High School, Grades, and Other Things That Don't Really Mean Much Anymore

Before I start this post, I'd like to take a moment and write a quick side note/apology. Although I'm sure you're probably questioning, I haven't forgotten my central blog topic: music. Though my last few posts haven't been about music, I PROMISE I will write about it again soon. Right now is an awkward time in my musical life, because I said goodbye to marching band long ago, and show choir competition season has not yet begun. Right now we are in the tedious process of perfecting our show, and if I wrote about that you would all be bored out of your minds. Thus, I have been posting tangent blogs about things that aren't even related to music because I honestly have nothing better to talk about. But enough about that, let's discuss something important.

Grades. Ugh, we can all agree that they are not a fun subject. But last week in AP Language and Composition we read a very interesting essay, and I feel like I can give enough input on it to obtain the required word count this week. The essay is entitled  "Best in Class" by Margaret Talbot, and it basically tells multiple stories of high school valedictorians. What I took from reading this essay is that naming a valedictorian of each graduating class is an old practice, and high schools shouldn't do it anymore. I both agree and disagree with this statement for a multitude of reasons, some of which I'm going to discuss on this blog post today.

First, I'm going to share my perspective on this topic. (Note: I am not trying to brag about my grades or statistics or any of that junk. Just showing you where I stand.) We (the students of my school) recently received our updated transcripts containing the number of credits we've earned so far, our weighted GPAs, and the ever so controversial class rankings. Usually this transcript day is filled with people trying to find out the order of their class, and whose number one, two, three, and so on. Ugh, it just makes me groan. Anyway, roughly the top ten percent of the class graduates either valedictorian or salutatorian. Let's just say I am three people away from being in that top ten percent. Basically I'm in the top 10.000001% (slight exaggeration, but close). What kills me is the fact that I'm not in the top ten percent, yet my grades are nearly as good (if not identical) to the top few people in the class. That just goes to show how competitive and large my school really is.

So enough about me. This whole class rank and valedictorian thing ties in with the essay we read, because it shared stories of students who were just barely out of the selection of valedictorians, and a lot of them ended up suing their school districts for it. I certainly wouldn't take it that far, I mean it's just a title, right? But having the "valedictorian" status certainly helps if you're applying to a prestigious (and most likely Ivy League) college.  For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to be a valedictorian and go to an Ivy League school such as Harvard, Yale, or Columbia. But as my journey continues I'm beginning to realize that this dream isn't as far in my reach as I once thought it was, and I almost entirely blame the whole class competition thing.

If our school went traditional and only named one valedictorian and one salutatorian, obviously it would be much more difficult to obtain that status (and then there's always the issue of having the same GPA as someone else). But because they give the award to so many, not being named valedictorian is like a big hit below the belt. I can't even imagine being 0.001 point away from the award or something crazy like that, but it's a rational fear of mine.

In a school the size of mine, it really is a challenge to be named valedictorian. With that reasoning, I think it's smart to name multiple valedictorians and salutatorians. But it also takes away some of the importance of the award. I'd much rather say I was number one in my class than say I was in the top ten percent of my class. What essence does that even have anymore?

It's no doubt a controversial topic, my friends.  Should schools keep naming valedictorians, or is it an old practice that should be done away with? In today's rigorous, competitive world, it almost doesn't mean much anymore.

And there's my two cents, happy studies!