Week 2.3 Best in Class

In the “Best in Class” article Margaret Talbot is addressing the issue if valedictorians should be something kept in high schools or something that should be gotten rid of. The author gives stories of the controversy over becoming a valedictorian. She points out examples of the pros and cons of having valedictorians and not having them. The pro is that the hardest working high school students gets the satisfaction in becoming valedictorian, however she also points out that in some cases  this is not always true. Getting rid of valedictorian will cause many high school students to not be as motivated as they could be, cause students to stop trying as hard as they could, and kill the dreams of many young children.

Consider being a student in high school and being the hardest working student in your class and you end up being at the top of your class, but then since your high school does not have valedictorian you do not get the respect that you have earned from your classmate on graduation day. This is exactly what would happen in school if high schools got rid of valedictorians. Students would not have that extra push and drive to work harder in their class because they would not be looking forward to the sweet satisfaction of becoming their class’ valedictorian. Talbot points out that many students take extra class in order to give them that extra edge over someone who may be their competition in becoming valedictorian. Many people see this as unfair because what if a student did not have room in their schedule to take these extras classes or have the time. However, this is just good old competition because in life there will always be someone that has an extra edge over you and you just have to learn to beat them at their own games.

Not having a valedictorian will also cause many students to not try as hard in class because many students especially AP students work so hard to possibly become their class’ valedictorian. They spend hours studying and pay for these special study books just so one day they can stand there on the stage and know that all the hard work they put in was worth it.

Valedictorians are seen as the shining example in their class and every high school student should get the opportunity to possibly be that shining example in their class. Taking it away is taking away American tradition because many little children have a dream of becoming the valedictorian and giving a speech in front of their class and having that extra ribbon around their neck because they worked so hard to become valedictorian. Taking away valedictorian is like taking the dream away from a little kid and that is just not right.

                Valedictorians are shining examples of their high schools and they should receive the respect they deserve on their graduation day. Taking away valedictorian is not right and will kill the goal that many students work hard for in high schools.