How can so many students be ‘Number One’?

[chanel]

A June 27 story from the New York Times points a finger towards one of the many problems that contaminates the nation’s educational system – the belief that competition is an elitist, antiquated concept and those who try deserve accolades equal to those who achieve.

The article focused on the swelling number of valedictorians at the nation’s high schools. One school has seven valedictorians this year, another has 30 and Colorado’s St. Vrain Valley school district has 94.

A June 3 story from KFSN-TV, in Fresno, California, reported that Bullard High School will have 62 valedictorians this year.

How can so many students be ‘Number One’? The Times explained, “Principals say that recognizing multiple valedictorians reduces pressure and competition among students and it 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.”

Valedictorian Controversy Asks: ‘How Many Can Be Number One?’

Good idea?

 

[Skull Pilot]

[youtube]A8I9pYCl9AQ&feature[/youtube]

 

[editec]

Grade inflation.

 

[blu]

A June 27 story from the New York Times points a finger towards one of the many problems that contaminates the nation’s educational system – the belief that competition is an elitist, antiquated concept and those who try deserve accolades equal to those who achieve.

The article focused on the swelling number of valedictorians at the nation’s high schools. One school has seven valedictorians this year, another has 30 and Colorado’s St. Vrain Valley school district has 94.

A June 3 story from KFSN-TV, in Fresno, California, reported that Bullard High School will have 62 valedictorians this year.

How can so many students be ‘Number One’? The Times explained, “Principals say that recognizing multiple valedictorians reduces pressure and competition among students and it 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.”

Valedictorian Controversy Asks: ‘How Many Can Be Number One?’

Good idea?

what bullshit. I pity the graduating class that has to listen to 62 babble about nothing for their speeches

 

[FLGoldilocks]

Yeah, I don't get that. I could see maybe 2 kids being co-valedictorians, but not 62 or 94 or 150. Even 2, though, all things would have to be equal between them and I just don't see 2 being totally equal across the board. One of them have to be a percentage point or a partial percentage point higher in grades, or have one more extra-curricular activity, or one more community service event, or something that would make them stand out as the more well-rounded, excellent student.

At the same time, I think the competition is healthy. With younger kids, I can see praising effort, to teach them that the effort needs to be put in. But I also think there comes a point where even a younger kid must realize they will not excel at everything in life. I can't throw a ball to save my life. I should never have been put on a baseball team or football team just because I tried out. And I never was. And I wouldn't want my boys to be either. If they try out, and they meet the standards to be on the team, wonderful. Put them on it and I'll be at every practice and game, cheering them on. And if they don't meet the standard, then tell them no. I'll console them and they'll do one of two things: work hard and practice more to be better next year, or decide they're not good at it and find something else to try.

The real world does not try to make everyone equal. We all interview for jobs. Sometimes we get them because we're best qualified, sometimes we get told we were passed over for a candidate that was better qualified. Does it hurt our feelings? Yeah, maybe a little, but we get over it. We realize that there was someone better at it than us, and if we want to be better at it, we must work at it. We don't get told that we get to share the job with 4 other people because we were all equally qualified. High school kids should be leaving school with that same idea. They should know that if they want to be valedictorian, they need to bust their butt and be better than everyone else in the class. And if they can't/won't do it, then they didn't deserve it.

 

[psikeyhackr]

I remember watching a kid cry in class because he got a B in math one grading period his senior year. He would not play chess with me because he would get his ass kicked but I couldn't be valdictorian because I got straight Ds in religion my freshman year. I decided I was an agnostic when I was 12.I always thought the competition was nonsense. I wasn't about to do the idiotic busy work to get an A in something I didn't give a damn about.

I could understand 4 or 5 valedictorians but not 70.

If one kid got straight 3.75 in the music/arts track and another got 4.00 in a science track why shouldn't they both be valedictorians for their specialization? If most of the classes they took were different then just comparing on grade score makes no sense.

psik