The Scoop: One valedictorian should be enough
I was never the smartest kid in my high school graduating class. But based on today’s standards, there’s a pretty good chance I could have been class valedictorian if I graduated in 2002.
I say this after Boyd Christian School recently crowned four valedictorians in its graduating class. As ridiculous as that may seem, administrators at Boyd showed a remarkable amount of restraint when compared to other Midstate schools.
Believe it or not, Oakland High School in Murfreesboro had 17 co-valedictorians in its graduating class. Neighboring Riverdale High School had 16.
I’m all for supporting academic achievement, but this co-valedictorian thing has gone too far. When you think about earning the distinction of class valedictorian – the title of being the absolute smartest kid in the class – there’s a certain amount of prestige that goes along with it. That prestige begins to vanish when you share valedictorian honors with, say, a dozen other students.
My thinking is if there are 17 students who can make A’s in every class they take over a four-year high school career, the school seriously needs to consider the difficulty of its curriculum. That’s not to say today’s kids aren’t smart, or suggest they don’t work hard. They do. It appears, more than anything, they’re in need of some tougher material.
After four years, and probably around 25 classes, there’s no reason 17 students should be tied. When you take into account physics and trigonometry, chemistry, calculus and English literature, those are challenging courses.
Unless Mr. Cream Puff is making up the exams, there should be some tests 17 students can’t all ace. And if 17 students can legitimately ace tests in those advanced classes, we’re being too easy on them.
The simple point is somebody has to be the No. 1 student and that person deserves his or her individual recognition.
For the 16 students at Oakland High School who wouldn’t have been valedictorian if more stringent requirements were mandated, the honor is one they can remember for a lifetime. They can loudly proclaim “I was my class valedictorian!” and then mumble in a much softer voice that’s barely audible, “along with 16 other people.”
For the one student who would have been valedictorian, sharing it with 16 others dilutes the award. It makes it almost insignificant. What’s the honor in being valedictorian along with 16 classmates?
I liken that to awarding the state football championship to the final 16 teams in the playoffs. Forget about playing all those pesky quarterfinal and semifinal games. Let’s just give everyone a piece of the state championship pie.
Instead of our annual Best of the Best contest, the Standard could alter the rules. There’s no reason to single out one person as best dental hygienist when we can have 16 and call them all co-Best of the Best.
To add to my aggravation with this whole co-valedictorian trend, I received a fax from MTSU earlier this week. The fax proudly says more valedictorians and salutatorians attend MTSU than any other school in this region.
It’s not hard to see why. When you’ve got Oakland and Riverdale with a combined 33 valedictorians then throw in seven more from Smyrna High School and five more from LaVergne, the numbers add up quick. In fact, Rutherford County’s eight high schools combined for a total of 49 valedictorians. Maybe that’s why MTSU can boast more valedictorians than any other school.
If you want to make people happy, throw a party and offer free pizza. When it comes to determining the top student in a class, there should only be one.
(James Clark is editor of the Standard. He can be reached at 473-2191 or by e-mail at [email protected].)