mariambaby3

Here in Canada, the position of Valedictorian is chosen based on popular vote.

But in the US, for schools that do have Valedictorians, what if one of those really awkward, studious, nerdy Asian kids become Valedictorian? Won't that make for a really awkward and pathetic speech during graduation?

lockn

Nerds are valedictorian all the time here. They're smart enough to write a decent speech given advance notice, even if they're usually awkward in social situations.

Chairman Meow

Unless they're really horrible at public speaking, their speech writing skills should suffice.

XX55XX

One of those type of kids was the valedictorian at my high school. He wrote a speech (which wasn't bad, content-wise) and recited it during graduation. Unfortunately, the poor acoustics of the venue combined with his thick Chinese accent ensured that the crowd heard absolutely nothing.

He wasn't socially awkward at all - very friendly kid, but he wasn't the best of speakers...

Bay

We have had a valedictorian speaker who was nerdy (non-Asian) and not well-liked by her class. As a result, her speech was very uninspiring and received a luke-warm response.

BurnThis

That's why some schools also have a salutatorian -- to wake everyone up after the val speaks.

kwu

That's why good schools don't rank their students--and graduation speakers are elected by popular vote.

schrizto

So what? It's just a speech. I wouldn't care who made a speech because I have to sit though it either way.

schrizto

And isn't it kind of singling out an ethnicity to say "quiet, awkward asian" instead of "quiet, awkward person"? There are plenty of quiet, awkward studious non-asians who become valedictorian...

nightpwnsj00

Haha, both the Valedictorian and Salutatorian are asians here. #3, too. The Val is pretty cool, though, so I'm sure I won't be bored.

math+sci=asian

That's the norm here, not the exception.

ThisCouldBeHeavn

Well, the non-Asian is less likely to have an accent. I was one of those quiet awkward Valedictorians with no public speaking skills. However I could write a decent speech and at least read off the paper clearly with some inflection. Obviously it wasn't an oratory masterpiece, but I don't think it was painful for the audience.

schrizto

I'm kind of annoyed at the fact that people would think many asian students, even ones that are valedictorians, have an accent.

yuechen

Um... most Asians in high schools don't have accents because they try their hardest to learn the language as it is. (I know because I'm one of those)

Hunt

Well, in my kids' school, it's an observable fact that many of the Asian kids do have an accent, often a very heavy one. It may depend on what portion of the Asians in the school are recent immigrants, or who have parents who don't speak English well.