Posted on 05/11/2019 4:35:56 PM PDT by bgill
MASON, Ohio — Mason High School students will no longer vie for valedictorian and salutatorian distinctions in an effort to "reduce the overall competitive culture" between students, school officials said.
Beginning with the Class of 2020, the high school will do away with both honors. School officials said it follows a yearlong study and focus group with students, staffers and families.
"It's about what it means to be happy and what it means to be successful and it's not just about the grade but it's about the whole child," Associate Principal Shanna Bumiller said.
Mason school officials made the announcement Thursday as part of an effort to improve students' mental wellness.
"I think in the long run it'll really going to change the atmosphere in the school in a positive way," Mason High School sophomore Ryan Griffith said.
(Excerpt) Read more at wlwt.com ...
Right, because the real world isn’t competitive at all.
I suspect this is driven largely by the proliferation of AP courses, which result in kids with GPA’s above 4.0. That probably pushes competitive kids to take more AP courses, and to take them earlier. I can see how that could set off an arms race.
They need to do away with the National Honor Society, discourage students from seeking scholarships, and basically, just do away with grades altogether.
They need to do away with the National Honor Society, discourage students from seeking scholarships, and basically, just do away with grades altogether.
My mother was indeed proud to the the valedictorian of her class. The other seven graduates of HHS (Humphrey High School in Arkansas) managed to survive the competitive nature of the institution.
A rising tide of leftism sinks all boats.
Sheer idiocy. No wonder our kids are incapable of accomplishing anything.
I personally know one school nearby who actually went this way. The parent who told me, a legal alien, came from a country where high school is harder than college. It just got ridiculous that no one was even allowed to raise their hands in class when someone knew of the answer to the teacher’s question..so NOT to embarrass the other dumber kids. In the end, he eventually pulled his kid out to get him to a charter school.
Too bad we can’t MEGA....Make Education Great Again
Everyone gets a sticker!
Nah...best we do away with School altogether!!!
Right, because the real world isn’t competitive at all.
*************
If we stay on the PC path the world will eat our lunch.
Sounds like a great idea! Have all of the kids become losers, but at least they’ll be *happy* losers.
Think the SJW millennials are bad? Just wait...
Can it be long before our colleges allow students to major in Mediocrity?
Lunacy. Do these idiot “educators” think there is no competition in the real world? They are “educators”...they have a distorted sense of what is real. Pathetic...a real injustice to the students.
Universities really should avoid that competitive culture stuff.
That could make their graduates vulnerable to getting hired by competitive employers in competitive businesses.
...said NO BOSS ANYWHERE EVER.
Good luck in the real world, kiddies.
I can't believe we have extended kindergarten nap time with cookies and milk to 12th grade.
> I suspect this is driven largely by the proliferation of AP courses... <
Yes, but in my experience not the way you’d think. I taught in urban high schools for decades, and many of our best kids would not take the AP courses. Why? Because those courses were tough. So why take the risk? Even one ‘B’ could knock you out of the valedictorian race.
I talked to some of those kids about that. “You did great in Chem 1. Why aren’t you taking Chem 2?”
“Mr. Teacher, I can’t risk losing out on being valedictorian. It would be gold on college applications. So I’m taking basket weaving instead of Chem 2 in my senior year.”
Odd, eh? The whole valedictorian and salutatorian thing was actually pressuring kids to make bad decisions.
Educators typically lack real world work experience. They are campus bound and live in an ivory tower insulated from the realities of the world we live in.
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