotating schedule of4 per day (one class every 2 out of 3 days). Here, we have 4 classes, all of them everyday. It's different, but managable. In addition to less classes, there are also EASIER classes. I kid you not, one of my assignments (well, a part of an assignment), for an HONORS language class was to underline each occupation in a short poem. In my old school we would have had to write an outline for an essay on the poem before class was over, then write the essay at home, or something to that equivalent.

Yes, I was one of those students that emails their teachers saying 'thank you' for the hard work assigned to us, because it truly did help. Moral: the harder school is, the easier life is. Let's not push this over the top, however. The object of school is to learn, and learning should be the first priority. Teenagers make mistakes, its no secret. So do teachers. All too often I hear "scratch off question 44 of the test, I messed up, sorry." And no one questions it. Yet, the sky falls when someone forgets to use correct MLA-style formatting for a bibliography. If teachers can afford to make mistakes, they are a. being hypocritical by not being lenient on their students for making mistakes, and b. setting a terrible example for their students to follow.

 

[Hobbit]

I beat dmp to a punch...by two hours, no less. I'm so proud of myself.

http://www.usmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45854

 

[dmp]

If your subject would indicate the topic within, I woulda saw it!

 

[trobinett]

Richards said publishing of the honor roll represented "an unhealthy focus on grades." He pointed out that there are a lot of other ways that students achieve, such as in clubs, musicals, concerts, athletics and community service.

Ok fine, lets roll with that statement then.

Lets assign a value to grades, one to club participation, music, concerts, athletics, and finally to community service. Take the "average" and see who the "honor students" are.

My bet? The same students who are honor students NOW.

Richards should be terminated.

 

[jillian]

Ok fine, lets roll with that statement then.

Lets assign a value to grades, one to club participation, music, concerts, athletics, and finally to community service. Take the "average" and see who the "honor students" are.

My bet? The same students who are honor students NOW.

Richards should be terminated.

Probably right that the same students will excel. But it doesn't matter. Honor Roll is about academic excellence... not how someone did in the school play or performed on the football field. There are other ways to recognize those kids.

I think it's absurd.

 

[Hobbit]

I'll tell you what really disgusts me about this. High school is a culture that honors virtues that are of no use in the real world and villifies intelligence. Idiots who can't even spell their own names are the popular ones, getting a free ride via the football team or dropping out as soon as they can and getting labelled a 'rebel' in the meantime. On the other side are the academics, the ones who are actually there to learn. They are teased, picked on, made fun of, beat up, and otherwise treated like dirt simply because they are smart and have a desire to become smarter. I know this because I endured this kind of treatment for years, and one of the few things I had that brightened my day and kept me on the right track was the academic honor roll, which I was always on. Now, there's one less incentive for the smart kids to do well. The idea that the honor roll was hurting people's feelings is a joke. Bullies hurt people's feelings. Honor rolls keep them going. Jackasses.

 

[Kagom]

I'll tell you what really disgusts me about this. High school is a culture that honors virtues that are of no use in the real world and villifies intelligence. Idiots who can't even spell their own names are the popular ones, getting a free ride via the football team or dropping out as soon as they can and getting labelled a 'rebel' in the meantime. On the other side are the academics, the ones who are actually there to learn. They are teased, picked on, made fun of, beat up, and otherwise treated like dirt simply because they are smart and have a desire to become smarter. I know this because I endured this kind of treatment for years, and one of the few things I had that brightened my day and kept me on the right track was the academic honor roll, which I was always on. Now, there's one less incentive for the smart kids to do well. The idea that the honor roll was hurting people's feelings is a joke. Bullies hurt people's feelings. Honor rolls keep them going. Jackasses.

Most of the popular jocks from my school are flunking out of college

The intelligent kids need more incentive and need to know they shouldn't fear their intelligence.

 

[Nienna]

Most of the popular jocks from my school are flunking out of college

The intelligent kids need more incentive and need to know they shouldn't fear their intelligence.

That's a great point. Some smart people play down their intelligence so as not to attract the animosity/jealousy of others. These people may have actually been embarrassed to have been listed on the honor roll, or been targeted because their names were on that list.

Go after the bullies, not the list.

 

[Kagom]

That's a great point. Some smart people play down their intelligence so as not to attract the animosity/jealousy of others. These people may have actually been embarrassed to have been listed on the honor roll, or been targeted because their names were on that list.

Go after the bullies, not the list.

I never played down my intelligence. Be proud of it.