Erasing honors is big mistake

Cassandra (Monaco) Miller

2008-07-29 14:50:25

I am currently an English teacher in Southwest Virginia. I was a student of the Fauquier County School System for eight years, and I am proud to say that my success today as an educator is due to the excellent teachers I had in Fauquier County.

Unfortunately, my support is about to fall short.

It has come to my attention that the school board of Fauquier County has decided to expel the titles of valedictorian and salutatorian due to the stress involved with academic competition and the sometimes necessary criteria of an AP level class. This is an academic outrage!.

Valedictorian and salutatorian are more than just titles. They symbolize an era of timeless passion and love of learning combined with high academic standards.

It breaks my heart, both as an educator and alumnus of Fauquier County, to see this healthy competition slip away in my hometown.

We are a country of competitors on many levels. We pride ourselves on being the best and putting forth our best efforts. How hypocritical is Fauquier County going to be to take away academic competition, but keep all the others?

Not every athlete on the football team is awarded captain or the chance to play on first string. Not every musician is given the title and placement of section leader.

Are these titles to be taken away soon as well?

What is wrong with competition — with awarding someone a gold medal and someone else a silver or bronze? Every student has the opportunity to excel, but it is up to the student if they choose to do so.

Yes, it is an accurate assessment to say that it would be difficult to obtain valedictorian or salutatorian status without the help of an AP level class. The point of that is to show students what they could earn through fast-paced classes and years of dedication, hard work, and determination.

Would it be ethical to place a student who did not put forth that effort in an AP class with those who have excelled above what a teacher expects?

My peers who obtained valedictorian and salutatorian status (or close to) were extremely well-rounded individuals who could take electives that were not of an AP level. Does this mean the ideas and concepts like the honor roll, weighted classes, and grades in general are in danger of expulsion, as well?

Enlighten me: How are we to prepare our students for the harsh realities of placements and privileges in the world outside of a school’s safe haven?

Fauquier County will be deluding students into believing that they will not have any kind of competition when it comes to the work force, when, in reality, students will be unable to comprehend what types of skills are necessary to come out on top of that competition.

A company is not going to accept all 20 interviewees, but the one person who is best suited. A coach cannot play all 40 athletes, but only the ones who have put forth the best efforts.

How is a young adult supposed to understand and cope with possible rejection later on in life when they will be sheltered from it in their school?

I was far from valedictorian status when I was a student, yet I had the utmost respect for my peers and friends who spent longer hours studying than I did — who dreamed of holding that prestigious title for most of their lifetimes. Is that such an irrational dream?

Our Constitution says that every American has the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” To pursue something means that one must work for it — get their hands dirty so that they know the pride that comes with accomplishing a task they put their heart into.

What will happen to our students, our children, when they have nothing to pursue? Is that dream going to die because Fauquier County will not push its students to dream big and chase the almost unattainable goal, but instead award and encourage them to accept the brainwashing concept of mediocrity?

I know that I am not alone in my feelings of disgust, disappointment, and discontent.

I ask that parents, students, and faculty who feel the same way to consistently voice those opinions at school board meetings.

Rest assured that this will not be the last time you hear from me. I plan on taking this as far as I need to so that Fauquier County’s delusions do not thwart or poison the other school systems in our beautiful state.

They have kicked dirt in the faces of ambitious students who have dreamed of academic glory. I only hope those students will have the sense to brush it away and still move forward, despite the lack of the school board’s support.

Cassandra (Monaco) Miller

Christiansburg