en-us Copyright 2008 - All Rights Reserved. Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:46:34 GMT 15 By Julio Garzon
Miami-Dade public schools may soon remove the choosing of valedictorians in favor of a system that bestows similar honors on a wider range of deserving students after mounting pressure from students and parents over the unfairness and controversy surrounding the title. The school board has decided to assess the issue in June. But why? There was a time when selecting valedictorians was thought of as a good thing, as a crowning feat after four years of rigorous high school classes. But recently there has been an increasing opinion that valedictorian is an obsolete title, with more harmful implications than positive ones. Formerly, it was clear who the top students in a school were and thus it made the selection of valedictorians easier. But now the candidates for the title are abundant and unwavering, especially in large high schools. Ambitious students can now load up on honors and Advanced Placement courses to boost up their G.P.A. Minuscule variations in class ranking as well as grade inflation, where the G.P.A. for seniors has increased from 3.15 in 1994 to 3.28 in 2005, seem to fuel the criticism that the competition to get to the top of one’s class is getting too intense. Some colleges don’t even acknowledge 4.0 averages as they once did and now favor extracurricular activities and community involvement in its place, causing motivated students to join a superfluous amount of clubs and activities to try to appear well rounded. Those who support the taking away of valedictorians impugn the constant pressure and stress of today’s students on the academic contest that is the naming of valedictorians, salutatorians, and class ranking. On the other hand, it seems a little sad to end this tradition and ridiculous to attribute an honor to such a large group, invalidating the value of it. After all, if schools should rank anything, shouldn’t it be their main focus - academics? Watering down the standard simply to alleviate the concerns of students who are not able become valedictorian at the current level isn’t going to better how those students feel about their accomplishments; in fact, since the range of students being honored is increased, it can make those who fail to reach that range feel even worse. Many students believe that the proposal for Miami-Dade high schools to stop naming a valedictorian and a salutatorian will be a mistake. Nonetheless, Miami-Dade public school board members are opting for a transition away from naming valedictorians, and instead into a ranking system in which students with good grades would graduate cum laude, magna cum laude, or summa cum laude (meaning with honor). It raises the thought that perhaps the valedictorian status could only survive in a time when the number of college-bound seniors was fewer and the assumption of getting into a prestigious college being the only way to guarantee success was not so common. If schools eliminate valedictorians, one of the last vestiges of American meritocracy will be lost, as well as a tradition in which the valedictory served an essential purpose in high school commencement ceremonies. ]]> Fri, 17 Mar 2006 12:21:00 GMT