Posted on 05/26/2016 7:18:10 AM PDT by Salvation
Some of you have heard the news that a local school board in Charlotte, North Carolina voted to eliminate the naming of valedictorians. The following appeared on FoxNews.com:
Citing what it calls “unhealthy” competition among students, the Wake County school board is the latest in the country to make valedictorians and salutatorians a thing of the past, The News & Observer of Charlotte reports. … [S]chool officials say singling out two people for their grade point averages just encourages students to take easy classes and to not help their classmates study.
It seems unlikely to me that there would be a lot of “competition” for just two slots. I think it’s more likely that 99% of the students would never even think they stood a chance and so would not engage in the competition described. Why work so hard for something that you’re not likely to get?
I graduated at the top of my class in Seminary and received a cash award (not a large one, I promise you) but it wasn’t as if I postured or took easy classes to get it. In fact, it never occurred to me that I would get a prize; I just studied hard because I enjoyed learning the faith.
Thus something tells me that the “explanation” offered by the school board is not the real reason. To quote an old Nat King Cole song, “Your story’s so touching, but it sounds just like a lie.”
Pardon me if I suspect old fashioned envy at work here. There are some who despise the fact that others excel because it makes them look worse by comparison. But such an attitude is classic envy: sorrow or sadness at the excellence of someone else because I take it to lessen my own.
Excellence is a beautiful thing, something to esteem and hold up before all. I would argue that it is yet another sign of the decline of our culture that we can’t seem to “tolerate” the celebration of excellence and achievement. Why is this? One reason is the tyranny of relativism. Another is obsessive, excessive concern for the feelings of others. But a more fundamental answer lies in the cardinal or deadly sin of envy.
What is envy? Most people today use the word as a synonym for jealousy. But traditionally, jealousy is not the same as envy.
When I am jealous of you, I want something that you have and wish to possess it, inordinately so. But the key point is that there is something good about you or something good you possess, which I want to have for myself.
In traditional theology, envy is quite different (cf. Summa Theologica, III IIae 36.1). Envy is sorrow, sadness, or anger at the goodness or excellence of someone else, because I take it to lessen my own. The key difference with envy is that (unlike with jealousy) I do not want to possess the good or excellence you have; rather, I want to destroy it.
Envy is diabolical – St. Augustine called envy the diabolical sin (De catechizandis rudibus 4,8:PL 40,315-316), because it seeks to minimize, end, or destroy what is good. Scripture says, By the envy of the Devil death entered the world (Wis 2:24). Seeing the excellence that Adam and Eve (made in the image of God) possessed, and possibly knowing of plans for the incarnation, the Devil envied Adam and Eve. Their glory lessened his, or so he thought, and he set out to destroy the goodness in them. Yes, envy is very ugly; it is diabolical.
The effect of the Wake County school board’s decision is to further suppress the praise of excellence. Excellence should be praised both for the gift that it is to the whole community as well as for the way it acts to encourage excellence in others! Decisions like this further minimize esteem for excellence and mute the encouragement of it.
Some will argue that academic excellence is but one sort of excellence. Is there not artistic excellence, emotional intelligence, and so forth? Certainly. Then find ways to honor those sorts of excellence as well. I paraded around my high school for three years sporting a “letter jacket” that broadcast my athletic excellence as part of the track and field team. The band issued “letter sweaters” to their best students.
Excellence is a blessing. I’m sorry if this implies that some are less excellent, but life is like that. Some people excel, some are also-rans, and some are even poor at certain things. (I never made the cut to become part of the math club but somehow I survived the blow to my ego.)
Count me among those who see the elimination of honors as another sign of an ailing culture. If we cannot honor excellence and achievement we have tipped our hat to what a great saint and learned man, St. Augustine, called a diabolical sin.
Is it too strong for me to say that Satan must be having a good laugh? When we are embarrassed or alarmed by excellence and even call it “unhealthy,” I can hear Satan gleefully crowing, “My perversion of them is almost complete. They are ashamed of their glory and they glory in their shame.”
Monsignor Pope Ping!
Everybody gets a blue ribbon, and a cookie, instead?
The intellectual equivalent of “participation” trophies in sports. If I can’t achieve the “highest excellence” in whatever endeavor, then I’ll make sure you can’t either, so I don’t have to feel bad about myself.
That is the spirit of socialism/liberalism/communism.
This would explain Obama’s hatred of America:
“What is envy? Most people today use the word as a synonym for jealousy. But traditionally, jealousy is not the same as envy.
When I am jealous of you, I want something that you have and wish to possess it, inordinately so. But the key point is that there is something good about you or something good you possess, which I want to have for myself.
In traditional theology, envy is quite different (cf. Summa Theologica, III IIae 36.1). Envy is sorrow, sadness, or anger at the goodness or excellence of someone else, because I take it to lessen my own. The key difference with envy is that (unlike with jealousy) I do not want to possess the good or excellence you have; rather, I want to destroy it.
Envy is diabolical – St. Augustine called envy the diabolical sin (De catechizandis rudibus 4,8:PL 40,315-316), because it seeks to minimize, end, or destroy what is good. Scripture says, By the envy of the Devil death entered the world (Wis 2:24). Seeing the excellence that Adam and Eve (made in the image of God) possessed, and possibly knowing of plans for the incarnation, the Devil envied Adam and Eve. Their glory lessened his, or so he thought, and he set out to destroy the goodness in them. Yes, envy is very ugly; it is diabolical.”
Remember, this is a time when the 1976 male decathlon champion can win Woman of the Year.
Yes, DESTROY excellence.
This is pure garbage. This is a school board setting out, in the name of “good intentions” to totally denigrate SCHOLASTIC excellence. Envy, hell!!
All students who wish to be on the bseeball, football, hockey, basketball or cheerleader squads will have to COMPETE for a spot. That will label some “BETTER” than others.
Student musicians will have to try-out by “COMPETING” for that seat in the orchestra, or to be First Violinist.
The students desiring to be in the Senior Class musical will have to COMPETE to be be named star singer.
In plain English, every voluntary position in the school will STILL be COMPETITIVE, but there will no rewards for SCHOLASTIC ability and achievment.
This is the public school system of today
Very well put.
It seems so crazy, that we eliminate valedictorians and don’t keep score in kids sports events and such. When we are also told at the same time, that we need to be a better educated better prepared workforce than ever, to compete in the global economy.
On the one hand, we’re told we need to be better educated and more highly skilled than ever, to compete in a 21st century world economy, but at the same time, with acts such as not keeping score and eliminating competition in schools, our schools are distinctly not doing the job of preparing the students for life. How ironic.
And anyone attending a college should be GIVEN straight A's. But why stop there?
Cost are WAY TO HIGH and it takes too long.. WAY TOO MUCH TIME TO GET A DEGREE.
Easy - send Ten Dollars to 'WE "R" University' and receive proof your YOUR *college diploma AND Valedictorian status.
*free phone assistance for those students who can't spell their names...
LOL!
LOL - good one!
Leftists hate anyone rising above anyone else or the lowest common denominator. They see a peg sticking up and they must hammer it down. That is why “everyone gets trophies” in children’s sports, even if they lose. That is why we have affirmative action where merit is not considered important. Been eating away at our society like termites for a long time.
It is a “not surprising” continuation of the “everyone gets a trophy” that started with grade school sports a couple of decades ago. You don’t have to be the winner of the race to get a trophy, just show up at the race and you are given one, even if you don’t actually run.
Ohno...
*He’p me!*
Good men look upon great men and wish to be like them.
Bad men look upon better men and wish to destroy them
There goes the Diet !
Valid Victorian....Genuine old-Fart. LoL. :)
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